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April, 2004 I hope this will help address any questions regarding reports in the recent Gun Tests article. |
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Mr. W. Todd Woodard, Editor I was pleased and flattered to see that Gun Tests had chosen to include the North American Arms 32NAA Guardian in a recent (03/04) article comparing pocket pistols (p. 5-10). As usual, I found the reporting to be generally sober, fair and accurate. Your publication enjoys a well-deserved (in my opinion) reputation of being unbiased and authoritative, presenting fact as such and identifying opinion when/where it exists. I feel, however, that article contains a mischaracterization which, if uncorrected, threatens to blemish that reputation. As the article accurately reported, the purpose of our partnership with Cor-Bon Ammunition and the consultancy support offered by Ed Sanow was to design and develop a pocket pistol/cartridge combination of extraordinary power and performance ("a mean little caliber with bad intentions" is a reasonable characterization). The test results you reported suggest we were quite successful - the 60 gr. JHP 32 NAA round dwarfed every other 32 ACP round you used and exceeded the average of all the 380 ACP rounds by 54% in muzzle velocity and 49% in muzzle energy. Recognizing that the use of a pocket pistol inherently compromises the degree of available fire power, we're aware there's a market eager to "get the most from the least" which we believe this pistol/cartridge combination effectively delivers. Notwithstanding the expertise engaged in the design and development process, we then took the time and pains to present the engineering package which describes this (32 NAA) cartridge to SAAMI (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute, of which both NAA and Cor-Bon are members). As you may be aware, SAAMI was created in 1926 at the behest of the federal government, and whose raison d'etre includes the compilation of technical data with specific consideration given to design parameters and other factors affecting safety. The Technical Committee comprises the senior staff of each of the major (and not so) domestic manufacturers of arms and ammunition, including, Federal, ATK, Remington, Sturm, Ruger, etc., etc. Their specific function is to maintain the standards which currently exist, as well as to exhaustively and critically vet those which are presented for inclusion in their library. The 32 NAA cartridge withstood that year+ long process and subsequently received the group's acceptance. Characterizing that or any cartridge which is manufactured to the approved engineering package as "dangerous" or "too hot" would seem to contradict the accumulated expertise and legitimacy of a professional industry group which has decided otherwise. I feel that some of your other remarks about the value and/or usefulness of the sighting system you selected or any of the other custom shop options which we make available is perfectly on point and the grist for some entertaining and occasionally useful debate, of which we're happy to be a part. Hinting about the safety, or lack of , relating to one of our products is not. I suggest you owe your readers and your reputation the acknowledgment that those comments missed the target. I will be in Pittsburgh exhibiting at the annual convention of the NRA next month and would be happy to discuss this further if you're inclined. Sincerely, W. Todd Woodard, Editor It was nice to see the article on the NAA pistol that utilizes our 32 NAA ammunition. I usually enjoy reading what you folks have to say about things in the industry because you aren't swayed by any manufacturers with their advertising dollars. However I feel in your article pertaining to the 32 NAA, I feel you have erred in your report. The pressure limits on the 32 NAA were established by SAAMI, an organization of which we are members of as well as NAA. Your author stated that he saw bulges around the firing pin mark on the fired primer and he stated that the load was "too hot" and that these marks "indicate high pressure". We have expensive and very precise equipment here at our facility that we test every lot of ammunition with, as it's being loaded. I assure you that the lot of ammunition you used was within SAAMI's guidelines for pressure. Gauging pressure from looking at the fired primer can be very misleading and unless you had the ammunition tested by a SAAMI approved facility, you should not state that the ammunition is over pressure. We've tested dozens of these pistols with the 32 NAA 60 gr JHP ammunition and the primers all look the same! We pride ourselves on manufacturing cutting edge ammunition. Stating that our ammunuition (sic) is unsafe without testing it by a SAAMI approved lab is very disturbing to us. We suggest you let your readers know that our ammunition in any caliber is safe to use and it's checked in our Quality Control dept several times throughout the manufacturing process. Sincerely, The following is the text of a thread between Mike and myself: Mike - Thanks for your attention. It would be helpful (to me, at least) for you to explain why this phenomena is action-specific, e.g.. blowback vs. locked breech; color me confused. - Sandy Sandy -A locked breech pistol like the 1911 stays locked until the bullet exits the barrel then it unlocks and the action cycles. This is accomplished by locking lugs and links. With this operating system, the action is closed or locked up until the projectile exits the barrel. The expanding gases now have a place to go as the gun unlocks (out the barrel behind the bullet). With a blowback pistol, the only thing holding the slide forward is spring pressure. As soon as the round goes off, the slide begins to move back and cycle as the bullet is on it's way down the barrel. The expanding gases now are pushing to exit and since the barrel is still clogged until the projectile exits, it pushes on the weakest part, the soft brass of the cartridge case and the primer. This is why sometimes the primers look bulged as well as the shoulder of the case. I hope this clears things up for you some! - Mike |
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Last Modified: 12/01/2004 Copyright © 2002 North American Arms, Inc. |
Senator
Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) checks out the latest edition of the North American Arms catalog. He mentioned
that he regularly carries two of the firm's firearm products after receiving death threats several
years ago. ASSC's 1996 Congressional Leader of the Year Award was presented to Sen. Hatch "in
appreciation of his leadership and commitment in defense of our heritage, our industry and our life"