NAA Mini 22 mag revolver

I have one and they are well made. People talk all the time how accurately they can shoot them, I just cant agree. Crude sights on my model (ie no rear sight) and a rounded front sight. It is, for me, about size and concealabity. Mine is the .22 mag only model, but I think a LR cylinder would make me want to shoot it more. For the price, i say try it. You wont lose much if you decide to sell it.

I have had 2 of them for about 14 years now and they are great fun.

They are very well-made and the company stands behind them with a lifetime warranty.

They are challenging to shoot, not because they are inaccurate, but because they are so small it's tough to get a grip - the gun wants to jump out of your hand when fired. And they are so light that it's difficult to avoid tiny changes in POA - which result in large changes in POI.

Many people change the standard birds-eye grips for longer wooden boot grips, rubber grips, or oversize rosewood or rubber grips.

I solved the issue completely by going with the Black Widow model, which has a 2" barrel, usable sights, and oversize rubber grips which fit my hand perfectly. It's bigger than the standard mini, but IMO is much more shootable out of the box with no need to change grips.

I like mine (Black Widow), it's my "daily carry" here when I'm in shorts and tshirt (which is most of the time).

If it is one with the little bitty grips on it, replace them with the Black Widow grips ... you'll thank me later.

I have an NAA Pug. I bought it new. Timing was off so I had to send it back. Of course they paid all expenses. CS was excellent. My suggestion: bring 5 empty rimfire cases and pull the trigger about 25 times to make sure it functions properly.

Otherwise I love the gun. It's fun to shoot. I carry it on a regular basis. And I understand a 22mag is not a 45acp.

I have a NAA 22lr/22mag revolver. It's in my right shorts pocket as I write this post. It is the one gun that I have on my person all the time. I have put wooden boot grips on my NAA and that allows getting two fingers on the gun when shooting, making it surprisingly accurate.

Great for a pocket BUG. Stick it in somebodys neck when they try to mug you and they wil not like what happens next. "Crude sites" really? In a gun inteded for a belly gun, do you expect Ruger High-Viz ramped and partrige sites?

evan price said:

Great for a pocket BUG. Stick it in somebodys neck when they try to mug you....

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Maybe....... if the mugger is using dirty looks and harsh language as his only weapons....

they are good for their intended purpose

I have a black widow with both the mag and lr cylinders. Love the gun and find it shoots center of mass on an IDPA well past 25 yards. I actually carry it sometimes while hiking in rabbit season but also bring a set of earplugs as it is very loud even with the .22 lr's.

Personally, I wouldn't seem much advantage of going smaller than the black widow. It is VERY easy to carry in a front pocket even with the "oversized" grips. Also, go with the fixed sights (still windage adjustable) as I hear the adjustable ones have some issues. The extra 40 bucks or so spent on the LR cylinder will pay for itself very quickly.

I've got a 4.2 inch version of "The Earl". It is one of my biggest grin producers in my collection.

It takes a bit to learn how to hold the small grips and how to pull the terribly hard trigger. But once I got the hang of it the gun itself can print 2.5 inch groups at 12 to 14 yards all day long.

I shocked the guys at a Speed Steel practice night by hitting the 6 inch target out at 20 yards 5 for 5....

As a defensive gun the small grips definetly play against you. But if used at a close in threat then it's not as big a deal.

For range fun they really are a helluva giggle. Especially once you learn to hold it well for the longer, by this gun's standards, range shots while others watch....

Now that theyre making that model where the cylinder swings out to reload (instead of needing to be removed and reinstalled with fresh cartridges) I'm kinda interested. Probably my biggest worry is the coordination needed to cock and shoot single action in a panic situation. Maybe I'm overstating the difficulty of that.

If it is one with the little bitty grips on it, replace them with the Black Widow grips .

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I prefer the folders...

Now that theyre making that model where the cylinder swings out to reload (instead of needing to be removed and reinstalled with fresh cartridges) I'm kinda interested. Probably my biggest worry is the coordination needed to cock and shoot single action in a panic situation. Maybe I'm overstating the difficulty of that.

