front sights

[iirentseok68]

Finally spent some time with my mini mag 1 5/8 barrel. Embarassed to say I had one hit on 12" plate at 21'. I've been reading forum to try to find out what others do re sights. Can't seem to get very good sight picture with fixed sight. Not looking to be a "crack shot" but would like to hit what I'm  aiming at as this is going to be my CCW carry gun. Suggestions?

[KPaul]

I tend to practice with my 22LR with 1-1/8" barrel at 5 yards when shooting paper. I sight down the barrel using the front blade and hold on the bullseye. With this I tend to shoot a little low and to the right, but my groups are quite tight. It's not enough that I want to practice Kentucky windage with. If I ever had to shoot from that distance, which I really wouldn't plan to, an aim to the sternum is going to go right in the heart (unless they have situs inversus with dextrocardia). That works for me.

Remember, with these short barrels any amount of flinching or pulling is going to show up quite dramatically on the target. I can easily tell when I've pulled even a little...it's a definite flyer from the rest of the group.

[TwoGunJayne]

Firstly, a 21 foot hit on a plate is a good thing. If this is your first go with a mini then this is a good sign in of itself.

One part of it is visualizing in your head the pointability of the piece. The next part is the breaking of the trigger. The final piece of the puzzle is the question of what happens under recoil.

I have to resort to a strange two-hand hold to shoot my short frame with stock tiny grips. "Tinies." That's an NAA gun jargon term now. Anyway, I center the backstrap of the piece in the dead center of the web of my shooting hand. The bones of my hand are not aligned with the bones of my forearm with this unconventional grip. I place the index and middle finger of the non-shooting hand on the front of the piece's front grip. I cock the weapon with my off-hand thumb and break the trigger with the index of the shooting hand. What this does for me personally is eliminate, reduce, or mitigate the shooter's errors present for me (personally) when I attempt a one-hand hold or a two-hand conventional isoceles or Weaver. Your own personal errors will be different. My unconventional grip has me more often than not hitting soup cans at 20 paces with cap loads when I'm in practice. I'm badly rusty due to the shortage. I think I have 100 cb caps left. That's a short afternoon.

Speaking of pistol shooting errors, consider this: Think of that standard military pistol shooting chart/target with pie slices labeled with with your shooting mistakes leading towards a miss. It's great because it tells you WHY you missed, though you must reverse it for left handed shooting. This chart basically concerns itself with your trigger control and your grip. Anticipating recoil is related to "flinch," though they are not quite the same. Anyway, these little pieces like to amplify shooting mistakes. They can also be difficult to get a good grip as far as control under recoil. From a SD standpoint, your 21 foot hit rate is likely moot because your target will probably be powder burned as well, according to SD stats that I've seen.

[MR_22]

Sight flatly down the top of the barrel with the front sight fully showing and place the front sight directly OVER what you want to hit. Some people sight with just the tip of the front sight showing, but that's not correct, even tho it may seem intuitive.

[iirentseok68]

Thank you  for your suggestions. I do have the oversize rubber grips and I do feel I have better control. I'll have to ask my buddy if it looks like I'm flinching.  I will move closer to the target. I imagine if I end up in a 'situation' it's probably going to be closer than 21'. Recoil is for sure greater than my buddy's single six .22lr. Had 9  hits out of 18 with his at 25 feet. I'm definitely going to try mr_22's sighting suggestion.

[TwoGunJayne]

I do have the oversize rubber grips and I do feel I have better control. I'll have to ask my buddy if it looks like I'm flinching.  I will move closer to the target. I imagine if I end up in a 'situation' it's probably going to be closer than 21'. Recoil is for sure greater than my buddy's single six .22lr. Had 9  hits out of 18 with his at 25 feet. I'm definitely going to try mr_22's sighting suggestion.

The oversize are the most shootable factory grip for these mini revolvers, though some argue for the folding grips. There are/were a couple of "extended grip" aftermarket makers. The "Chong grips," are still available... in left-handed, no less.

Start close, aim for small targets, work your way back. Work on situational awareness, don't just stare at the target and the loading tray. I think this is a reason outdoor shooting can be more beneficial than a formal or indoor range. A dry, dusty outdoor dirt pit is best because you can clearly see the impact of misses.

As far as flinching, you could place a fired cartridge somewhere in the cylinder while loading. See if your gun alignment changes much when the "click" happens. You COULD do this by yourself, but having a buddy shooting with you is probably better.

As far as Mr 22's sighting suggestion, while the top is aligned I have to place the top of the blade UNDER my intended point of impact. We all shoot differently, perhaps you'll be hitting left or right? From standard blade, to Black Widow type fixed or adjustable sights, to the Earl type sights (that I ended up liking a WHOLE lot more once I started using them) I always seem to have a point of impact higher than the tip of the front sight. Then again, maybe it's just me.

