talk me out of a NAA mini revolver

[icebones]

it might just be me, but i cant help but want one of those little guys, they are just so dang cool.

ive heard good and bad (off center barrels and sights)

i already know i wont be able to hit a barn from the inside but i cant help but want to take one of these things home with me one day. maybe the .22lr/.22magnum conversion cylinder model...

anybody have one of these things?
how is the quality and worksmanship on these weapons?

thanks.

 

[RippinSVT]

You will never shoot it. It will end up holding down the paperwork for your other guns.

 

[RippinSVT]

Believe me, I have bought guns thinking, "How cool is this! I gotta have it!" Then a week later I realize that it was a huge waste of money and has absolutely no practical purpose.

 

[jgorniak]

I drop mine in my pocket, loaded with shot shells, when I'm walking out to my barn. I don't expect it to stop a zombie, but I would expect it to turn a nuisance varmint around. I've done stupider things with $175.

 

[nicholst55]

I have zero interest in ever owning this gun, but I just have to ask - why? There are so many other things that you could spend your money on that are infinitely more useful. Spend the money on reloading components or ammo - you'll be glad you did.

 

[jjtroutbum]

Shot clean through a 3/4 inch piece of plywood in the eye I was aiming at on a target at about twelve or fifteen feet away on the first quick shot I took with a buddies about two weeks ago so the accuracy slash no BG damage argument is out. I like em his had the folding grip so that may have helped.

Would I buy one? Probably not but if I had one I would carry it why not. Shirt pocket belt buckle the things are just cool.

May be I would buy one. Can one really have to many choices in guns. I think not.

 

[BHP FAN]

I had one of the minis,beatiful all precision made,stainless custom elkhorn [must been a tiny elk] grips,it was surpriseingly accurate at seven yards.Had to get rid of it because of the size of my hands and sausage like fingers.Sideblast flash was quite uncomfortable to the right forefinger.Getting the slightly larger version,with decent grips and sights,in .22 mag,called the Black Widow would be an excellent choice.

 

[wnycollector]

My Step dad had a .22lr version that he "carried" on a belt buckle. I shot it a few times with him...it went bang everytime the trigger was pulled and from "bad breath" ranges it made a hole in the target. Would I want to get shot by one...NO, are there better guns of similar weight and size YES!!!

 

[rfurtkamp]

but I just have to ask - why? There are so many other things that you could spend your money on that are infinitely more useful. Spend the money on reloading components or ammo - you'll be glad you did.

I didn't actually buy one until I got an older model in .22LR at a very attractive price.

What I've found it is it's surprisingly accurate with practice. Pop cans at 10m (given the awful sights) are doable even by relatively inexperienced shooters. My old lady was hitting them by the end of the first cylinder.

It's not:

-A gun you'll use at the range every time you go.
-A gun you can fire much in one session without breaks. It reloads *slow* and gets hot fast.
-A gun you'll want to shoot every time you bring it.
-Anything resembling vaguely acceptable for defensive purposes.
-Much more than a fun range toy and novelty.

As far as why buy one? Well, I have lots of ammo. I can always get more. A neat little piece of craftsmanship for $100-125 used is hard to pass up, especially if you already own a small shop's worth of guns already.

Guns and gun accessories aren't always about 'useful' - fun has its place too. It's in the same category as my Baby Browning or Desert Eagle or Schofield thing or, hell, most of all my revolvers. Range toy.

I still have to see how awful it is in the next snubnose shoot I do with friends every so often - I know it won't hold its own at the 200m silhouette, that's for sure. ;0

 

[doglb]

I have owned a few, standard .22lr mini and the pug. The pug was alot easier to shoot, both are "neat", well made and shoot everytime! For a CCW I would say HELL NO!

A great conversion piece, or maybe a great bug when playing poker!

 

[doc540]

I carried the .22LR version for over ten years, sold it last year and bought the short-barrel magnum.

Both of them are equipped with the folding stock/handle. I won't carry one without it since it provides an excellent gripping system that makes it possible to shoot them accurately.

As a "last resort", "contact" weapon a .22WMR is far superior to a set of car keys clenched in my fist.

15 feet target


22LR w/folding grip (velcro secures it in a pocket when sitting)

 

[mgkdrgn]

anybody have one of these things?
how is the quality and worksmanship on these weapons?

I have an NAA BlackWidow in 22mag. It's my daily carry down here in "shorts and tshirt" South Carolina. Workmanship is excellent, fits very nicely in my hand with the big rubber grips and is a very natural point. Accuracy is more than acceptable at anything that would be SD distances. I didn't shoot my CCW qualify with this gun, but I have no doubts that I could have.

Is it the "perfect" CCW gun? No ... but neither is anything else. I'm accepting the smaller round in trade for size/weight so that I can carry ALL the time in SC weather. In the winter I'll carry my Glock 26, but other than that the BW suits me just fine.

 

[coach22]

I've had the grips NAA puts on the PUG
on my 22 mag (1 & 1/8 inch) for years,
which makes shooting it much easier.
I'm sure everyone who reads a forum like this
has other guns in many other sizes.
A gun is a tool. And just like a person
has screwdrivers in different sizes for different jobs,
we have guns in different sizes for different scenarios.

