I understand, the North American Arms Guardian has no safety - no slide lock - is full time DA. The long trigger draw is the safety. I heard it got very good reviews - easy take down - few moving parts - dependable. In .25, .32, .380, and two bizzare rounds ( .32 necked down to .25, & .38 necked down to .32 ). Any comments?
Any Input On The North American Arms Guardian??
- Thread starter jimsouth
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chicharrones
needs more ammo
I have a Guardian in .32ACP that I keep around for small pants pockets.
It is true that it is super easy to take down. It is also small which make getting a firm grip interesting.
Since it is a blowback gun, it has the same felt recoil in .32ACP as a locked breech .380 pocket gun like a Ruger LCP. One important thing about the Guardian and that blowback action in a very short slide is, you absolutely have to grip the snot out of it or you will have a stovepipe jam. A Ruger LCP is more forgiving with your grip strength.
My Guardian doesn't like S&B ammo so much due to their harder primers which will give light strikes. However, since the Guardian is a true double action only, you can simply pull the trigger again if you wish.
Two more things.
The rifling on the Guardian is minimal and the short barrel is short. So accuracy is paper plate size groups at 5 yards. That's okay for a gun of this type though.
The other thing is the gun doesn't have an ejector. Each fired casing is bounced off the next round in the magazine to eject it. Once the mag is empty you may get a stove pipe jam that holds the slide open. Which is actually okay. Just insert a full mag and rack the slide, the empty will fall out and another round will go in the chamber.
Anyway, the Guardian is a quirky gun and other pocket guns are better choices if those pocket guns will fit in a pocket. Surprisingly, I have some pockets that I can't draw an LCP sized gun out of. When I wear those pants, the Guardian gets the call.
It is true that it is super easy to take down. It is also small which make getting a firm grip interesting.
Since it is a blowback gun, it has the same felt recoil in .32ACP as a locked breech .380 pocket gun like a Ruger LCP. One important thing about the Guardian and that blowback action in a very short slide is, you absolutely have to grip the snot out of it or you will have a stovepipe jam. A Ruger LCP is more forgiving with your grip strength.
My Guardian doesn't like S&B ammo so much due to their harder primers which will give light strikes. However, since the Guardian is a true double action only, you can simply pull the trigger again if you wish.
Two more things.
The rifling on the Guardian is minimal and the short barrel is short. So accuracy is paper plate size groups at 5 yards. That's okay for a gun of this type though.
The other thing is the gun doesn't have an ejector. Each fired casing is bounced off the next round in the magazine to eject it. Once the mag is empty you may get a stove pipe jam that holds the slide open. Which is actually okay. Just insert a full mag and rack the slide, the empty will fall out and another round will go in the chamber.
Anyway, the Guardian is a quirky gun and other pocket guns are better choices if those pocket guns will fit in a pocket. Surprisingly, I have some pockets that I can't draw an LCP sized gun out of. When I wear those pants, the Guardian gets the call.
Grunt
Member
I had one years ago but it never really blew my skirt up and sold it. The "stovepipe signals empty" thing was an irritant to me, I wasn't crazy about the trigger and compared to my Kel Tec P32 that I also got around the same time, it was a fat, clunky and heavy thing. The accuracy wasn't all that great either as I recall. Needless to say, my Guardian went down the road by my Kel-Tec P32 is still around and doing duty as a back up gun.
chicharrones
needs more ammo
I agree. The KelTec design and most of its clones are better guns than the Guardian. I have the Taurus TCP732 (discontinued) that is much easier to shoot and much more accurate than the Guardian in the same caliber.
saltydog452
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I have one.
So far, it feeds, fires, and ejects reliably.
Should I 'just gotta' carry it around, its in some sort of non-printing hip pocket holster.
Buffalo Bore 32ACP+P (75 grain hardcast FN at an advertised 1150fps) is pricey. In my Guardian, Buffalo Bore functions as does any other .32ACP ammunition tried.
I figure that, although it isn't 'the best', sometimes it just might be the 'best that I can do'.
salty
So far, it feeds, fires, and ejects reliably.
Should I 'just gotta' carry it around, its in some sort of non-printing hip pocket holster.
Buffalo Bore 32ACP+P (75 grain hardcast FN at an advertised 1150fps) is pricey. In my Guardian, Buffalo Bore functions as does any other .32ACP ammunition tried.
I figure that, although it isn't 'the best', sometimes it just might be the 'best that I can do'.
salty
royal barnes
Member
I bought one years ago in .380 to use as a backup to my service pistol. It was heavy, so-so accurate but jammed constantly. I sent it back to NA and a month later it came back with a list of parts they replaced. I think it was pretty much everything but the slide and barrel. Still jammed on occasion so I sold it and bought a NAA .22 mag revolver that I carried in my back pocket for so long the left side of the barrel has a flat spot. It's still in my back pocket.
critter
Member
I have one and like it. Some drawbacks: heavy, kicks. Pluses: mine is 100% reliable, more accurate than it has a right to be, SMALL & easy to hide.
They are certainly worth a look.
They are certainly worth a look.
Had one and it was way, way too heavy compared to other pocket pistols like P3AT/LCP pistols.
Felt recoil is also much heavier than any of the locked breach pistols and shooting more than a couple of magazines at a time left me with a very sore trigger finger.
Reliability was not good with frequent jams with almost any brand of ammo.
The P32 that replaced the Guardian was a huge improvement in every respect but looks.
Felt recoil is also much heavier than any of the locked breach pistols and shooting more than a couple of magazines at a time left me with a very sore trigger finger.
Reliability was not good with frequent jams with almost any brand of ammo.
