The Chiappa Rhino is a revolver produced by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

manufacturer

Chiappa Firearms Chiappa Firearms, Armi Sport di Chiappa, is an Italian firearms manufacturing company based in Brescia. It was founded in 1958 by Ezechiele Chiappa as Armi Sport. Total unit production is around 60,000 per year. Its U.S. headquarters are in D ...

. The Rhino's frame is

CNC Numerical control (also computer numerical control, and commonly called CNC) is the automated control of machining tools (such as drills, lathes, mills, grinders, routers and 3D printers) by means of a computer. A CNC machine processes a p ...

-machined from a solid block of high-tensile

aluminium alloy An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two principa ...

and all internal parts are CNC-machined from steel. Chambered for the

.357 Magnum The .357 Smith & Wesson Magnum, .357 S&W Magnum, .357 Magnum, or 9×33mmR as it is known in unofficial metric designation, is a smokeless powder cartridge with a bullet diameter. It was created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, and Douglas B. ...

.38 Special The .38 Special, also commonly known as .38 S&W Special (not to be confused with .38 S&W), .38 Smith & Wesson Special, .38 Spl, .38 Spc, (pronounced "thirty-eight special"), or 9x29mmR is a rimmed, centerfire cartridge designed by Smith & ...

, 9mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, or 9×21mm

cartridge Cartridge may refer to: Objects * Cartridge (firearms), a type of modern ammunition * ROM cartridge, a removable component in an electronic device * Cartridge (respirator), a type of filter used in respirators Other uses * Cartridge (surname), a ...

s, its most distinctive feature is that the barrel is on a much lower

bore axis The bore axis of a firearm is the longitudinal axis through the geometric center of the gun barrel. In a rifled barrel, the projectile (bullet/ball, pellet or slug) will spin around the bore axis as it goes through the barrel. Boresighting is a ...

, as the Rhino fires from the lowermost chamber of the

cylinder A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an infin ...

rather than from the topmost chamber in conventional revolvers.

Design details

Emilio Ghisoni Emilio Ghisoni (1937 – 28 April 2008) was an Italian inventor and firearm designer, best known for his innovative work with revolvers. Biography Ghisoni was born in Pavia, northern Italy in 1937, and attended university to follow a course in ...

and Antonio Cudazzo, the Rhino differs from traditional revolvers in a number of ways. Stylistically it resembles Ghisoni's earlier design, the

Mateba Autorevolver The Mateba Model 6 Unica (often known simply as the Mateba or the Mateba Autorevolver) is a recoil operated automatic revolver, semi-automatic revolver, one of only a few of this type ever produced. It was developed by Mateba (company), Mateba, b ...

, and was his last design before his death in 2008. In order to reduce weight, the frame of the Rhino is made of

Ergal 7075 aluminium alloy (AA7075) is an aluminium alloy with zinc as the primary alloying element. It has excellent mechanical properties and exhibits good ductility, high strength, toughness, and good resistance to fatigue. It is more susceptible t ...

(an

), and the receiver is CNC-machined from a solid block of high-tensile aluminium. Virtually all components are CNC-machined as well; this manufacturing process yields a very precise fit with minimal tolerances. For models other than the 20D, the trigger may be used in either single-action or

double-action Double action (or double-action) refers to one of two systems in firearms where the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. *Double-action only (DAO) firearms trigger: The trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. There is no single-action f ...

mode. Only the 2-inch 20D model comes in double-action only. The external cocking lever is not actually a hammer as on most revolvers. Instead, it is merely a linkage

handle A handle is a part of, or attachment to, an object that allows it to be grasped and manipulated by hand. The design of each type of handle involves substantial ergonomic issues, even where these are dealt with intuitively or by following tr ...

used to cock an internal hammer, and immediately falls back into place after cocking is complete, minimizing the number of externally moving parts and reciprocating mass. An additional feature of this gun is, unlike most revolvers, it comes with an accessory rail (except for the 2 inch and 3 inch models), on which

tactical light A tactical light is a flashlight used in conjunction with a firearm to aid low-light target identification, allowing the marksman, law enforcement officer or soldier to simultaneously aim a weapon and illuminate the target. Tactical lights can ...

s and

laser sight A laser sight is a device attached or integral to a firearm to aid target acquisition. Unlike optical and iron sights where the user looks through the device to aim at the target, laser sights project a beam onto the target, providing a visual ...

s can be mounted. The aluminium-based revolver is available in anodized finishes resembling traditional bluing, as well as a version resembling electroless nickel finish referred as the "White Rhino". A gold-colored version was displayed at the 2014 SHOT Show. Firing from the lowermost chamber in the cylinder as opposed to the uppermost is intended to reduce muzzle flip by aligning the

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, as according to Newton's third law the force r ...

more into the shooter's wrist, rather than above it. A downside of this design is that it increases the vertical distance between the

sight Visual perception is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through photopic vision (daytime vision), color vision, scotopic vision (night vision), and mesopic vision (twilight vision), using light in the visible spectrum reflecte ...

line and the

(sight height), meaning the gun will have a greater

parallax error Parallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. Due to foreshortening, nearby objects ...

when aiming at close range. Another distinctive feature is that the cross-section of its cylinder is

hexagonal In geometry, a hexagon (from Greek , , meaning "six", and , , meaning "corner, angle") is a six-sided polygon. The total of the internal angles of any simple (non-self-intersecting) hexagon is 720°. Regular hexagon A '' regular hexagon'' has ...

(though with rounded corners) instead of

circular Circular may refer to: * The shape of a circle * ''Circular'' (album), a 2006 album by Spanish singer Vega * Circular letter (disambiguation) ** Flyer (pamphlet), a form of advertisement * Circular reasoning, a type of logical fallacy * Circular ...

; this is intended to narrow the weapon's profile in

concealed carry Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pr ...

applications.Mann, Richard (April 20, 2011)
"Anything but Ordinary: The Chiappa Rhino"
''

American Rifleman ''American Rifleman'' is a United States-based monthly shooting and firearms interest publication, owned by the National Rifle Association (NRA). It is the 33rd-most-widely-distributed consumer magazine and the NRA's primary magazine. The magazi ...

Variants

Chiappa manufactures the Rhino in a number of sizes, barrel lengths, finishes, and calibers; including a frame that is made from polymer instead of aluminum. * POLYLITE 20DS with a polymer frame * 20D (double-action only 2 inch barrel) * 20DS (double-action/single-action 2 inch barrel) * 30DS (double-action/single-action 3 inch barrel) * 40DS (double-action/single-action 4 inch barrel) * 50DS (double-action/single-action 5 inch barrel) * 60DS (double-action/single-action 6 inch barrel) Chiappa-Rhino-50DS

References

{{Reflist

External links

Chiappa Product Page with images
Chiappa Firearms Revolvers of Italy Weapons and ammunition introduced in 2009 .357 Magnum firearms 9mm Parabellum revolvers .40 S&W firearms 9×21mm IMI firearms

Design details

Variants

See also

References

External links