Right or wrong, I'm within "minute of squirrel" out to about 25 yards or so with a Mini Master or Black Widow. I just can't get enough practise in. We all have our problems...

[Dinadan]

iirentseok68 - like MR_22 said, you need to sight down the flat top of the barrel. Use the front sight only for horizontal sighting: for vertical you have to use the plane of the top of the barrel. When I got my first Mini I had to get real close to the target to figure out where I was hitting, so you are not alone in having some difficulty.
 
I also have a 1 5/8" Magnum Mini, and I find it is quite accurate at 25' or so. I use the standard  grips on mine. I suggest that you grip the Mini more firmly than you grip most handguns when firing. That seems to make a difference for me - might not work for others. I had my 1 5/8" Mini and my 3" Earl out shooting this morning - it is a fun little gun.

[n9znd]

   I didn't realize how accurate my mini's where until I got a holster grip.  What really makes them easy to shoot is a good grip.   There is a lot of people that can shoot them good with the birds head grip but not me.  I have boot grips on mine and can shoot it okay but better when I have the holster grip on.   A buddy and I was hitting steel 8" plates at 25 yards when I had the holster grips on it.  I had the boot grips on it last time I was there and could only hit it part of the time.      I think I just need more practice with the boot grips.   I filed my front sight down and it shoots better.  Jim

[Goatpacker]

Yes!!! File it almost off, like leave it only about 1/16" high so it will become actually useable!!! Some say the factory only puts it on the gun to keep it from slipping out of a nostril or ear hole in a battle, if that is what you want I think you should file a "barb" into it like a fish hook!!!

There is a pic of the modified front sight in the thread titled "Factory accuracy, Do you live with it or improve it?"

[Kentucky Kevin]

The thought of removing the front sight jumped through my mind, but using the holster grip, I'm able to be very accurate point shooting quickly in the 5-20' range, with 50% hits on golf balls. I figure why mess with a good thing.

[jw1128]

Who has experience with the Laserlyte attachment?  Thinking about picking one up, but is it worth 100 bucks?  And is it really pretty much universal?

http://northamericanarms.com/accessories/l-accessories/l-cc/sll-naa-1-408.html

[TwoGunJayne]

Who has experience with the Laserlyte attachment?  Thinking about picking one up, but is it worth 100 bucks?  And is it really pretty much universal?

http://northamericanarms.com/accessories/l-accessories/l-cc/sll-naa-1-408.html

It comes with different mount tabs to clamp the top strap of your mini revolver. I have one. WILL NOT FIT NAA Short! You must cut the mount tabs and probably make it look bad, or else you will be unable to remove or insert the cylinder in place.

This sight makes it a touch more fiddly to get the cylinder but it's not a problem with some training.

After trying it on the NAA Black Widow, 1 5/8 LR frame, and butchering some mounting tabs for a very unsatisfactory attempt at forcing it to go on the NAA Short, I've decided that I actually REALLY like it on the LR frame. I think it doubles my ping pong ball range.

#1 beef with the LL sight for NAA minis? You can't see the beam outdoors during noon time sun. This isn't Laserlyte's fault. It's the fault of the US FDA (Food and Drug Aministration,) which has decided it can regulate gun parts now. They have customs seize shipments of laser devices all the time.

My #2 problem with it is that the switch itself is a bit flaky. I like how it's designed to flick downwards and turn on in the same motion as cocking the hammer. I like that. I ocasionally have to wiggle it after "turning it on."

My #3 problem is that it blocks the top strap for normal aiming. It's laser or nothing while installed.

"5 milliwatts" is the maximum rating power allowed by the US FDA in a more-or-less unrestricted laser pointing device.

Now then, consider this: At the moment, red lasers suck less juice for certain output than greens. This means a red can have a higher output and still pass under FDA restrictions. The human eye tends to resolve green better than other colors, so even with the efficiency hit a green laser can seem brighter than a red when the green is sinking 5 mw.

The problem is most of these laser devices are set much lower than 5 to avoid seizure. The result is you can't see most of them during the day.

Anyway, overall I give this thing a "like," and see it as useful for a niche purpose... but not really plinking. This thing shows you how bad your trigger control is on a NAA mini. Fill with snap caps/fired brass or remove then cylinder for dry firing, but lase a point on the wall while you dry fire and break the trigger. See how the dot jerks all over the place?

One of the biggest non-obvious benefits of the LL sight for NAA is trigger training. It's actually also a dry-fire training aid. Seriously.

[grayelky]

I don't have a laser on my mini, but I do have one on another gun. I would not spend the money for the laser. The minis are typically "up close and personal" weapons. I doubt there will be enough distance involved to make a laser even useable. If you have a spare hundred to spend, buy ammo. When it is gone, you will not need a laser.

Now, if you just want it for another toy because you just want it, then go for it!

[Kentucky Kevin]

grayelky +1 practice. I'm hitting golfballs 50% at 5-20' consistantly