NAA .22 Mag Mini Revolver - any good?

P

python1340

New member
At a gun show this weekend, I bought a mini revolver chambered in .22 WMR (magnum) by North American Arms (NAA). I mainly bought it because it was "cool" but I thought it could be useful as a pocket gun.

What I want to know is, are they any good for this purpose? These mini revolvers are very small, and look like Deringers. How bad would the recoil be in .22 magnum? What about .22 LR? I got a folding holster grip on it, which seems like it would help with recoil.

Here's a pic
 
Interesting that you mention it. I just picked my NAA mini-mag revolver up on Saturday (we have a 10-day waiting period here in California...). I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, but I'll be doing it pretty soon and I'll let you know how it goes.

It's a great little pocket pistol, but I would recommend against just throwing it in your pocket on the off chance that it could end up cocked from contact with other pocket stuff. I have a little Uncle Mike's pocket holster which I've altered with some stitching. It'll work until I order a good quality pocket holster from the Guru, which is at www.pocketholsters.com

Anyway, good luck with yours and I'll let you know how mine does when I get a chance to shoot it. Also, there are lots of folks on here who have these, so I expect that we'll be hearing from them as well.

Bob
 
gumshoe4 -

t's a great little pocket pistol, but I would recommend against just throwing it in your pocket on the off chance that it could end up cocked from contact with other pocket stuff.
Click to expand...

The holster grip shown in the picture covers the trigger, but what I want to make sure the hammer never rests on a live cartridge. There are "safety slots" between chambers, but so far I have been unable to get the hammer to actually rest in them. I'll have to play around with it more.
 
Great firearms; produced by a first class manufactuer'er.:D

With the 1-1/8" barrel, consistent accuracy beyond about
10 feet shouldn't be expected. These little guns are not
the best target revolver's on the market.:eek: They are a
type I call "in case gun". The phrase as used, means
"in case I have to smoke somebody off my a$$".:D :cool: :)

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
I have had the 22lr version for a couple years now, its a great hideaway gun. Very well made and a blast to shoot, but it's not very accurate. I had a double barrel 45lc/410 derringer before, but it is just junk compared to this 22 Mini Revolver. I ordered some other grips from NAA, and it really makes this gun small, but it is a lot easier to shoot with the folding holster. The thing is pretty safe to carry when its folded up and the cylinder is in a safety notch. I think they are a great bargin for the $160 I paid.
 
From a quality standpoint, they are very well made. NAA takes pride in building their minis. Having said that, the tiny (uncomfortable) grip makes for extreme difficulty in accuracy--the gun moves around in your fingers due to not enough grip area to keep it steady. I literally cannot hit a man sized target past 3 feet with my .22 Magnum NAA (1 5/8th" barrel). Its a great "belly gun", but don't plan on being able to hit past 5 feet with it (unless you practice tons with it).
 
I'm amazed Granola State actually put the NAA minis on the safe list. When I bought my NAA mini, it was a few months before the "safe list" law took place, and all indications then were that little tiny pocket pistols would not pass the list. I'm happy to see NAA on the list now, and some day I might pick up a 2nd NAA mini (mostly for the purpose of collecting).
 
I carry one as a last ditch backup every day on a Newt Livesay neck holster. I consider it a 5 shot ice-pick.
 
I've owned three of them.......

two .22 MAGS and one .22 LR. I sold the .22 LR because it was simply too small for my large hands/fingers to handle safely.

A buddy of mine at work calls them "nostril guns" in that they're fairly accurate when the barrel is inserted into a perp's nose.
They make a great "get off me gun."

Mine goes with me as a back-up or when I cannot otherwise carry a larger piece. With practice, you will become fairly accurate from 5-7 yards. I've heard of fanciers who can hit with them at much greater distances but NOT this shooter!

As far as hitting power, the .22 WMR, with the right ammo, will send out a projectile at over 1,000 FPS. Ammo recommendations? I shoot nothing but CCI Maxi-Mag + V through mine. When you shoot one for the first time, you'll understand why they call it a "magnum." Recoil, muzzle blast, and noise are impressive.

Since most of the .22 WMR ammo is intended for rifle use, the by-products of combustion at close range can also be a deterrent.
I don't worry about accidentally cocking mine in the pocket because the hammer takes quite a bit of effort and rearward travel to cock. Also the trigger pull seems like about 25 pounds to me. I simply rest the hammer in the safety slot, drop it in my pocket with my keys and I'm on my way.

Among my better friends and relatives, it makes an eye-catching conversation piece. They're beautifully made by a company with a sterling reputation.
 
The *slowest* you'll get with CCI MaxiMag +Vs will be 1,100fps, from the 1 and 1/8th barrel. You'll hit 1,200+ in a Black Widow, 1,400ish from a MiniMaster.

This is also my recommended load. Once you hit the Black Widow's or especially the MM's velocity range (or a Single Six), you can stagger in the TNT version with it's more advanced JHP; with the really short tubes, don't worry about expansion, go with the original formula and get slightly better skullbone penetration, although the difference will be slight.

I have a MiniMaster that can do 5" groups at 25 yards all day long, with almost any ammo.

And my 1.5" barrel Freedom Arms .22Mag mini isn't quite as accurate, but it's definately "minute of mugger at bad breath range". As a joke, I once did some 50 yard shooting with it at a torso-sized metal trash can, and managed to hit it on the fourth and final round (ya, it's a four-shot).
 
python 1340: In answer to your concerns about the safety slots, I DON'T USE THEM.

