One-of-the most novel of our time is back, with a longer barrel, nicer , and the same splendid accuracy!

Photos by Steve Woods

t’s hard for me to think of Chiappa ’s recently introduced Rhino series of double-action and double-action-only , without thinking of Ogden Nash’s poem: I The rhino is a homely beast, For human eyes he’s not a feast. Farewell, farewell, you old rhinoceros, I’ll stare at something less prepoceros. I’m sure the same lines have flashed through the minds of many shooters the first time they looked at this radically designed handgun. The four- legged rhino may indeed be a marvel of Nature, since we are told it has survived since prehistoric times. However, all Ogden Nash would have needed to describe this gun would be one more capital letter. The Chiappa Rhino is indeed a homely beast.

GUN TEST

With a revolutionary CHIAPPA underbarrel design that minimizes recoil, Chiappa continues its charge on the gun market with the redesigned Rhino 40DS .357 Mag, featuring slight modifications that WHITE RHINO only enhance the revolver’s .357 MAG remarkable accuracy.

30 • Complete Book of Handguns 2012 Complete Book of Handguns 2012 • 31 Chiappa White Rhino .357 Mag

Seen from any angle, The sight axis is very high above “the Rhino is an ugly beast.” the on the Rhino. But beauty is in the eye of the Note the “spurless” hammer. beholder, and the revolver’s quirky design stems from practical modifications.

By definition, cylinders are supposed to be round—but the Rhino has six flat sides, which actually does well to aid in ease of carry (above). The weight above the barrel counters , for better shot-to-shot accuracy (right).

