NAA Mini Revolvers

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Mr. Mosin

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Question for those of you that have one of these minute trinkets. I have only ever handled one, never shot one. The craftsmanship on the several I've dealt with has been top notch, every bit the equal of S&W and Ruger, and possibly better. My hiccup with them is that... they are *too* small. I can not manipulate them. I want to like them; but... I can't actually *use* them. If I want a small gun, the smallest I can successfully manipulate and handle quickly and accurately is a Baby Browning or the old IJ top breaks (J-frames being a *bit* bigger in my experience). The fact that I actually *have* a gun (tinker toy or no), is irrelevant if I can't actually employ it. So; anyone care to help me out ? What makes these tiny guns actually *useable* ?
 
Question for those of you that have one of these minute trinkets. I have only ever handled one, never shot one. The craftsmanship on the several I've dealt with has been top notch, every bit the equal of S&W and Ruger, and possibly better. My hiccup with them is that... they are *too* small. I can not manipulate them. I want to like them; but... I can't actually *use* them. If I want a small gun, the smallest I can successfully manipulate and handle quickly and accurately is a Baby Browning or the old IJ top breaks (J-frames being a *bit* bigger in my experience). The fact that I actually *have* a gun (tinker toy or no), is irrelevant if I can't actually employ it. So; anyone care to help me out ? What makes these tiny guns actually *useable* ?
They are very well made. Like a clock.
Precise but fragile.
I loved mine. It had the holstergrip. I shot it pretty well. Minute of liter bottle at 10yds.
I had to send it back to NAA the second time. After that I traded it off.
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My advice is to be gentle with it if you get one. I wasn't careful enough with mine. EDC is hard on guns.
 
I can not shoot my .22lr NAA revolver very well at all. My hand is just too big. I can shoot my slightly larger .22 wmr NAA revolver MUCH better!

NAA makes many different models. A lot of the models are the same basic frame with bigger grips / longer barrels. Unfortunately I have never seen any store that carries more than 1 or 2 NAA mini revolvers so there is no place you can actually handle the different models. I believe the Blackwidow and Pug are popular models because of their bigger grips. If you had a bit of woodwork skill you could probably make a nice set of custom grips pretty easily (I might do this for my .22lr some day).

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The black widow comes with an oversized chunky rubber grip. For me, it defeated the purpose of having a pocket gun that fit in every pocket. I actually bought small laminated grips to make the grips even smaller.

I dont have huge hands, but all I am looking to do is thumb back the hammer 5 times into the belly of an attacker.

I carry mine every day even if I'm not "carrying".
 
I have a couple, and the only grip Ive found to work well, is the Houge slip-on rubber grip NAA sells. It keeps the gun small, but has enough bulk, and in the right places, to give you good purchase on the gun, with just one finger.

I always pretty much blew these guns off, but after recently getting one, I now have three, and have a bit of a different outlook on them. I still see them more or less as toys, but they could be deadly little toys, if you work with them a little and are realistic about their use. :thumbup:

This is my PUG and the "shorty" version with that grip. Both are 22mags......


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Ive heard a lot of people say they arent accurate and you cant hit anything with them either. But I havent found that to be the case.

I shot this at 5 yards, and just presented the gun and shot at a steady clip.

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Same thing here, 5 yards, but as hard as I could go.

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The black widow comes with an oversized chunky rubber grip. For me, it defeated the purpose of having a pocket gun that fit in every pocket. I actually bought small laminated grips to make the grips even smaller.

I dont have huge hands, but all I am looking to do is thumb back the hammer 5 times into the belly of an attacker.

I carry mine every day even if I'm not "carrying".
Myself personally, I consider the ultimate BUG to a BUG to be something along the lines of one of those Ruger New Bearcat .32 conversions
 
I have a couple, and the only grip Ive found to work well, is the Houge slip-on rubber grip NAA sells. It keeps the gun small, but has enough bulk, and in the right places, to give you good purchase on the gun, with just one finger.

I always pretty much blew these guns off, but after recently getting one, I now have three, and have a bit of a different outlook on them. I still see them more or less as toys, but they could be deadly little toys, if you work with them a little and are realistic about their use. :thumbup:

This is my PUG and the "shorty" version with that grip. Both are 22mags......


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Ive heard a lot of people say they arent accurate and you cant hit anything with them either. But I havent found that to be the case.

I shot this at 5 yards, and just presented the gun and shot at a steady clip.

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Same thing here, 5 yards, but as hard as I could go.

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I write em off as a novelty myself. Baby Browning or 640 Pro is the smallest I'd go.
 
I have one as a pocket gun. I only have it because when I am working horse shows, I feel the possibility of needing a firearm for defense is very low and the possibility of upsetting a parent by accidentally exposing my EDC is very high, so the NAA on my person in the pocket and the G20 in a zippered pocket of my camera bag never to many steps away.
 
My shootin' buddy has two of the convertible cylinder mini revolvers, both with wood grips.

They are fun to shoot one handed, but they move a lot in my hand when firing magnums. Not so much with the .22 LRs. Plus, reloading time is somewhere between a Ruger Bearcat and a cap and ball revolver.