I carry my NAA Mini 22 Magnum with the hammer down on an empty chamber, just like I would carry one of my old Colt SA revolvers. So I lose 1 shot, big deal. I still have 4 shots and I doubt there would be an opportunity to fire that many shots.

My reason for carrying hammer down on an empty chamber is that the slots do not completely relieve the hammer spring of its tension ... and off course the other reason being that I'm an old fart and can't change my SA mode of carry habits. I've received some criticism on this forum for not following the safety instructions in the NAA manual. So be it. Everyone must make their own decision. The NAA is safe hammer down on an empty chamber because the cylinder stop prevents the cylinder from rotating to a loaded chamber.

Just keep in mind that this is an up-close-and-personal weapon with very limited tactical uses. Within its limitations it is unequalled as per its size, weight, and concealability.

While I've referred to these as "mouse guns" ... someone once posted that they would best be referred to as "get-off-me-guns" and that is a fairly accurate assessment of their utility.
 
... I'll go with and backup Jim March on this one ... meanwhile own a Black Widow and 2 Mini Masters (One for me and one for my SO), because they good fun ... carry the BW every day comfortably in pocket holster ... very accurate on 10 and 25 - the Mini Master is even better, but not so much for carry ... both got great grips, while the Mini Master's might need some work - Jim can tell you more about that - great stuff!!!

... another one, where I go with what Jim posted somewhere: there should be a 'in between' ... i.e. BW/MM with a 3" barrel ... still good for the pocket + velocity + accuracy ... think I gotta talk to that gunsmith :D

my .02
LetsFetz
 
I agree with the assessment that these are point blank range guns. If someone is on top of you, stick the gun in their belly or nostrils, pull the hammer back, and fire. One point I want to make about NAA minis though is the reliability/durability. My NAA Mini has seen quite a bit of rounds, and it fires every time and no parts have broken. For the price range and class of this gun, there is nothing out there in the size/weight range that can match their reliability/durability. You sacrifice accuracy and stopping power, but you get very good reliability in an awesome CCW package (size/weight) in the NAA Minis.

BTW, the trigger pull my NAA Mini feels like its around 5.5 pounds. The gentleman that mentioned that his felt like 25 pounds should send it back to NAA IMO, since the specs say 7 pounds (if memory serves) and his is way over NAA's specs. I would personally not accept ANY firearm to have a 25 pound trigger--thats just WAY TOO HEAVY.
 
CZ_ -

BTW, the trigger pull my NAA Mini feels like its around 5.5 pounds. The gentleman that mentioned that his felt like 25 pounds should send it back to NAA IMO, since the specs say 7 pounds (if memory serves) and his is way over NAA's specs.
Click to expand...

I think he was talking about how much force it took to cock the hammer, not pull the trigger.
 
^Oops, my mistake. I wrongly assumed he was referring to trigger pull though. I agree, it does take a lot of force to cock the hammer back into single action.
 
Well he did specifically say the trigger pull felt like 25 lbs. I think that was an obvious exaggeration because the trigger pull feels so different since such a small area is in contact with the finger.

On my Mini, the trigger pull is a little less than 4 lbs, but sure feels like it's a lot more, I was surprised. The hammer pull back force is a little less than 8 lbs. Both measured with a trigger pull gauge.
 
25 lb trigger pull? Dat wud be me...

Just kidding. It just SEEMS about 25 pounds. The leverage it takes to cock and squeeze must be magnified by the small size of the mini.

I keep a pack of CCI Shot shells handy for my NAA mini because right out in back of our property is the Flat Creek wetlands. Translation? A SWAMP. In the south, that can mean only one thing: SNAKES-lotsa them. I've yet to test out .22mag shotshells but some of my friends who hunt say they are extremely effective on pit vipers.

Anyone else have any experiences with poisonous snakes and CCI shot shells out of a mini??
 
Check how your gun "patterns" with shotshells, and you'll know how far back you can get. Basically, as long as the distance between pellets is under .5" towards the center of the group, at the range you're shooting from, you should be OK.

You'll probably find 4 to 6 feet back is optimal, with shots possible just a bit beyond that, but not much.

I've almost considered converting my MiniMag 4" to a Paradox barrel (partial rifling, to allow tighter pellet groups yet stay legal plus still shoot regular bullets OK. Am trying to find more data on the very old concept first of course...
 
No doubt the trigger pull is heavy, and it should be based on the NAA's up-close defensive purpose.

The NAA seems to be quite durable. Reported parts failure have been limited to an occasional weak or broken hammer spring. I've experienced neither with my NAA Mini 22Mag. Again, this is one reason why I carry my Mini with the hammer down on an empty chamber. It is best to relieve the hammer spring of all tension and the hammer down on empty chamber accomplishes that objective.

Maintaining fresh ammo is another important matter to consider. Rimfire ammo is more easily contaminated with moisture, oil, etc. Very important you consider this if you pocket-carry your Mini as moisture from sweat, etc. - can cause misfires.

Generally I keep a few fresh boxes of 22 Mag and rotate old ammo out of my Mini on a monthly basis. Use the old ammo for plinking (i.e. Marlin rifle or Ruger Single Six) and keep fresh ammo in your Mini. Be prepared to bet your life on the Mini.
 
22lovr - I knew you were kidding. I was very surprised at how light the measured trigger pull actually was compared to how heavy it felt.
 
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