The New NAA TOP-BREAK Mini Magnum

[coyotejoe]

All of this discussion seems to be as to whether or not a .22 mini-revolver is suitable for defense. I think the question should be "what, if any advantage does the top break offer over the solid frame?" Certainly the top break will be more complex, have more things to wear and get out of order, and be more expensive. The solid frame will be more reliable and more durable. Is the faster reloading of the top break really an advantage in this type of gun? I don't think so. In fact, I wish someone would build a good .38, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP solid frame revolver, something like the old British Bulldog. Keeping it simple means less expense up front and fewer problems down the road, a top break takes it 180 degrees the wrong direction. Cute but dumb.

[bckskin2]

sounds like my ex girl friend.

[Savage]

Like coyotejoe the only advantage to the top break is faster loading. With a handgun the size of the mini, I'd never shoot it enough for the faster reloads to be an advantage. Still a well made gun, in the solid frame version anyway, and yep, it's cute too!
Savage

[jcn59]

Many of us enjoy shooting a new and different handgun or rifle.   May or may not have anything to do with self defense.   Faster loading is a convenience for most of us, not a necessity.   If we only subscribed to handguns that loaded up "fast", the Ruger Blackhawk would never have been invented, and many Americans would have been without good jobs. 

I like the idea of a good top break revolver but I doubt I'd pony up five hundred bucks for one.  I see the nicer used H&R top break .22s bringing three hundred or so here. 

In the case of the NAA guns, I hope they provide good jobs for Americans, like us.

[torpedoman]

For <500 bucks you can buy a real useable gun.

[Savage]

For <500 bucks you can buy a real useable gun.

  So true----------------!
Savage

[P.A. Myers]

Sometimes cool is cool.

[Rangr44]

The early birds have started to receive their ordered NAA top-breaks.



.

[SHOOTALL]

If top break revolvers were so great why did they stop making them ? Maybe the next one will have a swing out cyl.   

[beerbelly]

You will not catch me using a 22 for defense! I did once many years ago. They won the fight with a Q ball! I managed to shoot two of the five, but I was in the hospital much longer than they with a fractured skull!

[SHOOTALL]

 

[Ganjiro]

Remember the old saying " Never bring a .22 to a Q-Ball fight". 

[S.S.]

Cute but pretty much as useless as the rest of their
Micro revolvers.

[Flash]

I have their convertible 22lr/22mag and carry it everywhere. I keep it behind my wallet and you'd never know it's there. A 22 round will bounce around in a body cavity like a marble in a pinball machine and if i had a larger caliber gun but couldn't get to it, the 22 will do just fine

[44 Man]

While I think they are neat, but I would never carry one for protection.  Maybe to drop in a pocket for a 'put it out of it's misery' trap line gun, but there are better guns for that also.  I owned one for a couple of years and it's hard enough to safely get the hammer cocked with that little grip, but hitting anything further than 3 feet away is a real trick.  There is no rear sight and the front sight is blocked by the firing pin when the hammer is cocked.  Fun yes, cute yes, novelty yes.  But for serious carry?  No way.  If someone argues differently with me, I'm going to ask them to show me how they cock and fire it quickly 5 times and hit an 8" circle at 5 feet with their's.  I'm thinking that would be a very tough test.  Making it a break action does not help it's shortcomings.  I love all kinds of guns and calibers, and there have been very few I couldn't love for some reason or another.  But the NAA Mini is one I could never find a good reason to own.  Sorry, just my opinion.  44 Man

[Old Griz]

I only know one person who owns a NAA .22, but I do not know the model. We used to have an outdoor range here in our county, but it was closed down a few years ago. The closest target distance was 7.5 yards and he could not hit the paper with it at that distance. Beyond 3 feet it was pretty useless. He has other guns and is a pretty good shot. It ain't the shooter.

Enough people are killed with .22s each year to prove they can work if you're able to hit a vital organ. It's hard enough to do with any gun if the perp is moving, you're excited, furniture in the way, etc., etc., etc. You might not have the opportunity to stick it up to someone's head, or close enough to hit him with the NAA. My wife has a LCP and I have a 638 as well as backup guns. I'm sticking with those as the very bottom line in self-defense. And I don't see this new Ranger as a plinker, either. On the other hand, I know some people will love it, and I hope they sell a gazillion of them. I want to see all firearm companies do well (except Taurus). So even though I see no use for this gun -- I'm glad someone will.

[gcrank1]

It's cute as a bug, and in the 'gun jewlery' class, just like the old Colts vest pocket pistols. I like it but at that price I'll have to wait for someone to gift me one. Then I would probably shoot it with some old Vipers I have to see how it was, then play with it with CBs.
From all this and the above it is obviously in the 'conversation piece' class too........
Funny thing is that they are still making and selling the solid frame models enough to bring this one out.