December, 2003

Seasons Greetings

As said many times, we have some very wonderful news, and some not so wonderful news to share.

Let's begin with wonderful news from the NAA family. The great day finally arrived, and on November 28th, Sandy and his beautiful companion Greta, finally decided to tie the knot. With family and friends, and in the beautiful tropical setting of the Virgin Islands, Sandy and Greta became man and wife. Please join us in congratulating Sandy and Greta on this glorious match, truly made in heaven. (You cannot imagine the contribution Greta has made, with the enthusiasm and goodwill Sandy exhibits in running NAA and the success we enjoy.)

And now for the not so good news. You're all stuck with me for this Soapbox installment. (Sorry.) Nonetheless, we do have additional good news to share.

Let's start with the 25NAA Guardian. As Sandy mentioned in the November installment, the new casings were received. These casings are not the standard 32 ACP casing necked down to a 25 caliber. We tried that. Didn't work. The problem with these rounds is that they became too short and with the semi-rim the 32 ACP casing has, we experienced feed problems, commonly referred to as rim-lock. (This was the delay)

Our good friends and partners at Cor Bon, (Peter Pi) came up with the solution. Utilizing the 32 H&R Magnum casing, and turning the rim down to make it a truly rimless case, greatly helped with the rim-lock concerns. As an added benefit, this new casing allowed .125 to be added to the overall casing length. This increase not only enhanced feeding, but also gave Cor Bon more room for load developments. (As Peter mentioned, more room, more powder, more power.)

This new round did however require us to re-chamber the prototype Guardians to accept the longer cartridge. Once this was done and the first proof rounds from Pete were received, I'm thrilled to report the 25NAA Guardians worked flawlessly. (This will be the carry gun to have.)

Unfortunately, (as is always the case) a nasty little delay did crop up in ammunition production. Due to the unique rim size, re-tooling was required. (It is in process, unfortunately at the time of this writing the lead-time has not yet been given.) In the meantime, a small quantity of 25NAA rounds will be hand produced, with the intentions of forwarding these rounds along with a 25NAA Guardian out for various ballistic evaluations. (We believe the overall results will be impressive.) These results will be posted upon completion of the testing.

For those of you interested in the 32NAA, NAA will become an additional source for your Cor Bon 32NAA ammunition needs. (We still encourage you to support your local dealer for all of your ammo needs. If however you should have any trouble locating 32NAA ammo, we'll be there.)

Available in ether a 60gr. JHP, or a 71gr. FMJ, with pricing and shipping information made available and posted within the next few weeks. (Shipping restrictions and costs are currently being reviewed.)

On the Black Widow & Mini Master front, the new cylinder pin design for these models has been approved, prototypes made and we are expecting delivery of the various components within the next few weeks. This new design replaces the gravity (required) pin introduced several years ago. You can look forward to seeing photos' and description on our web site shortly. The ability to retrofit this new pin on existing BW & MM revolvers will require your revolver to be sent back for minor machining. Information on the retrofit will be made available, along with photos by the end of the month.

Last (worth mentioning) but not least, we have received several requests to produce a double action, top break revolver similar to the old break top S&W models. (S&W 32 a.k.a. Lemon Squeezer) Keeping the size as much as possible to our magnum framed mini revolvers. (Chambered in 22 Mag and 22LR.). Please let us know your comments, suggestions and/or any concerns you may have on this subject.

I thank you for staying with me, and allowing me to ramble on. In looking at the bright side, Sandy will be back next month for a year-end summary and sharing his visions for 2004. Until then, please join us in celebrating Sandy & Greta on their tribute to all the joy and benefits, each will receive from having a better half.

From all of us at NAA, we thank you for your support, and wish you and yours a safe and joyful holiday season.

Ken

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"


Photo & caption by Robert M. Hausman - used with permission.