Black Widow (current model) with standard grips good for pocket carry?

[Steez Whiz]

Hey Guys,

I do not yet own a mini, but I've been lurking for a while and I've more or less decided that the BW seems the perfect middle ground if I'm going to buy "just one" (I know). I feel that the two inch barrel and reasonable grip, while sacrificing some CCW ability, seems a fair trade off for accuracy and comfort; It's not like I plan to hide the thing while wearing just my skivvies. That said, I live in Florida (light clothing year-round), and I weigh a relatively lean 160 lbs at 5'11. Most of the "EDC carry" stuff i see seems to belong to "bigger" guys, and it seems like a larger body just better hides a CCW. Personally, I feel that even the smallest j-frame prints a bit too much on myself, and that's why I'm so interested in NAA. does anyone have first-hand experience with a BW as genuine, REAL edc?

[top dog]

Steez,

First welcome to the forum. Great bunch of folks here.

Actually you cannot go wrong with any NAA mini. It is just a matter of what "fits you best"

Nothing wrong with the Black Widow. Be sure to get one with the spare 22lr cylinder so you can get lots of economical practice in.

And,may I suggest that you keep the practice ranges to about 10 feet or less. True SD distances.

Now as for the just one........................you ever eat just one potato chip??? 

Now,Uncle Lee here will tell you to store them in shoe boxes as they seem to "multiply better" that way and also,please,if you can,post photos of your new gun so he can look at the photos while having his coffee..

North American Arms produce fine minis and they have a superb customer service.

                                                                                                      Top Dog

These mins seem to multiply

[Steez Whiz]

thanks for the reply, top dog! yeah, i don't really see myself doing a lot of trick shots with one of these little guys; 5-10 feet seems plenty. never understood the argument against these little things as a casual EDC; do you leave the house everyday planning to take down a rooftop sniper, or encounter a van full of thugs hoping to personally kidnap you? what a miserable existence! 5 shots at 5 feet seems plenty for the average person, if you ask me (you didn't). looks like I've got a black widow in my future to start things off, I'll probably be knockin around here a lot more after I've got my hands on it. And Yes, i do eat the occasional potato chip haha. Florida heat just sweats it outta me!

[gadget]

Hi, welcome to the asylum. I?m 5?9? and 166 in central Florida. I pocket carry a BW every day in shorts. It works just fine. I forget I?m carrying it. I also carry a 3? Earl in a Fanny pack which I have pocket carried easily also. The BW is my favorite. Coyotes all over this area and I walk a very small dog late at night. I feel very protected with .22 mags. You will love it. Undetectable. Bruce

[Steez Whiz]

good to hear, gadget! you've pretty much described my exact situation haha. lookin' forward to joining the club

[Bigbird48]

I carry my BW every day. I live in AZ so same as you warmer year round, lots of coyotes and snakes. I feel my BW is all I need. Even in snake infested Phoenix (LOL  ) I feel protected.

[Texduk3]

welcome, solid pick   

[bleak_window]

I'm about the same size and also live in Florida.  The Black Widow is perfect.  It doesn't drag your pants down.  The larger grip fits my hand and I can make accurate hits at 7 yards.

If you only buy one NAA it should be the Black Widow. 

[Wumbey Goomba]

If I had to only choose one, it would be
a Black Widow.

Welcome to the forum.

[bluecow]

If I had to only choose one, it would be
a Black Widow.

Welcome to the forum.

My opinion exactly except I couldn't find a BW to save my soul.  ended up with the bug out II, added BW style grips and couldn't be happier.

[Rick_Jorgenson]

Welcome to the Forum Steez Whiz!

The Black Widow in a solid choice.  These guns are so small even the outline of them doesn't look like a gun to most people 

I would still suggest a Pocket Holster to keep it upright and quickly accessible for a full combat grip to draw from the pocket.

The stock Black Widow grip is quite comfortable for most people, I prefer the Revision CV Grips. They are a little thinner but have additional length to get an extra finger on for stability.

http://www.revisioncv.com/catalog/4
https://desertgunleather.com/collections/naa-pocket/products/naa-pocket-holster-with-5-shell

[Uncle_Lee]

Welcome steezk,
I am big enough to carry any thing that I want to carry.
I probably could carry a 3 inch Earl under my gut. But I chose to carry a NAA mini. Actually 2 Black Widows and a Pug.
Seems like people think only a big cartridge will kill something.
A 22 mag will kill most things that we find in North America. If hit in the right spot.
If you get a mini, it can be with you at all times, where as you may have to to unarmed if all you have is a huge handgun.
Welcome to the asylum.

[boots]

Welcome, I don't post often but you have touched a sweet spot for me. I am 5-9 & 150# and have carried for many years. Usually, a 45 but always a BW. I consider the BW my Swiss army knife of guns. It can be very effective if it needs to be and very concealable. I also always carry it in a pocket holster.

[RogueTS1]

Welcome to the forum Steez Whiz. You may not have a Mini yet; but give it some time and one will find its way into your life. Then when the sun goes down it will start multiplying all by itself. One will become two will become four etc. etc. etc. You then will need to hit Rick up for some great leather.

Remember; photos or it did not happen. 

[Canoeal]

Welcome! Sorry I was not on yesterday, but I came to the same conclusion and have never regretted choosing the BW. The fixed sight version is great out of the box. I am a woodworker so I had to experiment with making wood grips this is the third and final version...for now...  
The scratches are real from 6 years of carry.







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[Bigbird48]

heres my EDC

[OV-1D]

Welcome! Sorry I was not on yesterday, but I came to the same conclusion and have never regretted choosing the BW. The fixed sight version is great out of the box. I am a woodworker so I had to experiment with making wood grips this is the third and final version...for now...  
The scratches are real from 6 years of carry.



