Gun Review: North American Arms Mini Magnum Revolver .22 WMR

As more and more citizens take advantage of their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms, specifically with respect to concealed carry, it seems that nearly every firearm manufacturer is racing to produce ever smaller pistols to fill this niche.  The names we have traditionally associated with compact pistols, such as Kel-Tec, Rohrbaugh, and Seecamp, have been joined by a host of others, some new, some old:  Ruger, Smith & Wesson, Kahr, Diamondback, and Taurus, just to name a few.  But one company has been producing "pocket pistols" of the highest quality for about forty years, and continue to do so today:  North American Arms.  NAA has a large selection of firearms, from pocket sized semi-automatics to what may be the "definitive" NAA product, the Mini-Revolver, in .22 Short, .22 LR, and .22WMR (aka ".22 Magnum").  Today, I will be looking at the NAA Mini Magnum, a five-shot mini revolver in .22 Magnum, which I purchased from my friends at Tri Cities Gun Depot.

Image courtesy of northamericanarms.com

The North American Arms Mini Magnum is a palm-sized, five-shot, single-action revolver.  The revolver frame is milled from a solid billet of stainless steel.  This particular model is available with either a 1 1/8" or a 1 5/8" barrel, either ported or non-ported.  There are also different grip options available, including standard rosewood, imitation mother-of-pearl (black, white, or pink), as well as a folding holster grip which covers the trigger when folded and has a handy clip to keep the gun properly aligned while in your pocket.

Image courtesy of northamericanarms.com

These guns are extremely well-made.  Everything on the revolver - from the frame, to the cylinder, to the grips - everything is tight, polished, and well-fitted.  No machine marks to be seen.  The trigger is fantastic and the cylinder lock-up is rock solid. My Mini Magnum is truly one of the best looking firearms I have ever owned.  And just in case something does fail, NAA offers a lifetime warranty to the original registered owner.

The model I have is the 1 1/8" non-ported barrel with rosewood grips.  The revolver is 4 3/4" long, 2 7/8" high, 7/8" thick, and weighs in at a whopping 5.9 oz empty.  It completely disappears in my front pocket (I made a pocket holster out of leather in order to keep the gun properly indexed while in my pocket, as well as to help keep lint from clogging up the works).  This really is a gun you can take with you anywhere, regardless of what you are wearing.

Pocket-sized personal protection

The Mini Magnum's cylinder must be removed in order to load and unload the firearm.  This is accomplished by pushing in a button on the end of the cylinder pin, then pulling the pin out of the front of the firearm.  Placing the firearm on half-cock, the cylinder may then be swung out for loading.  In unloading, the cylinder pin may be used to push out stubborn empty cases.  Once the cartridges are loaded, the cylinder is then replaced into the frame, the cylinder pin is replaced, and the gun is ready to fire.  Reloading this gun does take some time, and is not something that one would want to undertake in the heat of the moment.  You have five rounds:  make them count.

Shown with cylinder removed for loading.

Since the revolver does not have a hammer-block safety, one would normally only load four of the five chambers, so that the hammer may be rested on an empty chamber to alleviate the chance of accidental discharge.  North American Arms has developed an ingenious work-around for this, however.  Between each chamber, there is a shallow safety notch, in which the hammer may be rested, thus allowing the weapon to be carried fully loaded.

Cylinder removed, showing safety notch
 (and powder residue in the chambers)

Shooting the NAA Mini takes some getting used to.  For one thing, the grip is very small.  I can only get three fingers on the grip, with my pinky curled under it.  Also, the gun is single-action, requiring the hammer to be manually cocked before each shot.  I have found that I obtain the best results by using a two-handed grip, with my support-hand wrapped around my shooting hand, and using my support-hand thumb to cock the hammer, thus eliminating the need to change my grip with each shot.  The .22 Magnum, while a rimfire cartridge, is a powerful round.  Firing one out of a gun not much bigger than a Zippo lighter is, well...  exciting.  There is no painful recoil, but the entire gun tends to rotate barrel upward in your hand when it is fired.  With practice, one can learn how to control this tendency, however.  One thing I would stress is that hearing protection is a must when practicing with these revolvers:  the .22 Magnum absolutely roars out of this tiny little gun.

The NAA Mini is every bit as accurate as a revolver with a 1 1/8" barrel can be, once you learn how to shoot it.  I have found that using the front sight to aim results in shots being consistently below the point of aim.  Sighting along the top of the barrel, however, gives much better results.  Shooting slowly at a range of fifteen feet, I am able to get consistent three inch groups.  Rapid point shooting at the same distance, the groups open up, but I can still put all five shots inside of the 8-ring.  With more practice, I think I will be able to shrink that down to the 9-ring.

