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Chiappa Rhino in 9mm


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14 hours ago, Fishbreath said:

There've been 9mm Rhinos for a while, but I agree. I'm still waiting for an 8-round Rhino, because as much as I like my Ruger, the Chiappas have enough cool factor to make me think about switching.

 

Correct - the gen 1 Charging Rhino as well as some of the "normal" models (the 2" and I believe the 4").

 

7 hours ago, Distant Thunder said:

I think everything they make is based on a 6 round cylinder regardless of caliber.

 

Yup. I wound up selling my 9mm's and going with all .40's because they're much faster to reload (bigger holes in the same sized cylinder).

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46 minutes ago, Distant Thunder said:

How do you like the .40?

 

I'm a fan, though literally none of mine are bone stock. The two main competition guns (4" for IDPA, 6" for USPSA) have Chiappa's "competition" trigger job installed, which amounts to a differently-rated spring and a lighter hammer. I also had custom front sights made for the 4", 5", and 6" by Protocall because I couldn't get the rear sight down low enough to match my load (though obviously I could have also changed my load to something faster). Protocall also reamed out the case shoulder part of the charge hole on all of mine; like a lot of semi-auto caliber revolvers, having a piece of brass that was even slightly out of spec would cause the cylinder to drag when I pulled the trigger. My moons drop like bombs now.

 

I actually like the triggers on them, though it's something you have to get used to if you're coming from a S&W, and the recoil mitigation works as advertised.

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They don't move under recoil. I've shot .357 out of a Rhino snubby, and it was like shooting an open gun. About as loud too.

 

The trigger gets lighter as you pull it though. It's weird. Which model deletes the single action? Does it improve the double action pull?

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10 minutes ago, PatJones said:

They don't move under recoil. I've shot .357 out of a Rhino snubby, and it was like shooting an open gun. About as loud too.

 

The trigger gets lighter as you pull it though. It's weird. Which model deletes the single action? Does it improve the double action pull?

 

The Charging Rhino and the 200D (not DS) are DAO. The Charging Rhino has an improved pull, the 200D feels pretty standard. I think they're installing the trigger kit in the Charging gun at the factory and that's changing the pull more than the lack of single action... but I don't own one any more so I can't check.

 

I strongly suspect they're simply pulling out the cocking lever linkage when they convert a gun to DAO and not doing anything else. I'll crack open the 200D some point and see if that's the case.

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I figured I'm one of the only people on the planet with multiple Rhinos so I went ahead and investigated the internals. The 6" gun is DA/SA and the 2" gun is DAO from the factory.

 

I was right in that Chiappa removes the cocking lever linkage when they build a DAO gun, but they also remove the single-action sear (it's just a spring-loaded lever on the Rhino). They replace it with a bushing to keep all of the parts under sideplate pressure and in alignment. I've pointed out the differences in the photos below.

 

50816019596_9c84365b7b_b.jpg

 

50816019411_0ed43fb6b8_b.jpg

 

50816019751_b73b156abe_b.jpg

 

50816019616_df54ddf36c_b.jpg

 

I don't think there's a huge difference in terms of action. At most, the hammer drags slightly on the single-action sear when rotating to fire. I'm going to see if I can order that bushing from Chiappa and convert the 6" to a true DAO anyhow; I've never cocked a hammer in competition. 

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On 1/9/2021 at 1:20 AM, matteekay said:

I figured I'm one of the only people on the planet with multiple Rhinos so I went ahead and investigated the internals. The 6" gun is DA/SA and the 2" gun is DAO from the factory.

 

I was right in that Chiappa removes the cocking lever linkage when they build a DAO gun, but they also remove the single-action sear (it's just a spring-loaded lever on the Rhino). They replace it with a bushing to keep all of the parts under sideplate pressure and in alignment. I've pointed out the differences in the photos below.

 

50816019596_9c84365b7b_b.jpg

 

50816019411_0ed43fb6b8_b.jpg

 

50816019751_b73b156abe_b.jpg

 

50816019616_df54ddf36c_b.jpg

 

I don't think there's a huge difference in terms of action. At most, the hammer drags slightly on the single-action sear when rotating to fire. I'm going to see if I can order that bushing from Chiappa and convert the 6" to a true DAO anyhow; I've never cocked a hammer in competition. 

