Iāve been in the firearms industry for a long time now, and Iād never come across a North American Arms mini-revolver in the wild. Iād seen them in stores, and at shows, and Iād asked the folks at NAA to send them for reviews, but nothing ever arrived.
So when my father-in-law started asking questions about them, I knew Iād have to come up withābetter answers than my typical educated guesses. So I headed down to the old brick-and-mortar gun shop and tried to buy one.
I say ātriedā because these suckers donāt stick around long. There is a certain crowdāand Iām going to guess here that most of them are white males over the age of 60āwho canāt get enough of the mini-revolver. I had to order one.
And then there was the run on guns following the shooting in Orlando, so⦠hurry up and wait. But here it is at last.
Some background
NAA Black Widow package with two cylinders. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
The mini-revolver phenomenon is fascinating. There are many people carrying them who believe these guns are a solid option for self-defense. Iām not in that camp. I see this as a last-ditch gun, only appropriate for those times when anything bigger is out of the question.
And no, Iām not talking about tucking into a body cavity. This cop hid it in the bottom of a Big-Gulp, covered up with ice-cold Coca Cola.
Thatās what a gun like this is perfect for.
Cylinders showing āLā and āMā markings. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
But self-defense? Only if it is the only option available. And then, preferably, in the .22 magnum. Ā Even then, Iād want to be too close.
Letās talk basics. These NAA guns are small. The .22 LR only guns are even smaller. Weāre talking one-finger grips on most though the Black Widow has a āfatā, two finger, rubber grip. Thereās still hardly room for your second hand. With a two inch barrel, overall length of 5.88-inches and a weight of just 8.9 oz, itās a five shot affair.
Recoil is negligible, even with the .22 magnums. The gun is single-action-only, so you will have to thumb back the hammer for each shot.
NAA Black Widow cylinder pin. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
Reloading is a pain in the assāyou have to pull the cylinder. The pin that holds it in place is also the plunger for extracting the shells, which wonāt fall free, as the spent magnum brass actually holds in very tightly.
Putting the cylinder back in requires a bit of fidgety monkey business. I found that I could drop the cylinder from the left side of the gun, and put it back from the right side. Even when it goes back into place, you have to find the perfect placement for the pin. It isnāt difficult, but it isnāt easy, either. I expected for it to get better with practice, but that hasnāt happened yet.
NAA Black Widow hammer. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
The best way I found to get the cylinder back in is to first pull the hammer back until you feel the first click. If you do this before you put a loaded cylinder in, thereās no chance of anything accidental happening.
Once the gun is set to fire, you are ready to go. There are no external safety devices on the gun but there is a notch for the hammer to rest in when thumbed back a fraction of an inch. That keeps the pin (which is actually a really nice flat wedge) from resting on the shell.
Clear Marble sights on the NAA Black Widow. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
The sights on this gun are superb, if a bit superfluous. I shot from multiple distances. Letās just say that the closer you are, the easier it is to hit what youāre aiming at. Yet these ramped sights from Marbles are still really nice.
And the whole gun comes in a lock-box. That, I like. Any monkey with a hammer can crack one of these in under a minuteāso donāt think of it as a safeābut they keep the kids out.
Flat primer on NAA Black Widow. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
Additionally, this version has a full, un-fluted cylinder. You can tell the difference between the .22 LR and .22 mag cylinders when you try to put the rounds in. And there are small stamps on the back side ālā and ām.ā
The barrel is also a fat slab. It is vented, which means theyāve cut out some grooves. It isnāt ported. There are ported versions available, though I canāt imagine why anyone would want ports as it is only going to bleed power from a gun that doesnāt kick anyhow.
Shooting the mini-revolver
Though only 8.9 oz, recoil from even magnums is negligible. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
As I mentioned before, Iād been told that the magnum shells were going to stand the gun up in my hand. Not the case. This gun is a piece-of-cake to shoot. Unlike some revolvers (some much larger, much more expensive) this one seals up nicely. There was no burn from the gasses leaking out of the cylinder gap. I didnāt end up with burnt powder and shaved lead in my face when I fired from the hip. The NAA is an exceptionally well built gun.
