NAA Mini Magnum Ballistics Shootout

"And the Winner Is... Winchester Super X!"

A few weeks ago, the results of an accuracy test of the North American Arms Mini Magnum revolvers proved these guns to be quite accurate. No matter which frame you choose, accuracy will be as good as you can make it.


At the same time I performed the accuracy tests, I also ran some ballistics tests on the four remaining magnum frames (I already tested the NAA Pug). What is interesting about the tests I performed is that my conclusions were slightly different than the tests listed on the NAA website.


These tests were slightly less thorough then the Pug tests. I did not shoot any of the .22 long rifle ammunition as I did in the Pug. I was looking for the most powerful round or rounds that may be shot out of these guns.

In addition to the CCI and Winchester magnum rounds above, I also shot the Remington Premier rounds out of the Black Widow and Mini Master revolvers.


Below, I'll list each gun in order from most powerful to least powerful, beginning with the Mini Master of course!


For reference, I shot 10 rounds of each type of ammunition through the chrono, taking note of the statistics for each group. Be aware that a true statistical sample would contain 30 or more data points in order to squeeze the margin of error. For our purposes, I shot 40 rounds of each type of ammunition through four different frame types. Even though the velocities are different for those four guns, the ammunition performed similarly across the platforms. For example, the CCI Maxi Mag HP outperformed the CCI Maxi Mag HP+V in all of the guns tested.


"If you need to slaughter cows or other large animals, the Mini Master would be a great choice."


In addition to a comparison among the various revolvers, I wanted to establish a baseline power rating. To do this, I used my rifle; a Winchester Model 67A single shot chambered in .22 long rifle. With an 18 inch barrel, the Winchester pushes a Federal 36 grain bullet to an average 1220 feet per second, giving 118.95 lb/ft of energy(Ballistics Reference). My Dad used this gun to harvest cows for butchering, and it never failed to kill in one shot. That may not be sufficient for some, but it's good enough for me!

NAA Mini Magum Saves the Day in 3 on 1 Shootout

I was looking through the forums a while back and encountered a shootout story from a poster who calls himself Proud Boer (PB). PB lives in South Africa, and was returning home from a formal event wearing a tuxedo and armed only with his NAA .22 magnum revolver. I asked, and was granted, permission to re-post his story here. 

Results | NAA Mini Mag Accuracy Shootout

Well, the results for our little shootout are in, and they are a bit of a surprise. This first post will concentrate solely on the accuracy of the North American Arms magnum-framed revolvers; ballistics tests are next.

A lot of people have made comments about the accuracy, or lack thereof, of NAA revolvers. I wanted to see if these guns are limited in accuracy by their design or by their human operator. After having shot more than 1000 rounds through my guns, I was inclined to lean toward the latter argument. It takes practice with any gun to become proficient enough to hit a target consistently.

For this test I placed my targets, marked with one inch squares, 10 feet from the bench. At the bench, I placed a vise to hold each gun in the exact position every time. A level was used between each shot to ensure the barrel was perfectly level.

For every gun, I shot five targets with five rounds each for a total of 25 shots from each gun. Once finished, I measured the largest distance between shots in each group. These were added together and divided by five to get an average group size for each gun.

The bullets used for the test were Federal .22 long rifle copper-plated hollow points from a bulk pack. The Black Widow was the only exception. Lacking a long rifle cylinder, I used Winchester Super X .22 magnum rounds for it.

I'll list the guns in sequence from the tightest to the largest group size:

First up is the 1-1/8 inch Mini Magnum. This gun was a surprise. At .8125 inches, It had the smallest groups of all five guns tested. In fact, the average group is smaller than a quarter! Here's a shot of one group:

The Black Widow came in pretty close behind the 1-1/8 inch Mini Magnum. Because it was shooting magnum loads, I don't know how that affected its accuracy, but it still performed well with sub one inch groups. With an average dispersion of .925 inches, the Black Widow is quite the little shooter:

Right in the middle of the pack, the 1-5/8 inch Mini Magnum shot a .9625 inch average group. I've shot this gun more than any of the other mini revolvers, and that grouping is not a surprise in the least. I've been able to hit dominoes from almost 20 feet away pretty consistently with it:

If you are wondering where the Mini Master stacks up, you'll have to wait a bit. That's because the Pug is next in line. With an average .9875 inch grouping, the pug is very close in performance to both the Black Widow and the 1-5/8 inch Mini Magnum. That's incredible when you consider it only has a one inch barrel!

