Mini Master or 1860 Earl 3" and 4"

[mouselvr]

I picked up for the Earl 4" yesterday - what a beautiful piece.  I'm looking forward to the next range visit.  I will post pics of it once I take some.  The 6" might be on the back burner as my LGS just got it a standard .22lr short barrel.  It might be next in the collection.

[cwlongshot]

Sorry to reply to a lil older thread. But as I'm looking at the exact same questions. I would like to know the Op's opinion now that it's been a month to handle and hopefully shoot the Earl.

I too like it's looks better then The MM but I like both.

For me I would Like this to be a carry gun for hiking or trail riding when a larger gun isnt practice. Mine must be a magnum so as mentioned longer barrels will eek out better power.

CW

[TwoGunJayne]

I like the 4". If it is too long for your personal size and attire, then it "breaks the envelope."

If you can get away with the 4", that's what I'd do. If it's a tiny bit too much, then the 3".

Ballistics are darned near the same, apples to apples. I like that last little tiny bit. I prefer the longer NAA barrels due to slightly better ballistics, but more importantly a longer sight radius. This improves your shooting characteristics and should shrink your group sizes, all things being equal.

A little hotter, a little tighter, I'd go with the 4". That said, a 3" or 2" carries much more easily. It's just that much more invisible.

I'm certain there is no cut-and-dry 100% answer, but subjective thoughts instead.

[Richard58]

How is the earl loading rod at staying put and not falling out over the MM.

[grayelky]

The Earl's cylinder pin is held in place by a faux black powder-style loading lever. The "loading lever" is held to the bottom of the barrel by a spring loaded latch. My plinking mini is a 3" Earl. I have shot only 500 or so rounds out of it and have never had any type of issue. Very solid.

The Mini Master uses the same cylinder pin as the Black Widow. I have never shot a MM, and only a few rounds from a BW, but the pull and turn system seems to be quite solid also.

[Zekepup]

I just got my first 3" Earl  and posted pictures of the grips fit on my new piece in another post.How well is the boot grips fit on others . Mine show a lot of grip metal  and do not cover the whole grip. What do you think?

[evan]

I have the mini and the earl in 4"--everything 2gun says is on the money.  I prefer the mini because it seems a bit more stable and accurate. They are both good guns and I haven't been able to bring myself to narrowing down to just one or the other. 

[RogueTS1]

I personally do not like it. I prefer the wood and metal to be flush and almost seamless.

[OV-1D]

  Just today I picked up a 3" Earl and it's the tightest best put together NAA I've bought so far . Somehow the speed to play catch up making these pieces has improved the quality of the workmanship , go figure . There is not one complaint I have with this one and I'm one picky s.o.b. , I'm still looking though , good for them , maybe Sandy has cracked down somewhat .

[Uncle_Lee]

How do you know that it wasn't made before they started working on the Sidewinder? Just laying at some distributor's warehouse.

[OV-1D]

How do you know that it wasn't made before they started working on the Sidewinder? Just laying at some distributor's warehouse.

  Unc it looks like a new type of stamping for the serial number never seen this type before ( large roman type ) and it's just different in all aspects , it's too good quite frankly , ha ha  , and not Spanish Forks . By the way I've found a complaint that the crown has never been touched and needs it but I'm still well pleased with the quality of this one anyways . If your right Unc_Lee this one was a fluke , ha ha .

[OV-1D]

Here you go zekepup . Cover perfectly .