The Rhino was originally introduced in 2010 and it turned heads. The unconventional appearance is matched by the unconventional design. The barrel is mounted in the bottom of the frame, and the round is fired from the six o-clock position. The purpose of the design is to reduce felt recoil and muzzle rise. The Rhino does exactly that. We received the new stainless 30DS Rhino with a 3-inch barrel. The Rhino is so unconventional in appearance that one person remarked it looked like something Deckard would carry in Blade Runner. Needless to say, initial impressions, and aesthetics scores, prove that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Yet, form follows function and when handled and shot, the Rhino scored very well in ergonomics. The rear sight is fully adjustable with green fiber-optic inserts. The front sight is a blued blade that is pinned to the stainless ramp and has a red fiber-optic insert. The sights received good scores, but everyone remarked that the rear blade needed to be deeper.
The double-action trigger pull was very good, in part due to the wide, smooth trigger. During double-action use, a red indicator, located in front of the rear sight, rises and falls. The exposed “hammer” is not a hammer but a single-action cocking lever. It does not move during double-action fire and returns to the forward position after cocking the action. The red cocking indicator remains in view when the Rhino is in single-action mode. A thumb lever, mounted high on the left side of the frame, acts as a cylinder release. Recoil, even with the hottest magnum loads, was tame. With an MSRP of $1,499, the Rhino scored 3.75 on value and price point, with consideration given to the innovative design and engineering.
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