NAA Black Widow Range Report

[Action_Can_Do]

Hello everyone. I recently purchased a NAA Black Widow with fixed sights and both a 22lr and 22 magnum cylinder. I got the whole package brand new for about $260. I took it out shooting today and thought I'd share my experiences here. The gun has no transfer bar safety, so one has to be very careful to line up the hammer with slots in the cylinder for the hammer to rest on. Once you get used to this, handling the gun is no problem.
I've heard several people say on this forum that shooting with these mini-revolvers isn't any fun, cause you can't hit anything, even at close range. Well I can tell you that's a bunch of bunk. They aren't target revolvers, but two friends and I were able to hit a metal target at 25 yards with little problem. The cylinder has to be removed to reload and that does slow things down a bit but I knew that going in. We fired both 22lr and 22 magnum. Neither had any real recoil, but you could actually feel the concussion when firing the 22 magnums. The trigger pull is a bit heavy, but I like that on a pocket gun with no transfer safety.
All around I'm rather pleased with this new addition and would recommend it to anyone looking for a mini pocket revolver.

 

[bigfatdave]

They are fun, aren't they?

I've been kicking myself for not getting one with better sights, but even with only a front post someone willing to try can hit targets at reasonable SD distances or plinking range.

 

[BCRider]

We recently got a couple of batches of the Canadian legal to bring in size of 4.2 inches in the Mini Mag and The Earl. I personally got one of The Earls and I love it.

As you said they are capable of decent shooting once you get the grip sorted out and manage to hold and press the trigger in a consistent manner. I only put my Earl targets out at about 10 yards for paper but I can manage to keep all 5 shots well within a 3 inch group at that range with any care at all. And I've done enough 1.5 inch groups to know that the gun is a lot more mechanically capable than most give these guns credit for.

 

[MCgunner]

I've found POA/POI can be a problem, but once you figure that out with a load, 15 yard hits on a B27 center mass is not a problem even on the models with the rinky dink sights. I put folding holster/grips on both of mine, can't grip the .22LR one without that and never tried with the magnum frame which does have a little more grip to it. The holster/grip costs little in size and sure helps to grip the little guns.

My magnum frame gun is actually a "super companion" black powder variant, but I shoot it with bullseye and that wakes it up considerably as well as gives it good accuracy with the 30 grain bullets NAA offers. I even bought a spare cylinder for a quick reload if I have to carry it. It will serve mostly as a fun gun, but it's quite effective as these little guns go if I need ultimate concealment.

 

[Action_Can_Do]

I was very pleasantly surprised by the Black Widow's grip. I have big hands and find quite a few grips just feel too small. I thought these would be bad. The grips worked just fine. In fact, they felt pretty good. I don't know if it would be the same for me with one of the smaller guns.

 

[MCgunner]

The long rifle (top) and magnum (bottom) standard frames come with tiny parrot's head grips. I can't even get a good grip with one finger on the LR version. There is a little more to grab on to with the magnum frame, but still not much.





The Black Widow has an add on finger groove grip that allows a couple of fingers on the grip.



The folding holster grip, available for either frame, allows a full 4 fingers on the grip, yet folds up for almost as compact carry in a pocket as with the parrot's head grips and also somewhat protects the gun in the pocket which I like.

 

[mec]

I had a long rifle for a while. Nice revolver. I was getting frequent keyholing with a one handed grip but not with two hands. A factory employee told me that the abrupt recoil combined with the short barrel was enough to compromise stability. The first time I shot the thing, it did a double back flip out of my hand.

What I am interest in is how long they tend to hold up between parts or spring replacements. One guy on the NAA site forum put 2150 rounds through one before he quit posting about it. No broken parts and he lubricated it without any substantial cleaning.
Durability experiences, please?