Chiappa Adds 10mm Revolvers

If you’re a 10mm fan, Chiappa recently added a couple of unexpected options that you might be interested in. The unique Chiappa 30DS and 60DS Rhino revolvers are now available in 10mm auto.

Chiappa Rhinos are unique in that they fire from the lowest chamber of the cylinder, rather than the top, like most revolvers. This keeps the bore access low and reduces felt recoil. It also makes for a rather distinctive appearance. When you see a Rhino, you really can’t mistake it for anything else. Unless maybe it’s the Mateba, which was an earlier design from the Rhino’s Italian creator, Antonio Cudazzo.

The Rhinos are made in Italy and feature aluminum CNC-manufactured frames and steel CNC-manufactured barrel, cylinder, and other parts. Even the cylinder on the Rhino is different, being hexagonal in shape. Capacity on the new models is 6 rounds, pretty standard revolver fare. Sights are adjustable with green fiber optic inserts.

The Rhino is a double/single-action revolver, but even that has an eccentric touch to it. While it looks like the Rhino has a typical exposed hammer, things aren’t what they seem. The hammer is actually internal on the Rhino. What you see is just a cocking handle that cocks the internal hammer when you thumb it back. Once you cock it, the linkage falls back into place.

It seems odd, but it somehow helps minimize the number of external moving parts. When you fire the gun in double action, the cocking piece does not move. There’s actually a good video from 3dGunner that shows how the mechanism works if you’re curious.

The Rhino 30DS and 60DS

The two models available in 10mm will be the 30DS and 60DS. While they share the base features I just talked about, they differ in details. The 30DS has a 3-inch barrel. It comes in a satin nickel finish and has a compact black rubber grip.

Chiappa 30DS Specs

The 60DS features a 6-inch barrel. It comes with a black anodized frame and blued cylinder. The 60DS also has a Picatinny rail on the top and bottom of the barrel for optics and light mounting. The bigger Rhino has a larger walnut grip.

Chiappa 60DS Specs

Rhino Accessories

Chiappa doesn’t list it in the details on their website, but presumably the 10mm uses moon clips, like their 9mm and .40 S&W revolvers. With it using moon clips, that means you should be able to shoot .40 S&W out of it as well, like you can with other 10mm clip-based revolvers. I have a lot of .40 ammo on hand, so that’s appealing to me.

Another neat accessory to consider is the resin grip from Neon Forest Industries. The Chiappa Rhino already has a sci-fi look to it. Plus, 10mm is a popular caliber in sci-fi and post-apocalypse settings. The Neon Forest resin grip comes in an amber color and gives off a Bladerunner vibe. The iconic PKD, or M2019 blaster, has that same style grip. If you like that vibe, you can get a Neon Forest grip for $99.99 and start looking for rogue replicants on your own.

Okay, $100 for a set of grips isn’t cheap, but like the Chiappa itself, they are unique. Considering that MSRP on the 60DS is $1,419.26, and the 30DS is $1,405.93, that seems in line with the overall pricing. Hey, it’s Italian. What do you expect? It isn’t the cheapest 10mm on the market, but it is definitely one of the most unusual ones you’ll see.