The Mini Master surprised me most of all. With its four-inch barrel, I expected it to outperform all of the other guns. Obviously, that is not the case. In fact, with a 1.45 inch average group size, the Mini Master lagged pretty far behind the other guns, but my theory is that I'll need to try different types of ammunition with this gun. Because of its longer barrel, the harmonics of each ammunition type come into play, and it's quite possible I'll find a bullet that comes out of that gun tack straight every time.

Overall, I think this test proves that these guns are tack drivers at close range. Even the Mini Master has the ability to hit all five shots into an eyeball-sized target if handled correctly. I'd make a wager that anyone performing this test on any of the NAA mini revolvers would find similar results.

Because of their small size, mini revolvers do present some challenges to people use to larger guns, but those challenges are easily overcome once the nuances of the guns are learned. With a short sight radius, or distance between the front and rear sights, it's much easier to mess up their aim. Just don't go blaming the gun the next time you miss that pie tin!

The next time you are in a forum and someone mentions the terrible accuracy of these guns, just point them here. You can't dispute the facts!

P.S. A lot of people have mentioned that the accuracy comes down to the shooter... I think that's pretty clear from the above post, but my philosophy is practice practice practice. A Colt 1911 will do you no good if you don't practice with it. Neither will a perfectly tuned rifle.

NAA Magnum Frame Accuracy Shootout

*Update: Go Here to View Results*

Today, I took every magnum-framed revolver from North American Arms except for the Earls and put them through their ballistic and accuracy paces. I'll have more in a future post, but look at this photo of one target after shooting it with the 1-1/8 inch Mini Magnum revolver and see if you can believe it:

Holster Grip VIdeo on Sportsman's Depot

I sent an e-mail to Sportsman's Depot letting them know they could feature my holster grip video from YouTube on their listings for the NAA long rifle and magnum holster grips they sell. They responded by sending me the link to their product page. Check it out:

NAA Long Rifle Holster Grip Product Page...

The Best Gun Lubricant | Dexron ATF

Grant Cunningham is a gunsmith whose services are on a two-year waiting list. Grayelky over at the NAA forum posted a link to Cunningham's blog regarding lubricants. I liked the article so much, I contacted Grant to ask permission to reprint the article here. Today, he gave me that permission, so here it is:

All You Ever Wanted to Know About Lubricants But Were Too Afraid to Ask

Lubrication 101

By Grant Cunningham

Introduction

Firearms enthusiasts are the targets (pardon the pun) of some of the most misleading advertisements regarding the proper lubrication of their guns. The purpose of this article is to give a background on basic lubrication concepts, the technology behind them, and some guidelines for selecting lubricants based on facts, not hype.

Before going further, let's make something perfectly clear: with a very few obvious exceptions, firearms lubrication isn't terribly difficult. Compared to many more common objects, guns just don't make big demands of their lubricants! That's right, firearms pose no actual "extreme" situations with which a lubricant must deal. There are thousands upon thousands of 100-year-old-plus guns out there that are functioning - just fine, thank you - on a diet of "3-in-1" oil.

However, that doesn't mean that there isn't something better. This article, it is hoped, will help you determine just what "better" means to you.

Let's start at the beginning...

Why lubricate something? First, to prevent wear and second, to promote a certain level of performance. To put it more clearly, what we're trying to do is to keep parts from rubbing directly on other parts, and to make the interaction of those parts as smooth as possible.

As it turns out, those polished surfaces that rub against each other aren't all that smooth. Looking through a microscope, even the most highly finished metal surface still looks like a forested hillside - with all kinds of huge voids, depressions, and valleys. Imagine, then, what happens when that surface meets the surface of it's companion part! Not only does the combination become difficult to move, but the tops of those trees get broken off - that's how wear starts at the microscopic level.

That's why we lubricate those surfaces. Lubrication works in a couple of ways: "hydrodynamic" and "boundary".

Hydrodynamic lubrication is essentially when the parts ride on the film of liquid (or semi-liquid) lubricant; the lubricant fills all of the voids, and the film itself serves as a buffer to keep the surfaces apart.

