Rhino solid shank updates?

**Daniel55** · 18-05-2017, 20:31

A couple a years ago, Rhino didn't make the best finished or consistent bullet on the market, they also had a terrible website. The website has been updated, are the bullets finished any better in recent batches?
http://rhinobullets.co.za/solid-shank/

**Rigby** · 18-05-2017, 21:00

Very good performing bullets , but they will have to do a lot more to convince me with regards to there quality check and consistency , I have found there bullets in the same box to weigh different weights and have different length seating grooves .

**Stubo** · 18-05-2017, 21:14

Daniel55 good question. I bought a few boxes in 2015 and started load development with a new rifle. Also started reloading at the same time. To cut a long story short it took me close to a year of trying different things every other month before I nearly gave the whole thing up. I then replaced the stock on my rifle and bedded the action. The gunsmith recommended I change to Hornady SST's and start again. Within 2 sessions I was getting sub MOA. Best was .3 MOA.

I couldn't accept that the improvement was just the bedding so I loaded more Rhinos. Best I got was 4" at 100m! I then started to compare the bullets. Both 180gr .30 cal. I measured them on a concentricity gauge I had subsequently built and that's where all was revealed. The SST's measured less than 0.05mm runout (sample size of 30), whereas the Rhinos varied from 0,1-0,4.

I contacted Kobus at Rhino who responded very promptly, and constructively. I sent him the bullets after which he validated my measurements. He then went through his records and identified that back in 2015 they had a concern, but my bullets must have slipped through before they managed to contain them.

He replaced my bullets, which I measured and can confirm that out of the 50 I measured I didn't find one with runout >0.02mm.

So, to answer your question - yes, looks like the quality of product is greatly improved but moreover the service was excellent. To be able to pick up the phone and speak to a 'real person' and discuss a problem is super valuable to me. I'll be a Rhino fan for a long time to come.

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**Pirate** · 18-05-2017, 21:25

Stubo, how does your new batch of Rhinos shoot?

**Stubo** · 18-05-2017, 22:09

I've only fired 3 shots at the same load as the SSTs. They didn't group too well and I was hunting kudu the next day so stuck with the SSTs for that. I'll go back to the drawing board and develop a load from scratch for them.

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**Pirate** · 19-05-2017, 06:29

Would be good to know if you got them shooting

**treeman** · 19-05-2017, 08:03

I use them in Cody's .223 - 60 gr, can not say I got touching holes in testing, but was a 4 x scope at 100 m. terminal performance was great and a few hog fell to them.
I have some pictures of recovered bullets.

**Messor** · 19-05-2017, 09:20

Originally Posted by Stubo

He replaced my bullets, which I measured and can confirm that out of the 50 I measured I didn't find one with runout >0.02mm.

How?

With a new sealed box of bullets?
Does the boxes have date stamps on them?

Etc

**Stubo** · 19-05-2017, 20:25

I used the fixture below. (The wheel at the top is set up in this pic for measuring brass - for bullets I move it over the double bearings). The wheel is then lowered onto the bullet and rotated. The bullet rotates under the clock gauge.

I placed the needle close to the end, and the same place for every bullet.

The deviation from max to min is what I measured as runout. Consideration has to also be given for surface roughness, and therefore a sudden 'spike' does not necessarily mean runout, although that in itself is not desirable. It is the lesser of the 2 evils.

There is no date on the box, but it does have a batch number: A170118.