So

when it comes to the Chiappa Rhino people either hate them or love them

I’m a S&W head and the majority of my revolvers are S&W’s

I have some Colts and a Casull but every day for many many years I’ve carried one of my Smiths. All have action jobs and all feel exceptional

I’ve been watching the Chiappa’s for years and while I found the concept of the lower barrel interesting I just never bought one

I’ve been a long time buyer of Smith’s Scandium frame revolvers so the alloy framed Rhinos did appeal to me as a carry piece in some of their barrel lengths

At first they only had the 2 inch and than they jumped to the 4, 5 and 6 inch

well I waited and watched and they came out with the 3 inch which I found very interesting as a carry piece

well guess a year or so ago the came out with a Bronze addition and that kinda sealed the deal for me

I was searching around gunbroker and found a few. They were all pricey. It was a Sunday afternoon and all of a sudden up popped a Bronze 30 DS with in an hour drive of me

a quick email and a return call and I was on my way to get it

by 9 pm I was back at my gunsmiths ... I drive fast

I don’t own a gun that my gunsmith has not done something to. He’s a close friend 35 years

there is never a time that there is not some type of project of mine scattered on his benches

currently we are building another 5 inch 1911 on a Colt Combat Elite frame and slide

back to the Rhino





we had the side plate off and playing with the guts in a few minutes

while different than a conventional revolver the same parts are in there ....kinda





The big differences as many know since these have been out for over a decade is the hammer is actually just a cocking device and the barrel goes off the bottom cylinder

once we got an understanding of the gun we greased the internals and shot a bunch of 38 and 357 into his bullet trap

it sighted in quickly and at the distance we could shoot was punching tiny clover shaped groups

now I’m used to action jobs on all my revolvers and these guns where notorious for long hard trigger pulls in double action when they first came out

this being a newer variant while the trigger in double action was different it was not horrible

single action done by using the cocking device (hammer) was very good ...... they’ve improved the trigger

it’s relatively light but due to the lower alignment of the barrel it had a very different recoil pulse that’s my normal revolvers. Recoil is straight back and the very well done fiber optic sights are quick to come back into alignment

so far the only thing I did not care for was the small rubber grips that came on the gun

shown here



I don’t care for rubber grips in general on a carry gun but these while comfortable we’re just a tad to small for me

This was remedied with a Charging rhino grip which is longer and harder with texture



I like these grips and I’m pleased with the feel

it also runs on moon clips which I’ve really come to prefer over speedloaders

I did order a speedbeez speedloader with belt carrier for an option

I have 2 different holsters on order one a simple formed leather and the other a Garrett Kydex leather lined

once the holsters come in I’ll start to give this gun the run down and get some real impressions on some new steel and see how it goes



For now I’m dry firing with snap caps and the trigger is coming around Nicely. Usually I do action jobs right out of the box but being this is a bit different we wanted to see how it broke in before we started stoning parts

more to come but so far I like it and while I don’t like buying goods from some countries Italy is not one of them

Keep us informed with updates on the new gun. Those 3" models interest me too. I've always liked the concept but never pulled the trigger.

J3

This was an excellent write-up on these revolvers. I seem to recall forum brother—and super nice guy—Erich Is a fan of them too.

Chiappa Rhino = WOW

Chiappa Rhino 357

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Possum—The other white meat!

Thx

I’m gonna bang it a bit and carry once some holsters arrive

for the 3 inch not a ton of holster options

the Garrett should be here in about a week ....I asked them to try and hurry a bit

leather hoping by Monday

ya never know a gun till ya carry it a bit and shoot it a lot

It’s a different looking animal for sure

in the drivers seat it feels and looks more like a semi than any revolver I know of

very square and semi like

been playing with the trigger and it’s got a very different feel

when you roll it over slow it’s a mile long .... when you roll it over fast it’s smooth and the sights which are nice don’t jump at all

wide trigger that’s gonna take a minute to get used to

I have only ever laid eyes on one—at a gunshow. It was a 6 inch barrel I believe. It seemed extremely well made.

