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Posted this on the KTOG forum and thought I would post it here, too. I'm really growing fond of the little .22 Magnum cartridge since having my first, real experience with it via my Rough Rider. Of course, I realize the shorter barrel of the NAA mini won't give quite the same ballistics, but it should do pretty well as a BUG or when I can't carry anything else. Anyhow, what I posted on KTOG was:

Well, I put a used, 1 5/8 inch barreled Magnum version in lay-a-way when I stopped by my favorite LGS before coming to work earlier, today. Looks to be in really good shape. In fact, other than the finish being a little dull (just needs a bit of a polish - mostly on the barrel) and maybe a very minor scratch here or there, it looks brand new. Have been thinking about one of these for a while and three factors came together to cause me to decide to do it:

1: My P3AT is once again not operating correctly. I have one more thing I am going to try (if I can get a new barrel) and then I'm sending it home if that doesn't work. Don't know how long it will take to have it up and running, don't want to be without a small, lightweight pocket gun and like the idea of a mini-revolver as I am just about soured on small, lightweight autos,

2: This is the first 'plain' Magnum I have found, in person, with the 1 5/8 inch barrel. I know that the slight bit of extra length on the barrel probably won't make that much difference but figure that every little bit will help velocity/energy wise and

3. The price on this one (because it is used) was $169 before tax, etc. The new ones I have seen around here (all shorter barreled versions) tend to run $229 to $259.

I would like to have walked out with it, today, but with Christmas coming up, etc. I decided it would be better to pay it out over time. I'll just have to continue to 'make do' with what I have in the carry rotation until I can bring it home. I'll have pics, later, but it looks pretty much just like the 1 5/8 barrel version on this page:

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

I double-checked to make sure it had the 'safety notches' as I have heard that older versions didn't.

Cool! Congrats!
I've been wanting to get one like that for a while now. But I keep waffling back and forth between a mag round or a bigger center fire round.

Love those guns! You got a nice one. I want pics when you bring her home.

Yeah, in the last year or so I have made the transition from thinking of them as 'novelty items' to deciding that I need one for a deep concealment, reliable carry gun. With my P3AT out of commission (and my gradually losing faith in really small-and-light-for-caliber autos, in general) the deep concealment/ease of pocket carry aspect is what finally made my decision. I don't imagine I will very often carry it as my 'one and only' as I have done with my P3AT, sometimes, but in situations where nothing else will fit in, I won't feel unarmed. According to the ballistics tables on the NAA site, some WMR rounds make some pretty respectable velocity out of them - up into the high 900/low 1000 fps range (it does look like, by those tables, that the 1 5/8 inch barrel picks up ~100 fps or so - more with some ammo and a little less with other types - over the shorter barrel, which I feel would be signficant in that velocity range with this, particular caliber.) Unless I am mistaken, that's well into .38 Special/.380 velocity ranges and I wonder if that might not give at least some expansion with good HPs (although that might limit penetration too much) and would probably give pretty good penetration with solids. Of course, the projectile isn't as large as a .38 but, at close range, I still don't think anyone wants shot with one.



You've got it!

Plus you have to love that holster grip for pocket carry!

Looks pretty interesting but I don't think I'll go with that. I figure that getting a small, SA revolver into the fight quickly and getting quick, somewhat well-placed shots off will be hard enough without adding the necessity of unfolding it, first. Plus, with my luck the locking mechanism in the folding grips would fail just when I really needed the firearm. I am considering the 'boot grips' though to improve control. Just not sure if they would impact concealability too much to be worth the trade-off.

The boot grips are the first grips on this page:

http://www.naaminis.com/maggrip22.html

The oversized rosewood grips w/natural palm swell look interesting, too. They look like they would add controlability without impacting concealability quite as much as the oversized rubber grips might. I also wonder how much, if any, 'drag' the rubber grips would add when trying to draw the little wheelgun from a pocket. Of course, the rubber grips would probably be the most comfortable. Still, I think the boot grips might be the best compromise between the two if it turns out I don't like the factory birdshead grips. No sense getting a tiny revolver for ease of concealment and then putting big, honkin' grips on it.

