Guns: NAA .22 Mini-Revolver Review

One of the pleasures of shooting as a hobby is owning guns that you don't have a "use" for. The NAA .22 LR mini-revolver I acquired last week (used, for $100) is a prime example of such a firearm. Mine is the 1-1/8" barrel version. It's easily the smallest gun I've ever fired, and it's probably the smallest gun commonly available on store shelves.

In truth, it ain't much bigger than a playing card. It weighs around 4 oz., making even a Kel-Tec P32 or the average folding knife look hefty. The revolver is single action only and features a safety cylinder that you can lower the hammer into, meaning a full five round capacity. That's all well and good, but how does it shoot?

Okay - it isn't a target pistol. This group was fired at 3.5 yards - certainly accurate enough to be fun, but the tiny grip, awkward trigger, and rudimentary sight (yes, singular - it only has a front sight blade) make for an incredible challenge to shoot accurately. Surprisingly, I shoot this sucker better with one hand than with both hands.

Here's a group at 7 yards. Yowch. For comparison, basically any decent service 9mm of any make will make one ragged hole at this distance.

NAA revolvers are made in the U.S.A. using quality stainless steel. I shot about three or four hundred rounds of .22 and the darn thing didn't miss a beat (well, except for some crappy Remington ammo - man, that Golden Bullet stuff has gotten worse over the years). Here's mine resting in a pocket holster. The whole package is literally smaller than my wallet.

Yeah, it's got storage for five .22 rounds. This is mostly for weight to keep the holster upright, I guess, because there's not a chance in hell you could ever reload this thing fast enough in a fight. Speaking of fights, don't ever use this gun for defense unless you've already shot two guns dry - and even then running away might be a better option.