Chiappa Rhino Magnum Test

[Havok7416]

I took my Rhino 60DS to the range yesterday to run high-end loads through it. While this isn't the first time I've shot .357 loads with the gun, it is the first time I shot more than a cylinder or two of them at one time. I ended up shooting a total of 12 rounds of factory PMC 132-grain .38 Special and 146 rounds of .357 140-grain XTP over 7.5 grains of Unique. I should add that I am not the greatest shot in the world, but I didn't see anyone else jumping up to try this.

The PMC .38 Special was fired to establish a baseline for recoil more than anything else. All the PMC ammo was fired at a distance of 10 yards in single action.


I changed out targets and moved it to about 8 yards (I wrote 7-9 yards on the target) and fired a total of 18 .357 rounds at this target in single action. While the group isn't particularly spectacular, I think I did alright.


I put up another target and started shooting the gun double action at 10 yards. I should point out that I don't often practice shooting this way and my groups clearly show this. Most of my double action shots throughout the day ended up being left of my aim point. I fired a total of 28 rounds at this target.


I put up another target and again put it at 10 yards to retry my double action shooting, but I managed to open my group instead of close it with 18 shots.


At this point I noticed that the gun was starting to get warm. It wasn't hot enough to stop shooting, so I changed targets again. I had to flip these targets over halfway through which is why the top targets pull to the right. I was consistently left for all my shooting that day. I will note that the holes in the bottom left target appear to be keyholing but they are not. The targets were sitting in my car and curled up. The top left target was shot 12 times in single action but the gun is covering the numbers. All targets here were shot from 8-9 yards.


My final target was placed again at 8-9 yards. I decided to stop at the end of this ammo box and only shot these targets 6-8 times each. Once again, you can see the "keyholing" on the left side targets.


Obviously I couldn't do my part, but how did the Rhino do? As I noted before, the gun started to heat up fairly early in the test, with only 12 rounds of .38 Special and 64 rounds of .357 having been fired. The gun never got too hot to fire at any point though. More importantly, the recoil was barely noticeable throughout the test. The Rhino has an odd way of recoiling straight back with almost no muzzle flip no matter what load is put through it.

I had several issues with my index finger knuckle on my weak (right) hand brushing the cylinder during recoil. Additionally, I noticed that my shooting finger (left hand) was black with soot between two of my knuckles farthest from the tip of my finger. I'm not sure what caused this as I didn't experience any pain or burns while shooting the gun. The only thing I can think of is that my hand was in the way when I ejected the spent shells. I use a standard thumbs-forward grip for all my handgun shooting.

While it certainly wasn't an exhaustive test it was all I had time (and money) for. The Rhino did everything it was supposed to with no problems and no injuries to me. I realize some people will still hate the gun and worry about powder burns but there's nothing I can do about that!

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Cool write up man. I want to get one with a 4" bbl. I love .357 and it seems like a design I'd like to try out.

Wish I could afford a Mateba too.

 

[Lucky Derby]

Thanks for the info. I'm considering a snubby.

 

[Havok7416]

I would probably also own a Rhino snub nose if I didn't already own a S&W snub nose when the Rhino came out. I seriously toyed with the idea of replacing my S&W but decided I would lose too much money.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

"I had several issues with my index finger knuckle on my weak (right) hand brushing the cylinder during recoil. Additionally, I noticed that my shooting finger (left hand) was black with soot between two of my knuckles farthest from the tip of my finger. I'm not sure what caused this as I didn't experience any pain or burns while shooting the gun. The only thing I can think of is that my hand was in the way when I ejected the spent shells. I use a standard thumbs-forward grip for all my handgun shooting."

I noticed the other day when I looked this gun up on the internet to check it out that there is a specific way you're supposed to hold the gun, based on the engineering concept of placing the barrel in line with the bottom of the cylinder instead of the top.

Were you using the specified grip? Or were you using a more typical method of holding the gun, consistent with pistols or conventional revolvers?

 

[Havok7416]

I was shooting the gun with a standard grip like I always do. I don't hold the gun any special way and I don't instruct new shooters to do so when they handle my Rhino. This was the first time I have ever noticed any contact with the cylinder during firing. I have fired well over 1,000 (possibly as many as 2,000) rounds through this Rhino with no issues at all. On the other hand, I have never checked for powder residue/soot on my hands before this, it was just something I happened to observe this time. The other possible reason for the soot on my finger may be that I was piling up my brass every few cylinders. Holding the gun in my hands now, I can't see any way for the cylinder gap flash to come anywhere near the rear part of my hand during firing.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

Ah, I see.

You might take a look at the preferred grip illustrated on their site and try that for a while to see how it works out. It's specifically intended to hold their revolvers in the recommended fashion due to their unique design, which would keep you from placing your fingers at or near the cylinder gap where escaping gases could injure fingers.

Here's a link:

http://www.chiappafirearms.com/sites/default/files/manuals/Rhino Grip instructions.pdf


After trying that out, maybe you could critique the handling peculiarities of that style of gip for us.

