- Location
- On a resonably direct route in NS
Here's my report on the North American Arms M1860 “The Earl” mini revolver, one of (if not absolutely) the smallest hand-guns available in Canada, without going Prohibited or Antique. Chambered for five shots of .22 Magnum, and supplied with a matched .22LR cylinder for smaller bangs.
The NAA array of mini pistols are sold in the U.S.A. as Derringer -style pocket back-up pieces (you can even carry with a full cylinder due to safety notches between chambers), but of course around here they're just impractical range toys. Yet when you bring one to the line, everybody will gather around and gawk like you're shooting a huge Desert Eagle or something.
This is the Earl with everything that came in the box [dummy rounds were not included], resting on the mouse pad from the site sponsor who sold it to me, and who provided absolutely excellent service (it starts with ‘W’). They're currently selling about $350 plus applicable tax and shipping, which is crazy cheap, right?
Here's the measurement of the barrel, spot on what the Registration Certificate says.
You can see that it fits in the palm of my [size Small] hand, save for the Canadian barrel which necessarily pokes out a bit. For the Southern market they make a 2-1/2" (‘Sheriff’), a 3", and a slightly shorter 4" barrel, as well as a bit funny lookin' 6" version (‘Hogleg’). For another sense of the size, this is it properly locked for Transport:
Opened up for loading, which is accomplished by un-locking the lever, removing the pin (which you can use to poke out empty casings), and taking the cylinder out. Thus if you have a helper to load the alternate cylinder, you can make the switch quite quickly and keep shooting with two kinds of ammunition.
It's called the Model 1860, as it's styled roughly on the Remington 1860 Army Conversion (of the 1858 revolver); the nick-name is for the guy who designed it. I prefer these plough-handle stocks that make it look like a bigger cowboy gun, but there are several accessory options that NAA makes. The stainless looks good, but blued and case coloured with brass accents would be more traditional; it's probably too much to ask considering the company does all their models like this and they keep prices to a minimum. Octagon barrel, un-fluted cylinder, and take-down styled after a black powder loading lever complete the look.
How does it shoot? Well not an Olympic or ISSF gun, for sure, mostly because the tiny frame and stocks don't give much space for a solid two- or even one- hand grip, so it's a *bit* of a challenge to shoot well. Trigger is single action only, so at least you're not cranking the cylinder with the pull, but it's very small and not especially light, owing to the fact the spur is out there un-protected by a guard. Sights are a groove in the top strap, and a straight front post: simple and not really adjustable. But the barrel is straight, fixed like all revolvers, and no great gap from cylinder to breech; there's no reason if you put it in a fixed rest that it shouldn't group all the holes close together.
This is my best target of the test:
I shot at 10m (wasn't confident testing further yet), standing with two hands (such as can be), single action, with decent .22LR target ammo. Didn't try to group Magnum rounds, 'cause the light frame was leading to an anticipation flinch which I'm sure I could smooth out. These are small ISSF bulls, 40mm across the black. Took a while to get used to the grip, trigger, and point of aim to get this tight, and most were far more open (the first shot was way high and hit the steel target holder on top, splattering the page).
For reference, here are targets on the same paper from my Smith & Wesson Models 17 and 66, a couple of beautiful tuned target guns I am quite practised on.
But hey, it's fun to shoot, and fun to look at. So if you want a fairly unique piece in the Canadian market, a bit retro but not completely so, it's very affordable and I can recommend you try it. Wanstall's carries a Canadian-length Mini Master revolver as well for a modern take, so maybe we'll see a few more offerings from NAA in the future, a company whose product line is almost exclusively too short to import.
The NAA array of mini pistols are sold in the U.S.A. as Derringer -style pocket back-up pieces (you can even carry with a full cylinder due to safety notches between chambers), but of course around here they're just impractical range toys. Yet when you bring one to the line, everybody will gather around and gawk like you're shooting a huge Desert Eagle or something.
This is the Earl with everything that came in the box [dummy rounds were not included], resting on the mouse pad from the site sponsor who sold it to me, and who provided absolutely excellent service (it starts with ‘W’). They're currently selling about $350 plus applicable tax and shipping, which is crazy cheap, right?
Here's the measurement of the barrel, spot on what the Registration Certificate says.
You can see that it fits in the palm of my [size Small] hand, save for the Canadian barrel which necessarily pokes out a bit. For the Southern market they make a 2-1/2" (‘Sheriff’), a 3", and a slightly shorter 4" barrel, as well as a bit funny lookin' 6" version (‘Hogleg’). For another sense of the size, this is it properly locked for Transport:
Opened up for loading, which is accomplished by un-locking the lever, removing the pin (which you can use to poke out empty casings), and taking the cylinder out. Thus if you have a helper to load the alternate cylinder, you can make the switch quite quickly and keep shooting with two kinds of ammunition.
It's called the Model 1860, as it's styled roughly on the Remington 1860 Army Conversion (of the 1858 revolver); the nick-name is for the guy who designed it. I prefer these plough-handle stocks that make it look like a bigger cowboy gun, but there are several accessory options that NAA makes. The stainless looks good, but blued and case coloured with brass accents would be more traditional; it's probably too much to ask considering the company does all their models like this and they keep prices to a minimum. Octagon barrel, un-fluted cylinder, and take-down styled after a black powder loading lever complete the look.
How does it shoot? Well not an Olympic or ISSF gun, for sure, mostly because the tiny frame and stocks don't give much space for a solid two- or even one- hand grip, so it's a *bit* of a challenge to shoot well. Trigger is single action only, so at least you're not cranking the cylinder with the pull, but it's very small and not especially light, owing to the fact the spur is out there un-protected by a guard. Sights are a groove in the top strap, and a straight front post: simple and not really adjustable. But the barrel is straight, fixed like all revolvers, and no great gap from cylinder to breech; there's no reason if you put it in a fixed rest that it shouldn't group all the holes close together.
This is my best target of the test:
I shot at 10m (wasn't confident testing further yet), standing with two hands (such as can be), single action, with decent .22LR target ammo. Didn't try to group Magnum rounds, 'cause the light frame was leading to an anticipation flinch which I'm sure I could smooth out. These are small ISSF bulls, 40mm across the black. Took a while to get used to the grip, trigger, and point of aim to get this tight, and most were far more open (the first shot was way high and hit the steel target holder on top, splattering the page).
For reference, here are targets on the same paper from my Smith & Wesson Models 17 and 66, a couple of beautiful tuned target guns I am quite practised on.
But hey, it's fun to shoot, and fun to look at. So if you want a fairly unique piece in the Canadian market, a bit retro but not completely so, it's very affordable and I can recommend you try it. Wanstall's carries a Canadian-length Mini Master revolver as well for a modern take, so maybe we'll see a few more offerings from NAA in the future, a company whose product line is almost exclusively too short to import.
