loading ammo for the Chiappa Rhino 38 / 357

[jack1]

Hi. Is any one loading rounds for the Chiappa Rhino revolver in 38/357 for target shooting at 25 mtrs? What cases 38 or 357. what powder and how much, what bullet head level of crimp if any, oal of round and most important how is the accuracy?
Thanks

[1066]

Although I'm not familiar with the Rhino I can't see it being any different to load for than any other .357 revolver. For 25m target shooting I would use a .357 case, 158gn lead cast SWC bullet, bit of a roll crimp and a pinch of Bullseye (several fast powders work well). Another well tried bullet would be a 148gn full wadcutter, however you will need to check out your range rules - there may be energy limits and some clubs may not like wadcutters because they punch holes in rubber backing.

Accuracy shouldn't be a problem if you have the correct size bullet - Accuracy (or the lack of) with a pistol is usually the shooter, not the pistol. I would hope for groups of less than 2" at 25 yards from a supported position.

[jack1]

Thanks what would you quantify as a "pinch of Bullseye" Experience of old (pre 1997) was 2,8 grains

[tfb]

the downside of bullseye is that it is very dirty, and with the low barrel of the Rhino my hands are filthy after shooting.
I use 4.5gn in an 357 case with 158gn LSWC, a bit hotter than a pure target load, but works well in both the rhino and my underlever.

[FredB]

The old 2.8 grn of Bullseye load was used with a 148grn hollow based wadcutter, loaded almost flush with the mouth of the case. There was a lot of mythology about problems with using 38 Special cases in 357 Mag chambers. I have a friend who used 38 cases in his model 19 Smith from the 1970s up to the pistol ban and then shipped his guns to the Isle of Man where they still see use but considerably reduced. He never had any problems. I had a lot of 357 cases which I used in mt 686s but my favourite load was 5 grn of Unique with a 150grn bullet.
After the ban, I aquired a 357 Rossi and found that the hollow base wadcutter was not very good but the old faithful Unique / 150grn combination was still a winner.
Fred

[jack1]

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I well recall as a handgunner up to 1997 the loading of such as Smith and Wesson's (K and L frames)for such as Bianchi and 1500PPC I am interested to know in particular the loading of the Rhino 38/357

[lapua338]

The downside of Bullseye is that it is very dirty, and with the low barrel of the Rhino my hands are filthy after shooting

That's because the forcing cone on these Chiappa's is inadequate or absent. Poor quality control and sloppy forcing cone disease.

A member of our club has one. It spat lead everywhere and was very dirty. It was so unpleasant it would draw blood on the face and hands of the shooter next to him on the line. Since the forcing cone cutting (and checking of the alignment, depth, angle and finish) it no longer does this.

Why reinvent the wheel? It's expensive and doesn't function correctly out of the box. The only positive attribute is the sight radius and fibre-optic sights.

[jack1]

"Why reinvent the wheel? It's expensive and doesn't function correctly out of the box. The only positive attribute is the sight radius and fibre-optic sights"

Thanks for that informative reply. In truth I have not found any LBR that works well unless you pay for the £3K versions of a rebuilt S&W 686

[WelshShooter]

I'm not a fan of bullseye powders, they are dirty and when shooting indoors there's something in the smoke that stings my eyes. I've been using 5.6gr of Ramshot True Blue powder with a 158gr Truncated Cone in a 357mag case. A slight taper crimp is applied. This load shoots a ragged hole at 25m using my Marlin 1894.

The ball powder meters very well in a volumetric powder dispenser (eg RCBS Uniflow) and is a fairly clean burning powder.

[1066]

These are 158 gn TC cast lead shot through my Winchester 64AE. 5 shot groups at 25 yards. .357 case, 4.5gn Bullseye for about 1,040fps and 4.5gn Unique for about 1,020fps. I've stuck with the Unique, it's a bit sooty but I like it.