Thanks to that experience, it "quenched my thirst" for ever wanting a NAA mini revolver. But I do have an NAA Guardian, which is dense, small, and no easier for me to shoot well. So there I go. :p
 
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I own a NAA .22 Mag. that came with the small laminate grips. I gave a one-finger grip and the gun would roll and twist with every shot. I had to readjust my grip every time. I was thinking about getting the rubber grips mentioned, but didn't want the "stickiness" of the rubber. Then I saw that they sell aftermarket wooden "plough handle" grips that extend beyond the bottom of the frame. They make the gun look more like a western gun, but give a solid and steady two-finger grip. I can cock and shoot one-handed without shifting my grip at all. I even have shaved off some of the wood just to make it even more concealable. But having the butt of the grip in the meaty part of my hand does the trick.
 
For a while I had an 'Earl' with pug grips. Not tiny, but I could hit with it, and it was fun. I preferred the Bearcat though.
 
NAA just cam out with a break top version in 22 mag. Makes loading and unloading much faster. I think it would make a great pocket gun. Just read a rest in one of the gun rags about it and the author was pleasantly surprised at the accuracy. Looks like it would be fun to shoot
 
They are fairly accurate and I was rather good at 10 yards shooting 22lr and getting a fist size group center mass. I did find out that the bullet drop was very drastic and that I had to aim at the silhouette target at the head to hit center mass at 10 yards. I was never proficient with the 22 mag as I was with the 22lr.
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I have one, it’s nicely made, accurate isn’t a word I would use to describe it though. Somewhat violent for a .22, as should be expected for an under 6oz firearm with tiny grips and watch where you place your fingers or sharp edges might get you.

For a pocket gun I generally grab a 25 bobcat of similar size because centerfire ammunition historically has been more reliable for me and it’s easier to get out of the pocket, fire with greater accuracy and holds more ammunition.

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If weight is the ultimate goal they are light.

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but you won’t even double it’s weight with something quite a bit more effective.

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For me it’s not like the other stuff I always have on me is super light either.

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I had a 1 5/8 inch convertible. I put on the slip on rubber grips. For grins I shot the old Texas bottle CHL protocol with it. Max points is 250 points. I easily shot 250 with a Glock. With the mini, I shot about a 230. So, you can shoot them and hit COM at closer distances.

Folks have successfully used them in self-defense. If you carry one as primary, you accept its limitations.
 
My pocket-gun is a Kel-Tec P32. I own four guns that are smaller, a Beretta Bobcat in .22LR, a Beretta Jetfire in .25ACP, a Bauer Automatic in .25ACP, and a NAA Mini 1.125" in .22LR.

I can't think of a scenarion in which I'd be so attired that I could conceal any one of those smaller guns, but not the P32. If I did have to go smaller than the Jetfire for some reason, I would have to consider the Bauer and the NAA. I do not feel the Bauer is safe to carry "hot-piped", so that means it will require two hands to get it ready to fire. But, it will have six rounds, and they can be fired more rapidly and accurately. I could also carry a reload if I sourced another magazine.
The NAA can be brought into action with one hand, but is slow to fire and gives up a round in capacity.
So, those are considerations I'd have to weigh if it came down to that. Fortunately, it hasn't.

I do like the NAA, and it stays in a small "man-bag" that leaves the house with me every time, but stays in whatever vehicle I'm driving. I guess I could pocket it should I ever do become involved in something that results in the guns on my person being seized by law enforcement (or by a BG who happens to get the drop on me.)
 
I do like the NAA, and it stays in a small "man-bag" that leaves the house with me every time, but stays in whatever vehicle I'm driving. I guess I could pocket it..

You could also get you one of the old belt buckle... holsters?

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or the clip on “holster” that also effectively makes the grip much larger as well as the entire package.

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I love the Ranger models...don't like the price tag;)

I have almost bought one about half a dozen times, but I carry the BW knowing it's good for 5 shots and I'm ok with that as a back up.
 
I EDC'd my NAA .22 for 3 years. Now I only carry it on the weekends when I'm out in the yard or my shop. For me it was about having something absolutely 100% concealable, because even my LCP left a very telling outline of a handgun in my pocket until I found a holster that covers the outline. Now it's just a weird bulge in my pocket.

I always understood the NAA's limitations. Shooting it at distance wasn't a priority for me, rather it was a gun that would get shoved in someone's belly or in their temple and for that it serves it's purpose. But they are not inaccurate. I found that with a two handed grip and using my left index finger to pull the trigger instead of my right I could get some pretty impressive groups for a gun that essentially has no rear sight.

I've had no issues with mine and maybe 400 rounds through it. But ultimately stories of their fragile-ness led me to stop carrying it every single day.

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I don't carry mine. .22 is my last choice for a defensive round since it's not the most effective and it's certainly the least reliable round I have used. It's just for plinking and fun for me. My P3AT that I pocket carry is a much better choice in all aspects. Mine was given to me by a friend and while it could be used if you didn't have a better choice, it's just a novelty for me.

The two shot .32 in this pic was my dad's and he always kept it under the arm protector of his recliner.

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