North American Arms = GARBAGE!

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Before NAA & I severed a professional relationship some time back, I worked with about a dozen of their small revolvers across several models & in four calibers, over a period of 15 years or so.

I carried one as a shirt-pocket absolutely-last-ditch-proposition in uniform for the last two or three years of a police career.
I still have that one & one other.

I was under no illusions about what they were & were not.

The only two problems I ever encountered with NAA revolvers were tumbling bullets in a .17-caliber version test gun, and some misfires in my own .22 Mag gun.

I drove the .22 Mag down to the plant & had 'em change the hammer nose angle while I waited. After corrections, no further problems.

I've never had one fall apart & I don't consider them junk.
Denis
 
Well mine all seem to work fine and so does my 32acp Guardian! Guess your just cursed with bad luck and the world is over because your gun is broken. Boy, I cant wait to see what happens when a Smith or Ruger you own breaks.....
 
I have had 2 .22 short mini revolvers since around 1976. I carried one of them for years.
Never had a problem with either.
My Guardian shoots very well, but it's heavy.
Why don't you get your gun fixed, instead of proclaiming all of them are garbage?
 
^ I'm going to send it in if I can't get the hand spring to function properly. It's possible that the groove in the hammer or the groove in the hand where the spring goes could have been cut too deep or shallow and even the slightest amount of force exerted on the hand will pop the spring out.

I think given how often this has happened, I will contact NAA and make them fix it and replace the screw and sideplate that's all scratched up now.
 
I think given how often this has happened, I will contact NAA and make them fix it and replace the screw and sideplate that's all scratched up now.
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Does a competent gun-smith normally scratch up a gun?
 
V-fib said:

Mr. Wright with all due respect do you have a NAA mini? If not why would you comment on something you don't have? You are Wright (pun intended) they are not a target guns, though some shooters I've seen on youtube were very proficient at shooting them at long distances. However I'm not one of them. I do practice with mine as a backup at a couple of yards with CCI stingers. I 'm able to routinely hit the head and neck (silhouette target) and at that range enough to stop a BG from harming me and able to get away. In fact I read an article about a nurse on his way to work one morning accosted my two thugs one of which was on top of him beating the living daylights out of him. He was able to pull his NAA mini out and killed the thug. Another thing, the grips that come with the NAA mini are much too small. I would recommend anyone getting one to add the clip grip. It's night and day more useful than the original grips.
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Well, no, i don't own one. But that is not to say I'm inexperienced with them. Several years ago my hunting companion, Cecil Vick, now deceased, won one of those little things in some kind of drawing. We took it out several times on our hunting escapades and shot the little thing. First time I fired one I learned very quickly to keep my thumb from riding high as I normally do. My thumb extended past the barrel/cylinder gap and got burned and stained with that grey/blue deposit. We learned to hold that little gun between the thumb and forefinger of one hand and press the trigger with the forefinger of the off hand.

At that time, there were no other grips for them, as now. The thing made quite a bark when fired and would completely bury the bullet into the soil if fired at our feet.

The gun was a very pretty affair, with contrasting polished and sandblasted surfaces, and those black grips.

Again, I stand by my original statement of there being better choices for the purpose intended. I still put it in the novelty class.

Bob Wright

P.S. I do not, and never have, considered them "garbage." The ones I've seen and handled were put together like a Swiss watch. While I've had experience with them, never put one to a high round count test. Just bean can shooting only.
 
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I don't have a NAA, never owned one, never fired one, never wanted one.
I've met a lot of people who like them, some who have carried them in a pocket for 20 years.

I once had an argument with someone where I said I'd rather have a good fix blade knife in a SD situation vs one of those tiny revolvers, Im not that skilled with a knife and looking back I was probably stupid for taking that stance.
I just couldn't at the time see them as anything but novelty. :o

This is the first time I've really heard anything bad about the build quality of the guns.

Lohman446 said:
Does a competent gun-smith normally scratch up a gun?
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Not usually, Not if they take their time and take precautions.
I've put plenty of scratches on my guns, I do not consider my self a gunsmith though.. I just work on my own.
But I know every time I've had a Oops moment it's because either.

1. I rushed and didn't protect the area I was working on.
2. was not fully understanding the correct to install/remove a part EX: pulling pins on springs which then "pop" and scratch something.
3. I did not have the exact correct tool for the job and did it anyway.

A good smith shouldn't be running into any of those 3 problems.
 
The reason I branded the entire company as garbage is because most of what they make is the same thing, just in different sizes. The base design of the hand, spring, hammer, etc. remains the same throughout all the models, meaning that more than likely, this issue can affect EVERY model that NAA makes of the mini revolver.
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And yet your problem is at most unusual, and at worst unique.