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I know of no such model. Something new? Perhaps I should check the NAA site?

You are overstating the difficulty of SA shooting even with a mini revolver. However, these things are uber concealment, not intended with long firefights with the Taliban which would mean reloading. They're last ditch fight stoppers and they can work with proper tactics. I carry my .22 constantly in my off side pocket with a can of pepper spray figuring if I'm fighting with someone, maybe holding his knife hand with my strong arm, I can get at the mini and screw it in his ear. It's always there, at any rate, if it's ever needed for whatever reason, my primary being in my strong side pocket, a 9mm Kel Tec currently.

Yeah they're calling it the sidewinder. They already took pre orders for it, though delivery will be a couple months I think.

Guess since the top break was too expensive to build, they've come up with an alternative. I don't mind pulling the pin, myself, and it can be a stronger gun while being lighter without all the extra hardware.

My next NAA will be a black powder Earl. I already have the super companion and two cylinders. This will give me 3 cylinders as I'm pretty sure the Earl's cylinder will fit the super companion and vice versa. I can order the BP version online. It'd compliment my Ruger Old Army and my 5.5" Pietta '58 Army I reckon. One can fire Bullseye in the super companion and it mimics .22 magnum over MY chronograph, 1200+ fps with a 30 grain conical from NAA. Neat thing is, swapping cylinders Pale Rider style is FASTER than even swinging out a cylinder and loading one at a time. I need to sew me up some cylinder pouches from leather with my handy dandy Tandy leathercraft kit, though.

Here's a shot of the Sidewinder .22 mag...



NAA says the design only increases weight by fractions of an ounce.

I guess it's not a bad feature to have -- but I never really thought of the niche of the NAA minis as requiring a quick reload.

Here are my minis -- a 3" Earl with a Black Widow grip, a Black Widow with a Pug grip, and a standard .22LR mini...




.

One needs a 22S. They are so cute.

As far as accuracy. For grins, I shot the old TX DPS CHL protocol with a 1 5/8 mini with the bird's head grips. IIRC - I shot about a 230 ish. Missed a couple of head shots.

I shoot 250s (as most should with a Glock). The test is easy.

With the 22S - I shot about a 130-150. It's not an accurate gun. The minimag is a pocket Bug. BTW, it is LOUD with 22 mag. I once shot one in an indoor range between two partitions and I thought I blew up. I felt the blast blow my hair (when I had it) back.

Glenn

JFrame, the picture of the "Sidewinder" you posted asppears to have center fire cartridges in it.

Get the Laserlyte for your NAA!

My PUG has adapted itself handily to the Laserlyte bolt on top-mount tiny laser -what neat grin gun, plus you can hit with it after you get it zero'ed. Not a problem. I love it! That and the folding belt mount grips make it a really nice yard/snake gun (with shotshells) in 22 Mag. Put some of the self defense 22 Mag rounds for bad neighborhood carry if you need a real small but effective carry piece. (not recommended just sayin)
I like this Laser PUG!

cane said:

JFrame, the picture of the "Sidewinder" you posted asppears to have center fire cartridges in it.

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Interesting -- maybe that's a shot of a prototype Sidewinder chambered for something like .32...

Anyway, I copied that photo off of the NRA American Rifleman website (it has the corresponding write-up of the .22 mag Sidewinder)...


.

Bula said:

I have one and they are well made. People talk all the time how accurately they can shoot them, I just cant agree. Crude sights on my model (ie no rear sight) and a rounded front sight. It is, for me, about size and concealabity. Mine is the .22 mag only model, but I think a LR cylinder would make me want to shoot it more. For the price, i say try it. You wont lose much if you decide to sell it.

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You can shoot LR in them. If you want to shoot Mag latter you will need to clean it good before you shoot it.

Those aren't centerfire cartridges in that pic of the Sidewinder. Just look closer.

I would like to get one if they had one in .22lr rounds. Not really a fan of .22mag in very short barrels.