As much as I love my J Frames, I can't palm one.
If your wife of girlfriend is walking to her car,
with one of these NAA's invisible in her hand,
it could save her life, once a bad guy has her on the ground.
Distance of the shot? One foot? Two feet?
End result, she is alive and not raped.
A J Frame in her purse at that moment does her no good.
The best choice for protection? No.
A possible life saver? Yes.

So for the times when it's possible to carry the NAA
or carry nothing, I'll take the NAA.
To carry one in addition to something else
as a last resort, is a good idea too.
They are well made and go bang every time you pull the trigger.
Real life isn't TV or the movies.
Most of us are civilians, not law enforcement.
If any of us have to defend ourselves,
the odds are it will be from 6 feet or closer.

 

[John Wayne]

My understanding is that they are quality guns and (obviously) easy to conceal. However, there are many mouseguns that size that offer better performance and capacity than a single action .22 revolver.

 

[doc540]

"there are many mouseguns that size"

You meant, nearly that size, didn't you?

 

[JFrame]

I have a NAA mini in .22 LR.

It's smaller and lighter than a knuckle-duster, has more range, and is just as quick to deploy. It can also be deployed in ways that a knuckle-duster can't (such as if someone happens to have you in a headlock).

As part of a tiered solution to personal defense, it has its place...

 

[Fat Boy]

I wouldn't try to talk you out of buying one; I really like mine, which is the 22/22 mag variety...depends on your intended use for the gun, I guess...

 

[Carl Levitian]

It's a nitch gun.

Fits a certain narrow widow nitch in the selection. In hot weather, dressed in shorts and t-shirt, one goes in the side pocket real easy. More reach than a knife, and nobody wants go get shot by anything.

A lady I know carries one almost all the time. Small enough, it fits in the side pocket of her skirt, light summer dress, even in bra. No other gun can be concealed as easy as one of the tiny revolvers. A gun in the purse is useless.

More effective guns on the market? Sure, if you can carry them.

Given that most criminals are total cowards, alot of would be assaults have been stopped by the mere display of a gun.

A few years ago, we had a case here of a tire store owner being in the place at night after closing. He was alone, when a would be robber broke in and asaulted him. The tire store owner got a hold of the robbers gun hand, and they were wrestling around, and the store owner got a hand free and pulled out his little .22 revolver. He fired a couple times at contact range, and the robber fell dead.

He was shown on the news afterward, saying it had saved his life. I guess it worked good enough for him.

 

[Redhawk1]

I own 2 of the 22 Mini Mags, a 1 5/8 inch barrel and one with a 1 1/8 inch barrel. They both shot well under 5 yards. I could hit a person in the head all 5 shots, with no problem from 5 to 7 yards.
It is not my main carry gun, but I always have one close to me, no matter where I am at.

I use my smaller gun to get to my bigger gun, unless I am carrying my bigger gun.

I like the NAA mini's.

 

[Ala Dan]

I own the .22 magnum version, and my daughter owns the .22LR NAA mini.
At times, both can be found riding in an empty front pocket on either of us.
Sure, I much prefer the larger caliber's; but the NAA "Mini's" could prove to
be a formiable foe as a BUG; while at an ATM machine at midnight~!

 

[krs]

There's a movie in which Robert Duvall is a hitman sent to assassinate some guy in South america. When he got down there his kill weapon was given to him by his contact - a NAA Black Widow in .22LR. He killed the guy with a pointblank shot between his eyes.

A strange offbeat movie in which Duvall becomes enamored of a young tango dance instructor.

That movie convinced me of the viability of the NAA mini-revolver, but I don't have one at this time. I don't have a tango dance instructor either and I think I'd rather have that than the pistol.

 

[bluez4u]

I don't have one, but looked at several and would guess I'll buy one someday just to have. I have a sweet spot for miniature items that are mechanical.

 

[Japle]

I've got the Freedom Arms version. Got it nearly 30 years ago when FA made guns for under $1500. It's a .22 LR with the 1" barrel. I've won money hitting full size silhouettes at 100 yds. Recoil is pretty brisk and your grip has to be EXACTLY the same on every shot or your groups will suck.

I used to carry it as a backup, but it hasn't been out of the safe in years.

Chronograph results:

Remington 40 gr Match 744 fps, SD 14(!!)
Federal Champion 810 fps, SD 27
CCI Mini-Mag HP 870 fps, SD 28

 

[Mooseman]

I've always thought these were cool and I'll probably pick one up one of these days but for the money you can get even better toys. I picked up a nice cz-52 hand pick for $147 delivered.

 

[johnnylaw53]

I got one in 22lr picked it up years ago in order to have something on me at all times. Back then I kinda stop carrying a weapon unless we went on a raid. Ran into a guy one day that just got out of prison for selling me meth a few years earlier it was'nt a bad encounter but make me think I needed something on me always. There was a sheriff a few counties above us that I was lend out to a time or two that carried one in his pocket all the time which is why I knew about the NAA's. I found it to be a well made weapon If I had it to do over again I would of got the .22 mag. Should it be your main weapon? No. I'm back in uniform now Sig on my hip 642 off duty but the mini still does pocket duty when I'm working in my yard, grilling or meeting the old crew for a beer and talking about the old days.

be safe