North American Arms NAA 22M Mini Revolver – Proven Stainless 5-Shot

Description

The North American Arms NAA 22M is the plain stainless catalog version of the Mini-Revolver, the one every other variant is built from. It is a five shot 22 WMR single action with a 1.625 inch barrel, a stainless steel frame, cylinder and barrel, and rosewood birdshead grips. Overall length is 5.13 inches and it weighs 6.2 ounces. The manufacturer part number is NAA-22M and the UPC is 744253000256. MAG5 Firearms stocks it as a backup and deep concealment gun, and the notes below are honest about what it does and does not do.

The Baseline Mini-Revolver

Strip away the Cerakote runs and the fancy grip panels and this is the gun underneath all of them. A stainless mini revolver with no coating to wear, no finish to touch up and nothing to go wrong. Stainless is the sensible choice for a pocket gun that lives against a body in summer, because sweat is harder on firearms than most people realize, and a North American Arms NAA 22M in bare stainless simply does not care. The only cosmetic concern with a North American Arms NAA 22M is that stainless is bright, which matters if you draw in daylight.

The action is single action only. The cylinder does not swing out. Loading means pulling the cylinder pin, lifting the cylinder free, charging five chambers by hand and reassembling, and the pin doubles as an ejector rod. That makes the North American Arms NAA 22M slow to reload by any modern standard, and it is the honest trade you accept for a 5 shot pocket revolver that disappears in a closed fist.

Grips are rosewood in the birdshead profile that North American Arms has used for decades. A rosewood birdshead grip fills the hand better than the flat panels on some older guns and it gives the thumb a consistent place to work from when cocking the hammer. The profile is shared across the Mini-Revolver line, which means holsters and replacement grips made for other models generally fit.

Shooting, Sights and Carry Safety

Sights are a half moon notch milled into the frame and a small blade up front. That is enough to put five rounds into a paper plate at across the room distance and it is effectively decorative past ten yards. Anyone buying a North American Arms NAA 22M for precision has misunderstood the product. What it does well is ride in a pocket, a boot or an ankle rig and be there when nothing larger could have been carried.

Expect blast and flash. A 1.625 inch barrel gives 22 WMR powder nowhere near enough time to burn, so a large part of the charge exits as noise and muzzle flash and real velocity falls far below the rifle figures on the box. Recoil is mild in absolute terms but the small grip rotates in the hand, so re-cocking the North American Arms NAA 22M takes a deliberate regrip rather than a thumb flick.

Carry safety is the part that must not be skipped. There is no transfer bar and no hammer block. The cylinder is cut with safety notches between the chambers, and the hammer must be lowered into one of those notches when the gun is loaded with five rounds. If the hammer rests on a loaded chamber, a sharp blow can fire it. Read the manual, set the notch, and check it every time you pocket a North American Arms NAA 22M.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: NAA-22M
• UPC: 744253000256
• Caliber: 22 WMR (22 Magnum)
• Capacity: 5 rounds
• Action: Single action only
• Barrel length: 1.625 in
• Overall length: 5.13 in
• Height: 2.81 in
• Width: 1.06 in
• Weight: 6.2 oz
• Frame, cylinder and barrel: Stainless steel
• Grips: Rosewood birdshead
• Sights: Half moon rear notch, fixed front blade

Who Should Own One

A North American Arms NAA 22M makes sense as a backup gun, as a hiking and fishing gun, and as the one you carry when a real handgun genuinely cannot be carried. Gym clothes, a suit pocket, a scrub top, an ankle rig under dress trousers. If the honest alternative is going out unarmed, a pocket revolver you will actually carry beats a compact pistol that stays in the safe. Full factory specifications are published by North American Arms.

It is a poor primary defensive handgun and we will not pretend otherwise. Five rounds of rimfire, single action operation, a slow reload and rudimentary sights are real limitations, and rimfire priming is less consistent than centerfire, so test a full box of your chosen carry load before trusting it. Anyone looking for a first or only defensive handgun should be looking at a compact striker fired pistol instead.

If you want the same gun with a coated finish that does not reflect light, the Stealth Grey Cerakote version is mechanically identical. If you want a swing out cylinder, a longer sight radius and far easier reloading in the same caliber, look at the NAA Sidewinder. Browse the rest of our revolvers to compare.

MAG5 Firearms is a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. This North American Arms NAA 22M ships to the licensed dealer of your choice, and local buyers can complete the transfer with us in person. Pair it with Armscor 22 WMR 40 grain JHP and call 610-943-0010 with any questions.