I just like the holster grip because that would keep me from having to keep the trigger covered in an actual holster. Then I could throw it in my pocket without having to worryu about keeping it in a holster when I sat down or moved awkwardly.

Makes sense. I kind of like the pocket holsters with built-in ammo pouches. Not that you'd have time to reload in an "Oh, crap!" situation but having a few, extra rounds couldn't hurt.

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

I'll probably end up making something like the leather pocket holster. I've seen holsters for them that hang around the neck from a cord, etc. but most of those point the muzzle at the wearer's head/chin and I'm not crazy about that idea. I am toying with an idea, though, for a 'medicine pouch' with a small holster that would position the mini in a position that would make me less nervous sewn/made inside it to wear on a leather thong for when extreme concealment may be needed. It would be slow to deploy so that wouldn't be an 'all the time' thing, just for special situations. That would be strong medicine, indeed - provided the pouch wouldn't have to be too large.

In either fashion it's a great gun.

The 22mag is my favorite round so I've been struggling with the choice between the NAA Black Widow and a Bond Arms derringer in 38/357. I guess the extra $130 for the derringer would buy a lot of ammo for the NAA though. I'm really torn on this one

Mike

Two completely different sized guns.(I have only seen the 45/410 in person) You want one for a holster or one for a pocket. A derringer is on my to buy list but they are hard to find at my usual bargain basement price requirements.

I wouldn't mind having a Derringer-type two shooter in .38 Special. If I'm only going to have two shots, I'm not sure I'd want any less than that. The Bond Arms versions are just so heavy and costly (for a two shooter) that, for my purposes, it isn't worth it - especially when a Kel Tec .32 or .380 would hide just about as well if shotshells weren't the primary intended use. If I went the two-shooter route I'd probably have to go with a Cobra, instead, and I'm not sure I trust those entirely. My grandfather in law looked at one in .22WMR for a lawnmowing gun. In fact, he was already paying for it when the salesperson mentioned how you have to be careful when closing them to make sure one of the firing pins isn't protruding or you can fire it unintentionally - that broke the deal, for him, and would make me have to think long and hard about buying one of those.

The NAA mini, while only a .22WMR, at least offers five shots and mine has the safety notches so I feel fine carrying it (in a pocket holster, of course.) The slightly longer barrel, etc. of the Widow might add a little to velocity/punch and accuracy. In my case, I wanted something that would totally disappear in my pocket with as much 'oomph' as possible out of a small package while keeping recoil to a level that I can fire it with my weak hand if the excrement really strikes the rotary cooling device (as in my right hand is injured or I am grappling with an assailant.) For that reason, I wanted a 1 5/8 inch barrel - slightly easier to pocket than the Widow but a little more velocity than the 1 1/8 inch barrel (according to the velocity charts on the NAA site, even that miniscule difference in barrel length does seem to make at least a small difference in velocity) so when I caught this one for sale, used, I was all over it. I like that it is a revolver and won't jam like many of the miniscule autos seem prone to do (to be truthful, I'm having a bit of a 'crisis of faith' in semiautos as SD carry guns right now, in general.) One guy over at the KelTec Owner's Group forums calls the minis 'ear, nose and throat' guns as he feels they would be most effective if pressed into one of those areas and fired, point blank. In other words, a 'get off me' gun. With the birdshead grips, if I get the right two-handed hold on it, firing with my strong hand, I can do pretty well on a target from three to five yards or so, maybe a little further but three to five yards is about as far as I would try in an SD situation, anyway. I think I will do better when I get the boot grips. It will rarely if ever be my primary when in public - pretty much only when I can't carry anything else - and will usually be a BUG or even a BUG's BUG.

Yeah, I'm a bum and I haven't got pics or a range report up, yet. Truth is, the pics I took sucked and I haven't had a chance to re-take them and, while I've been able to shoot it enough to feel familiar with it, the weather hasn't allowed me to really put it through its paces, yet (and I'm kind of waiting until I get the other grips to do a full report, anyway.)

Yeah, I was about to pull the trigger (figuratively speaking) on one when the sales guy told me the same thing. So much for that. Looked like it would be easy to shoot a finger off.