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Never Say Never: New to Me NAA Mini Revolver

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Tallball

Tallball

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Oct 2, 2014
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I never thought I'd buy one of these things. I don't work outside or go fishing or something every day, where I might need to shoot a snake or a rabid critter or an aluminum can. My hands are XL, and those little NAA's are tiny. J-frames are borderline too small for me, and they're gigantic in comparison. I've teased my friends who considered buying such a tiny and absurd little rat shooter. But...

I was at the LGS earlier today with my daughter to pick up a fun revolver I'd ordered. My friend there had three of those little NAA's for sale in his used counter for $195 apiece. They all looked to be in pretty good shape, so I started handling one. Certain things happened then that were apparently beyond my (very weak) will to resist. My daughter said that they were "very cute and cool" and probably fun to shoot. My friend said, "Tell you what, man... I'd let you have one for $160." Then suddenly the paperwork I'd been filling out had two guns on it... and before I knew it I was sitting in my ancient dented Ford with a tiny little revolver in my pocket and my daughter telling me we should go out for sushi to celebrate.

Now I'm at home with a bit of leftover sushi in the fridge (nope, she's eaten it already) and this teeny tiny little 22 revolver.

If you own one or have owned one, I'd love advice on a few details:

What's the best way to hold this thing so that you can shoot it accurately?

Was there a kind of ammo that yours particularly liked or didn't like?

What kind of accuracy can I hope for at 20 feet firing offhand?

I don't intend to carry it, but never say never. One day maybe I'll decide to take it fishing or something. If so, does anyone have a favorite holster and/or carry method?

(I asked my friend to give me whichever one he figured was the best of the three. He was considering this one, and my daughter quickly said that it had the prettiest grips, so it's the one that came home with me.)

NAA Mini 22lr

NAA Mini 22lr

 
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I have one. I use it for at the drs office or the like where I cannot conceal a larger gun.

I have had one in the past that offered me no issues. The current one leads fiercely, atleast with the limited rounds I've fired.

22 short is more controllable. Long rifle is okay though. But I have been able to hit a 2/3 IPSC at 25 yards. From a shorter distance, say 10 yards, I consistently could hit or nearly hit and move a coke can with the previous one. The new one won't do that good. Maybe it's that im out of practice or maybe it's the gun.

On the previous one, I had the mainspring break, and was sent the replacement. I also had the ball detent fall out of the base pin. I was sent a new base pin.
 
I can hit cans reliably at 30-50 feet if I pay attention to what I'm doing. It took a bit to get a feel, but like most guns - probably more accurate than I am. I have big hands and I got one of the fold out grips, and just clip the thing in my shorts pocket. The fold out grip feels a bit weird at first, but it is the size of a full size grip.
 
The first one of those I ever saw was one a friend of mine won in some kind of silly contest, the pistol being a part of the vein of the "silly" part. His was a .22 Short only as I recall. To shoot it comfortably, I learned to hold it between the thumb and forefinger of the shooting hand, and press the trigger with the forefinger of the off hand. Save powder burns this way. We aimed at the ground and hit it with every shot.

Bob Wright
 
Get holster grips. I had an NAA Mini 22LR, 1 1/8" barrel, with rubber pebbled grips and I couldn't keep hold of it to save my life. I put the NAA holster grip on it and it made all the difference, I can actually hit something at 7 yards. The Magnum frame is a little better because the grip is slightly longer and you can get at least *some* grip on it. Here's the NAA link, you can find them on Amazon and elsewhere as well: https://northamericanarms.com/shop/accessories/ghg-lc/
 
They are what they are. A tiny 5 try icepick that you can conceal anywhere.

I carried one for years as a last ditch weapon at work.
upload_2021-7-9_18-19-34.jpeg

these grips made a marked improvement without wrecking the conceal ability.

I carried it in a Newt Livesay holster under my body armor.

upload_2021-7-9_18-23-47.jpeg

In hindsight, I’d get one of the many out there now that either carry muzzle down or, horizontally. But, the neck holster is a neat way to carry one. I used a leather string that would break before I got strangled with it. P cord struck me as not a good idea.

upload_2021-7-9_18-26-58.jpeg upload_2021-7-9_18-26-58.jpeg

That was a double ended pouch I made for a dear friend who wanted a “always with me, anywhere” gun.

I can fire all five rounds in under a second. **Edit..a little over a second.**(If you don’t mind a little soot and cylinder blast on your finger).

Hold the gun like a syringe. Index finger on top strap. Middle finger depressing trigger. Off hand thumb fans the hammer.

Safest way to fire one? No. Solid grip? Very. Wear gloves. But, it’s a neat trick.
 
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I have three of the 22 mag versions. These are another one of those "whats the point" guns that turned out to be a pleasant surprise. They really are well made, solid little guns.

Once you figure them out, they actually shoot quite well. I found with mine that have the simple post and no rear notch, you cant use the front sight for "elevation", only horizontal alignment. If I actually "aim", I sight down the top strap and the elevation seems to be right about on. I just use the post for horizontal alignment.

The one gun I have is a PUG, and it came with XS "big dot" sights on it, and it is more traditionally "aimed".

I dont see the point in trying to shoot them two handed. They are a one (middle) finger hold, point and shoot gun, and they do shoot quite well that way too. At 5 yards or so, I have no trouble shooting quickly and keeping them all centered in the head portion of a silhouette target.