If a company has a rare problem, and acts to correct it when it happens (which you haven't given them the chance to do), the company isn't "garbage." What do you do for a living? Do you have a career 100% success rate, or did you ever, ever, ever need a second go at something?
 
Why don't you get your gun fixed, instead of proclaiming all of them are garbage?
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YES!!!
I'm going to send it in if I can't get the hand spring to function properly. It's possible that the groove in the hammer or the groove in the hand where the spring goes could have been cut too deep or shallow and even the slightest amount of force exerted on the hand will pop the spring out.
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BINGO!!!!
From my own experience with NAA Mini Revolvers they are a quality built firearm. In fact I will be adding more to my collection. I started out with the miniest of Minis. The 22 short. But I also want a long rifle version, and a dedicated 22WMR. All in the original style, not the enlarged, ovetsized grip, or swomg out design.
 
This is the third or fourth time I've had to...
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I'd just send it back without attempting to fix it. When the same problem crops up 3 or 4 times that's a good indication that there's a reason. Let NAA investigate and fix their own boo-boo.
 
TruthTellers said:
^ I'm going to send it in if I can't get the hand spring to function properly. It's possible that the groove in the hammer or the groove in the hand where the spring goes could have been cut too deep or shallow and even the slightest amount of force exerted on the hand will pop the spring out.

I think given how often this has happened, I will contact NAA and make them fix it and replace the screw and sideplate that's all scratched up now.
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I agree that NAA ought to be able to figure out if there's a manufacturing defect with your gun regarding the hammer, hand and hand spring (or whatever). Doubt you'll have to "make them" do anything, as they'll probably be glad to be helpful for an owner of their product.

However ...

It's not really fair to think to hold them responsible for your actions which scratched up or otherwise damaged the sideplate.

Not saying they can't or won't be able to fit a new one, but I'd ask nicely and consider it a courtesy on their part if they agreed to either not charge you for it, or only charge their internal cost.

You might bear in mind the limitations of the gun when it comes to its design, intended usage, how to remove/replace the cylinder, manipulate it, etc. (As with any firearm)

Let us know what the company says.
 
TruthTellers said:
I'm not a gunsmith. When I first had to fix the issue, I didn't know the screw was a left hand thread, which is another stupid thing NAA did. Left hand threads...
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You do realize S&W has been using that sort of thread for their revolver extractors/rods for some decades, right? There's usually a reason why engineers design things in certain ways. ;)

Now, when it comes to the tapered gas block pins on S&W AR's being installed/removed in the opposite directions as on a Colt (so you have to realize the directions on some armorer blocks have to be reversed) ... :eek: ... or SIG deciding that their dovetailed sights are going to be removed/installed in the opposite directions of other major pistol designs, etc, etc. :(

Then, there's how new solid state radios look different inside than my old transistor radios. :confused:

Must be a conspiracy. :mad:

:D
 
Odd that, poor guy really must have gotten a bad one . I guess Must have gotten a couple good ones. Like some others I have played with mine, I like to shoot shorts ( when I can find them or CB shorts or longs in my little revolver. Ihave been guilty of carrying it concealed ( when I had to carry what ever I had in very deep concealment because of job requirements ) . My other NAA is their .32 auto, never any problems with it either. My only real problem is that I keep buying different grips and holsters for them:D
 
I have one. If you don't dryfire and just shoot live ammo at the range they should be good. I broke mine under warranty by dry firing the c---p out of it with with the cylinder out. I knew enough not to dry fire with the cylinder in it. NAA fixed it free. It's rugged for its size but not like it's a ruger size
.22 mag even out of 1" barrel will put a hurt on a bad guy
 
"...it's obviously easier for you to call names than to try to find a solution."

No disrespect to anyone, but IMHO, it is not up to the customer to "find a solution" to a design flaw, it is up to the manufacturer to either correct a problem or offer a reasonable explanation for it (assembly error by the customer, for example).

Jim
 
Pezo said:
I have one. If you don't dryfire and just shoot live ammo at the range they should be good. I broke mine under warranty by dry firing the c---p out of it with with the cylinder out. I knew enough not to dry fire with the cylinder in it. NAA fixed it free. It's rugged for its size but not like it's a ruger size
.22 mag even out of 1" barrel will put a hurt on a bad guy
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I've dry fired it a decent amount, but I put snap caps in them when I did.
 
Truth Teller..did you use the little plastic rimfire snap caps?
They don't seem to hold up well for me with prolonged use.

I got the hammer spring bolloxed in a Mini Master I had ( my fault ).
Put I got quick and helpful service from NAA.

They refurbed a Black Widow that needed the new spring locked cylinder pin.
They sent me free retaining pin clips for my ..32ACP.

They fitted my Black Widow for a 22lr cylinder during its refurb.

They have good customer service and should be able to straighten out your MM for you.

Good Luck!
 
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