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MKS Rhino Revolver 20D

Virginia Citizens Defense League

Covington VA --(Ammoland.com)- Here is my personal experience with the Chiappa Rhino snubby (I have two – one with a black finish and one with a brushed nickel finish). Your mileage may vary.

I’m normally not much of a revolver guy, but I was intrigued by the concept of the Chiappa Rhino revolver, which was even more interesting after I watched a video of the gun being shot. I held one in my hand at the last NRA convention in Pittsburg, PA and really liked how it felt and pointed.

What’s unique about the Rhino is that it fires from the BOTTOM cylinder. That means the barrel is much lower on the frame and more exactly in line with your hand. The net effect is that the recoil comes straight back and is not leveraged by being above your hand, like other revolvers. Consequently the muzzle flip is miniscule, even with full power .357 magnums fired with one hand!

The felt recoil is also mild, thanks to the angle of the grips and the direction of the recoil.

The gun is unexpectedly light. Virtually everyone who has picked up one of my 2 inch Rhino snubbies is visible surprised at its weight, or lack thereof, actually.

The grips are very comfortable and the gun comes up to a natural point-of-aim, unlike many revolvers I’ve shot. To keep the gun slender, the cylinder has flattened sides where each chamber is located.

The double-action trigger is smooth, but long and a little heavy. I would prefer a much lighter double-action trigger, but it is workable and the single-action trigger is excellent.

There is no visible hammer on the gun. Where you would expect to find a hammer, there is a hammer-like “cocking lever.” All it does is cock the gun and then returns to its forward position. To remind the shooter that the gun is cocked and has a light trigger, an orange rod pops up slightly above the frame, near the cocking lever. The trigger is also placed in a tell-tale rearward position.

Pushing down on the cylinder latch opens the cylinder. It is a very natural and comfortable motion.

Because the gun shoots out of the lower cylinder, there are a couple of important things to keep in mind:

• You should NOT do a “thumb forward hold ” (weak hand thumb in front of the strong-hand thumb) on the gun as you do NOT want any part of your hand to be next to the cylinder gap. The blast sideways from a revolver can be powerful and the blast from the Rhino is guaranteed to get your attention. I always use a grip where both thumbs are side-by-side or one-over-the-other.
• If you want to fire a single round out of the gun, it should be placed at the 5 O’clock position and not 11 O’clock (as for a conventional revolver with a clockwise turning cylinder).

The Rhino holds six-shots of either .357 Magnum or .38 Special (.40 S&W and 9mm will be available in the future) and comes with a 2, 4, 5, or 6 inch barrel. The barrels all have a tall rib to make up for the low position of the barrel on the frame.

The cylinder, barrel insert, and the part of the frame directly behind the cylinder are all made of steel, while the frame is an aluminum alloy. The steel behind the cylinder is unusual and should give the revolver a longer life than other light-frame revolvers.

The snubby comes with a pancake holster and there is a leather inside-the-waistband and a Kydex paddle/belt holster available from Chiappa. Other holster manufacturers are also making holsters for it.

Some think the gun is ugly, but others, like me, think it looks pretty cool and futuristic.

The Rhino has either a black or a brushed nickel finish (called a White Rhino). The Rhino snubby is not inexpensive with a street value of around $700-$800, but it is an excellent gun for those who like the reliability of a revolver for self-defense and/or want a fun gun for a day at the range.

• Here’s the Rhino 200DS page on Chiappa’s web site: http://chiappafirearms.com/product/725
• White Rhino 200DS: http://chiappafirearms.com/product/726
• Here is a video of someone shooting the Rhino: http://tinyurl.com/7yybr5k

About:
Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right. Visit: www.vcdl.org

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Tennessee Guns International’s TGI-FPK, 7.62x54R
Review by Don Davis

Tennessee Guns International's TGI-FPK, 7.62x54R

Hawaii Concealed Carry

Hawaii -–(Ammoland.com)-Recently, I ran across an FPK (Dragunov-style) Sniper Rifle, 7.62x54R by Tennessee Guns International at a gun show in Florida.

These are built using new US manufactured Nodak Spud PSL/FPK square-backed receiver with riveted, gusseted re-enforcement plate that facilitates a US MADE Ironwood Designsstandard AK-47 butt stock and pistol grip (instead of the short PSL comb stock).

A refinished “category 1″ Romanian PSL parts kit and Excellent condition Romanian chrome-lined barrel, original Romanian pinned flash hider, TAPCO G2 Trigger kit, one 10rd mag and sling round out the usual offering. Note that this incarnation does not include a scope, like many of the PSL’s that are offered in the U.S.

Assembly
The barrel is 24″ which is right between the 28″ M91/30 and the 20″ M44 Mosin-Nagants that were more or less the original rifles designed to shoot 7.62x54R. The fact that the receiver is squared-off and lugged to take a regular AK stock means that any AK stock/grip will work. The original Romanian PSL receivers and stocks never inspired a lot of aftermarket choices. Since the original PSL receivers are illegal, per BATFE Royal Decree, the importers use a U.S.-manufactured copy that doesn’t have the 3rd axis safety sear that BATFE is so hysterical about, and ship it to Romania to be reassembled with a “demilled” PSL – in other words, all parts from an original PSL are transferred to the U.S. receiver. In this case, the opportunity to use a modified receiver design that is more AK-like offers a good deal more versatility.