This works really well, except when a load is applied and the lubricant is squeezed out of it's space between the surfaces. When that happens, the surfaces grind together and wear. What if we added something to the mix - something that was a bit more "solid" than the lubricant, which wouldn't be easily squeezed out? Well, that's just what "boundary" lubrication entails - adding small pieces of more-solid material to serve as a physical separator between the surfaces, keeping them from tearing each other to pieces.

The solids that provide this service are known as "anti-wear" or "extreme pressure" (AW/EP) additives - solids of microscopic size that are mixed into a lubricant, in order to maintain a protective boundary (get it?) under load. "Moly", a generic term for several molydenum compounds, is one example; others include sulphur compunds, zinc, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, aka 'teflon'), zinc diakyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP), phosphors, boron, antimony diakyl dithiocarbamate (and it's derivatives), and many more. Each of these has certain properties that the skilled tribologist (lubrication scientist) will balance to achieve the optimum lubricant for the application.

Regardless of the physical characteristics of the product, lubricants are a "package" - the primary lubricant plus boundary additives, thickeners (as in greases), and other things (tackifiers, pour point depressants, detergents...the list is endless and chock full of chemical names I can't begin to decipher!)

My exaggerated interpretation of the primary lubrication states.

All about grease

Grease is nothing more than thickened oil. Grease is made by mixing oil with a "base" to thicken it - the base being a metallic soap (lithium, aluminum, barium, calcium), or a non-soap alternative (bentone, polyurea.) Each of these bases have different characteristics, which are taken into account (along with the oils and additives) to produce a grease of the desired effectiveness.

Different bases will show different degrees of water resistance, cold weather performance, stability (the ability to resist oil separation under shear and mechanical operations), oxidation, and "reversability" - the ability of the base to re-absorb any oil that might have been separated out.

Lithium is the most common base encountered; it's cheap, easily produced, and has enough good traits to make it a decent choice for general purposes. Aluminum bases, though, have several advantages: much better resistance to water (and acids and alkalis), better low-temperature performance, better stability, and dramatically increased reversability. Aluminum greases are typically a bit harder to find, and more costly, but their performance advantages can be pretty dramatic.

Grease is graded in thickness by its NLGI number. Most grease you're familiar with is NLGI #2; smaller numbers mean less thick, larger numbers mean thicker. A grease rated at NLGI #00 is almost a liquid a room temperature.

What makes for a good gun lube?

Firearms encounter intermittent high loads, interspersed with long periods of inaction. This means that the primary lubrication need isn't hydrodynamic - it's boundary. What, then, should we be looking for?

Start with a very good boundary lubrication package - that translates to lots of EP/AW additives. We need superb corrosion resistance, along with resistance to oxidation (don't want those lubricants thickening up during non-use.) We could also use some water resistance and an ability to withstand mild acid and alkali exposure (think perspiration.) Low temperature performance would be icing on the cake, and for a grease we want something that won't easily separate under load.

We need our oils to migrate. No, I don't mean to fly south for the winter! Migration is the ability of the lubricant to spread to surrounding and adjacent areas. For instance, let's say we're lubricating the shaft on which a hammer pivots; a lubricant with poor migration would just sit where we applied it, and would never get into the space between the hammer hole and the pivot. The net result would be a poorly lubed mechanism. A lube with good migration will succumb to capillary action and snake its way down into that small space, lubricating everything it comes into contact with.

Sounds like migration is just the cat's meow, right? Not really - there is such a thing as too much. The migration that is so desirable on hammers and triggers isn't really good on autopistol slides; the lubricant tends to "run off", or migrates to the holster (or your clothes.) Ever wonder why your autoloader slide goes "dry" while in the holster? Lubricant migration at work. (What, you think it disappeared into thin air?)

What about greases - do we even need them? You bet! I use the General Rule of Lubrication: oil for rotating parts, grease for sliding parts that carry a load. In firearms, grease is most appropriate for any part interaction that has a scraping (aka "shear") type of action, and will be subjected to pressure or shock. What kinds of parts are we talking about? Slide rails, bolt carriers, and sears - especially double-action sears. (An example of a sliding part that should not be greased is the trigger bow of the 1911 pistol - it carries virtually no load, and is subject to almost no stress; it also is under very light tension, so little that a thickened lubricant could reduce its free movement.)

