Shooting a Chiappa Rhino

[rbernie]

A friend loaned his Rhino to me last week, so that I could give him my range impressions. I had handled them in the store, but had never pulled the trigger on one in earnest.

I took two different handloads; a standard pressure 38 Special topped with a plated 125 grain, and a full power 357 magnum load topped with 158 grain hollowpoints.

I was/am astounded at the accuracy and the ease with which I could keep all shots in a 6 inch circle at 15 yards, firing DA as fast as I could get a flash sight picture. I have never shot a revolver that was as accurate and stable under fast DA work as the Rhino. I was particularly impressed with its DA behavior shooting full house loads, with very little muzzle rise and very rapid target reacquisition. Were it not for the boom and the muzzle flash, I would never have known that I was shooting loads as powerful as I was - very little muzzle flip, and just a quick push to the rear…

Yes, it is still ugly. Mechanically, it still seems to me to be a bit on the Rube Goldberg side of things. But it is also the most impressive DA/SA revolver I have ever fired.

 

[JFrame]

A friend loaned his Rhino to me last week, so that I could give him my range impressions. I had handled them in the store, but had never pulled the trigger on one in earnest.

I took two different handloads; a standard pressure 38 Special topped with a plated 125 grain, and a full power 357 magnum load topped with 158 grain hollowpoints.

I was/am astounded at the accuracy and the ease with which I could keep all shots in a 6 inch circle at 15 yards, firing DA as fast as I could get a flash sight picture. I have never shot a revolver that was as accurate and stable under fast DA work as the Rhino. I was particularly impressed with its DA behavior shooting full house loads, with very litte muzzle rise and very rapid target reacquisition. Were it not for the boom and the muzzle flash, I would never have known that I was shooting loads as powerful as I was - very little muscle flip, and just a quick push to the rear…

Yes, it is still ugly. Mechanically, it still seems to me to be a bit on the Rube Goldberg side of things. But it is also the most impressive DA/SA revolver I have ever fired.

Just curious -- what barrel length?

 

[rbernie]

Five inch.

 

[SharpDog]

Did you get burned ?

 

[rbernie]

I did not, although I was warned that I might. I don’t tend to have as high of a grip with my offhand as others, I suppose.

 

[beag_nut]

To me, the concept is good, but the execution is flawed. Especially concerning the action. I think a creative designer could do better, both mechanically and appearance-wise. I myself have often mentally played with the concept, but being retired I see no benefit in trying the options.

 

[JFrame]

Five inch.

Thank you!

.

 

[9mmepiphany]

the concept is good, but the execution is flawed. Especially concerning the action. I think a creative designer could do better, both mechanically and appearance-wise.

I'm interested, how so?

I've only put maybe 30 rounds through one belonging to a friend and was impressed by the lack of muzzle flip. The grips are also outstanding as they offer good indexing in the hand

I expected the trigger to be pretty manageable given that it is in essence a striker fired revolver.

I found the cylinder release a bit awkward, but that is likely because I'm used to a different motion when speed loading.

I thought about getting one for IDPA competition, but was given pause in wondering if the alloy frame would hold up to the practice and rapid fire required

 

[Havok7416]

I'm interested, how so?

I've only put maybe 30 rounds through one belonging to a friend and was impressed by the lack of muzzle flip. The grips are also outstanding as they offer good indexing in the hand

I expected the trigger to be pretty manageable given that it is in essence a striker fired revolver.

I found the cylinder release a bit awkward, but that is likely because I'm used to a different motion when speed loading.

I thought about getting one for IDPA competition, but was given pause in wondering if the alloy frame would hold up to the practice and rapid fire required

Comments from some here notwithstanding, my 6-inch Rhino has held up to several thousand rounds at least to include a fair number of full-power .357s. I had an RSO question the durability of the Rhino, so I loaded up a bunch of full-power .357s and we shot it until the grips got too hot to hold. Anymore I just feed my gun regular .38 Specials, so if the competition you participate in requires +P or higher power loads I have to admit I haven't put enough of those through my gun to notice anything.

My example (an admitted example of one) also survived a squib with another round behind it thanks to the moron behind the trigger (me). That particular incident didn't even bulge the barrel and accuracy has remained as good as I can shoot.

As a lefty, I actually prefer the cylinder release on the Rhino. I move the gun from my left to right hand during a reload and in so doing I end up with the release latch right under my right hand thumb as I make the transfer. Is this the "right" way to do a reload? Honestly I have no idea but I know that it works well enough for me that I feel comfortable enough (and actually do) to carry my Rhino from time to time.

If I was the type to play competitive shooting games I think the first gun I would practice with and test out on the field would be my Rhino. Maybe my confidence is misplaced, but I think the Rhino - mine anyway- would hold up just fine.

 

[9mmepiphany]

It just felt odd to press down on the cylinder release as opposed to pushing it either forward or inward

We load pretty soft for IDPA competition...170gr bullet at 680fps...but do run the cylinder pretty fast and likely put 15k rounds through it in a year (plus 3-4 times that in dry fire practice)

 

[robhof]

Sounds like a review that I could have given many yrs ago when I tried out my brother's then new in the box Dan Wesson 357 mag., we took it out to the dump and proceeded to make cans and rats fly all around us, this was back in 1970 and many people in our small town shot at the dump. The heavy frame kept recoil down and the relatively large grip kept the gun in the hand. My only previous shooting with pistols was with a B/P Howdah style gun and a 22 revolver, so being able to blast cans with a new out of the box gun was truly amazing. Glad to hear the Chiappa is a durable gun, as the price seems steep for a standard production gun.

 

[somethingbenign]

I know a guy who has been running IDPA, ICORE, and USPSA with a rhino for a few years now. Swears by it and as far as I'm aware has had no durability issues. One is on my short list for wheel guns for sure, just need to save the cash and decide on a barrel length. Rumor has it the Unica might be coming back so I might hold off for that as my oddball revolver.