Is this one ugly gun or what?

Well buddy ya gotta have at least one ugly girl in the harem!!!

I guess it is to get cash from the .05% of gun people that would like it.
I'd own one, but not at their asking price! Ouch!!!

I sincerely don't think it will ever have the mystique of other "odd" guns like the Webley-Fosbery...

Although, I'd buy one if I could trade it for a Webley-Fosbery.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

My first thought on seeing it was "an answer to a question never asked", it is one ugly spud for sure.
RD

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Got a Phd from Hard Knocks U

It is ugly for sure, but I would like to put a few rounds through one just for the experience! Maybe somebody has one they would donate for use as a "pass around" for forum members? O.K. I'm not holding my breath.

I would like the one with the rail if I can deal on a used one. The gunshop I do business with has one in the case (not the railed one), and everyone that shops guns there has had it out looking at it. It will always be a good conversation piece at the range, I have plenty of good looking guns that are totally ignored.

Saw one in use at an IDPA match back in September. It was used by an Itialian national who was shooting a warm up match here before going to the Nationals. He shot it very well. The point in the design is to lower the bore axis to lessen the felt recoil. At least that is what all of us standing around gawking at the thing figured. The model I saw was about the size on an L-frame Smith.

The longer barreled model with the rail looks like a cross between a firearm and some sort of autopsy or embalming instrument . . . .

Curiousity got the cat here, and I had to look the thing up on GB. Like an car accident--ugly as sin, but can't stop looking. Makes me appreciate my Smith's.

Actually - THE point of the design is to reduce muzzle flip - allowing much faster followup shots -- In theory.

I'd assumed that these were for competition use, but the inclusion of a rail makes me wonder.... OTOH the inclusion of a rail on ANY handgun makes me wonder - The only advantage that I can see goes to the guy on the other end of the gun. He (or even, in these days, she) knows where you are even if you don't know where they are. Not my idea of good tactics.

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In dog years I'm dead.

I'm telling ya', these things are going to take over. It's because they ain't your father's revolvers.

Before you know it, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, and Taurus will be bringing out clones in steel, alloy, and polymer. Taurus will do one in .410/.45 Colt. Charter Arms will have a .44 Special version, done up in colors no less and Colt will get back into revolver-making with a high-gloss steel version with a vent rib, dubbed the Python II.

Just wait and see.

Tied up the family fortune in mood rings and pet rocks, huh ?

Sorry Curtis, but that ugly girl would be sleeping by herself all the time in a place far, far away from me.

re: " it is one ugly spud for sure"

Sir:
Having been raised proper on the blessed sagebrush soil of southern Idaho;

and being a member of the official Brothers of the Spud, I object to your comparison here....there ain't NO spud as ugly as this beastie! And I mean, even 'usable ends' ain't as ugly.....

Please reconsider your erroneous and unkind statement before I have to ship you a gunny sack of usable ends for comparison.

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

Hideous !!

Bryan, you sold me!

I almost blew groceries, but I put a hand on the ugly sucker and pointed it at a picture of a commie pinko fa&(CIC) and it pointed very well. And what's up with a "square-like" cylinder?? I'm guessin' Charles Daly, H&R, Hi Point, and NEF combined to make this beauty!!! Sure to be a guild gun..........Sprefix

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Go big or stay home

Yeah, I'll pass on this one. Now if somebody starts importing the Mateba...OH YEAH! Dale

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"Long live the S&W 3rd. Gen.!"

I've yet to see an ugly girl in the dark!

If you goto Chiappa Firearms website, they have a bunch of interesting stuff (at least interesting looking )... Even Sharps copies.
Dixie Gun Works - in Union City, TN - is a distributor, so I believe I'll check them out. A trip to Dixie is ALWAYS a real treat!

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In dog years I'm dead.

The fellow who designed the Mateba had a hand in producing the Rhino. And, of course, we all buy guns that we find attractive, functionality doesn't matter, right? These guns shoot very well. The 2 inch carries and conceals in the provided holster very well. (I am going to replace the grips with wooden ones.) The newer models are cut for moon clips and they are provided, and they make .40 caliber versions. I can get 2 inch groups with my six inch model at 20 yards with full house 158 grain .357 ammo and it doesn't hurt my old, arthritic hand. But, it's ugly.

Only it's mother could like the lines of that thing....

Oh look - zombie thread!

Mine still works for me - it's turned into a "house gun" for my wife's easy access while I'm at work (because of the low recoil and easy point-and-click interface). I have it with the rubber stocks to minimize the already minimal recoil with the .357 Magnum "minus-P" 135-grain short barrel Gold Dot handloads I have in the thing (they do right at 1100 fps from this particular gun's 2" tube), but here's a picture of it with the wood stocks.

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Now go make God proud...

I won't hunt with a gun that embarrasses my dog.

'Nuf said.

Agreed. A Mateba auto revolver would be an awesome thing to own.

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-John

That's what I call in your face.

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Sure you did

I kind of liked it, until I saw a picture of the trigger hammer linkage. Pretty complex, a lot of moving parts to foul up. The flats on the cylinder are brilliant IMHO, number it carries nice.

The Yankee Marshal seems to love the Chiappa Rhinos he owns...

They still aren't as ugly as a Ruger!

Cause that's what matters! The dog and the deer first look at the lines of then give the approval. Especially the deer

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Well, so what's the report? Does the low bore axis reduce muzzle flip? I'd think it would.

Yes. My report is available here in great detail, back about 6 years ago.

Oh, and because someone mentioned Ruger . . .

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Now go make God proud...

I wouldn't buy a Chiappa Rhino, but I wouldn't mind accepting one as a gift. I also wouldn't mind carrying one.

Bud's has a 200DS for $748. To me, I rather drop that kind of money on something else...such as a CZ 75BD, some kind of Beretta 92, HK VP9, or a Glock 17 Gen 4 with some upgrades.

I like the fact that it lessens recoil. Every time I put rounds through my 642 it makes me want a Rhino more and more.

I handled one at a gun show. It's not as cumbersome as it looks, actually feels OK. Down side? FWIW, the owner of my LGS won't handle them. Quality control issues he says. That's good enough for me to cross it off my list.

Never gonna trade my Webley Fosbery for a Rhino. No way.

If you are a fan of the .357 for CCW, and you prioritize practicality and function over "looks", then you would probably like this firearm.
I have handled them at my LGS and gun shows, and it feels surprisingly good in the hand. The flat cylinder makes for easier concealment, and a nice leather holster is provided with the gun.

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Stay protected my friends.