rhino.revolver
GrantCunningham.com - Revolver Liberation Alliance blog

GUESS WHAT I'VE GOT?!?

Wednesday, September 08, 2010 Filed in: General gun stuff, Revolvers

The FedEx guy was just here and dropped this into my lap:

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I’ll be doing a technical analysis here, and a shooting review for Concealed Carry Magazine. Stay tuned!

-=[ Grant ]=-

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2010 SHOT Show wrap-up, courtesy of the intertubes.

Monday, January 25, 2010 Filed in: Shooting industry, Revolvers, Accessories

A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME - Frankly, I've never found much of a use for Twitter - until last week, when I started following tweets related to the SHOT Show. It was one of those 140-character messages that lead me to these:

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They're from a company in Turkey called, appropriately enough, handmadegrips.com. The grips are of ebony, while the designs are inlaid metal and mother-of-pearl. While they may not be something you'd want to carry on a daily basis, you have to admire the superb craftsmanship. They'd be great for a presentation piece, or perhaps to commemorate an important milestone. Prices are incredibly reasonable, bordering on a steal.

MORE ABOUT THE CHIAPPA RHINO REVOLVER - First is this take from "Richard" at Guns, Holsters, and Gear. Then there's this counterpoint from Massad Ayoob. Since I haven't handled one I'll sit on the sidelines, but the stark difference in opinion is intriguing.

HUH?? - I'm not quite sure what to make of these. (Now it could be that I've been married too long, but if my memory is correct and my supposition of the target market is accurate, they should have a fur lining...)

NOW THIS I CAN GET BEHIND - I don't own any Magpul products, but their new iPhone case may be my first. Unfortunately it only fits the 3g/3GS, not my Original iPhone, but I've been meaning to upgrade anyhow. As Caleb over at Gun Nuts Media says, "now that there’s an iPhone case that makes hippies cry, I’m all in."

 LAUNCH PARTY - The Personal Defense Network held an official launch party at SHOT, and from what I'm hearing the industry response was terrific. If you haven't seen it yet, head on over and check it out. (Hey, join in the new forums while you're there!)

 SOMETHING YOU WON'T SEE ANYWHERE ELSE - I conned Gila Hayes into visiting the Chiappa booth, and she managed to get this great shot of the Rhino's open cylinder:

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This gives a much better perspective on the cylinder's shape. Note the crane lock sticking down from the topstrap, where the barrel would be on a normal revolver. Also note the unusual design of the ratchet.

(The Chiappa folks wouldn't let Gila dry fire or even handle the gun; the female person holding it is a Chiappa employee. One is left to wonder why an anonymous blogger got to play with it, while a well-known trainer and author - a person who's held highly visible positions in the industry for years - got the cold shoulder?)

-=[ Grant ]=-

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Some news from the first day of SHOT.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 Filed in: Shooting industry, Revolvers, Shotguns, Current Events

The 2010 SHOT Show is just getting started. I've compiled some of the more interesting (to me) tidbits about Day One from around the 'net:

S&W GOES TO THE DARK SIDE: I'm surprised that there's not more noise about the new Bodyguard .38. It's a real departure for S&W, having a cylinder that rotates clockwise like a Colt, an integral laser sight, and an ambidextrous cylinder release. There's a good picture of it at Massad Ayoob's blog.

THE RHINO GOES PUBLIC: Chiappa is showing the Rhino revolver in short and long barrels. Here's a pic from Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - those wood grips look great!

A DARN SIGHT BETTER: S&W has introduced a version of the 640, one of my favorite guns, with very prominent tritium sights. While I'm relatively agnostic with regards to glow-in-the-dark feature, the large front and deep rear blades sights should erase one of the Centennial's few criticisms. Again, a good pic from Gunblast. (Are my eyes deceiving me, or is there no internal lock??!)

FLYWEIGHT SHOTGUN: Mossberg has introduced the Model 510, which is a very scaled-down pump shotgun chambered in .410 and 20 gauge. According to Mas Ayoob, it "weighs only five pounds, if that." As you may recall I'm a big fan of the 20 gauge, and I'll be interested in taking a look at this. (Mas' picture makes it look tiny, but the guy holding it isn't exactly a lightweight...)

UH-OH: It wasn't all milk and honey for S&W. The FBI arrested 21 people at SHOT, including a S&W sales exec, for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The indictments were handed down on December 11, but only unsealed yesterday. (Interesting choice of timing and venue, don't you think?) Note the second line of the Reuters story: "21 arrested at Las Vegas gun show" Naaah, no message being sent to the masses there...