That's a pretty good explanation of what we need - is there anything we should avoid? Of course - any product that contains chlorine compounds. These compounds, usually referred to as chlorinated esters, were used as boundary additives for many years. As boundary lubes they actually work pretty well; the problem is that they promote a phenomenon known as "stress corrosion cracking" (SCC). Essentially, SCC creates microscopic pits and cracks that, under heat and pressure, widen to become noticeable cracks - and sometimes, even broken parts!

(One major gun manufacturer actually had barrels fall off of their revolvers. An investigation ensued, and they found that the chlorinated esters used in their machining oils was causing stress cracking in barrel threads. When combined with the gun owners' use of cleaning and lube compounds containing chlorinated esters, the barrels simply sheared off at the weakest part - the threads. Like most aircraft makers, the company learned to forbid chlorine-carrying compounds on the manufacturing floor, to prevent a recurrence.)

What about "miracle products"?

Let's be clear: there are no "new", "revolutionary" lubricant products made for firearms. That's a flat statement, and it's intended to be. All of the lubricants, bases, and additives of suitable use are already well known to the lubricant industry. Specific combinations might be unique, but it's all been tried before - if not necessarily on guns.

There are several such products on the market right now that are simply a well-known boundary additive in a light carrier; at least one of them is a chlorinated ester! These things have been around a long time, and unless you didn't know better the products using them would indeed seem to be "revolutionary." Just remember: any new gun lube is going to be made up of readily available components, perhaps blended especially for the requirement, but will not be a "miracle". 'Nuff said!

Cut to the chase! What should I use?

Let's start with oil. Most people use oils that are way too heavy; thicker is not better! Use a relatively thin oil with the correct properties, and use it very sparingly - most "oil failures" I've seen have been from too much, rather than too little, oil.

Frankly, in terms of mechanical performance, most oils "work"; some are better than others, but everything will make parts move for a while. The weakest area of most oils is in corrosion resistance - and on a gun, corrosion is a bad thing! There have been lots of claims, but those people who have actually taken the time to run experiments to test corrosion on steel have found that the products with the greatest hype are often the worst at corrosion resistance. Not surprisingly, plain mineral oils, such as Rem Oil, score at the very bottom of the list.

One product that scores pretty well in corrosion testing is also the readily available and dirt cheap. It also has good migration, a good boundary lubrication package, is the right weight (thickness) for general firearms use, doesn't oxidize over long periods of storage, and is compatible with a wide range of metals and plastics. In addition, it is recommended by at least one real degreed firearms engineer! Just what is this miracle elixir??

Dexron-type Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF). That's right, plain ol' ATF. The kind you get at every gas station, auto parts store, and even most convenience stores. Synthetic or regular, either will work just fine. (ATF does have a slight odor to it. If you find that objectionable, a decent alternative that is still readily available is "NyOil." Check your local auto parts store, in the aisle where they keep the miscellaneous lubricants and additives.)

If we were to spec out a "best in class" oil, it would probably be something like Lubriplate's FMO-AW oil, specifically the 350-AW weight. This is an oil designed with very high boundary protection and very high corrosion resistance - especially in the presence of acids, alkalis, and moisture. It is darned near tailor-made for our use!

I'm aware of at least one large coastal police agency using FMO-AW, and they report complete satisfaction with its performance. Unfortunately, it's not (as of this writing) packaged in consumer friendly quantities - 1 gallon pails being the smallest available. If, however, you have a food service equipment dealer near you, they may agree to sell you a small quantity - FMO-AW is designed for food handling equipment. (Ask nicely and bring your own bottle.)

What about grease? Remember that you should grease sliding parts that carry a load - slide rails, sears, and bolt carriers. Again, remember to start with your criteria: must have superb boundary lubricants (particularly when used on double-action mechanisms), preferably of aluminum base, good cold working characteristics, resistant to acids/alkalis and water (especially water), and preferably of a non-staining variety (black grease stains look awful on clothing!)

Many people use Brownell's Action Lube as a popular general purpose grease - it has wonderful boundary lubricants (in fact, it is mostly composed of molybdenum compounds in a light grease base) and great shear resistance. It is superb on action parts, and works fairly well on slide rails - as long as you don't mind black stains. Yuck! It does exhibit poor oxidation characteristics and reversibility; though I have no hard data, I suspect it also doesn't resist water or pH changes all that well. For internal parts, which are protected by housings, it is terrific and gives actions a unique 'buttery' feel. I use a lot of it to lubricate sears and rebound slides, but for all other needs there is a much better choice.

