revolver review

Hey, fair warning, if you are a big-time revolver nut, you might want to skip this week’s review. I have personally fired less than 1000 rounds out of a wheel gun in my life, and quite possibly less than 500. So why am I covering a revolver? Because I bought one to correct that, which is the point of this exercise.

Hey, fair warning, if you are a big-time revolver nut, you might want to skip this week’s review. I have personally fired less than 1000 rounds out of a wheel gun in my life, and quite possibly less than 500. So why am I covering a revolver? Because I bought one to correct that, which is the point of this exercise.

The Florida-based company’s recently released Sidekick looks like a Colt, but its features and functionality take cues from more modern roots.

First, as many GunsAmerica readers may know, I am a self-avowed, unapologetic, fan of the Smith J frame series of revolvers. I have carried a J frame, of one model or another, on a daily basis for more than forty years.

First, as many GunsAmerica readers may know, I am a self-avowed, unapologetic, fan of the Smith J frame series of revolvers. I have carried a J frame, of one model or another, on a daily basis for more than forty years.

It’s ugly! It’s heavy! It’s clunky! It’s expensive! It’s unconventional! Yes, it is! But damn if it doesn’t shoot! The Chiappa Rhino revolver is probably the most uniquely designed revolver produced in the last 100 years or more.

To me, there’s something special about using a Colt 1873-style revolver. Part of it, of course, is the connection to our Old West history, cowboys and gunfighters, and all those John Wayne movies I watched as a kid. But there’s also a simplicity and a functionality to the 1873 and its single-action operation I find very attractive, as well as how good the revolver feels in hand, the weight, and the fine balance.