I do not pretend that the .22 Magnum is the best cartridge for self-defense.  However, I do believe that it is a serviceable round, and would certainly be capable of stopping a threat if one knows how to use it.  Nor do I think that a gun with a tiny barrel and rudimentary sights is the best option for a gunfight.  The NAA Mini Magnum is an up-close-and-personal "get off of me" gun...  what some people have called an "E.N.T." gun - short for ear, nose, and throat, meaning that the face, head, and throat would be likely areas to target with this type of weapon.  Thus, I will not be replacing my everyday carry gun with the NAA Mini Magnum.  However, I do believe that the Mini makes a great back-up gun to my S&W Model 60.  And on those occasions when I cannot carry "the Chief," at least I do not have to be completely unarmed.  The NAA Mini just gets popped into my front pocket, and I am ready to go.  In fact, since I purchased "Maggie," I have not left the house without her (so far I have been able to avoid the post office, courtrooms, and airplanes).  The Mini Magnum is one of the best ways to live the mantra:  always carry, never tell.

My (almost) matching pair of magnums:
S&W Model 60 .357 Magnum and NAA Mini Magnum

For more information:

North American Arms

Crossbow Review: SA Sports Fever Magnum Recurve

For this article, I thought we would talk a little archery.  In particular, one itch that I have had for some time, but which I have never gotten around to scratching, is my desire for a crossbow.  I have never owned a crossbow, but I have been fascinated with them for a long time.  So I decided I would finally add one to my arsenal, if I could find a good deal.  Enter Black Friday 2012, a "doorbuster" sale, and a half-price SA Sports Fever Magnum recurve crossbow.

The SA Sports crossbows are marketed by SA Sports, LLC, out of Allentown, PA.  It is my understanding from reading several posts on internet forums that these particular crossbows are of Taiwanese manufacture (if I am mistaken and anyone can provide information on the actual country of origin, then by all means please set me straight.)  The company website ( http://www.sa-sports.com ), while not a fount of information, nor exceedingly easy to navigate, lists a few different crossbows (three compound and two recurves), youth bows, a bowfishing outfit, as well as accessories (strings, cables, arrows, rangefinders, etc.).  The particular crossbow I chose was the Fever Magnum, a recurve design boasting a 175 lb. draw weight and an advertised maximum velocity of 240 fps.  I chose the Fever Magnum for two reasons:  first, the price (a holiday doorbuster sale price of $149.95); and second, it is a recurve, not a compound, so replacing a broken string will not require a bow press (just a strong back).

The crossbow came disassembled in a cardboard box.  Included were the crossbow itself, consisting of the pre-assembled stock/rail (lightweight composite stock and aluminum arrow rail), weaver-style scope rail, the limb (made of compression fiberglass), limb tips (2), string, limb spacers (two plastic and one metal), foot stirrup, open sights (installation optional), as well as the necessary mounting hardware and Allen keys.  Also included were a padded sling with swivels, a 4x32 scope with dual color illuminated multi-reticle, quick detach quiver, bow stringer cable, rope cocking device, a tube of rail lube, and four 16" arrows with field tips.  The included instructions were what I have come to expect from equipment manufactured overseas, so (thankfully) SA Sports has very thoughtfully provided an assembly video on YouTube which made assembly a much easier task, taking less than an hour altogether.  Assembled, the crossbow is about 36" long (with foot stirrup), and 27" wide from limb tip to limb tip.  It weighs close to 5 pounds with the scope, a little over 5 with the scope and sling.  The crossbow is also equipped with an ambidextrous safety that is automatically engaged every time the bow is cocked.

SA Sports Fever Magnum Crossbow

Accessories include quiver, 4 arrows, rail lube,
and rope cocking device

Field Tip on included arrow

Half-Moon nock on included arrow

First impressions:  the crossbow appears to be well-made.  It does not feel cheap, like it is going to fly apart at any moment.  Despite the heavy weight of draw, the rope cocking device maximizes your leverage, seeming to cut the weight in half, making it relatively easy to cock.  The safety engages fully and with an audible "click" each time the bow is cocked, and it is easily disengaged from either side.  The trigger is pretty nice.  Better, in fact, than several of my rifles.  There is just the slightest hint of take up, and it breaks cleanly at what I would estimate to be around six or seven pounds.  The Fever Magnum is lightweight, and comfortable to hold, and the palm-swell on the forearm seems to me to be a nice touch (remember to keep those fingertips below the rail, kids!)  As far as negatives, there is the finish.  On my particular bow, there are some cosmetic blemishes in the camo dip:

Nothing spectacularly bad, but clearly noticeable.  Also, the serving on the string is not centered:

Again, it is not off by much, and probably will not affect the operation of the bow, but it is just one of those little things that illustrates the difference between a top-shelf item and a serviceable, but lesser quality, item.  This clearly is not an Excalibur, but then, it costs about a third or less than even the cheapest Excalibur.  The quick-release quiver I do not really care for.  It adversely affects the balance of the crossbow, and I do not hold out much hope that the release mechanism will withstand much use, as it is all plastic.  Also, the included arrows are not very exceptional, either.  Serviceable, yes...  but that is about all.  Use the money you save buying this crossbow to get some good arrows.  And probably an extra string or two.

