Is it safe to pocket carry a NAA .22 mini revolver?

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My wife commented a while ago (maybe a few months?) that she had just read an article about a woman who died that way. She was carrying one of those little NAA's in her bra and it somehow went off.
 
I actually just bought one as fun gun firstly and a defensive piece second. Overall its more of a weapon than I imagined and fairly accurate. Its somewhat slow to get into action but not too bad after some practice.

I can't see how this gun could "go off" in your pocket. I am looking for a holster for mine currently but that's primarily to keep the gun situated upright in my pocket.

It doesn't take much movement to draw the hammer out of the notch, but still a ton of movement considering how much room there is in my pocket!

If this did happen, the hammer would still have to end up over a live round AND somehow receive a serious blow to break the safety and still have enough energy to set off the rimfire priming.



The only way I can see this happening is the perfect storm of a morning sliding around on the floor sideways causing the hammer to get partially cocked. Then I leave the house for lunch, start to walk across the street and get hit with a F350. The truck's square tube brush guard hits the hammer before hitting me, causing the gun to fire and skimming a bullet down my leg (I don't know how the gun could be pointed at my femoral artery in my pocket).

A week after owning this gun and a 100 rounds down range I can already see that it will be as trusted as my 642.

HB
 
I just purchased the Black Widow in .22lr with the 2" barrel. What a hoot! I can't hit dooly squat with it but shoot it quite a bit. I may eventually shoot it well enough to CCW it.
 
If you are absolutely certain it is safe to pocket carry in the 'safety' notch then read no further. Facts aside, one will dismiss this with a condescending wave of the hand merely because he has yet to suffer injury. I knew a man who carried a Baby Browning chambered and ready to go at the touch of the trigger - in his pocket! Older than me, he was certain it was safe - after all, he had carried for years and not shot himself. Oh well, it's his gonads. i submit that NAA mini pocket carry in the notch is as dangerous as the chambered Browning. You will be convinced if you try this yourself, but I already know most will laugh and dismiss it. Put your mini hammer in the safety notch. Now pull it back ever so slightly - a mere touch will do - and the cylinder bolt will lift to allow the cylinder to turn in either direction and rest hammer down on a live cartridge. On our 4 minis it moves .018/inch to release the cylinder. A brush of the hammer and a slight shift in the pocket and you are down on a live cartridge. This explains the condition found by previous posters. It's not a freak occurrence but a real possibility. It doesn't take much of a tap to detonate a round which is then pointing at your femoral artery. Hammer down on empty chamber and it takes a great deal of movement to release the cylinder. The safe alternative is a mini holster or possibly the original folding holster - not the skinny new version. I've shared this before and have been slammed therefore this will be my only post on this matter. It's your life, but remember naked carry the mini and you are eighteen thousandths of an inch from eternity.


I tried this.

On mine, the hammer must be moved back about 1/8" (0.125") in order for the cylinder to be able to move. I didn't measure but mine certainly needs more than the 0.018" you claimed.

The point of my post wasn't to argue .125" vs .018" but more to validate you.

Once (if) the hammer ever rested on a live round, it would still need to be bumped fairly good to set of the round. And its a heavy hammer to begin with.


I still think its safer than 99% of all other guns that are pocket carried and, IMO, there are times when you just flat out shouldn't carry a gun in your pocket.
 
If you carry with the hammer down In the notch on the cylinder, you can carry fully loaded safely.

Exacty what that notch is for! Here is my hoster I made for my NAA Black Widow in 22WMR
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i have owned an NAA mini revolver for over 12 years now. If its in your pocket it should be in a holster.
 
Safe carry

I received this holster today and it seems to work good. The belt clip and strap are removable and reversible. With the belt clip removed, the soft nylon feels pretty good in the pocket and the strap keeps the hammer in place.

The muzzle end of the holster is open, so if the barrel is longer than 1 5/8", it will just stick out.

It works fine with the laser grip too.

I found it on e-bay for less than ten bucks and free shipping.

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I made my own holsters, they work fine with my black widow
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That is extra cute.

I carry my NAA .22 LR in my front trousers pocket. Very excellent reliability and stopping power when loaded with CCI mini-mags, which pack .22 magnum power in .22 LR shells.
 
I've been pocket carrying the NAA .22 Short for over 40 years. Mine was made in Newberry Park Cal. that's how old it and I am. 'I've had only issue with the pistol being cocked in my pocket once and that was because I had a set of keys that tangled up with the hammer. I've had issues with lint and sweat discoloring the ammo. Changing out the ammo every month and use that old ammo at the range keeps you familiar with the weapon too.
Having the weapon in my pocket was never a problem with printing and having been patted down it was never discovered. Carrying the NAA is easy and you actually forget you have it until you're in a position to need it.
 
Back about when I first joined THR I posted about a news article about a Deputy that had an AD/ND at a theme park in the Orlando area.

The NAA folks were quick to get in touch with me about my post. I am sort of wondering why they have not noticed this thread as they were obviously lurking back then.

-kBob
 
According to a deputy sheriff I know and trust, a recent ND at a big box store came about because a woman dropped a NAA revolver. Another customer was injured. That said, I carried one for years as a deep backup and never had the hammer move from the safety notch.
 
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