If you want better sights, buy a Black Widow. Not instead of, but in addition to. Better sights, bigger grip, still easy to carry. The best of the bunch.
Concerning snake shot out of a mini: I have never used the 22WMR shot, but I have used the 22lr rounds. Out of a 4 inch barrel they are good to about 6 feet. Out of a mini they are good to about two feet. Minis and 22 shot shells are great when a snake plops down in your aluminum canoe right by your feet. You can kill the snake without blowing a hole in your boat. I wouldn't try that in a plastic or wooden one, tho!

I took my LR mini to the range yesterday, and was shooting at an 8 inch steel target 10 yards away. Using a two hand grip and aiming as stated above I was hitting steel 80% of the time. Not great, but "good enough" on my estimation. Like most people I don't get enough range time to get truly proficient (shooting my J frame yesterday was giving me fits. And a blister) but for what it is, the mini does pretty well.
My Black Widow, of course, does MUCH better. Still the best overall mini IMHO.

I bought a used one several years ago. It didn't have a manual with it, and I was shooting Velocitors thru it when the aluminum slide broke and came off of the frame. I sent it into Taurus and they sent back a new one. The frame on it was magnetic, so evidently the older models had some issues. This one has lasted more than a decade. I only shoot regular high velocity rounds as per the manual.
The only issue I have had is when I let it sit for a few months (more likely years. It's not something I carry)  and then try shooting it. When I do  the slide sticks and it jams up. Probably the lube  I am using (Federal). So before I take it to the range  I work the slide a few times, and it works just fine.

I have a both a "plastic" 380 and a Guardian 380. I like them both, but I rarely carry the plastic one. Why? Because the Guardian is smaller in most of its dimensions. In my pocket it just looks like a large-ish wallet, while the "plastic" 380 looks like a gun. I know that depends on the pockets and the holster. I wear "comfort fit "old guy jeans because I AM an old guy! If I wore something more fitted, I'd probably carry the plastic 380. Or more likely my Black Widow.

Wumby, yeah, I would have to pay to have it returned. My thinking was that, with my luck, I would get it back from getting a new cylinders and then  have it break the very next week!, Resulting in two trips.

As to why they would sell 22lr only versions of the magnum framed minis, that's simple: people want them! I wanted a Black Widow, but in 22lr as I don't shoot 22wmr. The BW is less expensive with just one cylinder. And I figured I'd I ever wanted to get a magnum cylinder, all I had to do is send it in and get one added. I have been waiting until something on it breaks, so I can save money on shipping. It's been 5 years since I bought my used BW, and nothing on it has broken yet. I am carrying it more often  as a primary, so I guess I really need to send it in anyway. I have always figured 22lr  is just as good as 22wmrs out of such a short barreled weapins, but ballistics have shown me the errors of my ways!

I am not sure about inside the house, but I can attest to the fact that if a water moccasin drops into your aluminum canoe 6 inches away from you, a 22 shot shell will kill him without putting a hole in your boat!

I bought a short barrel LR mini because I felt the need for an "everywhere" firearm, and nothing fills that role as well as a mini!

I have had one for several years. I like mine. It is surprisingly accurate. Easy to shoot, for a pocket pistol. It is picky about ammo.

If you are already carrying a larger firearm, I would consider the Black  Widow. It is light enough, accurate enough, and with the right 22 wmr, powerful enough. In fact that's a good descriptor of the BW: it's enough of a firearm for most purposes.

I have a Guardian 380. I also own a Taurus TCP. The Taurus is much lighter. It has less recoil. It has a much lighter trigger. I know that a lot of people like to bash Taurus, with reason, but after 6 years and maybe 5 hundred rounds the TCP has been perfect with the factory mag (a cheap Promag mag doesn't work well with hollow points, but I can't fault the gun for that). So my TCP is a good one. But I rarely carry it. In fact, hardly ever. Instead I carry my Guardian. Why?
-because I like the double only action trigger. I just don't like carrying something in my pocket that is literally half cocked. And the TCPs trigger is pretty light. The Guardian is not going to go off unless I really truly want it to. I find that reassuring.
- I like the weight and the  trigger because both are very similar to my hiking gun, a .38 J frame. The similarity makes it easier to go from one to the other.
- the Guardian fits my hand better. The grip is wider, and fills my hand better. The TCP (and the LCP and p32) have grips that are hard to hold onto.
- I actually like the Guardian sights. Up close and personal I don't really need sights, but the very fine sights on the Guardian allow for rather accurate shooting at up to 50 yards. The guys at at The Truth About Guns we're hitting steel at 100 yards. That's pretty impressive!

