I stumbled on to a used but almost unfired 2" Chiappa Rhino for a good price a few weeks back. I finally took it to the range today.
For those not in the know, the Rhino is a weird/futuristic/ugly 6 shot revolver that's most notable feature is the barrel is on the bottom of the cylinder rather than the top like almost every other revolver. The lower barrel changes the recoil so it pushes directly into your palm rather than pushing across the top of your hand, thereby reducing felt recoil and barrel flip.
I had reservations but have been very curious since I first saw one. In a 26oz gun, I found it hard to believe that lowering the barrel would make all that much of a difference when shooting hot 357.
To cover my bases today, I brought a wide range of loads to try, and I brought my chrono -
some very tame 38 SPL 158gr LSWC handloads (4.2gr Trail Boss)
Remington UMC 38 SPL 125gr +P
Winchester Defend 38 SPL
fairly tame 158gr 357 handloads (5.7gr Universal)
Magtech 125gr Guardian Gold 357 Mag
Speer Gold Dot 135gr 357 Mag
Buffalo Bore 158gr 357 Mag (19E Short Barrel Low Recoil)
Hornady 158gr XTP 357 Mag.
Federal 158gr JSP 357 Mag
I had not ever shot the Speer or Hornady, but I've shot the Federal before in my M19 and M686 and it was right at the edge of what I would call fun. I typically shoot a cylinder or two and have had enough, so today I saved it for last.
Well, the Rhino lived up to its hype. I started with the weakest loads and worked my way up, and by the time I got to the Hornady's I was amazed because I was getting all the blast and noise of a hot 357, but the felt recoil was significantly less than my Airweight J frame 38 SPL. I was conservative with the pricey defensive ammo, but ended up shooting the rest of the box of Federal, much of it freehanded and some with my left hand. I could easily have shot another 100rds of the Federals before my hand gave out, which is amazing because like I said that stuff is pretty hot by my standards. So the Federals were actually kind of anticlimactic because I had shot the Hornady XTPs right before and the XTPs were definitely the hottest rounds I shot today. That said, the XTPs were still plenty tame and comfortable to shoot despite the blast and ear-ringing crack even with hearing protection.
I am just amazed. I would never have thought it would be so different from a standard revolver, but it's quite literally apples and oranges. My wife has gone shooting with me twice in 20 years together, but after a little warm up I would be comfortable handing her the Rhino loaded with full tilt 357 Mag. The idea that someone fairly inexperienced could handle a 26oz gun loaded with magnums is amazing to me.
Of course, the other big question is the trigger - it's very nice, almost on par with S&W Performance Center guns IMO. It's comparable to a Smith and Wesson, though it seems slightly lighter. The trigger is very wide with no grooves and it's very easy to scoot your finger down and get a little more leverage on the bottom of the trigger. You can also get spring sets from Chiappa that detune it depending on your needs, but obviously reliability may suffer.
I have to say as a result of this gun I'm thinking I may need to get a 4" version for belt carry, or maybe I should get two 2" and have that double small-of-back holster made. They also make it in 40 S&W, 9mm, and 9x21. If they made it in 44 SPL or MAG, I'd have ordered one already. I'm thinking seriously that the 325NG I bought a while back but can't seem to like may be looking for new home to pay for another Rhino.
When I get around to it I'll probly post some pics of the more unique features of the Rhino. I'd guess there are about half a dozen significant improvements over the classic revolver design.
Chrono:
handload 158gr 38 SPL LSWC (4.2gr Trail Boss)
676-608-572-621-630-638
handload 158gr 357 Mag LSWC (5.7gr Universal)
743-837-809-818-796-800
Remington UMC 125gr 38 SPL +P JHP
816-851-826-840-793
Speer Gold Dot 135gr Short Barrel 357 Mag JHP
1024-1042-1062-1052-1061
Hornady XTP 158gr 357 Mag JHP
1016-1007-1025-1031-1010
Federal 158gr 357 Mag JSP
1023-990-971-979-984
Magtech Guardian Gold 125gr 357 Mag JHP
1032-1015-1031-950-1020-1008
Winchester Defend 130gr JHP
671-668-745-738-766 (slow!)
