I have been thinking of a North American Arms Guardian in .380. How reliable are these? Is it pleasant to shoot? I have heard a few with the KT P3-AT saying it was pretty stout in the recoil department. I already have a KT P32 with no complaints but I want a metal BUG gun now. They show some cool upgrade grips for the Guardian on their website too.
Naa Guardian?
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usp9
Member
I suggest you get a Sig P232. It weighs less, is more pleasant to shoot, has a larger magazine, costs the same and is currently in production while the Guardian is not. Besides it looks cooler.
GunNut
Member
The only thing bad about the NAA .380 Guardian is that it weighs way to much for it's size.
If money is no object(I wish
), get a Seecamp .380ACP.
The p232 is a great gun, but it is just as big as many 9mm semi-autos on the market and nowhere near pocketable for me.
If money is no object(I wish
), get a Seecamp .380ACP.The p232 is a great gun, but it is just as big as many 9mm semi-autos on the market and nowhere near pocketable for me.
iostorm
Member
Kahr was making them for naa, recently they have stopped. the Kahr ones are the ones to look for if you are interested in one.
usp9
Member
Production has not yet resumed on the .380. A new supplier of frames and slides had to be found. NAA is not making them as of today. I call that out of production. The only guns available now are the previously produced Kahr models.
USP9 is correct but according to Sandy (CEO of NAA) they will be resuming production shortly. They had a falling out with Kahr and have already found a new supplier but Sandy wants to make sure everything is 100% before they start shipping. You can read all about it on the NAA message boards and you can even email Sandy personally with any ? and he will respond quickly. I wrote him a email last Sat afternoon and Sunday morning I found his reply, now that's customer service.
As far as the Guardians go I highly recommend them. I have a 32 acp and a 380 acp. They both have been 100% flawless and I prefer them over the Seecamps for several reasons. The additional weight and size is not a negative as some want to claim they are a positive to help control recoil and to properly grip the gun. The gun is still so small that it disappears in the front pocket. The Guardian has mags available with finger extensions, this allows a full extra finger to be applied to the pistol which greatly helps in firing the gun. The Seecamp is very picky about the rounds it will accept, all three of the approved rounds are expensive SD ammo, not exactly what I like to practice with, although I agree you should practice with the ammo you carry, just not all the time!! The Seecamp has the European mag release which I simply don't care for, I prefer the mag release to be in a more traditional position. These are just a few of my personal opinions regarding the two. I won't argue the Seecamp is a very high quality firearm, but I believe you can get to small in a SD pistol. I won't even go into how I feel about the KelTecs. Just do a search through the gun forums and ask yourself if you are willing to trust your life to a brand with so many malfunctions. I'm not trying to put down anybody's gun choices, we all have to choose a firearm that we feel bests suits our own needs, the above are simply my opinions and what I have found to be true in my own experiences.
As far as the Guardians go I highly recommend them. I have a 32 acp and a 380 acp. They both have been 100% flawless and I prefer them over the Seecamps for several reasons. The additional weight and size is not a negative as some want to claim they are a positive to help control recoil and to properly grip the gun. The gun is still so small that it disappears in the front pocket. The Guardian has mags available with finger extensions, this allows a full extra finger to be applied to the pistol which greatly helps in firing the gun. The Seecamp is very picky about the rounds it will accept, all three of the approved rounds are expensive SD ammo, not exactly what I like to practice with, although I agree you should practice with the ammo you carry, just not all the time!! The Seecamp has the European mag release which I simply don't care for, I prefer the mag release to be in a more traditional position. These are just a few of my personal opinions regarding the two. I won't argue the Seecamp is a very high quality firearm, but I believe you can get to small in a SD pistol. I won't even go into how I feel about the KelTecs. Just do a search through the gun forums and ask yourself if you are willing to trust your life to a brand with so many malfunctions. I'm not trying to put down anybody's gun choices, we all have to choose a firearm that we feel bests suits our own needs, the above are simply my opinions and what I have found to be true in my own experiences.
Gunmeister
Member
Had a Guardian .380. Loved it, sold it and I regret that to this day. Great little CCW pistol and the weight is a definite plus.
Had one awhile back. Was a good gun. Extremely reliable when clean, and it'd take 100+ rounds of filthy cheap ammo to get it dirty enough to jam. No matter how much I tried to limp-wrist it, it just would not mess up. A tiny bit heavy for the size, but it never bothered me.
SouthpawShootr
Member
They do pretty well once they're broken in. Also, remember a clean gun is a happy gun. Don't shoot it, then carry it in your pocket for a month before cleaning it. Lint is not your friend. Get that crap out of your pocket before you put the gun in there. Also, several makers have holsters that break up the profile of the gun. Use one. Don't put other junk in the pocket with the gun.
Absolutely not. NAA recommends 200 round break in. I decided to do that in one range trip. Three words of advice: "Don't do that." My shooting hand was sore for a week. Recoil is about like firing 9mm +Ps in a polymer Kahr. Not so bad, but not something you want to do all day.
These guns have a little quirk: Occasionally, the last round in the mag stovepipes the spent case. This is b/c the gun usually uses the next round in the mag as an ejector. If you train on clearing this jam, you can have the gun back in service in short order. Realistically, if you have to fire so many times as to need a spare mag, you screwed up royally and brought a mouse gun to a fight that requiredd much more. IIRC, there was also some changes made to the followers that would prevent this sort of jam from happening. I don't know whether it was factory or aftermarket.
They're nice guns and NAA makes a bunch of accessories to trick them out. Some of the pimpy stuff I'd avoid. Wood grips are nice, but I'll stick with rubber. One mod I do like is the guttersnipe sights and plan on returning mine to NAA to have these installed.
Mine worked best with heavier bullets.
Southpaw,
I have also read on the NAA forum about the stove piping issue, but all I can say is I now have 100's of rounds through both of mine and have never had this happen. I believe it may be an old issue that has since been corrected. A simple post on the NAA message board would get some info on it.
I have also read on the NAA forum about the stove piping issue, but all I can say is I now have 100's of rounds through both of mine and have never had this happen. I believe it may be an old issue that has since been corrected. A simple post on the NAA message board would get some info on it.
Actually, on the last-round stovepipe, NAA has been trying to make that happen more often. The Guardian has no slide stop, so a last-round stovepipe would take the place of that. Yes, it'd smash up your brass a bit, but it's a good "hey, the gun's empty" indicator.
Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
Not to hi-jack this .380 thread; but have you thought a'bout the Seecamp?
The LWS-.380 is scarce right now, but I have six brand NIB Seecamp LWS-32's~!
The LWS-.380 is scarce right now, but I have six brand NIB Seecamp LWS-32's~!
usp9
Member
SouthpawShootr said,
This is the first I've heard this. I looked in the manual and didn't see this recommendation. Where did you see this please?
This is the first I've heard this. I looked in the manual and didn't see this recommendation. Where did you see this please?
iostorm
Member
he is thinking of Kahr's recomendation.
I have a like new guardian 380 for sale in northern ohio.........pm me if interested.
I have a like new guardian 380 for sale in northern ohio.........pm me if interested.
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