My older .22 Short mini

[stantheman86]

I recently picked up my older .22 Short, any idea how old this one is?
Serial number is 30918.

It looks unfired, the action is tight, it times up perfectly and is so tight it's hard to get apart. Hopefully it will loosen up.

The hammer is harder to cock than my new .22 LR and Short mini, did they use heavier springs in the older guns?

I need new grips, the right panel is broken. I already plan to add some kind of pearlite.

I had thought of getting the safety update but I have another brand new production Short for carry so I want to keep this one as is. It can be an occassional shooter or just a "curio". I got it for about $200.

The only detraction is that for some reason a past owner cut lines into the cylinder by the chambers. They are not hammer strikes , the hammer is much wider than these notches and one of the notches isn't 100% straight which tells me they were cut by hand.

Their purpose is beyond me, but hey if the gun shoots fine and the notches kept other buyers away from it, I'm fine with it.

If I do carry it , it will just be a 4-shot. It may, at best, be a "run to the store" pocket gun but I got it more as just an impulse buy. I don't collect NAA's but I thought  this one was neat looking with the unfluted cylinder. Kind of a modern version of the old Colt .22 Short revolvers.

[MR_22]

Nice acquisition. You did good. What's the side read? That looks like the model NAA produced just after the original one with the cylinder stop on the top.

These old grips were brittle and most of the ones I have seen have cracked. I'm not sure if the current NAA grips available for the short will fit it. I'm guessing not, but you can try them. At some point, NAA change the grip frame slightly, so it might not fit without modification.

Good luck with it. It's a nice piece! I'd keep it the way it is rather than having it updated, but I guess I'm a bit of a collector. I like them original.

[Dinadan]

Cool old gun, in any case. At first I thought that those notches were someone' effort to add safety notches, but since they cross the chamber that would not work.

[stantheman86]

Thanks for the replies:)

The side reads Provo Utah, I'm not sure when production started here.

My theory is that someone who had no idea what they were doing added the "safety notches " but never fired or carried the gun. There is no trace of carbon or burn rings and there is no turn line on the cylinder.

I hope the new style grips fit or else I'm kinda screwed, I'll have to have someone make a set.

I have no reason to carry this much and the notches kind of destroy the collectibility, but it's still a neat little backyard plinker if it shoots ok. It might make a good "stash gun" in my car.

Some of the .22 Short rounds like CCI varmint loads seem to be just below standard velocity .22 LR in energy but this is still a "Dr. Gun" as I call them, good for a bad guys "eye, ear, nose or throat" lol

I don't even consider them belly guns, a .22 Short to the gut wouldn't be a fight stopper.