   Al I just gotta say those are the best looking oversized grips I've come across . How about some other angles , I'm going to do either white mammoth or a blue streaked on brown/white mammoth . But if you don't mind I'd like to do something similar to those finger cutouts you have there . They also look kinda angled, slanted back not straight up and down like NAA's . Fine job .







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[Canoeal]

OV-Wan, I do have other pics of the set I made for the Wasp.  Not too many from the BW, but the differences are mostly the wood. The BW was Walnut the Wasp, Cherry. Here Ya Go.

[Canoeal]

Oh, and one of the inside...
I am sure you know about the glued in piece there...

[Canoeal]

The reason they look angled back, is because I exposed the backstrap. I never liked the hump in the grips at the back. I often refer to them as 'hunchbacks'. I never saw them on old-time revolvers.  JMHO

[OV-1D]

  Thanks AL perfect pictures , those inserts for centering the grip I'm well aware of I use Micarta thats first glued then tiny screws top and bottom . I do cover the backstrap a little higher it just worked out that way because I'm cheap and didn't want to waste any material especially using that elephant ivory , as little waste as possible so if can incorporate the extra into the grip the better . Your really starting to inspire me NOW , I fell off the proverbial wagon on making grips but my material stash theres no more room for any more so I better get going again , got a crap load of all different types of materials .The wife calls me a hoarder of sorts because I do go overboard on buying stuff for the future ,ha ,ha . Theres only two materials I lack one is rhino horn the other is giraffe bone got the antler selection covered along with that mammoth ivory . Have a good size piece of ,its either buffalo or water buffalo when I bought it they said American buffalo , but I can't be sure , it will make some fine grips though big enough for a boot grips for a Ruger six shooter , I'm kinda intimidated by those one of a kind pieces I have just by cutting them in halves .  Dang I post too long sorry , I again get carried away thinking . Ha ,Ha .

[Canoeal]

You told me after my first grips, on an old tread. Been doing that ever since.

[OV-1D]

  Yeah Al I find it the easiest way to line the grips up with the frames also making them a perfect fit for the guns interior frame . NAA doesn't clean the flashing on the inside of frames very well anymore so the grips come out for that gun only situation . They kinda interchange but are more so than not seating very well and have to carve out or add some compound to fill the gaps . I like making the grips for Freedom Arms pieces because they took great care with cleaning extra material out and smooth the surfaces . Early NAA's were pretty good also but forgotten over time , its just more handling time which costs . Quality counts in the older days . Ha ,ha .

[pietro]

.

Welcome aboard !

FWIW, I've been CCW with a NAA Mini every day (EDC) since the day I bought my first one - the last 10-odd years a BW.

YMMV, but I found that the issue BW rubber bumpers printed just as much as larger guns, so I switched out the grips for a set of bird's head grips.



   

[OV-1D]

  Those are simply beautiful grips you have there Pietro , just perfect for that gun .
  Al I presume those are Walnut , that finished set of the last (grips only) picture . I'm dumb as rocks on knowing different types of wood even though I have all sorts of blanks for grips ,thankfully when I bought them they were marked of what type they were , still gotta get going again and get out of neutral . If I only had a magic lamp to take what I have in mind and say poof they were made in front of me . I gotta work on that ALSO !!!! Ha ,Ha .    

[Canoeal]

Yep they are Walnut. They live on my BW now...

[OV-1D]

  One just gotta love the color and looks of the wood texture , excellent set . 

[MiniGun]

Gotta echo what everyone ELSE seems to be saying:  the Black Widow is without a doubt the NAA to get!  I started with the little .22 LR, but the darned thing was so incredibly tiny it was practically impossible to hold, let alone SHOOT!  I finally figured it out, but it takes some real effort.  I picked up a standard Magnum (with the LR conversion cylinder) because it had a bigger grip.  Ugh.  Another mistake.  Now the grip was large enough to actually hold on to, but the sights were... well... worthless.  Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn at 7 yards.  I filed down the tall front sight, so that I could hit center-mass, but the "sights" were impossible to pick up quickly.  UNSAT for a CCW pistol.  So I tried again with the Black Widow because it actually HAD sights.  Very useful ones, in fact!  Not only was it easy to conceal and stash away, but the useful sights let me use it as a kit gun for plinking when hiking or camping.  I didn't like the chubby grips it came with, though, so I ordered the folding grips from NAA with the pocket clip.  Now I was a happy camper!  Finally, I ended up with the perfect CCW and kit gun!  I had to buy 3 NAA revolvers before discovering the issues/problems and finally getting the one that suited my needs.  Do I regret buying the .22 LR and the standard Magnum?  I guess so.  But I didn't know any better and live in an area where it would be impossible for me to see/handle them before buying.  So I did the best I could.  I ended up getting the groovy folding grips for both of those, too.  If I carry where concealability is a concern, I go with the Black Widow.  The .22 LR is awfully cute and is a fun little range toy; with the folding grip, you can actually HOLD it!  The Standard Magnum (with folding grip) has become backup gun when I carry my normal sidearm (.40 S&W). 
If you START with the Black Widow, you'll save a lot of time and money!  If you don't start with it, you'll probably end up with it anyway.   
Your mileage may vary, but IMHO you can't go wrong with the Black Widow!
- MG

[pietro]

  Those are simply beautiful grips you have there Pietro , just perfect for that gun .
 

T.Y. - "Perfect" was my thoughts when I bought the "aged stag" grips directly from NAA, when Jessica introduced new products to the board.

https://naaminis.com/smf/index.php?topic=23613.msg193852#msg193852

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