COLT OPENS THE DOOR??: Check out this little tidbit, courtesy of Massad Ayoob:

 "A Colt exec told me that rumors of a new double action revolver from this fabled old company are false…for now. He indicated, however, that both plans and equipment are in place for this to happen, somewhere down the road."

This doesn't sound like the Python is coming back, but it's intriguing nonetheless.

-=[ Grant ]=-

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Wednesday wanderings.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009 Filed in: Rifles, Revolvers, Current Events, Techniques & Training

From The Firearm Blog comes news of yet another AR-15 accessory: the Magpul AFG (Angled ForeGrip). Just for fun I ran it by Georges Rahbani, TBRIYNHO ("The Best Rifle Instructor You've Never Heard Of"), a man who's actually used said firearm - uncounted times - to protect innocent lives in a war zone. His reply was succinct, and one for which he's become slightly infamous: "Thou shalt not hang crap on thy rifle."

(We have a running joke about foregrips in general: we refer to them as 'Pharaoh's Beards', for their uncanny resemblance to a certain dead King of Egypt:

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If you're getting the idea that Georges isn't a fan of the things, and that I've been slightly influenced by his "less is more" philosophy, you're right. I do not apologize for repeatedly emphasizing that hardware is not a substitute for skill, no matter how vitriolic the response from the Mall Ninja Society of America.)

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The Management wishes to apologize for the previous crack about Ninjas. We do not mean the real ones, of course. And now, for something completely different...

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Reader Mik alerts me that The Daily Gun Pictures blog has some new images of the Chiappa Rhino revolver, including the longer barreled variants. Interesting stuff.

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I'd be surprised if you haven't heard of the murder of four police officers in our neighbor to the north. There is a training lesson in that tragedy, though it may not be the one you're expecting. I'll get to it next week.

-=[ Grant ]=-

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Wednesday wanderings.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Filed in: Current Events, Revolvers, Hunting

To all our veterans: my sincere thanks for your service and sacrifice. Enjoy this day knowing that there are people in this country who appreciate the job you do.

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Rob R. sent me a tip that Jeff Quinn at Gunblast saw the Chiappa Rhino exhibited at the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers show in Reno. (Scroll down to just about the bottom of the page for the pics.) Looks like they're actually coming, though no pricing yet.

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George Ure over at the Independence Journal has an interesting take on government holidays:

A couple of major insights usually come from Veteran's Day. First is that I've always held that if you give someone a day off to 'observe' something, then they ought to be honor (if not legally) bound to do some observing. I don't mind the bond traders and bankers that get the day off, but if they aren't laying flowers on graves, showing up at a parade, or in some other way honoring those who have paid freedom's highest price, then WTF are they getting the day off for?

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Deer season in western Oregon ended last Friday, and I have an observation. While I don't wish to sound like Statler and Waldorf, I'm not at all impressed with the trend toward more powerful cartridges for deer hunting. I've talked to quite a number of hunters in this neck of the woods, and these days the most common caliber chosen for the task appears to be a .300 Winchester Magnum. If one ever needed a perfect illustration of the term "overkill", that would be it.

When I was coming of age, if someone said "deer rifle" that meant a .30-30. If they said "elk rifle", that meant a .30-06. My Uncle Bob, one of the best hunters I know, used a .300 Savage for everything. To find a .30-30 in the woods today is something of a rarity, a little like seeing a red plaid hunting coat: "how quaint!" I can't believe that these calibers have become any less lethal over the last few decades, but I can believe that hunters have become less skilled. Why bother with skill building when you can buy hardware to compensate, right?

-=[ Grant ]=-

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Emilio Ghisoni rides again!

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 Filed in: Revolvers

From the Firearms Blog comes the news that Emilio Ghisoni's "Rhino" revolver is going to make it into production. The gun was first shown, with little or no explanation, at the German IWA show a number of years back. Chiappa Firearms apparently picked up the design from Ghisoni, and plans to introduce it next year.

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Ghisoni is the owner and chief designer at Macchine Termo Ballistica in Pavia, Italy. The company is better known by its acronym MATEBA, the brand under which the MTR8, 2006M, and Unica 6 revolvers were all sold. I do not yet know if they Rhino will carry the Mateba brand.

(A quick rant: the people who use 'Mateba' as a synonym or replacement for the model 'Unica' annoy the heck out of me. Mateba is the brand, Unica is the model. It's like referring to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint as simply "Microsoft." Yes, it's petty, but I'm complicated. Ask my wife.)

The Rhino looks like an interesting gun, and is certainly the most practical of Ghisoni's designs. Don't get me wrong, I like the MTR8 and would love to own one, but it's hardly a practical gun:

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The Rhino, on the other hand, might be a viable carry piece. We'll just have to wait and see!

-=[ Grant ]=-

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