While on the subject of arrows, this gives me an opportunity to discuss customer service.  According to the included literature and the company website, SA Sports recommends using 16" 2219 aluminum arrows or 20" carbon fiber arrows.  And that is the extent of the information given on projectiles.  Now, as many of you know, crossbows can be damaged if they are "dry fired":  that is to say, if you draw back the string and release it without a suitable projectile loaded, the strings and limb can be overstressed and damaged.  Now, the same thing can happen if you use a projectile that does not have enough mass, so you should always make sure that you have a heavy enough arrow so as to fall outside of dry-fire status.  Unable to find the minimum recommended arrow weight, I was a little hesitant to just drop in any old 20' carbon arrow without making sure it would suffice, so I fired off an email to SA Sports asking them what the company recommends.  In less than 30 minutes, I had a reply from Mark Ambrose, the company president, advising me that the minimum weight for this particular bow is 350 grains, and that my chosen arrow (Carbon Express 20" with 100 gr. field point for a total of 425 gr.) was well within the limits.  As you may know from my previous reviews, I really respect companies that back up their products after the sale is over.  These are the businesses that continue to see my patronage time and time again.  So, hats off to Mr. Ambrose.

Multi-Reticle

My first outing with the Fever was somewhat of a bust... literally.  Not the crossbow:  no, no, the crossbow did just fine.  Better, in fact, than I had anticipated.  You see, never having shot a crossbow before, I was not sure what to expect in terms of arrow penetration.  So I had gone to my local big box store and picked up an archery target, one made of eight inch thick foam wrapped in heavy gauge plastic sheeting.  Instead of installing the included scope, I chose instead to go with a red/green dot sight I had laying around.  I am just not crazy about the multi-reticle on the provided scope.  I then proceeded to cock the bow using the provided rope cocking device (a Godsend for someone with a bad back), and fired an arrow downrange at the target I positioned 15 yards away.  From the sound, I knew that the arrow had hit the target, but was only barely able to see a dark spot in the upper right of the target (no magnification on the red dot).  So, I reloaded, adjusting the sight a little for elevation, and fired again.  Once more, I knew the arrow hit the target, but could not really see where, so I walked out to the target to check on my accuracy, only to find that the arrows had gone completely through the target!  Luckily, I had placed an old garden hose reel container behind the target to keep it from tipping over backwards from the force of the arrows hitting it.  Not that I should have worried about that, the arrows not only cleared the target, but punched nice big round holes through the side of the heavy plastic reel cabinet.  Just a good reminder to us all:  be sure of your target and what is behind it!

So, after a trip to the local big outdoors retailer, I picked up a Hurricane archery target, guaranteed to stop arrows from high speed bows and crossbows.  After four shots, I had the red dot sighted in, this time with much better success:  the first shot high and left, second a little lower and left, third just left, and fourth center of the bullseye.

These results were with the included 16" arrows.  When I fired the 20" Carbon Express, they shot about three inches lower than the 16" arrows.

Penetration on the heavy Hurricane target was good, too, averaging just over 4.5" on the 16" arrows, and 5.25" on the 20" arrows.  I will set up a bench rest to shoot from, to see just how tight a group the bow is capable of, and post those results soon.  But all in all, I am pleased with the accuracy of this crossbow.

So, the SA Sports Fever Magnum recurve crossbow seems to be a good, solid crossbow for the money.  Especially as a starter bow for someone just getting into crossbow archery.  It is lightweight, has a relatively small footprint for a crossbow, and is simple to operate.  It is a little loud for a bow, but it is also a pleasure to shoot.  Do I think it would be a good bow for hunting?  I will have to spend some more time with the crossbow, to see how the accuracy holds up, and I would like to chronograph it to see just how fast the arrows are moving before I make that kind of decision.  Would I pay the MSRP of $299.95 for it?  Probably not.  But I certainly think it is worth the $149.95 I paid for it.  And one more thing:  I really wish I had not waited so long to get a crossbow...  these things are a lot of fun to shoot!

For More Information:

SA Sports, LLC
1337 N. Nelson Street Unit B
Allentown, PA 18109
Tel: (484) 294-2257
Fax: (484) 270-4699
Email: sales@sa-sports.com

Hurricane Bag Targets
Field Logic, Inc.
101 Main Street
Superior, WI 54880
Tel:  1-800-282-4868
Email:  support@FieldLogic.com