However, once you start actually any danger of suffering a similar fate. The barrel is, after all, on the bottom instead of speedloaders in my opinion. However, its Testing started with Black Hills Blue shooting this gun, you quickly find out blued Rhino seems to be in also no danger the top, and the gun will fire when the six two-step operation of insert cartridges, remanufactured .38 Special wadcutter. that there’s nothing preposterous about it. of extinction any time soon; last time I o’clock is aligned with the firing then turn knob, is slower than the one- Despite the assorted brass, this affordable looked, it was still in the catalog. pin, not the 12 o’clock chamber as on stroke insertion and release of a Safariland round has earned a reputation for match- My first Rhino could be cocked to conventional revolvers. This takes some Comp III, and when you’re running against winning accuracy. However, barrels rifled Gun Details single-action, though it took a strong getting used to. How do I know this, you Master wheelgunners, you seldom win for optimum twist to stabilize 158-grain .38 Made in Italy by Chiappa, the Rhino thumb to do so. Its double-action ask? Sigh…trust me. I know this. with two-step reloads when the other Special and faster-stepping .38 and .357 harkens to an earlier Italian revolver, pull was heavy, but smooth. On the white The latch is a lever up on the guys have one-step. loads are a bit slow for maximum accuracy the Mateba. The barrel is mounted low, Rhino tested, the mechanism was the left side of the frame near the hammer, and Still, judging by pictures I saw after with sluggish 148-grain full wadcutters. lining up with the bottom chamber of the version that was updated to answer some is rocked back by the shooter’s thumb. I the IDPA World Championship, at least This particular lot of Black Hills Blue had six shot cylinder, not the top one. With users’ requests. It’s double-action-only, found it easier to work right-handed than one brave soul shot the match with a shown itself to exhibit superior accuracy the barrel so much lower and more in without a “hammer spur.” The pull weight left-handed. In fairness, however, I have a 4-inch white Rhino in the Stock Service with long-barrel .38s. Out of the 4-inch line with the long bones of the arm, the averaged around 8 pounds, and I found southpaw friend in Albuquerque who loves Revolver class. I know he didn’t win the Rhino, it put five shots into 2.30 inches. gun has much less leverage to rise upon it distinctly more controllable than the his Rhino, and he has no problems with World Championship—that went to Craig Three of those bullet holes showed signs recoil, and its lack of muzzle flip really has first version. It grouped well, and of that whatsoever. Officer Courtland Smith, Buckland, the current US champion, who of slight keyholing, meaning they were to be experienced to be believed. course, all those 25-yard groups were another lefty, had no problems when he shoots for Smith & Wesson and generally not perfectly stable and thus not flying The original came with a soft rubber necessarily fired double-action-only. tested it, either. Maybe I only find it slower drives a K-frame S&W revolver. absolutely true when they hit the target. one-piece grip, whose saw-handle shape because I’m not a natural southpaw. I’d like to find out what speedloaders I always take at least two measure- gave excellent Luger-like pointing, and I had hoped to shoot an IDPA BUG that adventurous competitor used with ments of every five-shot group: one for whose cushiony material made a .357 Working The Rhino (Back-Up Gun) match with my 2-inch his white Rhino. I think it’s time I tried all five, and one for the best three. The Mag load’s “comeback” straight into your There are two things the shooter Rhino, and just never got around to it. When the SL Variant loader with this gun. I decades have taught me that the latter hand feel as if you were shooting a .38 really has to bear in mind if he or she is the 4-inch came in this year, one of my have not given up on the idea of “riding a measurement allows sufficiently for un- Special. The stock of the 4-inch model is going to adapt to the Rhino. One is that first thoughts was shooting a regular IDPA Rhino” in competition. noticed human error by the shooter to slightly larger, but the same configuration, the currently popular autopistol grasp, match with it. I haven’t, though, because give a very good approximation of what and wood. It sits very solidly and slip- with both thumbs extended forward I’m short on the proper accessories. The all five rounds of that ammunition from free in the hand, but it does transmit toward the target and along the frame, universal-fit Law Concealment System Shooting Impressions that gun would have done from a machine a bit more recoil to the web of the hand. will be dangerous with this gun! That’s holster was comfortable for concealed I had been extremely impressed with rest, assuming no “called flyers.” Ten I frankly like the rubber ones better. because at least the forward thumb will carry, but isn’t fast enough for IDPA the accuracy of the 2-inch barrel Rhino, or eleven years ago, Charlie Petty and Fortunately, they interchange. now be in direct proximity to the gap when you have to shoot against Masters so I was eager to take the four-inch I did point-counterpoint testing to test The Rhino first appeared on the market between the cylinder and that low-slung wearing very fast scabbards. Moreover, model to the bench. The White Rhino this hypothesis, and discovered that the as a blued 2-inch barrel concealment barrel. It could cause a nasty burn even my preferred speedloader, the Safariland did not disappoint, at least with service variance between the “best three” hand revolver. My latest sample, the gun tested with a light .38 load, and with a high Comp III, does not work with this gun. loads. Please bear in mind that every held from the bench and “all five” from here, has a 4-inch tube. Like so many other intensity .357 Mag round, damage up to A turning-knob HKS speedloader in shot was fired double action. That’s the Charlie’s expertly set up Ransom Rest was revolvers now, it uses a sleeved barrel. and including partial amputation could the L-frame size will work with this gun, only way the trigger option in the test generally less than the variation between The additional 2 inches of sleeve appear result. Therefore, it’s imperative to shoot but not the slightly faster Safariland gun is designed to run. the different machine rest groups. to be an add-on, but it all blends in well the Rhino with the thumbs curled down, loader, which holds its rounds more rigidly. The best three of the Black Hills hits from the aesthetic standpoint. the old fashioned way, or at least placed The chamber spacing dimensions of the were in 1.05 inches. Given the keyholing This gun is rendered in stainless. up and behind the cylinder. L-frame are just a little off from those of SPECIFICATIONS signs, that told me that despite a less Inevitably, shooters instantly dubbed The other concern is that if you’re the Rhino. The loader I found worked Chiappa White Rhino than perfect compatibility between the it “the White Rhino,” and the name only loading one or two cartridges, and best of all was the HKS in Mark III size, Rhino’s rifling twist and the beer-keg seems to have stuck already. Shortly you’re an old-fashioned unreconstructed named because it fits the Colt Mark III Caliber: .357 Mag/.38 Special shape of the wadcutter bullet, there was after I started testing this gun, I was told wheelgunner, it takes a while to remember revolver series. (It also fits the much more Barrel: 4 inches • OA Length: 8.5 inches some excellent accuracy potential here. that a sub-species of the African Black that with this gun’s clockwise-turning popular Ruger Speed-Six series.) This is Weight: 29.6 ounces (empty) • Grips: Wood Next up was 158-grain Winchester Sights: Fiber optic front, adjustable rear Rhinoceros had been declared officially cylinder, the next shot to come under the what I carry my spare ammunition with Action: DAO • Finish: Electroless nickel round nose lead .38 Special. Over the extinct. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear hammer is going to be the four o’clock when I’m wearing a Rhino. The HKS is Capacity: 6-shot • MSRP: $896 years, it earned a reputation as a poor that the black Italian Chiappa Rhino is in chamber, not the ten o’clock chamber. The compact, and the most rugged of duty fight-stopper, but also as an extremely

