Small .22 pistol I'm thinking about

Shotgun

Shotgun

Joined
Feb 3, 2006
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Anyone use one of these and can give opinions? http://www.naaminis.com/bwmm.html. I'm thinking of the mini-master. I want something small and lightweight that can get small game out to 25 yards or so when I'm out camping. Everything else has been either big and bulky or marginal as to it's effectiveness as a weapon.
 
I have never used one of those, but I can't imagine it will be too accurate since the barrel and sight radius is so short . The vital area of small game is tiny and even most full size handguns are not accurate enough to hit a three of four inch circle at 25 yards every time. I also wonder how steady you are going to be able to hold that gun since it is so light. It may just feel like a toy and be completely unstable. I know that when I have shot smaller handguns, some of them were so light that it was impossible to hold them still.

While it isn't a pistol, the US Survival Rifle from Henry Firearms may work for you. http://www.henryrepeating.com/h002_survival.cfm I have shot one and they have good accuracy, are light enough to back pack with and fold up completely into the stock. They are the modern version of the old AR-7 Air Force Survival Rifle. I don't know how much they cost where you live, but I can find them for right around $199 and sometimes less in Texas.
 
That's a self-defense weapon only. You'd never be happy shooting game with it.

For what thing costs, you could buy a Taurus revolver with 9 shots and a 5" barrel that shoots one inch at 25 yards. I know. I had one, but didn't like the double-action trigger pull at all.

.
 
i have one of these beasts its neat and cool and all that but its realy a face gun. to conect with a smallish target at 25 yards you are going to be very challanged a rock steady rest and a picture perfect sightpicture.the smallest game getter in my safe is my colt woodsman a bit hard to find these days . i think if i were in your shoes i would go with a ruger singlesix , trim and compact accurate and you would have the option of useing either standard 22 or 22 magnum . whatever you buy if its a 22 try as many different brands of ammo as you can lay your hands on all. my 22s are picky abought what they will shoot well.
 
its a novelty gun, get a good grade .22 and they are none too big. for a revolver the SA ruger bearcat is a great gun, in a DA gun, the new model kit gun from S&W is a great little .22
 
Guntotin_fool said:
its a novelty gun, get a good grade .22 and they are none too big. for a revolver the SA ruger bearcat is a great gun, in a DA gun, the new model kit gun from S&W is a great little .22
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I've used several .22 pistols for camping, fishing, etc., including a Walther PP (too touchy about ammo), Browning semi-auto, H&R 9-shot break-top revolver (very rough trigger but a good knock-around gun), Colt Huntsman (a lower price Woodsman but very satisfactory) and an S&W kit gun. The kit gun is the best, especially because stainless and bought used, complete with a superb:thumbup: trigger job and neoprene grips. Action like butter, handy, just plain delightful. I've had the little autos and derringers too, but they're pretty useless in this context.
 
I owned a NAA mini revolver for years and they would be pretty worthless for hunting. I had the 22mag version and finally sold it because I doubted it's accuracy and it wouldd be all but useless as a backup weapon.

Take a look a the Charter Arms Pathfinder 22 if you want a small wheelgun for last resort hunting or plinking around camp. I personally like something with a 4-6" barrel though.
 
I just picked up a Ruger 22/45 with a 4" barrel for 209.00, brand new. You could shoot it at 25' all day long and hit every time.
 
the naa is definately not a hunting firearm. it is purely meant for 7 yds or less personal defense. i have several of these and their accuracy level is to be honest, pretty poor. they do make great snake guns if you load them with cci shotshells. i would have normally recomended a ruger mark II bull barrel but since you mentioned bulk and weight being deciding factors so im gonna recomend a smith & wesson model 317 lightweight. it has a 3" barrel, weighs 11.9 oz, 8 rd capacity, and has the accuracy needed for hunting small game out to 25 yds. the only draw back to this gun is the price. but smith & wessons are tops in quality. i hope this helps,,,VWB.
 
the gimp said:
Take a look a the Charter Arms Pathfinder 22 if you want a small wheelgun for last resort hunting or plinking around camp. I personally like something with a 4-6" barrel though.
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I agree; I'm kind of interested in Taurus' new little .22 (or .22 mag) Model 94 Ultra-Lite. For a snubby (2" version), it has great fixed sights and a 9 round cylinder. Keep in mind, it's not much use for hunting beyond 10-15 yards though.