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Possum—The other white meat!

Steel is coming in and I couldn’t resist trying out a MKII .22 CAL on one in the yard today

will have 3 total to set up for drills

‘theses are these are the 1/2 inch so you can use rifles as well

now waiting on holsters and speed loaders , moon clip holders for Rhino

I have always wanted to shoot one.......just not enough to buy one. Your does look pretty cool.
Larry

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

Yeah, Ill say it. My God, that thing is ugly! It had better shoot great. How about weight? Is there a helluva advantage to having the barrel on the bottom? A little curious from the sidelines.

Thinking on it, I don't recall ever seeing grips made of rhino horn. Don't know if that's doable, but this is the gun for it!

At 27 ounces it’s about 5 ounces heavier than my 327



As for recoil

It has recoil it’s just different as in straight back vs muzzle flip

Don't think you will. Rhino I believe are protected species. Poached ones are sold to Chinese for big bucks who think they act like Viagra. Rhino horn is made from hair I seem to remember from Jack Perkins in Animal Kingdom.

I posted about my 2" Rhino in the "WOW" thread linked above.

The recoil impulse from the Rhino is radically different from a standard revolver. It's hard to convey, but there is no barrel flip at all. It's is the ultimate *****cat. I shot full tilt 158gr 357s one handed with no discomfort at all. I'd be comfortable handing it to my diminutive non-shooter wife loaded with 125gr 357 screamers.

The one and only reason mine has seen little carry is it doesn't fit any of my pocket holsters. If I can work out a pocket holster solution, it will be in the rotation. Mine came with a belt holster, but I figure if I'm gonna belt carry I might as well go large so I typically carry my 3" M629.

New grips





New grips with holster







Old grips

I purchased a small collection back in January that included a nickel DS40 chambered in .357 Mag. I put quite a few rounds through it before the virus lockdown and was impressed with the accuracy and lack of perceived recoil. I have an accumulation of speedloaders that I picked up over the years and found that the HKS Mark 3A’s work just fine.

Firing from the 6 O-Clock position does help with muzzle climb, but it’s not without drawbacks. I will caution you to keep your fingers and thumbs well clear of the flash gap. I’ve got big hands and was trying to be very conscious of my grip, but still managed to get my support hand pointer knuckle too close to the gap. Fortunately, I was only shooting .38’s at the time. It didn’t break the skin, but it did leave a mark and got my attention. I suspect I would have needed attention if I was shooting magnums.

Since you and your gunsmith had yours apart, maybe you can advise on the best way to remove the cylinder for cleaning. I watched some video’s and looked at exploded diagrams and decided not to take mine apart, but I really prefer to remove the cylinder when cleaning my S&W’s. It looks like you can removing the small screw on the side of the yoke and just pull the cylinder, or you can remove the right side front screw and remove the cylinder/yoke assembly. That screw in the yoke is awfully small and I’m leery of removing it on a regular basis.

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"I also cook."

Lucky for me I shoot tucked thumbs

Old habit from riding the safety on my 1911’s so no issue on the cylinder burn but I could see how it could bite do tone not conscious of it

We did not take the cylinder off but I too would be hesitant to keep taking that front screw out

They do shoot well but after a box or so of full house shells today I feel it in the wrist

What grips do you have on yours ?

Mine has what I assume is the original grip. The grip angle takes a little getting used to, but it’s seems fairly well designed. Even though I have big hands, all three of my fat fingers wrap around the front. I’ve considered the extra large grip, but I’m not sure I want to fork out the cash without trying one first.

I don’t see myself carrying this, but it is an interesting gun.

Attached Images

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"I also cook."

I really like that grip

Grips are very hard to get

Hoping they become available soon

Rhinos are protected since in Asia the ground horns are used as folk medicine which poachers receive a fortune for.

The “horn” is actually a clump of hair rather than a true horn so I doubt it could be fashioned into a decent grip.

But that’s a beautiful revolver and as complicated as a Swiss watch.