I handled the 6 inch barreled Chiappa Rhino at SportsWorld this afternoon. I think the tag was $849, somewhere in that neighborhood.
I liked it, it comes with fiber optic sights and Picatinny rails at the top and bottom of the barrel.
The smooth, wide trigger is nice too. I did not pull the trigger on it though to see how the double action worked.
The grip angle seems a little off for me, but not much. I suspect that will be easy to change with a custom grip.
If I could I'd buy it just to see how well it works, I think it's intriguing.
I liked it, it comes with fiber optic sights and Picatinny rails at the top and bottom of the barrel.
The smooth, wide trigger is nice too. I did not pull the trigger on it though to see how the double action worked.
The grip angle seems a little off for me, but not much. I suspect that will be easy to change with a custom grip.
If I could I'd buy it just to see how well it works, I think it's intriguing.
I just glanced at the tag since I wasn't really interested in it, just curious. It was in the $800 range.
I sent about 125 rounds of .38 and .357 downrange through a 6" model today. Had a little issue at the end that SportsWorld sorted out in about 2 hours, not sure what the problem was and didn't want to tear into it myself being there isn't much documentation available. Did 300 dry fires after I got home and couldn't recreate the problem.
Anyway, the thing is unbelievably accurate off hand, largely because of the pointability and flinch reducing straight-back recoil that also allows for much faster and more precise follow-up shots. Standard .38 loads felt like barely more than .22's from a 617 or other K22.
The grip forces your hand upward and it felt remarkably similar to my Hammerli X-ESSE. The low sight axis is another interesting facet, it almost feels like an extension of your arm.
Trigger is definitely different than my Smiths, but overall pretty smooth in DA, both DA and SA are as good as any of my Smiths, better than a few.
Lastly, it's incredibly light weight being made of alloys comparatively. Interestingly, the breech face is made of steel to reduce wear, there is also some metal removed directly below the forcing cone to decrease flame cutting.
To be honest, when I had seen the Rhino announced I thought it looked goofy and was expecting it to be a kitschy, half-assed gun designed to get some looks (in my mind similar to a Judge or the new S&W Governor) but in the end, it's really freaking cool. I certainly wasn't planning on purchasing one, but after playing with it a while decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did.
Also of note, L-Frame Smith speed loaders will work in it.
Anyway, the thing is unbelievably accurate off hand, largely because of the pointability and flinch reducing straight-back recoil that also allows for much faster and more precise follow-up shots. Standard .38 loads felt like barely more than .22's from a 617 or other K22.
The grip forces your hand upward and it felt remarkably similar to my Hammerli X-ESSE. The low sight axis is another interesting facet, it almost feels like an extension of your arm.
Trigger is definitely different than my Smiths, but overall pretty smooth in DA, both DA and SA are as good as any of my Smiths, better than a few.
Lastly, it's incredibly light weight being made of alloys comparatively. Interestingly, the breech face is made of steel to reduce wear, there is also some metal removed directly below the forcing cone to decrease flame cutting.
To be honest, when I had seen the Rhino announced I thought it looked goofy and was expecting it to be a kitschy, half-assed gun designed to get some looks (in my mind similar to a Judge or the new S&W Governor) but in the end, it's really freaking cool. I certainly wasn't planning on purchasing one, but after playing with it a while decided to give it a go. I'm glad I did.
Also of note, L-Frame Smith speed loaders will work in it.
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Edit they said they had it marked wrong. Now $705
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