September, 2000
Question
Time
After reviewing our message board content of the recent past,
there are several items discussed which I would like to address
'from the factory'. I expect that these remarks will begin to
form the basis of (an admittedly overdue) FAQ library.
Should
I be concerned about 'last round spent case' stovepipes in the
Guardian?
Frankly, not at all. Yes, we are aware of, and understand
the causes of, this condition. Yes, it is not an uncommon occurrence.
No, we do not believe it represents a performance failure
and do not intend to try to 'correct' the condition.
The design of this pistol does not include an ejector (not to
be confused with an extractor), but relies on the action of a
fresh cartridge, as it is moving up the magazine stack and towards
the chamber, to push the spent extracted case out of the breech.
When the magazine is empty and there is no remaining cartridge
to exert this pressure, the spent case may simply be trapped
by the slide returning forward (the slide is not designed to
remain open after the last round).
When a full magazine is inserted to replace the empty one,
the slide must, in any/every event (stovepipe or not) be re-racked
to chamber a fresh round. During this process, the spent case
simply falls freely out of the breech and the pistol returns
to battery as though the condition had never existed. (Please
note that we are not attempting to excuse any stovepiping of
a live round. If that condition exists with any of our pistols,
we will be happy to rework the gun to eliminate that failure).
I'm
annoyed by my grip screws shooting loose. Is there a fix?
We have enjoyed, encouraged and appreciated a wide
variety of solutions proposed by our family of customers. Up
to this point, our best advice was to suggest blue LokTite as
we searched for a solution. As our Engineering Manager, Scott,
indicated on our message board, we believe that we have found
a screw/washer combination which will solve this annoying and
surprisingly difficult-to-solve problem. This free hardware is
available by calling the factory at 800-821-5783.
Help!
My magazine tends to drop unexpectedly when I use the finger
extension floorplate.
We (and, unfortunately, several of you) have found
that the downward pressure on the magazine increases substantially
with the use of the finger extension. This additional pressure,
along with the shock of firing the pistol, caused our original
catch to occasionally release inadvertently. We have redesigned/strengthened
this catch; a free replacement (which can easily be installed
by the user) is available on request to the factory.
Are
NAA products available for sale in Massachusetts?
Not any longer. The recently enacted regulations are,
from our perspective, so unreasonable and burdensome that we
have certified our products as 'noncompliant' and elected to
abandon this market. This is not a reflection of the safety,
reliability or performance of our firearms but of other administrative
&/or design requirements the state has imposed. To the residents
of MA, all we can say is "Congratulations on your government".
What's
become of the wallet holster?
The wallet, in and of itself, is a benign piece of
folded leather. The minirevolver is a time-tested, high-quality
small firearm but, when you join one with the other, watch out!
you've just created what ATF defines as 'any other weapon',
a rather nefarious classification which includes pen guns, cane
guns and other disguised weaponry. While legal to own, AOWs require
registration and payment of special taxes similar to those for
fully-automatic weapons. Possession of an AOW without meeting
these requirements subjects the holder to a felony charge (which
further exposes us to the liability of a lawsuit).
The distinction between the WH and the folding holster grip
or the belt buckle, as it has been explained to us, is that the
WH weapon is operable from its disguised state (no need to remove
it from the wallet in order to fire it). Both the HG and BB require
that the gun be additionally manipulated (opened, removed) before
it is functional, and so suffer no 'special' classification.
The WH was a very popular accessory and it's a great disappointment
that we're unable to offer it for sale.
I've
read through the rest of your rambling. Will you throw me a bone
and give me some insight on the development of the rumored .380
Guardian II?
Sure. With the assistance of our talented development
and manufacturing partners at Kahr Arms, we are putting the finishing
touches on the engineering package. The gun will look almost
identical to the existing .32ACP, with almost unnoticeable increases
in the envelope size. The two generations of prototypes which
have been built have shown very impressive performance. From
here we are beginning to build molds, tools and other fixtures
that are necessary to bring this product into production. As
with the existing .32, Kahr Arms is also our primary manufacturing
partner. We plan to begin making delivery early in the new year
but, as we all know all too well, 'stuff' happens which could
retard that schedule.
|
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"