32 • Complete Book of Handguns 2012 Complete Book of Handguns 2012 • 33 Chiappa White Rhino .357 Mag accurate . It certainly proved had completely exposed triggers and itself so with the Rhino. trigger guards. Think the classic old Tom Five bullet holes clustered in 1.50 The one-piece Threepersons speed holster design. inches even. Four of those were in 0.65 saw handle grip Consider the Border Patrol holster, de- inches: I suspect it was that “unnoticed points effortlessly, signed by one of their own, the late and similar to the human error factor” at work in the slightly much missed Bill Jordan. Therefore, I Luger design. strayed shot. The best three of those didn’t mind carrying the gun for a day, four hits included a tight “double” and loaded with 125-grain magnum hollow measured 0.45 inches center-to-center. points, in this rig. In other words, all of them would have It is a very pleasant gun to carry. The hit a .45 caliber bullet nose-on from a flat cylinder (yes, I’m allowed to say “flat quarter of a football field away. Needless Adjustable fiber optic sights on the cylinder,” because it’s descriptive even if to say, I was impressed. newest Rhino are easy to pick up it sounds self-contradictory) makes the The rationale of the Rhino’s design is and aid in the revolver’s accuracy. gun feel thinner inside the waistband. recoil control. It is at its most impressive There’s nothing on the gun that dug into when firing full magnum loads. In the me, even in tight to the body carry. The last quarter of the 20th century, the load extra 2 inches of flat-sided barrel seemed that earned the reputation for being the to actually aid concealment. The barrel most impressive “manstopper” was the against the hip inside the pants seems 125-grain hollow point loaded to 1,400 to to hold the butt in tighter to the body, 1,450 feet per second (fps) of velocity. The reducing bulge and “print factor.” full power 125-grain load I picked for the A friend of mine bought a 2-inch test was MagTech Gold, a jacketed hollow Rhino after reading the review. He loves point with a wide cavity at its mouth. the gun, and swears that when he carries Measurement of the whole five-shot it, it feels as if he’s wearing his little Colt group came out as 1.20 inches center- Detective Special .38. He says the Rhino to-center. I measure to the nearest 0.05 is rapidly spoiling him for other revolvers. inches. I strongly suspect that the old “unnoticed human error” factor reared its head again, because four of those shots Final Notes were in only 0.65 inches. I liked this gun. When I get a holster for But it was the “best three” cluster that it, I think I’ll try it in an NRA Police Service caught my attention. They were in a one- Revolver match. Times there are slow hole cloverleaf so tight that I couldn’t enough in that course of fire that an HKS exactly find the exact center of any one speedloader is no handicap. of the three bullet holes for measuring I’m no Ogden Nash, but I’ll say this: purposes. The outside edge diameter of Weird as it looks, it sure does shoot, the group was 0.40 inches: in other words, And for accurate guns, I always root. a single .40 caliber or 10mm cartridge An ugly revolver is this Rhino, standing atop the group would have But will I send it back? Why? NO! hidden all three holes. I would ballpark- I hope the spirit of Mr. Nash will guess that the center to center group What it lacks in grace, the Rhino certainly makes up for in performance, forgive me for being a little, uh, riposte- accuracy and reliability. When it comes to the ugly job of self-defense, measurement of these best three con- erous. If my poetic license is revoked, so it’s reassuring to have a Rhino on you side. stituted about a 0.75-inch group. be it. But the bottom line is, the Chiappa So, in summation…the white Rhino Rhino is a really, really neat little gun. is a very accurate revolver! I had heard on the internet that some of holsters for it on the market yet, and I liked the first one I got, and bought it, with folks experienced misfires with the new it doesn’t seem amenable to any of a credit card—so I could say I charged generation of lighter-trigger Rhinos. My the holsters for my more conventional a Rhino. I like this one, too, and I think ERFORMANCE test gun, serial number RH01802, misfired revolvers. The only alternative would be it’s gonna be staying with me. P on three cartridges. All were MagTech something generic. Chiappa White Rhino .357s. I’ve not had that ammunition fail I chose a Law Concealment System to light off its primers before. One round holster. This is in essence a flat pouch For More Information: Load Accuracy went off on the second try. The other two with a separator deep inside that Chiappa Firearms remained silent when hit by the Rhino’s allows the muzzle to optionally be tilted 937-454-0363 .38 Special firing pin a second time. All exhibited down behind the shooter, bringing the mkschiappa.com light indents. I took the “dud” cartridges butt forward where it will “print” less. Black Hills 158 WC 1.05 and ran them through a Ruger SP101 I The holster folds over belt or waistband HKS Speedloaders Winchester 158 RNL 0.45 happened to have with me at the range. to secure on the belt. It was not a perfect 800-354-9814 hksspeedloaders.com Each went off at the first pull of the trigger. fit; there was some slight trigger expo- .357 Magnum sure. I discovered that one would have Law Concealment System 800-373-0116 MagTech Gold 125 JHP 0.40 to force the trigger finger in to get it on Carry the trigger of the 4-inch White Rhino handgunconcealment.com In 2010, my blue two-inch Rhino while it was still in the holster. Bullet weight measured in grains, and Safariland accuracy in inches for best 3-shot groups came with a very nicely made pancake- Most today consider this a no-no. 800-347-1200 from 25 yards. style leather hip holster. Not so the However, many of us can harken back to safariland.com White Rhino. There ain’t a whole lot the years when revolver holsters routinely 34 • Complete Book of Handguns 2012 Complete Book of Handguns 2012 • 35