The P32 that replaced the Guardian was a huge improvement in every respect but looks.
browningguy
Member
I've got a NAA in .32 ACP, and a KT P32, I would recommend the KT to anyone. I want to like the NAA, it's well built and really feels solid, but the recoil is something that I can't stand. Even the little KT, which weighs about 1/2 the NAA has more controllable recoil.
Janos Dracwlya
Member
My wife has one in .380, and I have shot it quite a bit.
On the down side, it is heavy and it kicks enough that I have a sore hand (I can shoot my Taurus TCP .380 all afternoon and not suffer).
Accuracy seems at least decent, especially considering the kick, small sights and short barrel. The only trouble we have ever had with reliability is that it sometimes doesn't fire Russian-made .380 on the first trigger pull.
The main upside to them, what with the weight and kick, is that they are beautifully made and, even though I love my Taurus TCP, it just seems so cheap compared to the NAA.
On the down side, it is heavy and it kicks enough that I have a sore hand (I can shoot my Taurus TCP .380 all afternoon and not suffer).
Accuracy seems at least decent, especially considering the kick, small sights and short barrel. The only trouble we have ever had with reliability is that it sometimes doesn't fire Russian-made .380 on the first trigger pull.
The main upside to them, what with the weight and kick, is that they are beautifully made and, even though I love my Taurus TCP, it just seems so cheap compared to the NAA.
I believe I'll stick with my little Firestar .45 ( heavy for a small semi auto; but heavy is good for a very small .45 ); and it's been very very reliable. It also makes a big hole. SA , but I'm very comfortable with SA semi autos - all about the mind set. Doesn't take any longer to pull back a hammer on a SA than it does to squeeze a DA.
I was once looking at one, and thought I would buy one, as they were about as small as guns got back in the early 2000s, and more nicely finished than the Kel-tec (and at the time had a better reputation for reliability).
Then Ruger came out with the LCP which was more reliable than the Kel-tec and more nicely finished. It was lighter than the Guardian, had a lighter trigger, and recoiled less. It was also less expensive.
It became very very hard to justify the Guardian at that point, and I bought the LCP. Still have it and still love it too.
Looking at the Guardian n a vacuum, rather than in comparison with its competition, it's certainly a nicely made pistol. Just be prepared for the drawbacks mentioned in the previous posts.
Then Ruger came out with the LCP which was more reliable than the Kel-tec and more nicely finished. It was lighter than the Guardian, had a lighter trigger, and recoiled less. It was also less expensive.
It became very very hard to justify the Guardian at that point, and I bought the LCP. Still have it and still love it too.
Looking at the Guardian n a vacuum, rather than in comparison with its competition, it's certainly a nicely made pistol. Just be prepared for the drawbacks mentioned in the previous posts.
chicharrones
needs more ammo
I agree. Use and train with what works for the shooter. I like DA or the "fake" DA guns like Glocks, LCPs, etc., with no manual safety. Just my preference.
JERRY
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I had one years ago, would get another if I didn't already have a LWS.
check out this review. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzZXmhnHId0
check out this review. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzZXmhnHId0
Vonderek
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I got one of the early ones back when option 'B' was waiting 6 months or paying $750 for a Seecamp if you could find one. Was a Jamo-matic and had to send back to the factory which did extensive polishing on the feedramp. After that was reliable with several brands of FMJ and Gold Dots but absolutely would not fire S&B.
I used to carry it daily in a back pocket for a number of years but no so much anymore. Carried a lot and fired a little. Last range session the slide takedown lever snapped itself somehow so now I need a screwdriver to fieldstrip. NAA will repair but I don't know if it's worth it to overnight ship it back to them. All-in-all probably less than 200 rounds through it lifetime and two trips (or rather one pending) back to factory needed so I don't know if I would buy another one.
I used to carry it daily in a back pocket for a number of years but no so much anymore. Carried a lot and fired a little. Last range session the slide takedown lever snapped itself somehow so now I need a screwdriver to fieldstrip. NAA will repair but I don't know if it's worth it to overnight ship it back to them. All-in-all probably less than 200 rounds through it lifetime and two trips (or rather one pending) back to factory needed so I don't know if I would buy another one.
xXxplosive
Member
Bought one that went back to the company 3 times....after they couldn't do anything with it they issued me a new one....and that was questionable.....still have it as I wouldn't sell this to anyone else....would never bet my life on this...JMO.
I have a thing about always seeing an exposed hammer. Just the way I am. I like to see it cocked or laying down. My Firestar has one of the fastest take downs of any design I have ever seen. Move back the slide a tad till the little line on the slide is in sinc with the line on the frame ( more or less ; you develop the feel ). Pop out the slide lock and it falls apart. Can do it tin the dark.
sgt127
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I have an early one. Very nicely made little gun. I swear, it's getting more unreliable. It's not had that many rounds through it (couple hundred maybe). I would not carry it for self defense. I may send it back. I swear, at one time, it was more reliable.
Have you ever replaced the recoil spring?
The Guardian and the Autauga Arms pistols were both efforts to make cash in on the Seecamp design. The Guardian adds a push button mag release and sites, which may make it more attractive to people who forgot they are buying a pocket gun.
I don't see why you wouldn't just pony up the extra bucks for the Seecamp - it is smaller and lighter with a better reputation.
The Keltec is another way to go, but with a 5 pound trigger, it isn't really a pocket gun.
I don't see why you wouldn't just pony up the extra bucks for the Seecamp - it is smaller and lighter with a better reputation.
The Keltec is another way to go, but with a 5 pound trigger, it isn't really a pocket gun.
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