Buffalo Bore 19e 158gr Low Recoil JHP
994-1000-991-1034-1018
Dirty gun pics after the range session
Terrible pic of my S&W 637 PC on top of the Rhino for a size comparison:
For those not in the know, the Rhino is a weird/futuristic/ugly 6 shot revolver that's most notable feature is the barrel is on the bottom of the cylinder rather than the top like almost every other revolver. The lower barrel changes the recoil so it pushes directly into your palm rather than pushing across the top of your hand, thereby reducing felt recoil and barrel flip.
I had reservations but have been very curious since I first saw one. In a 26oz gun, I found it hard to believe that lowering the barrel would make all that much of a difference when shooting hot 357.
To cover my bases today, I brought a wide range of loads to try, and I brought my chrono -
some very tame 38 SPL 158gr LSWC handloads (4.2gr Trail Boss)
Remington UMC 38 SPL 125gr +P
Winchester Defend 38 SPL
fairly tame 158gr 357 handloads (5.7gr Universal)
Magtech 125gr Guardian Gold 357 Mag
Speer Gold Dot 135gr 357 Mag
Buffalo Bore 158gr 357 Mag (19E Short Barrel Low Recoil)
Hornady 158gr XTP 357 Mag.
Federal 158gr JSP 357 Mag
I had not ever shot the Speer or Hornady, but I've shot the Federal before in my M19 and M686 and it was right at the edge of what I would call fun. I typically shoot a cylinder or two and have had enough, so today I saved it for last.
Well, the Rhino lived up to its hype. I started with the weakest loads and worked my way up, and by the time I got to the Hornady's I was amazed because I was getting all the blast and noise of a hot 357, but the felt recoil was significantly less than my Airweight J frame 38 SPL. I was conservative with the pricey defensive ammo, but ended up shooting the rest of the box of Federal, much of it freehanded and some with my left hand. I could easily have shot another 100rds of the Federals before my hand gave out, which is amazing because like I said that stuff is pretty hot by my standards. So the Federals were actually kind of anticlimactic because I had shot the Hornady XTPs right before and the XTPs were definitely the hottest rounds I shot today. That said, the XTPs were still plenty tame and comfortable to shoot despite the blast and ear-ringing crack even with hearing protection.
I am just amazed. I would never have thought it would be so different from a standard revolver, but it's quite literally apples and oranges. My wife has gone shooting with me twice in 20 years together, but after a little warm up I would be comfortable handing her the Rhino loaded with full tilt 357 Mag. The idea that someone fairly inexperienced could handle a 26oz gun loaded with magnums is amazing to me.
Of course, the other big question is the trigger - it's very nice, almost on par with S&W Performance Center guns IMO. It's comparable to a Smith and Wesson, though it seems slightly lighter. The trigger is very wide with no grooves and it's very easy to scoot your finger down and get a little more leverage on the bottom of the trigger. You can also get spring sets from Chiappa that detune it depending on your needs, but obviously reliability may suffer.
I have to say as a result of this gun I'm thinking I may need to get a 4" version for belt carry, or maybe I should get two 2" and have that double small-of-back holster made. They also make it in 40 S&W, 9mm, and 9x21. If they made it in 44 SPL or MAG, I'd have ordered one already. I'm thinking seriously that the 325NG I bought a while back but can't seem to like may be looking for new home to pay for another Rhino.
When I get around to it I'll probly post some pics of the more unique features of the Rhino. I'd guess there are about half a dozen significant improvements over the classic revolver design.
Chrono:
handload 158gr 38 SPL LSWC (4.2gr Trail Boss)
676-608-572-621-630-638
handload 158gr 357 Mag LSWC (5.7gr Universal)
743-837-809-818-796-800
Remington UMC 125gr 38 SPL +P JHP
816-851-826-840-793
Speer Gold Dot 135gr Short Barrel 357 Mag JHP
1024-1042-1062-1052-1061
Hornady XTP 158gr 357 Mag JHP
1016-1007-1025-1031-1010
Federal 158gr 357 Mag JSP
1023-990-971-979-984
Magtech Guardian Gold 125gr 357 Mag JHP
1032-1015-1031-950-1020-1008
Winchester Defend 130gr JHP
671-668-745-738-766 (slow!)
Buffalo Bore 19e 158gr Low Recoil JHP
994-1000-991-1034-1018
Dirty gun pics after the range session
Terrible pic of my S&W 637 PC on top of the Rhino for a size comparison:
