Hi All, am thinking about getting a 357 Rhino in either 5"(50DS) 0r 6"(60DS). Anybody have one in either of those sizes? Pro's and con's on them? Black vs. SS (hard chrome)? Anything else you'd care to add would be appreciated. Thanks Ron

Don't have either of those, but have an early 2" - shoots great, but the internals are a caution.

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How God has blessed us!

Just bought a 6 inch in 9mm. Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet.

With the square cylinder up close and personal the other guy could grab the cylinder and possibly keep it from turning. Be good if someone who has one could try and see if it is possible. Might break the internals if they aren't made as strong as brand A<B<and C.

My own personnal opinion.

The sentence "ugly as sinn" was created with that revolver in mind.

Don't mind me. I'll see myself out.

If I owned one, I'd walk around with a paper bag over my head.

FYI. You can do that to almost any revolver. But you need guts, if it's serious.

If you can deal with the Yankee Marshal's channel on YouTube I'm sure you'll find hours of content on .357 Chiappas. They were his ESC for quite a while and he was quite the advocate for them.

Renowned firearms guru Yankee Marshal of YouTube fame carries and recommends the Chiappa Rhino. He has many videos on them, and his word is as good as they come.

Buy with confidence.

Free fashion and decorating tips too...

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Certified Curmudgeon

If that ever happens to me, I'll try to remember to rotate the gun as I pull the trigger.

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How God has blessed us!

Doesn't work that way.

First time I have seen a knife that kind of goes with that gun.....I like it.

Larry

They are a bit pricey for an almost off-brand gun, but I would probly buy one if I found it for cheap.

Compared to anything Ruger makes, the Chiappa is a beauty queen.

Odd-looking for sure, and I have never heard of another revolver which used a barrel in line with the lowermost chamber. The idea is to reduce muzzle rise upon firing, increasing controllability in rapid fire. Appearance is secondary to how well its shoots, and I cannot comment on that, having no personal experience.

Looks like I’ll be leaving right behind you.

I fired a 2" .357 once. IIRC It was accurate.

It seemed to me the 24 ounce Rhino had less felt recoil than a 21 ounce M60, but more recoil than a two pound M13. Well duh.

Firing from the bottom puts much of the weight above the axis, but since all parts of the gun are connected, I wonder how much it's just that it's heavier, not where the weight is (target shooters put the weight at the END of the barrel not evenly distributed along its top).

Oh, and it seemed to me to be nearly as bulky (but not as long) as that 4" K frame.

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Certified Curmudgeon

Now that’s funny!

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

It's based on an earlier Italian design. I can't remember the maker but I'm sure I've seen some Forgotten Weapons vids on them as well as some other collector's YouTube about them. If I can be more vague in the future, tell me and I'll try to oblige...

The design concepts are sound -- but it is weird to look at! But hey, whatever works. Ain't no uglier than a Glock...

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Pisgah

I very much want to soften my stance on these. I can offer good and bad:

GOOD: the bottom chamber/barrel concept is completely amazing in my opinion, it absolutely re-writes what your hands believe to expect when you light off a .357 Magnum. For this reason and this reason alone, I dream and beg for the day when a quality manufacturer can tackle this project. I've handled three of these and shot two of them.

BAD: look at a cutaway diagram or exploded parts view... the design is intricate, it looks extremely fragile and ill-conceived. As built right now, I'm still worried even if a better manufacturer produced exactly this design.

WORSE: Chiappa makes two levels of products... junk and overpriced junk. I think the Rhino is of totally suspect quality and yet, I think it's better quality than the other guns Chiappa makes. Their 1911-looking rimfire pistol is such a joke that it redefines the term "joke." I would be embarrassed to have the name of my company on that rimfire pistol.

CATASTROPHIC: I broke one of these Rhino revolvers at the counter of my biggest LGS, right in front of the salesman and immediately after asking his permission to dry fire. Second DA trigger pull and the insides locked up. I was mildly embarrassed and I apologized-- he actually apologized to me and then said that it was far better to break then & there rather than on a customer's first range trip with it, and I definitely agreed.

"Their 1911-looking rimfire pistol is such a joke that it redefines the term "joke." I would be embarrassed to have the name of my company on that rimfire pistol."

Is it ever. I have one, nearly brand new. The best I can say of it is that it functions well. It has a very hard trigger pull (I doubt it can be lightened), and if you get a shot in the black at 50', it is purely by accident. More of a noisemaker than anything else. I paid $200 for it and would be happy to sell it for $100.

Another one? I don't think extras help.

I watched my friend have his thumbnail removed while shooting one. He was using a sort of thumb forward hold with his supporting hand as with a semiauto, and the gas from the cylinder gap did a number on his thumb.

He didn't make that mistake again

I've seen them but I have not wanted one in my collection.

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Life is short,live it fully.

Not for my money....

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"I gots to know"

I won’t hunt with a gun that embarrasses the dog.

I'm not so quick to criticize it without ever having shot one. My main concern is the complexity of the lockwork. I remember seeing a picture of it once and my first thought was "I'd hate to have to work on that."

Well, now, that's just wrong...

I find the firing from the bottom of the "cylinder" concept interesting. But over a century of firing from the top of cylinder has shown that that it works quite well. What you have here is a complicated solution to an imagined problem. You could also make a semi auto, self cocking revolver. WHY? In firearms, as well as most other things, the KISS theory usually wins out.

In case this might be of interest to the discussion:

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How God has blessed us!