But all that applies only to me. The Guardian is never going to be mainstream. Most people aren't going to like it (for the reasons expressed above). It certainly isn't a perfect firearm.
BUT... it is my preferred 380 auto pocket pistol, and had been for several years. I doubt that I will ever get rid of it. It certainly isn't going to wear out.

I do like my BW better, tho.

The last round hang up is a well know "trait" in this type of firearm. NAA's official line is that really isn't an issue, as there is no last round hold-open. When you feed a new magazine in and rack the slide it will kick the expended round out. That said, it hasn't been a problem on my 380 Guardian.

I think I would stick to 22 rifles for a year or two. Shoot the heck out of them, maybe a couple thousand rounds thru it. After that, I would start thinking about getting a sidearm of some sort. Probably a 22 revolver with a 5 or 6 inch barrel and decent sights. Put another thousand rounds thru that, learning the basics. Then you'll be ready for a mini. It will still be a challenge to shoot it well, but it will then be a fun challenge. Not like all the guys who buy a mini and then complain about how terrible it shoots! And I would definitely buy a Black Widow first. I started off with a 22or, which I still have and like, but the BW is better in every way.
Contrary to many, I don't think the minis are a beginner's firearm. They can tricky to handle and shoot. Just my opinion. Others will differ!

Top Dog PA has allowed the use of air rifles since 2017, although there are some restrictions.

We didn't really need to invade Japan. The navy, specifically the submarine force, had a very tight circle around  Japan that almost nothing  could get through. Not to mention that the Japanese merchant fleet had pretty much ceased to exist by 1945. As Japan could not feed itself at that time, sooner or later Japan would have either surrendered or starved. As the military did not want to surrender, they would probably have starved. It is ironic, but it is possible that the atomic bombs may have ensured that millions of Japanese civilians survived the war. But I agree: it would have been better if the bomb had never been used, although I have no doubt that sooner or later someone someplace would have built one. MAD is an dangerous way of maintaining peace, tho!

Nope. Still waiting. They promised to email when they are available. Not holding my breath!

One of the things I like about the backpacker is that it can use any of the Beretta style choke tubes. With a short barreled shot gun full or modified chokes are good. It even comes with a more defied choke.

I looked at the Hatfield, but it was just a bit too long for my purposes, as I really do want to be able to carry it in a backpack. The Backpacker fit, the Hatfield doesn't. The Midland is priced less at other places. I paid full list price, something I rarely do! But even $149 is inexpensive for a new shotgun, and I really try to support our legal gun shop. The owner s are really nice,  and don't complain when I accidently drool on their display case when looking at some firearm I could never ever afford!

Still stiff. I only have 20 shells through it so far, so I would expect it to be. I am sure that some fire arms have great triggers out of the box, but I have never had one!

I recently had to start spending a lot of time in a state which is not firearm friendly. They do not recognize my concealed carry permit, and even bringing a handgun into the state can get you locked up. Long Guns are ok, though. I started looking for an alternative. I first looked at the AR7, the Marlin Papoose, and a couple of folding rifles, but, while I love 22s, they lack flexibility. I needed (well wanted) an all purpose easily transported and lightweight all purpose firearm. I found the Midland Backpacker, a short barreled 18.5 inch) lightweight adjectives stable choke folding single shot shotgun. List price is only $140. So I got one.
First impressions: this thing is tiny!! It hardly weighs anything, and t easily fits in my old ALICE pack.
It kicks. Not a surprise. Light loads are fine. A slug or buckshot round is not much fun, but manageable. Sort of! Shoot at f more than a couple, and your shoulder will feel it! The firearm seems to be well built and sturdy. It doesn't have a hammer, it has an extracter (which I prefer), and the break down mechanism is a trigger way forward of the firing trigger; no one is ever going to confuse the two! With the included Mom difirf choke it seems to pattern well out to about 25 yards, although I haven't had a chance to check it out formally yet. And by next year, there are supposed to be other barrels available, both Center fire and rim fire. I would love to get a 357 barrel! But even without the extra barrels, I think I got my $140 worth.

I don't carry my J frame on-body. That's what my my Guardian and Black Widow are for! But I do carry my J frame in a 511 sling pack. When ever I am going hiking or on a very long walk I grab the bag, so I can carry water, snacks, med pack, bug stuff, sun screen, rain poncho, etc. Not a survival bag, more of "stuff that keeps me comfortable throughout the day" pack. I recently found myself out on the water without a hoodie (I loaned mine to my wife who was chilly). I just pulled a "survival" blanket out and was comfy. The J frame fits perfectly in the firearm pocket. A couple of strips of reloads, and one strip of shot shells and I am ready for just about anything!

