North American Arms
 | |
| Pocket Pistols and revolvers | |
| Industry | Firearms |
| Fate | Active |
| Predecessor | Rocky Mountain Arms |
| Founded | 1972 |
| Headquarters | Provo, Utah, United States |
| Products | Pocket pistols |
| Owner | Sandy Chisholm |
| Website | North American Arms |
North American Arms is a United States company, headquartered in Provo, Utah, that manufactures pocket pistols and mini-revolvers.[1] The company was originally named Rocky Mountain Arms when it was founded in 1972. In 1974 it was bought by new owners who renamed the company North American Arms.[2]
Mini revolvers
The mini-revolvers produced by the company are single action revolvers, which have a spur trigger design. They are reminiscent of late 19th century pocket revolvers, the main differences being their size and also that NAA's mini-revolvers are made completely of stainless steel.[1] The design of the mini-revolvers was developed by Freedom Arms, which stopped selling these mini-revolvers in 1990 and sold the design to North American Arms.
Mini-Revolvers are made in the following calibers:
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The top break "Ranger" came from a limited tool room run.
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The .22 M- A .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire revolver equipped with "Boot Grips"
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NAA mini revolver in .22 LR. It can fold into its own grip for safe belt clip carry.
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This picture illustrates the NAA 22 magnum Black Widow revolver cylinder in the safety position.
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North American Arms Black Widow model NAA-BW-M chambered for 22 magnum
Semi-automatics
In 1997 NAA branched out into semiautomatic concealed carry pistols known as the Guardian models to compete with Seecamp.[4] Semi-automatic Guardian pistols are made by North American Arms in the following calibers:
The .25 NAA cartridge was developed by North American Arms based upon a wildcat bottleneck cartridge using .32 ACP brass necked down to grip a .25 caliber bullet, with the goal of increasing penetration beyond what either a .25 ACP or .32 ACP could do.[5] Likewise, the .32 NAA was developed by North American Arms to increase the penetration of a .32 caliber bullet relative to a .380 ACP cartridge.[6]
References
- 1 2 Peterson, Phillip (19 August 2011). Gun Digest Book of Modern Gun Values. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 195. ISBN 1-4402-1835-8.
- ↑ Hogg, Ian; Walter, John (29 August 2004). Pistols of the World. David & Charles. p. 266. ISBN 0-87349-460-1.
- ↑ John Taffin (November 2009), "The "Earl": a new mini mag from North American Arms", Guns Magazine
- ↑ Ayoob, Massad (28 September 2007). The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 38. ISBN 1-4402-1825-0.
- ↑ Shideler, Dan (28 February 2011). Gun Digest Book of Semi-Auto Pistols. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 56. ISBN 1-4402-2439-0.
- ↑ Barnes, Frank C. (5 October 2012). Cartridges of the World: A Complete Illustrated Reference for More Than 1,500 Cartridges. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 333. ISBN 1-4402-3059-5.
External links
U.S. Patent 4,450,992 Belt buckle-mini-revolver combination patent