ACE's "baby"

John @ Argghh! is calling for posts of our babies.  He's thinking of providing a monthly feature post in which we can show off our "toys."

Great idea! That will take quite a few months in my case, but I'd best not say just how many, for fear some authority figure is monitoring John's blog. You know they equate multiple firearms with dangerous and subversive behavior, don't you?

Rather than e-mail him photos of my baby (not my youngest, but my smallest), I'll just post them here and he can either pick them up or simply link to this post.

This is the tiny  [2 3/8 x 4 x 13/16 inches, 4.5 oz. unloaded] North American Arms 5-shot, single-action 22 long rifle revolver with a 1 1/8 inch barrel, which has been produced for a quarter-century:

Click on the continuation to see it in a wallet holster once made by NAA, which can be safely carried in a hip pocket, printing a pattern like a wallet.

With a little practice, it can be quickly pulled, cocked, and fired while still in the wallet holster (see note in red below). In blunt terms, you can have the barrel pointed in a guy's ear with your right hand while still facing him in the eye as he watches you pull your wallet (with a $100 bill on top of the center fold to keep his attention focused there) with your left hand.

 

To reload, the cylinder is completely removed by pressing a detent and pulling the pin.

The hammer is lowered into one of the "saftey slots" between rounds (the ONLY safety), so it cannot fire until fully cocked. So, all 5 cylinders can be loaded. I load the first two with shot shells. If I get to the the hard stuff, I'm in a dire situation, and a warning is not sufficient for the bad guy. Reloading during an emergency is not really practical, so I'm going to be trying to make those last three count.

It is single action, requiring manual cocking between rounds.

I certainly don't recommend it as your primary concealed carry weapon (CCW). I carry it when I must walk to/from a risky place where my state's CCW laws don't allow firearms, but don't tell anyone. Remember, the 22LR has historically been the preferred firearm of assassins for close-order work. (As you'll recall, Bobby Kennedy was killed by a 22LR which penetrated one side of his skull, crossed his brain, but did not exit the other side.)  It's quite effective when aimed at the head at close range, and the sound will probably not even be heard in a noisy environment, enabling a casual escape while people are still trying to figure out why someone just collapsed. What works for the bad guys works for the good guys for defense as well.

In GA, you cannot take a firearm into an establishment where drinks are served (even a downtown restaurant where only wine is served), but you may have to walk several blocks to/from such an establishment in a dangerous neighborhood at dangerous times. So, just when you most need protection, you can't have it. Does that make sense to you? I do what makes sense, and take my chances that a judge and/or jury will understand my thinking. Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6, as they say.

UPDATE: THE WALLET HOLSTER IS NOT AN OPTION FOR NEW PURCHASERS

In a comment, Daniel Watters alerted me to the fact that, as of a few years ago, the rules have changed, and this revolver/wallet combination is now considered an AOW, requiring special permits.  NAA no longer sells the wallet holster.

Once  again, the law works against honest citizens who have a right to defend themselves.

So, guess I'll have to separate the revolver from the wallet holster (neither is illegal in and of itself) and buy one of the other custom carry accessories which are still legal.

If you are considering purchasing the little revolver, you have a number of carry options (none of which are as safe nor as rapidly deployable as the wallet holster).

IN NO CASE should you carry the revolver around in your pocket loose!  That's a great way to loose a testicle (if you're a male) or your life!  If you're lucky, you'll just have an embarassingly accidental discharge and have to pay damages. There's also a great chance you'll loose a firearm which is registered to you.

The still -legal holster grip looks inherently dangerous, as the hammer can be accidentally cocked in your pocket,  making it more likely you'll shoot your own finger (or other innocent appendage) in your haste to deploy it in an emergency defensive situation. [It's very easy to accidentally shoot off a finger (or worse) while handling these tiny revolvers, if you're not extremely careful.]

The pocket holster will take too much time to deploy in case of an emergency. While you're fumbling around with that, the bad guy will either grab it out of your hand, slug you, or shoot you with his big gun. But, I'd recommend it from among the options now available to you.

If I'm going to wear a traditional belt holster, I might as well pack more serious heat.

The lanyards for women to use in their purses are JUST SCARY, as both the hammer and the trigger are exposed. Can you imagine a lady digging in her purse for her keys with a 22LR revolver cocked and the trigger exposed.  There might as well be a poisonous coral snake down in her purse.

I just ordered this nifty belt buckle holster, as it reminds me of the derringer Paladin wore as backup (well, actually this one does, but it requires a special handle), but it's not legal to wear in public in many states, as I understand the law. (I'm surprised it has been ruled against - YET).

Anybody have one of these as a kid?