Chiappa Rhino 357 Revisited

[Erich]

Did anyone hear of reliability problems with the Rhinos, do they hold up over the years?? I have till next Tuesday to make a choice if there are negative points with the gun. Searching all I find is positive opinions. I reload 9mm so the ammo will be low powered, Larry

Hey Larry,
I don't shoot my .357 Rhino (which I've owned since it was released - mine was the first on in my state) all that much, but nothing about it seems to indicate an issue with it holding up (something that initially concerned me, being that it was an aluminum-framed .357) and I ran it with hot stuff. Based on that, I have no idea why you'd feel the need to download 9mms. That said, I don't know if you've ever seen the insides of these Chiappas - they're not the simplest (some great images here: https://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/Rhino/rhino.html ; disassembly here: [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gQiXoiMl4c[/ame]). If you want a guaranteed probably-won't-break/easy-to-fix 9mm for serious use that your great-grandkids will be using in their old age, you'll be happy with a Glock or an SP101. I don't have any reason to think the Rhino won't do it, but it wouldn't be the horse I'd bet on between the three types I mentioned.
cheers, erich

 

[Jebus35745]

Erich, I download for less arthritis pain while shooting. Just looking for any mechanical or durability problems before I buy it. Soft loads put less stress on the gun over time. Interesting video, thanks.

The only downside so far searching is the appearance which is not bad for me. Anyone else have some experience with the Rhino, Larry

 

[Erich]

Larry, gotcha. Although I'm sure you're already aware: the Rhino recoils mostly straight back and not so much upward. While this makes it really controllable in fast shooting for me, I don't know how that would affect your particular type of arthritis.