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Which is the better NAA revolver to carry?

T

TruthTellers

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I'm torn between which NAA revolver I would buy because I can see the logical flaws behind choosing one over the other.

As some of you may know, North American Arms has some revolvers that don't require removing the cylinder and ejecting each case individually. The Sidewinder is a swing out cylinder with an extractor star to remove all 5 at once and the Ranger II is a break top with an ejector.

The issue with them is they cost $300 for the Sidwinder, $425 for the Ranger II. A standard .22 Mag NAA can be had for $200 and can come with a .22 LR cylinder.

I'm thinking that the .22 Mag/LR combo model that's half the price of the Sidewinder or Ranger would be just as fast to reload with the spare cylinder as it would if you were using a speed strip with Sidewinder/Ranger, if not faster. Yeah, you'd have to carry the other cylinder, but they don't that much.

What do you fine gentleman think?
 
If you are down to carrying one of these aren't you out of the spare ammo league? If you think you are going to need a reload, you need a bigger gun or to pick a nicer liquor store to resupply at.
 
SERE said:
You might find more info in a couple of other threads about NAA minis here:

Let's talk about backup guns

North American Arms Companion Thread of Blithering
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Those are my threads and this thread is specifically about whether an NAA mini with two cylinders is better to carry than one that has a cylinder that can't be removed easily or quickly and is advertised as "faster to reload."

I'm of the opinion that they are not that fast to reload and want to see if others agree and why or why not.
 
I've never owned an NAA mini, but I've always been interested and read a lot about them. One of the things I've read many times is that the cylinder can be a little tricky to reinstall, as far as lining everything up correctly. In a high stress situation when fine motor skills are out the window, I wouldn't want to have to do that. If I ever buy one, it will probably be the Sidewinder.
 
Pistolay said:
I've never owned an NAA mini, but I've always been interested and read a lot about them. One of the things I've read many times is that the cylinder can be a little tricky to reinstall, as far as lining everything up correctly. In a high stress situation when fine motor skills are out the window, I wouldn't want to have to do that. If I ever buy one, it will probably be the Sidewinder.
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The one I have is a bit different and I believe is the most difficult NAA mini to reinstall cylinders in, but I think the standard mini's would be easier to do cylinder swaps with.

The standard NAA cylinder pin has a button on the end that unlocks it and you pull it out.
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s-l1000.jpg


Mine has a pin where you have to pull it down, twist is a quarter turn, then pull it out. It's more cumbersome and with my big hands/fingers, kind of uncomfortable.
1819119_01_naa_north_america_arms_black_w_640.jpg
 
I have the original design combo gun, the spare cylinder is much of the weight of the gun, and yes, it can be a little tricky to re-install the cylinder under stress.

The issue with them is they cost $300 for the Sidwinder, $425 for the Ranger II. A standard .22 Mag NAA can be had for $200 and can come with a .22 LR cylinder.
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At those prices, just go with a New York reload.
naa-cover.jpg
 
Cool little guns and I wouldn't mind playing with one... but why would you carry one?
 
I've got a Pug, I would only carry it as a last ditch option and at that point not sure I'd really worry about reloading - more of an escape aid.

Surprisingly accurate for such a little gun, kind of fun to play with at the range.
 
kalash said:
Cool little guns and I wouldn't mind playing with one... but why would you carry one?
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because it's better than not carrying anything . i work construction , finish . live in marblehead and work in m'head and swampscott high end neighborhoods . wear shorts and t's . NAA in my front cargo shorts w/ cci stingers .
 
If you're in a fight, you're not going to be able to reload either because either method requires far too much in the way of fine motor skills.

Congrats on setting the record for starting the highest number of NAA Mini threads.
 
EddieCoyle said:
If you're in a fight, you're not going to be able to reload either because either method requires far too much in the way of fine motor skills.

Congrats on setting the record for starting the highest number of NAA Mini threads.
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This 100% lol. Ive never seen so much interest in a novelty revolver.
 
Kevin_NH said:
I have the original design combo gun, the spare cylinder is much of the weight of the gun, and yes, it can be a little tricky to re-install the cylinder under stress.


At those prices, just go with a New York reload.
naa-cover.jpg
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That's the original idea that I had.

So, you're of the opinion that a Sidewinder or Ranger is not better than two of the standard NAA revolvers?
 
EddieCoyle said:
If you're in a fight, you're not going to be able to reload either because either method requires far too much in the way of fine motor skills.

Congrats on setting the record for starting the highest number of NAA Mini threads.
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Thanks, but the backup gun thread wasn't specifically an NAA revolver thread.
 
kalash said:
Cool little guns and I wouldn't mind playing with one... but why would you carry one?
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As a backup or 2nd backup or if I was wearing basketball shorts and a wifebeater and still wanted something with me but didn't want it to be obvious I was carrying a gun.
 