 

[bannockburn]

Havok7416

Great write-up! Still not sure about the design of the Rhino in terms of aesthetics but if makes a difference in terms of felt recoil with full house loads then it would be worth looking into.

 

[ifit]

havok nice write up and range results whew thought i was the only one here that has one. had a hard time deciding between the 60 and 40, but finally decided on the 40ds. after seeing your 60ds.....now i want one:banghead:

 

[Havok7416]

Chief, I will take a look at their "recommended" grip and follow up. Unfortunately it will be next week until I can test it at the earliest due to my work load.

Bannockburn, everyone who has fired my Rhino with full-power loads - around a dozen people to date - has commented on the lack of recoil.

Thanks everyone for the replies. It's good to see that there is at least some support for the Rhino!

 

[Havok7416]

Looking at the instructions from the website, I'm not sure why anything is different from a normal grip. I will still test fire the gun with different grips, but the one picture they show looks pretty standard to me.

 

[David E]

The targets shown indicate a consistent flinch. Might try the "ball and dummy" drill to find out for sure.

Nice write up.

 

[Havok7416]

The targets shown indicate a consistent flinch. Might try the "ball and dummy" drill to find out for sure.

Nice write up.

Yeah I need some practice for sure. It didn't help that my test was done on the rifle range with big guns on either side.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

Great review. Now I want to know how it chronos with loads from Remington (the beloved 125 grain SJHP), Underwood, Buffalo Bore, and Double Tap. Also can it handle the same demands a GP100 can. If it can stand the same stresses as a GP100, provide comparable velocity, and comparable accuracy, then my God the next .357 I buy won't be another GP100 (own two, both 6") or SP101 (2.25" and 3.16"). It will be a Rhino. If someone could just build a .357 on par with a Redhawk .357 that could suck down a steady diet of hot loaded 125 grain rounds, I'd be in heaven. Oh and if it could safely deliver 180 grain JHPs at 1400 fps with a steady diet for the life of the gun, for a long life of the gun. Yes I own two .454 Casulls as well by Ruger.

 

[Havok7416]

Magnum, I have a Colt King Cobra 4" that I can run the Rhino against. I have done this in the past but never recorded my findings. If I had a chrono, I would certainly use it, but I don't. I have some plated 125 grain bullets and I can certainly buy factory, but I don't like to put them in magnum loads for any of my .357s (3) for fear of flame-cutting my topstraps. I'll make some loads up when I have time.

 

[MartinS]

The aesthetics take commitment. This isn't just an eight shot scandium N frame with flatside barrel and mounting rails, your new iron is a paradigm shift for sure.
To these eyes the look works, in a High Earth Orbit, heading out to get into the Miner's revolt on the moons of Jupiter kind of way. I like that it gets hot.

 

[barnbwt]

Also can it handle the same demands a GP100 can. If it can stand the same stresses as a GP100, provide comparable velocity, and comparable accuracy, then my God the next .357 I buy won't be another GP100 (own two, both 6") or SP101 (2.25" and 3.16"). It will be a Rhino. If someone could just build a .357 on par with a Redhawk .357 that could suck down a steady diet of hot loaded 125 grain rounds, I'd be in heaven.

It's an aluminum frame compact-ish carry pistol (that is offered in 6", but the snub is where the emphasis is) designed by the guy who did the Mateba Unica 6 --I doubt it's as overbuilt as a Ruger, but I have no question it's a quality design (with a history of occasional manufacturing QC lapses). Designed as a snub nose lightweight self defense gun, super-hot boutique loads are kinda wasted on it, as making the barrel longer would gain more ballisticaly than upping the stress on the gun. That said, wrist torque from recoil is widely reported to be greatly reduced, so if palm smack itself doesn't bother you, hotter loads might feel a bit better, even if they wear things out faster.

There's supposed to be a 40SW variant out there (no 10mm ), and I'd love to get one in 9mm Para, but I think the Euro-market model is in 9x21 for legal reasons. I think a 6-shot 9mm using moons in a gun this light/small would be very cool. I'm amazed a 9mm/357 conversion kit isn't being made, since they are now cut for moons from the factory. They are smaller than the boxy corners make them look, but far from a tiny purse pistol you can't get a grip on, and far lighter than you'd think.

The aesthetics take commitment

Best description I've heard of it yet; accurate and not condemning . The exception would be the "Gold" color (yellow anodizing) which is indisputably tacky looking , not sure what they were thinking in reviving the Desert Eagle colors

I'd own one, but the prices are just too high for it to move up the list past other stuff that comes along and is a better deal; you're paying S&W prices for something that is simply not made as nicely, and contrary to my hopes, market demand and production increase is not reducing the sale price of these guys at all. If anything, they've gone up 30% or so in the past year and a half I've paid attention. I'll eventually pick one up before they go the way of the Mateba; a grail gun I've given up hope of ever purchasing since the prices reached escape velocity a year ago (they've doubled and tripled in the last year).

TCB