My PUG came with a slightly over size, rubber Houge grip on it, which makes them a lot easier to get a hold of, and feel more positive in your hand. My other guns came with some different wood grips, and they dont compare to the Houges. NAA offers them as an alternative, and Ive replaced them all with those.
 
Carried one for years as a last ditch, backup. Fit well in a cigarette pack in my shirt pocket..........wannabe experts'l criticize to no end, but keep Wabaugh's 'Onion fields' in your mind!

Capability? Depends, I killed a downed and struggling with the hunter's 4 point deer with mine...........behind the ear did wonders for his attitude!!
 
Waveski said:
Really? That's bordering Miculek country.
Now , that would be worth a video.
Click to expand...
I lied.
I’m out of practice. And, older. About 1.2 ish seconds?

I’ll actually try it with a shot timer next time. But, the video (see next post) I made is a good example.
 
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I got my first NAA Mini in 1999 and now own all three calibers. The wooden boot grips are excellent for increased management. The sighting scheme is to set the whole front post on the frame plane, not just the top. Despite some "experts" on this site, you are far from unarmed with a Mini and discreet carry.
 
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I have one I bought maybe two years ago. Upgraded to the larger, engraved boot grips (mine is the same as the OP's, with the "regular" 1.125-inch barrel.) I shot it okay before changing the grips, but have to admit that I haven't shot it since. I pop it into the watch pocket of my jeans every now and then when doing yard work or on the trail (though I always have at least one bigger gun on me.) I consider it a very nicely-made piece of man-jewelry.

I bought another one earlier this year, the 2.5-inch-barreled 1860-250 Sheriff, in .22WMR. I wanted one in WMR, and chose this model as kind of a tribute to the LE profession, particularly to the old-time sheriffs of days gone by. It came with smooth boot grips, and I promptly swapped them out for a pair of genuine elk stags from NAA. Darn handsome, but not sure how much I'm gonna like them when I actually shoot the gun. ;)
 
In an article written long ago by Ross Seyfried he said he found the best way to shoot one of these was to put his left thumb on the backstrap and then wrap his right hand around that and that gave him an extended grip. He stated he could hit a cowboy hat at 100 yards shooting that way. I don't know if it works or not. I have never even handled one of the guns. But if I did buy one it would be one of the larger versions.

I even gave serious thought to buying one. I had NAA send me one of their catalogs and the pictures of the guns were full size. So I laid my Beretta 950 25acp over the picture of one of the smaller guns and the size was the same for all intents. And that killed the deal. Why would I want a 5 shot single action when I already had a 9 shot auto that the only real difference was 2-3 more ounces of weight? But yes they are built like jewels.
 
Had one in 22lr for near 30 years. Carried as a last ditch, close and personal arm, usually in a pocket holster. Fairly easy to put 5 rounds into 12 inches at 5 feet.

I've tried a lot of different ammo, and really prefer ~720fps subsonic rounds. Used to have cbee, ran out, now use cci's subsonic.
 
amp-rat said:
Had one in 22lr for near 30 years. Carried as a last ditch, close and personal arm, usually in a pocket holster. Fairly easy to put 5 rounds into 12 inches at 5 feet.

I've tried a lot of different ammo, and really prefer ~720fps subsonic rounds. Used to have cbee, ran out, now use cci's subsonic.
Click to expand...

You carried it for personal defense and loaded it with CB caps and subsonics?
 
ThomasT said:
In an article written long ago by Ross Seyfried he said he found the best way to shoot one of these was to put his left thumb on the backstrap and then wrap his right hand around that and that gave him an extended grip. He stated he could hit a cowboy hat at 100 yards shooting that way. I don't know if it works or not. I have never even handled one of the guns. But if I did buy one it would be one of the larger versions.

I even gave serious thought to buying one. I had NAA send me one of their catalogs and the pictures of the guns were full size. So I laid my Beretta 950 25acp over the picture of one of the smaller guns and the size was the same for all intents. And that killed the deal. Why would I want a 5 shot single action when I already had a 9 shot auto that the only real difference was 2-3 more ounces of weight? But yes they are built like jewels.
Click to expand...

Seyfried's method would be my preferred one for two-handed shooting... Although truthfully, if the need for a .22 Mini presents itself, it's probably being grabbed in a moment of high stress, possible chaos, and quite likely being deployed one-handed. :uhoh::eek:

I have several NAA revolvers and the Beretta 950. Small is certainly relative to the area where a weapon can be concealed, but the smallest one I have (the .22LR Mini) is considerable smaller in total surface area than the Beretta, and (I believe) weighs about half as much fully loaded. This photo below (albeit a crappy shot) lines up the two handguns pretty well for comparison.

pocket pieces_resized more adj.jpg
 
I have a NAA in 22mag. Nice little firearm when I don't want to or can't carry anything else. Disappears nicely in a waist band when I work out at the gym so I can still be armed while on a treadmill or using weights. Also a good backup gun to a larger gun. Different caliber but mine likes CCI ammo. NAA says not to use PMC ammo. Reportedly because they expand in the cylinder, making them tougher to get out.

Because you have large hands, the grip is an issue. Mine has a slightly oversized G10 type grip which is fine for me. They also make a folding holster/grip you might like.
https://northamericanarms.com/shop/accessories/ghg-lc/

I carry mine in a Desantis leather pocket holster that has a small pouch for a spare reload. I have no delusions I can reload this tiny thing safely under stress. So the extra ammo is for refilling if I shoot it at a range or snake.
https://northamericanarms.com/shop/accessories/hptd-l/
 
Delete post -- attachments are messed up.
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plKlD6k
 
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