Nodak Spud only made these receivers for TGI for about a year or so. TGI was assembling them from “PSL-kits” – basically by importing all the parts except for the receiver, and then upgrading the trigger group and furniture. Now, TGI is back to just selling imported kits and Romanian assembled PSL’s with US-made PSL recievers again; they no longer build this custom version in-house. I found this one sleeping at a show for less than any price I’ve seen on the web. I’ve seen a few FPK’s and PSL’s for sale on Gunbroker, albeit at retail prices.

Purpose-built
In the case of the PSL/PSL-54C/ROMAK III/SSG-97/FPK/FPK-”Dragunov” variants, they are not really a “sniper rifle” in the sense that Americans usually think of, i.e., the Marine Scout Sniper-type role. It’s intended for more of a squad-based “Designated Marksman” role. So, maybe not so much on the 1000-meter shots, but definitely will get out further than the 150 to 200 meters of an AK-47 or SKS in 7.62×39 – and even at those shorter ranges, more accurate and hard-hitting. At the same time, those in the market for this type of weapon should note that nothing figures more heavily into desperate, defensive warfare (civil defense scenario) than logistics. I’ve got a Browning BAR with a BOSS in 7mm Magnum that is REALLY NICE, but when ammo starts running short and the jackboots are rolling up on you in force, it’s a good idea to have something that will shoot what’s available (and what you can get A LOT OF on the cheap), and do it rather well.

Ammunition
Now, with some of the surplus steel core and commercial stuff I have, it does pretty well out to reasonable hunting ranges and somewhat beyond, say, 500 yards or so, since that’s about as far as any rifle range I’ve ever had access to will facilitate. The only one close to me here will only offer 100 meters, so this is a constraint on this particular review. I’d also like to get some 7N1 to see if it really shoots that much better, but of course, it’s much more expensive than the cheaper surplus steel-core Russian and Bulgarian stuff that you can get now for about $140.00 per 880-round case, plus shipping.

In Russia, Barnaul and Novosibirsk currently produce several types of specialty ammo such as armor piercing, tracer, sniper, and the ST-M2 steel core light ball, bringing this cartridge into its third century of military use. They also, along with Tula, Ulyanov, and Klimov, continue to produce 7.62x54R for the commercial market. In Yugoslavia, Privi Partizan and Wolf Gold are their branded military export production. Igman is produced in Bosnia-Herzegovina and there’s also the Sellier&Bellot/Winchester sporting cartridges, so it’s not going to get scarce anytime soon.

Thinking again about this weapon in logistical terms, a few years ago when the shorter 7.62×39 was available for less than half what it costs now, a lot of people were buying up surplus SKS rifles to shoot on the cheap, but think about this now:

• Russian SKS costs about $300.00 (up from $125.00 ten years ago, for a good one)
• FPK or PSL costs about $700.00
• 7.62×39, 1000 rnd case = $199.99 (20 cents/round) (up from $99.99 ten years ago)
• 7.62x54R, 880 rnd case = $139.98 (16 cents/round)

So, at 10,000 rounds, cost of ammo + gun breaks even at about $2300.00 total cost for each of these solutions. Anything over 10,000 rounds, 7.62x54R gets cheaper, with the added value of greater power and accuracy at range. Of course, you’ve got to determine your own stockpile goals, and three Mosin-Nagants at about $100.00 each can do a fine job of filling out a fire team for a fraction of what 4 guys toting AR-15 variants would cost.

Now, there’s not much choice for semi-autos in 7.62x54R. These Romanian PSL variants are about the cheapest. A real Soviet Dragunov SVD is now a collector piece that can run up to five grand. SVT-38′s and SVT-40′s are so rare, it would take a lot of legwork to locate one, much less happen across the right price – but of course I’m still looking…

At the range…Shooting the TGI-FPK
Shooting at 100 meters on the combat setting, I was 4 inches low and 2.5 inches left. I forgot my SKS windage tool (dammit) but it wasn’t far off, really, and half of that may well have been shooter-induced… After setting the rear sight up at 100m, I turned in the 10 round group shown, which I’ll call an avg. 1 inch low and 1 inch left. Again, that could just be my hold with iron sights at the end of a HOT day on the range, looking through shooting glasses… It’s not MOA, but certainly combat-effective and accurate as any battle rifle shooting surplus steel core I’ve ever seen.

The FPK fed like a dream, no jams or stovepipes, and that muzzle break takes just enough edge off the recoil. It’s more like a hard shove, as opposed to the full swing of a ball peen hammer hitting you in the shoulder pocket that my Mosin-Nagants remind me of with this same ammo. I popped off a few 10 round mags for as fast as I could pull the trigger, offhand for suppressive fire, and kicked up a hell of a dirt cloud, too. Fun, fun!!! Now, it’s a chunk to carry around, so maybe it’s not quite as nifty as a carbine like the SKS, but for these ammo prices and the extra firepower downrange, it’s worth the extra weight. It is what it is, and it’s not a carbine.

It’s a semi-auto RIFLE that is no joke, and I can shoot a hell of a lot more with this for the money than I can with the only comparable weapon I own, which is an M-1 Garand.

About Hawaii Concealed Carry:
Hawaii Concealed Carry is a single-issue group formed with the mission to promote the restoration of Second Amendment rights contained within the constitution, the right of the people to keep and bear arms. We are a non-partisan group; our only care being, whether people support the right of self-defense and defense of others. Our philosophy is that through responsible use, education, communication, and understanding we can promote a safer environment for Hawaii residents, while reducing crime, and supporting our fundamental constitutional rights. Visit: www.hawaiiccw.com

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