As others have pointed  out ALL BWs are made on the magnum frame. For reasons that elude me, the BWs (like mine) are marked 22lr. NAA assured me, though, that if I sent it in, they would fit a 22 mag cylinder to it, and that there is no difference between 22lr and 2wmr BWs other than the markings. I have not gotten the 22wmr cylinder yet because I am not totally convinced that the 22wmr out of such a short barrel is really all that much more powerful, and 22lr is a lot cheaper!

No,I decided I needed a Midland backpacker shotgun more. Too many wants, never enough money for them all! That's ok. Anticipation makes the eventual acquisition sweeter! Actually, I will probably get a mini master first.

This doesn't involve a mini, but it does pertain to the discussion. A few years ago, I found myself in a sketchy situation where three fine young gentlemen surrounded me and asked me what I had in my pack. I started pulling things out to show them, and to hold their attention. When I pulled out the extra mag for my 380, they finally got around to noticing my right hand in my front right jeans pocket.  No threat, no warning, no problem. Their interest in me diminished, and they collectively decided that there was someplace else they needed to be. Rather quickly, evidently.

And after my heart rate returned to normal, and I ascertained that I probably wasn't going to have a heart attack just then, I made the same decision.

Kind of a boring story, because nothing actually happened. But when it comes to situations like that, I don't mind at all.

[/quote]

Otter, I wish I could put things so exactly to the point like you do, rather than my habit of blathering on until I forget what point I was trying to make. So well put for the plus's of the mini.
[/quote]

🤣 Yeah, my mind does tend to wander a bit sometimes! I really need to do a better job of proofreading before I hit the "post" button! I forget what points B and C were, but I am sure that they would have been brilliant😹 I fixed a couple of things on the post and then gave up.

{edited d/t grammatical errors}
I find the "best caliber" discussions to be rather irrelevant, as they tend to focus on the search for the "perfect" pistol cartridge. Because, when you get right down to it, there isn't one. The choice of caliber depends on a number of things. I think we can all agree that a machete would more more effective in a fight than a folding pocket knife. But we carry pocket knives, not machetes, because carrying a machete everywhere would be considered inappropriate, unless you were in thick under brush. We carry folders because they are much easier to carry, even though the are less effective. The same thing is true of a mini. A 12 gauge is far more effective than a 22 revolver, but carrying a 12 gauge in most environments is simply not acceptable. A 22 mini, on the other hand, can be taken anywhere you need it. Is it effective? Sometimes. I don't carry it as my main firearm in bear country, but I do carry it when si have to walk through a dark empty parking lot. As in so many other facets of life, what you carry depends on a number of factors that only you can calculate for yourself

Ok, I was wondering. Thanks for clearing things up for me! I kind of like it. The case hardened (I assume) cylinder, and the real sights would be nice. But they will probably all he sold before I decide to get one; that's usually what happens!

The new mini mag

From NAA:

Hello,

That is a new model, it is called "The Bug" and is outfitted with the XS Tritium sights. They are available in Magnum or with both Magnum and LR conversion cylinders. They are a Talo Inc exclusive however, there are not a limited production number (ongoing)


Thank you and have a great day!

Sue Sheetz
Customer Service

Oh. I thought all XS sights ball and line.

I would much rather have a 1 5/8 mini mag with XS night sights then a Pug that costs $60 more. I have never been a fan of the 1 inch barrel on the Pug. That's just  me folks! I know you guys love your Pugs!

Quote from: linux_author on April-30-18 04:04
i did a write-up of my experiences in searching for a .32ACP carry pistol:

http://kg4zqz.blogspot.com/2018/02/kel-tec-p-32-vs-north-american-arms.html

I went ahead and read your blog. When you send a firearm into NAA they do a few extra things to smooth out the action. If you check out the NAA website you will find that they offer a lot of custom features, such as better sights (although I have come to like the stock ones).

I have thought about getting a p32, but for some reason something else always seems to have a higher priority: I already have 3 pocket automatics and 2 mini revolvers, so I don't really have a need for one. But I think I really DO need a hogleg or  a mini master!

I have a 380 Guardian, and I love it! I got the 380 because I have other 380s, and because I got it used at a good price, but I certainly would pick up  a 32 if I could find one at a good price.

Ok, I looked again, and they also have them in 1 5/8 for the same price. They also had a few different mini mag models with 2 wmr cylinders, instead of the usual combo 22 wmr/22lr.

I was checking out the Buds Guns website, and was surprised to see 1 1/8 mini mags with XS night sights for $244. I knew that there was talk of a  bugout with XS, but I must have missed the announcement about the mini mags!