Me too, I look forward to these.



 

For kicks I went to the local funshop to handle one of these.  They had a 22lr with a 1 1/8" barrel.



I've got pretty big hands, can palm a basketball - and I just could not see how to grip this thing well enough to shoot it.  I was amazed how tiny it was in real life.  In your pix it looks manageable, but wow, I just could not get a handle on it.



I love the concept of a super deep cover gun, but it may not be in the cards for me.  The gal in the store mentioned another gun that has a grip that unfolds (?) to make it a little more grippable.  Can't remember the name... black widow or something?

They weren't on my list at all, but now they are.

Darn you O_P!









 

This man tells the truth. I really like the looks of the "Wasp".

Now that I'd like to try out.  The folding thing would normally seem gimmicky, but to echo the opinion of others, the NAA quality is impressive.  I bet that little folder would be right up my alley, assuming I can safely handle/shoot it









 

Hmmm.

A Black Widow with that grip does sound like a pretty nice combination.

A designer made a few of them into these not long ago.  They were sold at a jewelry store in LA.

I own 2 of the Black Widow models in .22 mag.  They are a far superior  model in terms of control and sights.  Both are excellent shooters.  

OK, so the cylinder spins freely when half-cocked.  I can see that now, thanks.

What about when you are fully cocked, and want to decock?  Obviously, you have to be very careful when lowering the hammer...do you then simply half cock from a lowered hammer, and spin it freely again?  

Is there any real danger in lowering the hammer onto a round long enough to half-cock it again?

O_P you tested them with "high velocity" ammo, correct?  Most .22 high velocity ammo is 36-32 grains, it's higher velocity because it uses a lighter bullet than the "normal" 40 grain load - if I remember correctly.

From a very short barrel, a heavier bullet will realize its potential better than a light bullet will, because there's less powder to burn, so less powder is wasted.  In other words, a heavier bullet is designed to use less powder to get up to its maximum speed, while a lighter bullet is designed to use more powder to get up to max speed.  In a very short barrel, the difference in velocity is less significant than in a longer barrel.  The heavier bullet will be slower than the lighter bullet, of course, but it may have more momentum, and allow it to penetrate deeper than the light bullets.

I would like to see some heavier bullets tested, in the .22LR especially since none of the loads you tested in that caliber made the minimum penetration.  I understand that you have to/have already sent the guns back, and I've hauled several hundred gallon jugs to the range myself.

I think the Aguila SSS 60 grain bullet may reach the penetration minimum.  It penetrates deeper in gelatin than any other .22LR load from the NAA mini in this brassfetcher test but exited the block and penetrated a few inches into an arresting medium that can't really quantify the depth of penetration it would have had in gelatin.

Cap, you might want to look at the Minimaster for a BOB gun.  I had one of the "regular" short barrel NAAs back in the early 90s as an emergency responder, but it would be sorely lacking in taking small game or in getting more than stab-with-pencil effect.  The Minimaster is as accurate as my MkII 6" out to 15 yeard, and is limited more by thw WIDE Millet front blade than anything else, beyond that.  Just a bit bigger, but (IMO) significantly more versatile.

Well done as always O_P! My wife and I both have the interchangeable cylinder pistol. I carry mine often, but I keep hers loaded with rat shot (for snakes).
Looks like I need to switch out my V-Max for some Maxi-Mag.

I have 8 or so other pistols in the safe and all worked out to be too heavy/big for everyday pocket carry, including the naa black widow, so now I have and use the naa pug 22wmr and have carried it for around four years never had to use it thank goodness .some observations,, o  p post thanks good job ,,always USE a pocket holster,I found the hammer resting on a round before putting in pocket next day ,I ordered a holster overnight and use it! it is loaded with cci 32 grTNT rounds that exploded in a 2x4 I shot {a target frame} don't know how it would expand in gell.,,  the sound might deter a bad guy , I shot a snake in the back yard without ear pro and still have the rings and the flame at night will blind you so account for that when firing , better than knife ,not as good as a 1911

Is there really that much difference between the black widow and the pug? I'm guessing it's the grips?

I like mine, it's a hoot to plink with.  When I had to have it "safety inspected" here in Michigan years ago, the cops on duty all wanted one as a second backup gun.

much shorter barrel and grip size ,but same frame so i guess you could put widow grips on a pug . widow is good out to 15 yds and does  not keyhole as much

Looks like they were made in 17HMR & HM2, too



http://www.naaminis.com/news12.html



I bet they made a nice fire ball, if nothing else.

Ordered a .22WMR today. I'm really digging that PUG version though....

Wife and I watched "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" last night.

A NAA mini revolver plays a pivotal, and hilarious role in the film.

Ah yes, the "faggot gun".  Great movie, by the way.

I own a .22 magnum convertible revolver.  For what it is it's pretty nice.  But if I had to do it again, I'd get a mini master or black widow.  The 2" barrel on the BW shouldn't be any harder to conceal than the one I've got (even if it is 3/4" longer), and the fact that it has a rear sight makes it much more accurate.  The mini-master seems like it's be a nice small gun for camping and hiking... so light you'd forget you had it.

The older revolvers (like mine) just had a front sight blade and it makes aimed fire quite difficult.  The PUG has a rear sight, but a shorter barrel which doesn't sit well with me.  I think the Black Widow offers the best compromise between shootability and concealability.  And you can put the smaller grips on it to reduce bulk if you like.

Sadly, I'm stuck with what I've got since they're not approved in California.

Bottom line, if you're gonna get one, get one with good sights.

That is a very good write-up on the NAA mini-magnums.

I started collecting .22 magnum NAA pistols about 10 years ago. I will agree with many here that these little wheelguns are very well made and crafted of high quality materials. I have not purchased any in a while and I will be damned if this post got me to navigate over to the North American Arms website and browse around. It looks like NAA has come out with a few new models that look interesting.

I also have carried some of my magnums for super-double secret deep back up to one of my larger caliber primary weapons. I have also carried CCW in my shorts when I would go for long walks on the beach but not on a regular basis. I did carry one of my small .22 magnums in my front pocket for many years while I worked at a one of my jobs and no one ever had a clue that I had one on me.

I will add that after almost a decade of occasional practice at the pistol ranges, it did take many rounds of practice before I became somewhat pretty accurate at hitting my targets. I kind of look at it like this for an example when shooting these mini-magnums - I have fished here in Florida so many years that on many occasions I found the challenge of fishing for good sized fish with ultra-light line (4-6 lb test) and tackle. I sort of relate this, in a small way, to the challenge of target shooting with these pistols. I would go to the range and after many rounds and different weapons, I would take a little challenge break and shoot the mini-magnums at longer distances just for the fun of it. I found that I enjoyed this challenge-break so much that several years ago I would bring some of these pistols with me to the range and when I was finished with my larger caliber weapons I would shoot my NAA pistols as part of my own challenge at the end of my range trip.

I have added a couple of pictures of what my collection is now. I have the regular .22 magnum conversons (.22 magnum / .22 LR-.22 short) I also have two of the Black Widows, one a .22 LR the other a hard to find .17 HMR, these are pictured center. The top pistols are one Earl conversion and my favorite the Mini-Master conversions.

I knew a guy who carried one of these in his pocket and even used the folding handle.

And somehow, somewhere, it slid from his pocket and he LOST IT!

Yep, had no clue where it was.

So, when he bought ANOTHER one (this time in WMR) he added the prickly side of Velcro strips to keep it from slipping from his pocket.

And it looked like this:


I think he still has it.

And it's quite the little ZIPPER

My buddy has a black widow that he is pretty good with. He has shot it a good bit though.

I did an informal test of various .22WMR loads a few years ago. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=123515

The black widow is the way to go. It has a grip that works much better than the other minis and most important REAL Sights. The BW sights are better than a S&W 642 comes with.