NAA Mini: Real or Novelty?

[Mrmauserjerry]

those revolvers are boot knife substitute. If theyre not in your swim trunks at the beach or up your *** before you go to prison youre doing it wrong.

[CandG]

those revolvers are boot knife substitute. If theyre not in your swim trunks at the beach or up your *** before you go to prison youre doing it wrong.

Except in CA you can't get a permit to carry a boot knife

[Steve1968LS2]

How often are people attacked by a squirrel carrying a gun?

Joking aside, I have two NAA mini revolvers (original mini and a black widow) and they are a fun novelty. You could certainly kill a person if the shot is placed in the right spot, but you'd be slow and you'd further undermine the power of the .22 by shooting it from a very short barrel. Better than nothing, for sure...

I have one.. if you hold it right it's surprisingly accurate..

When people are checking out my guns it gets a lot of attention.. surprisingly well made.

[ronrichards64]

Years ago a friend cocked his and dropped it in the sand .

[jdg30]

I had a .22lr NAA revolver years ago. It cost a couple hundred bucks. I was intrigued by the quality, craftsmanship, and novelty of the excellent little revolver. It was excellent in every way, except actually using it.

I fired a .22 into the garage wall accidentally before while practicing live cocking/uncocking (stupid).

I sold it after that. I recently thought of buying another just for the novelty because they are so cool and functional. But in reality, I would rather defend myself with a knife any day. I would be way more comfortable pulling a knife on someone than pulling a SA NAA mini revolver and trusting it to do what was needed.

Pulling a NAA revolver against a larger caliber gun is a losing battle for you. They are cool guns but are only a high-quality novelty item in my opinion.

[sidelock]

Shot placement is 10 times more important than bore diameter.
Even a 22 short can kill a person with one shot. I wouldn't discount any caliber when facing a muzzle.

The NAA mini revolver you're talking about is not a service weapon, it's made for you to carry easily so you'll carry it more often than a bigger one, therefore more likely you'll have it when you needed.

That's the whole point of having a small one.

[CandG]

Shot placement, sure. Should have plenty of time to line up the perfect vital organ shot. Take your time, slow and steady wins the race.

Personally I'd rather have a gun where even if I miss a vital, the guy is still in a world of hurt and unable to continue the fight. Smallest cartridge I'd ever consider for a defensive use is a 380. There's never a time or outfit where I couldn't conceal my p238 on me somewhere.

You're right that the size of the hole doesn't matter. 5.56 is the same diameter as 22lr, after all. But unless you land a shot to the heart or brain, you're not stopping someone who is hell-bent on killing you unless you transfer a LOT of energy into their flesh, and 22lr simply doesn't do that. I know a guy who got shot in the arm with a 22lr, and he described it to me as "later, when I realized I got shot, it stung pretty bad." Hmm.

Not to mention, I wouldn't bet my life on a rimfire cartridge actually working at the moment when I need it to work the most. The loudest sound in the world is a "click" when it was supposed to be a "bang".

[plumbum]

It’s a third-line gun for sure, but they are quality and they can be lethal (if you can hold it right; left hand is for holding, right is for pulling trigger).

[IVC]

I have one.. if you hold it right it's surprisingly accurate..

When people are checking out my guns it gets a lot of attention.. surprisingly well made.

The original mini revolver is very hard for me to hold and I don't have huge hands. I haven't found a technique that works well and consistently (and I don't plan on shooting it that much anyways). The Black Widow grip, on the other hand, is sufficiently large to get a good grip and be quite accurate.

Agreed on how well they are made. It's really a gun that any extended collection should have.

[IVC]

Shot placement is 10 times more important than bore diameter.

There is one large misconception about "shot placement" - that it's based on aiming or accuracy.

First, people have vitals in slightly different places. Then, in a confrontation, people move around. While one can get center mass hits, where exactly the bullet is going to land relative to the internal organs is a somewhat random process.

Rifle cartridges have sufficient energy to create damage well in excess of the wound channel. Traditional handgun cartridges don't. They either hit the vital, or the person is not incapacitated. Sure, many will be quickly deterred when shot at, but that's psychological, not physical. A person on some drugs will continue attacking until they are fully stopped.

The .22 creates little damage unless it hits the vitals. That's the problem. Any near-miss will be relatively ineffective. Just too much is left to chance.

[Spyder]

I throw mine in my pocket fairly often. Stopping off at gas station or UPS store to check my PO box on the way home from the gym is the most common. I've got the 1 1/8" barrel with 22mag/lr cylinders. A 22 mag at 2 feet, or contact, will not bounce off of a bad guy. It's not ideal, but it certainly isn't just a novelty.

[Beelzy]

Ahh, the venerable "beats praying" piece.
Frankly, even though it's a 5 shot, you only need one.
Specific tool for a specific purpose. They do the job.

[Jimi Jah]

Ronald Reagan was almost killed by a single .22 short. The NAA is lethal. I'm very careful shooting mine. It is not a toy.

[CandG]

Traditional handgun cartridges don't. They either hit the vital, or the person is not incapacitated. Sure, many will be quickly deterred when shot at, but that's psychological, not physical. A person on some drugs will continue attacking until they are fully stopped.

I totally agree with everything you wrote. But I will say there are some handgun loads that have a pretty dang good chance of incapacitating someone just about no matter where they hit, even if they miss a vital. Case in point, the cartridges I typically carry every day:



Nothing is going to guarantee a one-shot stop, of course, but I think ammo selection can substantially increase your chances.

[sidelock]

Anything is better than nothing when you needed it.