For such things as autoloader slides and rifle bolts, Lubriplate "SFL" NLGI #0 grease is my choice. In my testing it's proven itself superior as a general lubricant. It is white, aluminum-based, low odor, has superb boundary lubricants, and is designed specifically for use in environments that encounter a huge temperature range. It's also resistant to water washout and acid/alkali environments, has great shear resistance, and doesn't oxidize like lithium greases will. As an all-around grease I've found nothing better. It's available from www.lubriplate.com, in their online store. It comes in a 14oz can which will last you for years - no matter how many guns you have!

(Lubriplate also makes SFL in heavier grades, such as NLGI #1. While thicker than the #0, it is still a pretty light grease, and would be my recommendation for very hot climates. The NLGI #0 is a better choice for most of the United States.)

But what about......?

Everyone has their own little "secret". If it works, is there anything wrong with it? Let's find out...

Motor oils: Generally good boundary lubrication (particularly the Havoline formulations), but very poor corrosion resistance and poor resistance to open-air oxidation. In addition, their pour-point additives often contain benzene compounds, which aren't a good thing to have next to your skin on a regular basis! ATF performs better for firearms use on every count, even if it is a tad more expensive. (ATF is still 1/10 to 1/100th the cost of a specialty "gun oil"!)

Gear oils: Too thick for the application. In addition, they contain tackifiers which gives them poor migration and lead to oxidization in open air, rendering them even more "sticky" - pretty much what we don't want. (Some folks use it on their slide rails because it's thicker and won't migrate easily; a light grease is a far better choice.) If you really want a thicker oil with all the good characteristics we've covered, but is still cheap, mix ATF and STP Oil Treatment in a 40/60 ratio. Far better than gear oil on every count - but I'd still rather have a good NLGI #0 grease.

WD-40: WD-40 was never meant to be a lubricant - it was designed as a moisture displacer. It's far too light for any load protection, has incredibly poor corrosion resistance, contains zero boundary lubricants, and rapidly oxidizes to form a sickly yellow varnish (hint: this is not good for delicate internal lockwork.) There are those who will defend this stuff vehemently, but then again you can still find people who think smokeless powder is a passing fad. Just. Don't.

Automotive motor oil additives: Usually a boundary additive in some sort of light mineral oil carrier, they usually lack corrosion protection and often oxidize rapidly; some have poor migration characteristics and rely on the oil to which they'll be added to provide those things. There are better and cheaper alternatives, though when mixed with an appropriate oil additives do have some merit (see above.) By themselves? No.

Silicone spray: Right up there with WD-40, but at least it'll shed water while your parts grind themselves into little shavings!

Graphite: (sprays, powders) Graphite is a crystalline product which is actually very slightly abrasive. It offers no appreciable benefit other than being dry; a lube with a good boundary lubricant package can be wiped dry to the touch and still provide better lubrication and protection than graphite. Save it for your keys and padlocks.

Finally, note that the foregoing is a layman's understanding of lubrication technology. I don't pretend to be an expert, just a well-informed amateur hoping to disseminate some arcane knowledge. Use at your own risk!

Video | North American Arms Safety Cylinder

(Photo Used With Permission of NAA)

North American Arms equips each of their mini revolvers with a safety cylinder--notches cut between the chambers of each round for the hammer to rest on, thus allowing for the safe carry of a fully loaded cylinder. NAA produced a video and placed it on their YouTube channel, and I thought I would embed it here for those who may not have seen it:

Handgun Accuracy Defined

Next week, I'm going to pit five North American Arms revolvers against each other to see how they stack up. From the one-inch barrel Pug to the four inch Mini Master revolver, I'll be testing both speed and accuracy out of these guns.

