NAA Guardian .380

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Okay, Lady and I have been shopping. Looking at Rohrbaugh 9's (oh, my, but ... the price) Kel-Tec 3A-Ts and NAA Guardian .380's. It is for her.

She likes the NAA. I'm not going below .380 and I'd prefer a 9x19. What are the problems, if any with the NAA?

She knows it might be a wrist biter, but doesn't care. Likes the heft of the .380 rather than the Kel Tec.

Go!

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Drawbacks? Only a couple that I can think of.

First, the sights are so small as to be completely useless. However, it can be argued that this is a point and shoot gun and not designed for anything else, so the small sight argument doesn't carry alot of weight. I plan on sending mine back to the manufacturer soon to have guttersnipe sights installed. Not really necessary, but I like 'em.

This design lacks an ejector. It relies on the next cartridge in the magazine to kick out the empty that the extractor pulls from the chamber. When the mags empty, many times you get a stovepipe on the last round. Not that big of a deal; you pop out the old mag, put in the fresh, and cant the gun to one side as you chamber the next round.

Recoil is not all that pronounced, but the bottom corner of the butt gets driven directly into the center of my palm. First range trip I shot close to 200 rounds through my gun and my hand ached for a week.

If this is being bought purely as a defensive pistol, then go for it. If it has the least bit chance of serving double duty as a defense/range gun, I'd recommend the Kahr MK9 or one of the larger .380s.

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Thanks, Southpaw.

This one is pp only. She'll run enough thru it to get comforable, break it in, then maybe 200 rds a year.

Her hands are small so I think the palm issue won't come up.

Sights? dn nothin bout no sights... Point and shoot. One question I might have is the NAA has a bigger "signature" visible than the Kel Tec. It might stop a BG BEFORE you have to fire. If I'm going along those lines, I might want to look at a nickel S&W .38.. Chief's special or some such.

???

 

[SouthpawShootr]

Actually, I believe my Guardian is just a tad shorter slide + barrel than my Kel-Tec 3AT. So the gun is marginally smaller, but quite a bit heavier.

As for your comment about the possibility of getting a chief's special, I honestly prefer my 642 S&W (stainless barrel & cylinder with matching aluminum frame). It's light, a little bigger, and packs a real whallop (for the shooter too, I might add) with +P 158 SWHP (old FBI load). Loaded this way, it considerably outstrips the .380 for a marginal gain in weight and size. It was also about $70 cheaper than my Guardian.

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Thanks again. I did a check on the Airweight. Not bad.

She isn't too effected by recoil, but the impact of the gun (ie Glock 19 hits her thumb bone because the double stack mag forces a wide grip) sometimes causes her problems.

I asked her how the NAA fit her hand, and she said the butt was fine, below her palm.

Ahh well, ain't it wonderful we have so many choices....

 

[MikeJ]

For someone that is only going to shoot a couple hundred rounds per year I would definitely buy a J frame revolver. The Airweights, 642 and 637 are excellent choices as are the slightly heavier 60 or 640, depending on whether you want a concealed hammer or not. Small autos, IMO, are not for the casual shooter if they can carry anything bigger.

 

[BluesBear]

The Guardian is a gfood little gun.

And the NAA Warranty and their Customer Service is unbeatable.

 

[jacketch]

The Guardian is a good little gun.

+1 on that. Mine always ejects the last round so I havn't had the stove pipe problem.

 

[Mongo the Mutterer]

Thanks, everyone. Mike J, she is not a casual shooter. She runs 200 to 300 rounds of .45 and 9MM each per month at the range, through autos.

I'm still considering the Smith, but looks like NAA 4 me.