Chiappa Rhino

[Tony_the_tiger]

I did a 5/5/5/5 drill (5 shots in 5 seconds from 5 yards within a circle that has a diameter of 5 inches) with a 2.25" SP101 .357 Magnum using Buffalo Bore's Barnes XPB 140 Grain .357 bullet and achieved a minimum of 1160 ft/s, a maximum of 1214 ft/s, and a standard deviation of 15.317. The round was controllable and penetrated four water jugs.

Comparably, Speer's 135 Grain .38 Special + P Gold Dot traveled approximately 890 ft/s out of the SP101 and penetrated two jugs.

Both are suitable for self defense against water jugs... the .357 could be expected to have better barrier penetration, violent expansion, and deeper penetration.

Additionally, all else being equal, a .357 snub will have stronger tolerances than a .38 special snub, and has the benefit of being able to handle multiple calibers depending on need and context.

The idea that .357 and .38 Special have comparable ballistic potential in a short barreled revolver does not hold up to the data. Whether that will make a difference in a self defense situation is beyond the scope of this post. I have fine examples in both calibers.

 

[dusty14u]

Is that foreign writings on the side of the Rhino

They are different manufacturing marks. Far left is a box with CH in it. I am not sure what the second from the left is. The third from the left is PSF on the bottom with a round symbol over it. The far right is a symbol with G & T on either side.

I regularly shoot my handloads through it - 9.5 grains of Unique moving @ 1580FPS through my Model 66 6in. I haven't chrono'd them from the Rhino but I am sure they are well above 9mm velocities. They feel like 38 Sp wadcutters through the Rhino. I don't feel undergunned at all with a snubby, either the Rhino or the Ruger. It will stay in my carry rotation unless it develops problems, which it hasn't for the two years I have owned and carried it.

 

[stressed]

I was just curious on what people thought. I was going to get a scandium airweight J frame S&W .357 snubnose, until I heard about the painful recoil (like literally, painful) and lack of ballistics to back all of that up.

I do think the Rhino's are some of the coolest .357's and would love to own one.

 

[PabloJ]

Does anyone have any experience with the Chiappa Rhino? It looks like an interesting design, I was just wondering about reliability, accuracy and overall opinions on it. Thanks

It would have been very interesting if they incorporated top break feature into the gun. That would make very modern design I would buy.

 

[Havok7416]

I just finished a test of the Rhino with full-power .357 loads. I will post a review in the Revolver section of the forums tonight or tomorrow.