Martin Chick is a company which specializes in statistical analysis of time and motion projects. They have a really neat primer on determining accuracy of both handguns and rifles which I'll try to use as a guide as I perform my own accuracy analysis of these fine little guns. I asked permission to re-print their article on this blog, and Mr. Chick gave me the go ahead. Here it is: (Go Here for the Original)

Measuring Handgun and Rifle Accuracy

By: Martin Chick

There are many different methods used when it comes to measuring accuracy. If a gun is being used for self defense and the bullet travels in the same direction the gun is pointed it passes the accuracy test. Some shooters place a can on a fence post. If they can knock the can off the post they judge the gun accurate. Hunters place a target at the estimated range they expect to find game and fire three shots. If the three shots make a small group deemed close enough for the kill this will do. Most shooters use the concept of group or extreme spread as the basis for accuracy. For you newbies the size of a group is determined by measuring the greatest distance between any two shots that make up the group.

The recommend standard in measuring groups is shooting five groups of five shots each and then measure the extreme spread of each group and average the results. This is based on the statistical premise that thirty samples are required to obtain significant results. For whatever reason gun magazines have decided that twenty five shots are sufficient. Many shooters ignore this scientific approach and shoot a number of three shot groups which can range from one to hundred groups and use whatever group is the smallest as reflecting the accuracy of the gun. They believe that this is the potential accuracy of the gun if everything happens to be right. Shooting groups in one form or other to determine accuracy has been used for years since it is based on the extreme spread of shots which has a basis in fact and also appeals to common sense.

What remains a mystery to many shooters is the natural dispersion of shots on the target around the point of aim. In fact the shot pattern of rifle and pistol shots appearing on the target resemble shotgun patterns of pellets if the shotgun is fired at close range. Fig (A) is a drawing of a actual test target of one hundred shots. A circle is drawn around these shots

Fig (A)

This circle represents the proper definition of accuracy. Accuracy being defined as the diameter of a circle that contains ninety nine percent of the total number of shots aimed at the center of this circle. This percentage is used since it is good to know the maximum spread of almost all the shots fired but also allowing for the probability that one shot can end up on Mars.

As an example the diameter of Fig(A)is three inches. This diameter is the accuracy of this gun based on this particular ammunition held in a ransom rest on a particular day with particular wind speeds and temperature. It is important to understand that the diameter of the accuracy circle is controlled entirely by the shooter. The gun , cartridge, components , powder, primer, case and manner of loading and the testing conditions determines the diameter of this circle. These can all be altered and therefore controlled by the shooter.

What can not be controlled by the shooter is the groups that form within this circle. Once a circle has been established the location of any shot inside the circle is due to pure chance. The first three shots may be a one holer and the next three measure as a three inch group or any thing in between. Groups form at random and there is no rhyme or reason or scientific explanation as to what size group will appear next.

Fig (B) Fig (C) Fig(D)

Fig(B,C,D) show three possible groups that can form within this three inch circle due to pure chance. It should be obvious that judging accuracy by shooting a few groups is not all that helpful. No group size can be larger than the diameter of the circle which in this example is three inches although there is the remote probability that it can happen. This is why benchrest shooters get teeny groups. The accuracy circle is teeny. But not as teeny as the groups. For those who shoot competitively this implies that winners must be good and also lucky. Some times just lucky.

Although groups form by chance there is a mathematical relationship between the size of the circle and the average size of the groups inside the circle. As the circle becomes smaller ( better accuracy) the average group size will also become smaller. If the diameter of the circle is known the average group size can be calculated. Using the 3 inch diameter circle for an example the average three shot group for this circle is 1-3/8 inches the average five shot group is 1-3/4 inches and for ten shot group it is 2-1/8 inches. On the other hand only knowing the average group size does not help to establish the diameter size. The reasons for this is the center of the diameter is not the same as the center of any group as can readily be seen in the figures above and cannot be located using group size. To locate the center the location of each shot is required.

Since there is a mathematical relationship between diameter and groups they can be used for rough estimates keeping in mind the above information. The use of five groups of five shots has its place and is useful in many instances. Filing flats on handgun bullets , badly cast bullets versus perfect casts and the effective range of guns used for defense come to mind.

The problem arises when making relatively small improvements after all the major changes have been made and attempting to wring out a little more accuracy.. This may be the gun, ammunition, reloading components or minor method changes. To detect small differences by shooting a few groups is akin to chasing rainbows. Twenty five to thirty groups of five would be minimum. A test this large would create its own variations which defeats the purpose of the test. Most of the data is buried in these groups and there is no way to select out shooter controlled errors such as flinches gusts of winds or a defective cartridges. To detect small differences such as primer differences , seating depth, powders etc. each shot has to be assigned a value and evaluated. This is a little more difficult and time consuming but well worth the effort.