The trigger however will take some acclimation. It feels ālike a triggerā, but thereās no take up and I find it hard to pull or not pull my shots. As you can see on these target images, I was all over the map. Shooting one handed, I tended to pull up and left a good two inches. With two hands, and lots of concentration, I could keep it centered.
I shot at various distances and can report that this is a close range weapon. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
I shot at contact distances and from distances ranging from three to ten feet. I backed out to five yards. Ten to fifteen yards was still doable, but the farther from the target I got, the more the gun felt like a novelty.
And it isnāt a novelty, exactly. The barrel on this version is two inches long and thatās a revolver measurement, which means it would be closer to three inches if the gun was a semi-auto. Ā Thereās some bleed off from the cylinder gap, but it is minimal. Ā From this length, the .22 LR can range from 700 FPS to high 900 FPS. The magnum will zip out between 1,300 FPS down to the 1,000 FPSāall depending on the powder load and grain weight of the bullet. Ā The .22 magnums are certainly nothing to sneeze at.
As there are a wide variety of .22 LRs available now, and fewer (but still plenty) of the .22 mags on the shelves, I think itās safe to say that the right load for this gunb is readily available.
Whatās wrong with the design?
Plastic cylinder release and oversized, ātwo fingerā grips. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
The NAA mini-revolvers donāt have an external safety. This means thereās nothing to prevent them from working like they should, when they should. It also means there is a potential for an accidental or negligent discharge as some folks will inevitably drop them in their pockets with no holster. That, I would say, is user error.
Imagine a scenario like this: Youāre carrying in your front pocket, strong side, and you drop your keys in with your gun (I canāt tell you how many times Iāve done this before, though always with my gun secured). Then you forget and wrestle your keys out of your pocket. If the gun is not properly secured with a holster, you could thumb back the hammer. I know it is highly unlikelyāso save it. Ā All Iām saying is that itās possible.
Barrel view of NAA Black Widow. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
Yet people are always going to find a way to hurt themselves and the gun was built this way for a good reason. My advice is to just use your head and carry safely, in a holster.
The second point has me a bit more concerned. In order to rock in a new cylinderāone that is loadedāyou have to manipulate the gun, maybe too much. As the pin slides in below the barrel, I found my fat hands fumbling dangerously close to the muzzle. Frequently.
Lockable case comes with purchase of NAA Black Widow. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
While my right hand was setting the hammer, my left aligned the cylinder. Each time, I wondered just how much pressure Iād have to put on the hammer to get it to fall and ignite a primer. I also tried to be conscious of the triggerābut that was hard as my hands are big, the gun is small, and thereās not trigger guard. Getting everything lined up and positioned correctly isnāt easy, and it is made more difficult if youālike meāare supersized. Again, Iām ragging on a system that is built this way on purpose. It has to be small, so it is small. And it isnāt exactly unsafeāit just makes those of us paranoid about handling guns safely a bit nervous.
In short, Iād really like to have this gun, but with a crane to swing out the cylinder. As is, you have five shots. Thatās it. If you are ever in a situation that would require you to use a mini-revolver in a defensive situation, you wonāt be able to reload. It simply isnāt practical.
So in the end, what is this thing?
NAA Black Widow in hand. (Photo: David Higginbotham)
Iām a bit torn. While it will never be an everyday carry piece for me, I will carry it. I just have to find the right holster for it. There are times and places where I need the slim profile of a piece like this. Iāll take off the fat grip, too, and try it with something slimmer.
While this gun feels small and underpowered, it is a gun. Sometimes that alone is enough. I have to keep telling myself that. These things are exceptionally well made. Theyāre made in America. And theyāre inexpensive (just over $300 for the Black Widow, with all the bells and whistles and both cylinders). And theyāre small. When I look at that list, I have a hard time chalking the NAA up as a novelty.
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