Robert H said:
I just picked up a Ruger 22/45 with a 4" barrel for 209.00, brand new. You could shoot it at 25' all day long and hit every time.
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Now that was going to be my recommendation as well. I have a Buckmark, but the new little Ruger 22/45 Hunter model with a 4.5" barrel looks like a real winner.

ROCK6
 
A paper plate at about 15 feet was a "good" shot with the one I had, small game hunting would be pretty much out of the question.
 
I would get a Ruger MKII (or newer) over the survival rifle. My Ruger is very accurate and much smaller. That being said, I keep a Walter p22 in my kit.
 
I had a non-"target" model NAA for a while, phonebook accurate at 10' was about the best it could do. Not to mention the non-existant sights, heavy trigger and slow reload time.

I would recommend any of the Ruger .22 pistols, single action, double action, or auto.

Andy
 
Hi Shotgun,

When you say,

Shotgun said:
Everything else has been either big and bulky or marginal as to it's effectiveness as a weapon.
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what other weapons are you referring to? Knowing that would help us to give you advice without suggesting guns you have already rejected.

I am not a pistol expert, but I don't think I would like to take a pistol that does not have a trigger guard into the field. The one you are interested in looks to be designed as a concealed weapon. Maybe you should look at the Ruger Mark II's? I don't have one, but they are popular.

Actually, I don't have any .22 pistols, but I have a 10/22 Ruger rifle and it is fun to shoot, especially after I put a red dot sight on it. When I have a friend who has never shot a gun before, I use that one to get them familiar with guns. They like to shoot it. It is a varmint hunter too. I used it with hollow points to take out a coyote recently. A base model is about $200 or so.
 
I have a 4" barrel Mini Master

Here's some pics

http://ramanon.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27698&highlight=mini+master


I would say unless you are going to try the shotshells that taking small game at any more than about 10 yards is out.

I'm a decent pistol shot, decent, not outstanding. I'd say keeping them in a softball size circle at 15 yards and pie plate at 25 shooting offhand is about the best you can hope for with the Mini Master.

Possible the trigger could be re worked.

That said I take mine backpacking because it's stainless, light and I figure the main use would be to scare something off:rolleyes:
 
pinetree said:
That being said, I keep a Walter p22 in my kit.
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The P-22 is a very nice handgun, compact, and a platform for a lot of variations. I don't own one, but have had the opportunity to fire a couple of them, I was impressed.
 
reconranger said:
This one is easy! Best "survival" .22 revolver on the market is the Smith and Wesson Model 317, with a 3" barrel. Weights only 11.9 ounces, so it is very packable. It is however a bit pricey.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...angId=-1&parent_category_rn=15704&isFirearm=Y
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For that price, I think you could hire a professional hunter for a few hours to kill everything within a 10 mile radius and you could pay someone to clean and cook it all for you. Might even be able to afford someone to chew it for you. That is ridiculous money for a small game survival piece. The Henry Survival is the best thing I've seen so far. Very compact when broken down and easy to use.
 
hollowdweller said:
I have a 4" barrel Mini Master

I would say unless you are going to try the shotshells that taking small game at any more than about 10 yards is out.
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The shotshells are MAYBE good out to 10 FEET out of that barrel.

I tried some out of the 1 5/8th's" barrel firing at the empty .22 box near my feet.......the pellets didn't penetrate both sides!

The longer barrel on the Mini-Master wouldl probably penetrate both sides, but not past 10 feet, if only due to the rotational forces the riflinig imparts on the pellets. The pattern will open up pretty fast, making "long range" shooting out of the question.

.
 
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