I'll admit that I'm smarting a little from a recent article in Gun Tests magazine (04/06), where the writers judged our .380ACP Guardian to be a "Don't Buy" (an "honor" we shared with the S&W-manufactured Walther PPK; their choice, the substantially larger Beretta 85 Cheetah was rated "Conditional Buy"). The essence of their complaint regarded accuracy, or lack of the same, which they seemed willing to attribute to our heretofore manufacturing partner, Kahr Arms. In all fairness to both Kahr and ourselves, the general workmanship on the pistol was characterized as "pretty good". Other comments regarded the stiff trigger pull (of which we're aware and which we also know smoothes out considerably after firing a couple of hundred rounds), as well as some complaints about handling the pistol due to its small size, which is the specific design goal and primary feature of the Guardian. You can't please everybody. I believe the accuracy issue was an anomaly, but it's one which in any event we're addressing (below). I have generally high regard for the writers of Gun Tests (they've written quite favorably about several of our products, including Guardian pistols, in earlier editions) and am sorry they had such a disappointing experience with a non-representative gun. Besides, I choose to follow the advice of the old LA Dodger coach, Tommy Lasorda, who advised against ever picking a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.

     I'm also writing to advise our audience that we are phasing out our long standing relationship with Kahr, due to a variety of issues. Unarguably and unfortunately, they seem to have neither the time nor the interest in satisfying our requirements. Their deliveries have become irregular, causing us an ever-increasing backlog for our pistols. After an exhaustive search and qualification process, we've chosen an ISO 9001-certified, aerospace-oriented outfit in the mid-West. We continue to have high regard for the Kahr product and wish the company well and thank them for their years of partnership. Similarly, we are very excited about the possibilities presented by our new relationship and the improved product we expect to deliver to the marketplace.

     Shortly after this Soapbox is posted (on time, for a pleasant change), I will be in Houston to take delivery of our recently completed prototype of the .32H&R revolver. Next step will be to review/recreate the engineering package, to include some solid modeling, and to build a couple of additional prototypes from this engineering before we begin to build manufacturing tooling and molds for production. It's a very exciting time and, though we are still several months way from having a product to take to market, the development pace is quickening.

     Our manufacturing capability is poised to take a gigantic leap forward, due to the purchase of some extraordinary sophisticated new machines as well as some significant changes in our production techniques, details of which I'll look forward to describing at a later date. In contrast to our history of running a bay-full of tired hand-me-down machines (which only serves to highlight the efforts and craftsmanship of our assembly and finishing team), our new acquisitions are both the "latest and greatest", which we expect to be reflected in the product we bring to market.

     It's an exciting time to be part of NAA.

     PS - I'm pleased to announce that we are now offering rosewood Boot Grips as factory-available accessories. Call 800-821-5783 to order yours.