Better than nothing but I can’t see a lot of times I couldn’t carry something marginally bigger. If I’ve decided to carry one of those there’s no chance for a reload. Also I would never carry anything other than round nose. Would it really be much easier to carry one of those than an LCR or sw bodyguard even?
 
Half the f***in posts are either not relevant to the thread or are just dismissive to concept of carrying an NAA mini revolver. Yes, I get it, they're the weakest gun you can probably buy, but they're also some of the smallest you can buy.

Before you post something along the lines of "The best NAA is a .380 Guardian" or "You'd be better off with a knife and a rape whistle" how about you borrow one from somebody you know, load it with .22 Short, cock the hammer, put the muzzle up against your sternum, pull the trigger, and lemme know how you feel a minute after, an hour after, and a day after you do that.

Then tell me if it's not worth a shit to carry.

I ask a question to get feedback from people, bounce ideas off of to see what the best choice is within the topic or question being asked, not the pseudo intellectual Northeast baloney.
 
Pistolay said:
I've never owned an NAA mini, but I've always been interested and read a lot about them. One of the things I've read many times is that the cylinder can be a little tricky to reinstall, as far as lining everything up correctly. In a high stress situation when fine motor skills are out the window, I wouldn't want to have to do that. If I ever buy one, it will probably be the Sidewinder.
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Yeah I have one, but its more of a toy to me than a serious weapon. I can say that there is no way in hell I would be able to swap cylinders in a high stress situation. The gun is better than a sharp stick, but aside from that I can't recommend it as a carry piece.
 
TruthTellers said:
Before you post something along the lines of "The best NAA is a .380 Guardian" or "You'd be better off with a knife and a rape whistle" how about you borrow one from somebody you know, load it with .22 Short, cock the hammer, put the muzzle up against your sternum, pull the trigger, and lemme know how you feel a minute after, an hour after, and a day after you do that.

Then tell me if it's not worth a shit to carry.
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You can smother someone with a pillow - doesn't mean I want to carry one around for self-defense. I'm guessing you're not getting many responses you would like simply because no one is crazy enough to rely on one of these itty-bitty guns for self-defense and that should probably tell you something. Sorry we didn't post a trigger warning for ya.
 
Happy New Year - I'll try to keep my resolution and be serious.

I'd go with the standard NAA mini in .22 Mag. Forget about a reload, unless you're on the range.

I sometimes carry a .22Mag derringer in the summer. With light workout clothes, swimwear, or just doing a ton of yardwork where I don't want to have any more weight than I do in hot weather. I don't even consider carrying a reload - if someone is close enough for me to fire two rounds, they're close enough to beat them with the pistol if the first two didn't put them down.
 
Not to cross-post GiM FB posts, but maybe a good starter gun for this is that new KelTek KSG that holds 40 Aguila Mini's. LOL

OP - if you think an NAA revolver in 22mag is a good defense gun, then go with it. Personally, I'd not trust my life to 22mag. And I always feel like a typical derringer with a spur trigger is gonna squirt out of my hands. But this is YOUR decision.

But reload vs. cylinder??? Buy 2. Guns. You'd be better off front-stuffing a Colt Navy.
 
kalash said:
You can smother someone with a pillow - doesn't mean I want to carry one around for self-defense. I'm guessing you're not getting many responses you would like simply because no one is crazy enough to rely on one of these itty-bitty guns for self-defense and that should probably tell you something. Sorry we didn't post a trigger warning for ya.
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It's not that I'm not getting responses I like, it's that the responses are not pertaining to the topic. Yeah, a GP100 would be infinitely better than an NAA Mini, but that's not helping with what NAA is best for carrying and no, I don't think testing a bunch of NAA's on a bear would be a good idea physically or morally.

For those that have actually stayed on topic, I'm forming the collective idea that a reload with these tiny guns in a high stress situation is going to be very difficult, so it really doesn't matter which NAA you have be it a cheap stadard model of an expensive top break.

Still not sure if the second cylinder is a viable option. It would be easier than loading loose rounds into a tiny cylinder, but does it beat a New York reload with a second NAA revolver? Probably not.
 
Way too much mental masturbation. Carrying two little guns is certainly more annoying than one slightly bigger gun. Or a bigger gun with an extra magazine. Plus carrying two guns more than doubles your chance of a ND, or leaving one in the recycling bin. Don't be gun autistic.
 
If you're considering carrying two NAAs, why not a j-frame or LCR? Believe it or not but I actually am trying to be helpful here.
 

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