 

 

OMG LOOK AT ALL THOSE MIM PARTS OMG OMG OMG

 

I kid....................LOL

Edited by SGT_Schultz
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10 hours ago, perttime said:

What moonclips do they take?

 

8 rounds would certainly be cool - but that is a big redesign. I suspect they can build all models on one frame now.

 

 

Yup, only one frame size. They use their own moons, though Chiappa's are worthless. TK Custom has two sizes - .357, and 9mm/.40 . I've used the latter in both calibers and they work well with Starline brass.

 

 

2 hours ago, Toolguy said:

The only thing it would take would be a different cylinder and a modified hand. That is assuming the cylinder is a big enough diameter to begin with.

 

That's the issue - you might be able to get seven holes in a 9mm/.357 gun, but there's definitely not enough room for eight.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
On 1/10/2021 at 9:39 AM, matteekay said:

 

... moons, though Chiappa's are worthless.

I have a 50DS in .40 that is a joy to shoot, sometimes do local IDPA as an outlaw with it, sometimes steel. Why do you say the Chiappa moon clips are worthless? Mine seem to work just fine with Starline or R-P brass. 

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1 hour ago, ben b. said:

I have a 50DS in .40 that is a joy to shoot, sometimes do local IDPA as an outlaw with it, sometimes steel. Why do you say the Chiappa moon clips are worthless? Mine seem to work just fine with Starline or R-P brass. 

 

It depends on how new they are. The older moons did an "okay" job (especially with Starline) but weren't as solid as TK Customs. The newer moons look to be stamped out of tinfoil and my brass literally falls out of them.

 

I used a mix if TK Custom and Ranch Products 646 moons in a match today (all Starline brass) and couldn't tell the difference. The RP's are definitely a cost-effective alternative to the TK's.

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Thx. My gun is probably around 4-5 years old. When I bought the Rhino I bought about 20 Ranch Products (RP) moonclips, and had the 3 Chiappa clips. The Chiappas fit tight to the brass and almost always need the tool to insert or remove brass. The RP clips are looser, I occasionally lose a round from an RP clip and I can usually insert/remove brass with finger pressure on the RPs. I’ve never lost a round from one of the OEM Chiappa clips. I only use Remington-Peters or Starline brass for the Rhino.
 

I was looking at TK Custom moonclips today and my Googling is what led me to this thread. 

Edited by ben b.
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On 1/10/2021 at 9:39 AM, Toolguy said:

The only thing it would take would be a different cylinder and a modified hand. That is assuming the cylinder is a big enough diameter to begin with.

Is the .40 cylinder any bigger than the 9/38?  I wonder if you could take a blank .40 cylinder and bore out more .355 holes in it to get 7 or more shots.

 

Edit: Or .375 or whatever  the diameter of the brass is

Edited by UpYoursPal
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1 hour ago, UpYoursPal said:

Is the .40 cylinder any bigger than the 9/38?  I wonder if you could take a blank .40 cylinder and bore out more .355 holes in it to get 7 or more shots.

 

Edit: Or .375 or whatever  the diameter of the brass is

 

As far as I've been able to tell, they use the same cylinder blank for all calibers (including both diameter and length). I know the frame window is the same for sure.

 

Assessing the feasibility of making a new cylinder is far beyond my skills.

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11 hours ago, matteekay said:

 

As far as I've been able to tell, they use the same cylinder blank for all calibers (including both diameter and length). I know the frame window is the same for sure.

 

Assessing the feasibility of making a new cylinder is far beyond my skills.

Could you measure the distance between the top and bottom strap?  Thinking out loud again, I wonder if a circular cylinder would have enough room for additional holes

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Dang.  Google tells me that N-Frame cylinders are a hair over 1.7", which is probably too large for the Rhino unless you just chopped off the top strap entirely and lengthened the cylinder arm. Oh well, that's too bad.  

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I went through the same process on a lark a while ago—working from a photo, I measured out a circle of the same width as the Rhino cylinder, and laid out scaled 9mm circles. You could easily fit 7, but there's just not enough room for 8.

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