The Firearm Blog

Italian firearms manufacturer Armi Chiappa have developed a very cool looking .357 Magnum snubnosed revolver called the Chiappa Rhino Revolver.

It sure does resemble its namesake

Its angular design and the fact that it fires from the bottom chamber, unlike most other revolvers, gives it an appearance that closely resembled the legendary Mateba Autorevolver. Having a barrel fire from the lower chamber is supposed to help tame recoil and reduce muzzle flip.

Gun Holsters and Gear spoke to the company and found out that they may be available stateside at the end of the year.

Mateba Model 6 Unica autorevolver. Production of this pistol has ceased.

UPDATE: Daniel points out below in the comments that the Rhino and Mateba were both designed by the same person, Mr Emilio Ghisoni.

From the Rhino Patent.

Ruger have partnered with the Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) to produced a special edition Ruger Vaquero single action revolver. The SASS Vaquero is sold as a matched set (two guns) bearing consecutive serial numbers.

Ruger SASS Vaquero

The new revolver features a high-gloss stainless steel finish, the lower and wider hammer from the Ruger Montado and SASS markings. It is chambered in .357 Magnum and has a 4.62″ barrel. MSRP is $1459 (that is for a pair of revolvers) and will be available in August.

More info available at Ruger.

Click to enlarge

There are at least five bullets stuck in that revolver barrel. RugerForum members seem to think is a Ruger Blackhawk in .357 Magnum. The squib loads could have been low powered .38 Special rounds or very badly loaded .357 rounds. That the shooter did not notice it after the 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th round is crazy!

It is hard to see if there is a bulge in that barrel, a symptom of a round fired into a blocked barrel. I think if had been a semi-automatic pistol there would have been a disaster. A revolver can vent gas in the gap between the cylinder and the barrel but in a autoloader pistol for a brief period of time the gas has no where to go and the pressure build up would be considerable.

A few weeks ago I was shooting some old .22 Longs out of a rifle which I had not fired them out of before. I nearly crapped my pants after the second round when I realized to forget to check the spotting scope to ensure that the first round made it out of the barrel and hit the target. I was shooting iron sights and could not see the target. I learnt a good lesson. Always make sure you hit the target, especially when you are shooting low powered ammunition.

Thanks to Advocate for the link.

Crazy Einar aka Michael Z. Williamson once described the Colt Python as jewelry for real men. This 1977 engraved piece by Colt’s custom shop is stunning. A suitable fashion accessory for men and woman.

Unfortunately the opening bid at gun broker is $2500! How many AR-15 lowers can you get for that?

Click to expand the images.

The STI Eagle 5.0 and Eagle 6.0 2011 pistols (not to be confused with the Desert Eagle pistol) will be offered chambered in .357 SIG.

STI Eagle 5.0

According to the latest STI newsletter, they got a lot of request for this caliber at SHOT Show ‘09. I am surprised, I did not know that this round was that popular. The .357 SIG was developed in 1994 to replicate .357 Magnum performance in a rimless case suitable for semi-automatic pistols.

.357 SIG cartridge.

Wheel gun aficionados are likely to be appalled at these “21st century” single action Shooting Master series revolvers from USFA (U.S. Fire Arms) that will be on sale next year (2009).

There is not much information out there but they will be available in 2009 for an MSRP of $899. Calibers offered will be .357 Magnum, .41 Short Magnum and .44 Magnum. Customers will be able to choose from six colors: Coyote Tan, Sage Green, Forest Green, Federal Brown, Sniper Grey and Black Graphite.

Hat Tip: CASCity