I was at a writers round table several years ago when Chiappa first introduced a firearm. It was a 22LR of 1911 styling. It was terrible, wouldn't reliably function more than 2 or 3 rounds in a row, even from a sandbag couldn't hit a 12" group at 25 yards. Visibly not well finished and of "pot metal" quality. They explained the parts were all made in a foreign country and sent to the US where they were assembled, "Made in the US".

About two years later they brought them back, and they did function most of the time, but accuracy was still about as bad. The finish had improved some, but still did not give one a warm feeling of quality.

They have had some innovative designs, and if the quality has improved (I haven't handled one in over 5 or 6 years) may be a useful.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

WOW!!! Lots of info posted there. Thanks to all who replied. I agree, a face only a mother could love!! Their 22's and 1911 offerings make me run the other way and fast. Not much good being said about them. As for the Yankee Marshal, he does call it as it is on almost everything i've seen of his reviews. And after all, "He is a grown ***** man". Going today to reshoot the 20ds and look it over real well for wear as its a range rental gun. They are an odd bunch. I have seen the internals pics/videos. A lot going on there to say the least. They make a few models in SAR (single action only, CA & CT approved) and I wonder if it might cut the internal parts down to say, under 300 in that offering. Im still researching at this point and leaning towards the 50ds or 60ds if making a purchase. Im kicking around the SAR model as a safety precaution in the respects of it being different and if sharing with others on range day as to not put someone into a situation where the burnt thumbs can occur if not understanding its layout. ( Please no bashing on last statement, just thinking safety first as it is unusual). Please keep your thoughts and comments coming. Knowledge is King!!!

Thanks, Ron

Definitely watch the digits near the cylinder gap

I have a photo of the mangled thumb somewhere - if I find it I will post it.

I kind of like the fact that it looks like no other modern gun,
but I've read too many bad reviews, I'd never buy one.
Plus they're expensive (and maybe difficult to resell if you don't like it).

But imagine what it might be worth 75 years from now.

It looks like a lab experiment gone bad. I don't care if it turns lead into gold..I could never warm up to it. My Glocks look like Angie Harmon all of a sudden..

You have probably never seen a Mateba 6 Unica
The Mateba 6 Unica Autorevolver - Reviews, photos and videos at Matebafan



.....or the Mateba 2006m

AS IF A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE LIKE THIS, NEVER HAPPENED WITH A BRAND NEW S&W REVOLVER.....

JUST NEVER IN FRONT OF A FACTORY REP---BUT MORE THAN ONCE, ON A CUSTOMERS FIRST RANGE TRIP......IIRC

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Now that is an oddball looking revolver.

All the detective novel authors must have one, always writing "He snicked the safety off his revolver"

Not sure which is uglier..the Rhino or the Autorevolver. Hmm. They may be wonderful ...guns..but it just looks like a collage of various tidbits. The grips are ok... but after that...it doesn't work for me.. Nothing on the Rhino works ..reminds me of a flattened fish.

In the dark, no moonlight...

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Certified Curmudgeon

Beauty is on the eye of the beholder, but in a pistol gun fight, I will always want to have a Glock. Their beauty is in their simplicity and reliability. I have carried a G27 for over 25 years with zero problems. My duty gun was a G23, same reliability.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

Probably happened with a Rolls-Royce and a Rolex also. The difference...?!

Man's history has seen a volume of S&W revolver that, in number, is what--- a THOUSAND times as large as the production history of the Chiappa Rhino?

Alright. Let me take a stab at this as to not offend anyone. I did put a 50 Sar in black on layaway at Bgs. Given the internal complexity of this thing, I opted for a lifetime warranty since they only have a 1 year factory one. It boils down to a shipping charge I’d pay to send it in once if needed. Chiappa said they’d pretty much fix it for free if they deemed it wasn’t altered by owner. Not an extended warranty guy at all, but this did make some sort of sense to me. I put about 50 rounds through the 2” rental and it was as solid and accurate as any of the other brands I own. Time will tell. It’s just one of those things you like or love to hate things in life. If you’ve never fired one, I suggest you try it before you form an opinion on them. I’ve sent 3 of the last 7 brand new S&W’s back for “repair” before ever firing them. Everything nowadays is a roll of the dice. Guns are my vice in life. I could have worse habits, so I’m willing/ comfortable with giving Chiappa a try. I’ll post pictures and a range report when it arrives. Thanks again to all who shared on this thread. Ron

I just fired my newly obtained Chiappa 9mm with a 6" barrel. I shot 35 rounds offhand at a little over 7 yards. I used Remington 115 gr UMC range ammo. My gun is double action only. I found it soft shooting with a sweet trigger. Little to no muzzle flip and just plain fun. I don't know how it will hold up in the long run, but for now I really enjoy this "ugly" firearm. It makes a nice addition. Of course without pictures it didn't happen

Attached Images

	Chiappa 9mm.jpg (185.6 KB, 28 views)
	Chiappa Target.JPG (84.0 KB, 21 views)

Pretty sure this was sarcasm everyone. So please don't fully believe this.

The yankee marshal is an interesting character full of opinion, but I'm not sure I would consider him any kind of expert or even proficient enough to gain moderate knowledge from.

They haven't been his EDC for over a year. Hes carrying autos with red dot sights these days due to vision issues. Hes a huge advocate for electronic sights on handguns now.

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Who watches the watchers?

Hey rd97, Thats awesome!!! Great to hear it went well out of the box and is fun to shoot also. Looks like a pretty good grouping as it takes a "little" adjusting from the "normal" we know as revolvers. Please keep me/us posted on how things go with it the more you shoot. Enjoy. They just scream fun at the range!! Ron