Statistics of Handgun accuracy provides a easy to follow step by step method that will put you light years ahead of the other guys.



You can purchase Statistics of Handgun Accuracy on the following web sites

amazon.com
barnesandnoble.com
www.borders.com
buybooksontheweb.com

Photos | North American Arms Pug

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Photo | Where's the Pug?

I promise it's there! There's a single clue, can you find it? I'll post more revealing photos as time goes by. Click the photo for a larger version and good luck.

Photos | Holster Grip Best for Ladies?

For petite ladies who want to carry a concealed weapon somewhere other than their purse and still maintain reasonable fashion sense, the North American Arms holster grip for the Mini Magnum series of revolvers is the way to go.

Even the NAA pocket holster listed on their website is too big for her tiny front pocket, but the holster grip allows the gun to fit comfortably in the small front pockets of ladies jeans. The design of the holster is such that the gun just looks like a cell phone or a folding knife.

Girls Need Guns | A Woman's Perspective

My wife and I recently took a concealed carry class together. Here is her story of how that experience changed her life:

Girls Need Guns

Owning and operating a gun was never something of interest to me. My parents did not own guns and, to be honest, they were an enigma. I was a latch key kid who grew up in the heart of Los Angeles, California. I walked home from school alone at the age of eight, baby-sat my siblings at nine, and as I got older, walked around the streets of Los Angeles alone at night. Personal safety was not a phrase in my vocabulary and was certainly not a subject that was discussed in my household. Not until I graduated college did I begin to understand the danger I was exposed to as I walked to my car in dark parking lots, or back to my dorm across campus in the back alley way. Even then, I didn’t understand the importance of putting my safety in my own hands. Though I became more aware of my surroundings and the imminent dangers, I still lived my life unprotected.

I purchased a gun about a year ago to have in the house when my husband traveled. He took me to his family ranch to shoot it. Honestly, it terrified me. Instead of making me feel more secure, I felt scared. We kept the bullets separate from the gun in fear one of our kids might find it. Looking back we should have sold it – it was useless to us in that state. I’m sure all bad guys will take a time out while you load your weapon to stop them. I was naïve.

A few months ago, my husband asked me to take a concealed carry class with him. At the time I said yes with the thought that it would be fun and something we could do together. I thought if anything, it would help me overcome my fear of handling guns. The class changed my life. For the first time, I really understood the threat of violence with the understanding that it was my right to protect myself against it. I was not going to be a victim and at the end of the day, my fear of handling guns was gone. I learned about the laws of concealed carry; I learned how to handle and load a gun and I learned the best position for me to shoot if ever under threat in a dangerous situation. When I left the class, there was no doubt I would carry. Knowing what I know now, I can’t understand why anyone would not want to control her own safety. I now have my permit and carry a loaded gun with me all the time; a fear I never thought I would overcome.

I am empowered. I am free.

--Jan P.

Here she is shooting the North American Arms Pug for the first time:

Buy a Conversion Cylinder for Your NAA Mini Magnum

(From NAA's Website)

If you'd like to order a long rifle or magnum cylinder for your NAA revolver, it's pretty easy. You need to send them your gun so they can time the cylinders properly, but you don't have to go through an FFL since you already own the gun.

According to NAA, "If you already own one of our .22 Magnum Mini-Revolvers, you can order the Conversion Cylinder from our factory. Please call us at 800-821-5783 for more details."

How To Video | NAA Holster Grip Install

Today, I installed the North American Arms Holster Grip on the 1-1/8 inch Mini Magnum revolver. I trimmed the plastic panels the grip attaches to for a better fit.

A hex key comes with the kit, but I would recommend a second hex so you can tighten the two hex head screws a little better.

Overall, I'd say the kit is very high quality. The plastic seems to be a high impact variety that can take a lot of abuse. The only weak link I can imagine is the belt clip, but it too is made of the same type of plastic. Here's a video of the install process:

Video | NAA Pug Deep Concealment Go Away Gun

When it comes to accuracy, the Pug, NAA's smallest magnum revolver, is seen as probably the least accurate of the bunch. With a one inch barrel, the Pug seems like it would be difficult to aim. It seems that way, until you shoot it! I shot this little gun at some small steel targets the other day, and I was impressed. Here's the video: