Seems the discussion on guns has been a little light of late here on NWFA (at least it seems that way to me). I thought I'd throw out a topic for discussion. In this case, it's the super compact little NAA Mini .22 revolvers. I got one a while back and it's just been sitting nestled away - honestly, it's so damn small, I have a tendency to forget I have it.
What got me thinking about it was reading an article or thread somewhere about BUG's, and that's something I've not really given serious thought to. I currently don't own anything smaller than my M&P 9c, so trying to plug in a BUG won't really work with the current collection. Maybe if I get a .380 or even .32 at some point, but for now, that would require another purchase, and I can't do that right now.
So I decided to pull out that little NAA Mini .22lr revolver. I never really took it seriously as a 'defensive' gun, partially because I have a hard time thinking of .22 as a defensive caliber (not looking to start a debate on that subject here, I know many folks have made good cases for .22 for defense), and partially because it's so small, it can be a little hard to manipulate. But upon doing some reading around the googlywebs, I found some folks made some good arguments not only for the .22 but specifically for the NAA revolvers. One article I read referred to the NAA revolver as the "get off me gun", and noted that some police officers carry them in an easily accessible place for that reason - if they get in a scuffle and can't get to their other weapon(s), they may be able to pull this and with a shot get the space/time to draw a primary. That got me rethinking my carry plan.
PROs: The gun is tiny. I can actually slip it into that little 'coin pouch' pocket in my jeans and only a bit of the grip sticks out - since I wear my shirts un-tucked 95% of the time, it's easily concealed and doesn't share a pocket with anything else. But, if I do need it in a regular pocket, it's so light that it doesn't bother me. I cannot pocket carry other guns, even an LCP, it just bothers me to have that much size/weight in my pocket. No safety to mess with - just use the NAA safety of dropping the hammer into the notch between the cartridges on the cylinder and you're safe to carry. Back to size, this is one gun that I can carry under just about any circumstance and just about anywhere on my person, and no one is going to know. It's easy to shoot with very little recoil. It also makes a lot of noise, so, at the least, it's likely to disorient someone momentarily if you had to use it defensively. Another bonus is that it's a fairly simply revolver, so not much to go wrong with it. And the cost is reasonable, you can find them used for under $200. I think I paid around $150 for mine. And, at least to the original registered owner, NAA has a lifetime warranty.
CONs: Single action only, so the hammer must be cocked for each shot. Short barrel, so lower velocity bullet and not spectacular accuracy. 5 shots only and not easy to reload quickly - unless you have the sidewinder model, you must remove the cylinder to reload.
This is no doubt a very close quarters gun. It's not got spectacular accuracy, but inside 10 feet, it would be hard to miss a person sized target. Would it drop someone? Maybe. Could it kill them? Possibly. Would it stop an attacker? Again, maybe. Those answers all depend on a variety of factors including how susceptible an attacker would be to any resistance. Either way, having it, perhaps in addition to your regular carry, seems to be just one more tool at your disposal for self defense. Kind of like having a knife on hand as well. And from my experience firing it, even though it's just a 'little .22', the thing makes a LOT of noise and would most certainly cause someone immediate pain - likely just enough to give you the space/time to get to your primary gun. I like the 'get off me gun' concept
These guns are, in my opinion, very well made and will last a long time. I think they look very nice too. They actually fit my hands well and shoot easily. I've honestly considered adding a .22 mag to my collection, or maybe sell this one and put the $$ toward a model with the .22 mag and .22 lr cylinders.
What are your thoughts on these little buggers? Waste of $$? Or do they have a real place in a defensive strategy?
This is a photo of what I have (not my photo, just from the net) - .22lr with the longer 1 5/8" barrel:
What got me thinking about it was reading an article or thread somewhere about BUG's, and that's something I've not really given serious thought to. I currently don't own anything smaller than my M&P 9c, so trying to plug in a BUG won't really work with the current collection. Maybe if I get a .380 or even .32 at some point, but for now, that would require another purchase, and I can't do that right now.
So I decided to pull out that little NAA Mini .22lr revolver. I never really took it seriously as a 'defensive' gun, partially because I have a hard time thinking of .22 as a defensive caliber (not looking to start a debate on that subject here, I know many folks have made good cases for .22 for defense), and partially because it's so small, it can be a little hard to manipulate. But upon doing some reading around the googlywebs, I found some folks made some good arguments not only for the .22 but specifically for the NAA revolvers. One article I read referred to the NAA revolver as the "get off me gun", and noted that some police officers carry them in an easily accessible place for that reason - if they get in a scuffle and can't get to their other weapon(s), they may be able to pull this and with a shot get the space/time to draw a primary. That got me rethinking my carry plan.
PROs: The gun is tiny. I can actually slip it into that little 'coin pouch' pocket in my jeans and only a bit of the grip sticks out - since I wear my shirts un-tucked 95% of the time, it's easily concealed and doesn't share a pocket with anything else. But, if I do need it in a regular pocket, it's so light that it doesn't bother me. I cannot pocket carry other guns, even an LCP, it just bothers me to have that much size/weight in my pocket. No safety to mess with - just use the NAA safety of dropping the hammer into the notch between the cartridges on the cylinder and you're safe to carry. Back to size, this is one gun that I can carry under just about any circumstance and just about anywhere on my person, and no one is going to know. It's easy to shoot with very little recoil. It also makes a lot of noise, so, at the least, it's likely to disorient someone momentarily if you had to use it defensively. Another bonus is that it's a fairly simply revolver, so not much to go wrong with it. And the cost is reasonable, you can find them used for under $200. I think I paid around $150 for mine. And, at least to the original registered owner, NAA has a lifetime warranty.
CONs: Single action only, so the hammer must be cocked for each shot. Short barrel, so lower velocity bullet and not spectacular accuracy. 5 shots only and not easy to reload quickly - unless you have the sidewinder model, you must remove the cylinder to reload.
This is no doubt a very close quarters gun. It's not got spectacular accuracy, but inside 10 feet, it would be hard to miss a person sized target. Would it drop someone? Maybe. Could it kill them? Possibly. Would it stop an attacker? Again, maybe. Those answers all depend on a variety of factors including how susceptible an attacker would be to any resistance. Either way, having it, perhaps in addition to your regular carry, seems to be just one more tool at your disposal for self defense. Kind of like having a knife on hand as well. And from my experience firing it, even though it's just a 'little .22', the thing makes a LOT of noise and would most certainly cause someone immediate pain - likely just enough to give you the space/time to get to your primary gun. I like the 'get off me gun' concept
These guns are, in my opinion, very well made and will last a long time. I think they look very nice too. They actually fit my hands well and shoot easily. I've honestly considered adding a .22 mag to my collection, or maybe sell this one and put the $$ toward a model with the .22 mag and .22 lr cylinders.
What are your thoughts on these little buggers? Waste of $$? Or do they have a real place in a defensive strategy?
This is a photo of what I have (not my photo, just from the net) - .22lr with the longer 1 5/8" barrel:
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