I’ve bought a factor for mouse weapons. I do know they’ve bought their limitations and are finest suited as backups, or backups to backups, however I nonetheless like them. I’ve at all times had just a few in my stock, however the .22 Magnum North American Arms Sentinel is one I’ve been ready on for a very long time.
Many years of Mini Revolvers
After I first turned 21, over 30 years in the past, one of many first weapons I purchased was a North American Arms (NAA) .22 Magnum mini-revolver. It was a well-made little gun, and I carried it in a pocket holster fairly a bit.
I finally changed it with one other NAA, this time a Black Widow with each .22 Magnum and .22 Lengthy Rifle cylinders. The black serrated entrance submit and notch rear had been an enormous enchancment over my first NAA. It additionally had an even bigger rubber grip, which truly made it fairly snug to shoot.
Over time, I watched as NAA got here out with the Pug, which jogged my memory of a chopped Black Widow with its full lug barrel and massive, Quick Dot tritium entrance sight and V rear. I at all times needed one, nevertheless it wasn’t completely different sufficient from my Black Widow to actually justify it.
Then they launched each top-break and swing-out cylinder fashions. I favored these too, however that they had the rudimentary entrance sights like my first NAA. I’d gotten accustomed to the sights on my Black Widow and the very fact I may shoot it half means decently for such slightly gun, and I didn’t wish to go backwards.
What I needed was a Pug with a swing-out cylinder or top-break motion. It took a bit, however final 12 months NAA dropped the Sentinel, and it was precisely what I used to be in search of.
The Sentinel
It took me some time to get a Sentinel since NAA has been promoting them as quick as they will make them, however I lastly managed to choose one up proper earlier than SHOT Present this 12 months. So what precisely is the Sentinel?
The Sentinel is a 1.425-inch barrel 5 5-shot mini revolver with a swing-out cylinder and the Quick Dot sights of the Pug. It’s a single-action revolver. That means that you should cock it every time to fireside it. The security consists of a notch between the cylinder chambers that you simply relaxation the hammer in when carrying the gun. It makes use of a small spur set off, with a few 5 pound pull weight.
NAA’s Sentinel is constructed on NAA’s bigger body, that means that it’s obtainable in both .22 Magnum or .22 LR, with or with no spare .22 LR cylinder. Like the entire NAA minis, it’s produced from all 17-4 stainless-steel development. It comes with pebble-textured rubber grips that match the spherical butt grip body. All NAA’s are made within the US in NAA’s Provo, Utah facility, and are backed by a lifetime guarantee.
I ended up getting a .22 Magnum mannequin with out the spare .22 LR cylinder. I’ve each for my Black Widow, and whereas it’s good, I don’t actually plink rather a lot with a mini revolver so I can take care of the price of taking pictures .22 Magnum for follow. MSRP on the Sentinel with one cylinder is $399.00. The gun ships with a handbook and a reasonably good locking steel storage field.
Add-Ons and Equipment
Since I’ve been carrying an NAA mini of 1 type or one other for over 30 years, I knew my preferences for the gun. Whereas the manufacturing facility rubber grips are wonderful, I knew from my earlier gun that I needed extra grip. I nonetheless had my longer, sq. butt wooden boot grips from my first NAA so I pulled these out and put them on the Sentinel. Regardless of being 30 years outdated they match completely, an excellent testimony to NAA”s consistency and high quality management.
The subsequent factor I knew, I’d want a holster. After I began wanting, I discovered that there weren’t many choices obtainable for the Sentinel. It was closest to the Pug, however the crane meeting for the swing-out cylinder modified the profile simply sufficient that you simply couldn’t use a Pug holster until it was a reasonably generic sample, and never molded to the gun.
I ended up coming throughout an excellent match on Etsy, of all locations, although. By my net search, I stumbled upon the Southern Appeal Holsters store and located a fellow NAA fanatic behind the stitching machine, stitching up their leather-based pocket holsters.
I ended up with a tan leather-based mannequin that holds the gun upright in your pocket. It has an prolonged flange that breaks up the strains of the holster and retains the gun oriented within the right place within the pocket. It additionally features a pouch that holds an additional 5 rounds of ammo.
One thing Particular
After ordering my holster, I ended up chatting backwards and forwards with Daniel Franklin, one of many house owners of Southern Appeal, via messaging. In some unspecified time in the future, I discussed I’d be doing a write-up on the Sentinel for TTAG, and he supplied to do a customized holster for me as nicely. Along with the fundamental pocket holster I ordered, I additionally ended up getting a reasonably nifty customized one.
This one featured a floral border tooling, paying homage to some Previous West gun leather-based, in addition to the TTAG emblem and my identify on it. Fairly slick, and a neat contact to go together with a revolver I waited many years to get.
Operation and Loading
In the event you aren’t acquainted with the NAA minis, they’re all single-action revolvers with a spur set off. While you load them there’s an indexing notch between the cylinders that you simply relaxation the hammer on, making certain it’s by no means sitting on the rim of a stay spherical. Capability is 5 rounds in the entire fashions obtainable.
On the older fashions you needed to put the gun on half cock, take away the cylinder pin, and pull the cylinder out to load or reload. If it had been a reload, you would tip the cylinder up, and typically the spent circumstances would drop out. Usually you’d find yourself utilizing the cylinder pin to pop the empties out although. To load or reload you drop 5 rounds in, exchange the cylinder then cylinder pin. Then line up the index notch and cock the hammer, preserving your thumb on it. Lastly, decrease it into the index notch for carry. It really works wonderful, nevertheless it takes a little bit of time to do. You additionally find yourself with a number of items to probably drop or lose.
The Sentinel and its swing-out cylinder work like most DA revolvers, with a few minor exceptions. Slightly than a cylinder launch latch like on most DA wheel weapons, you set the NAA on half cock, and pull ahead on the cylinder pin. On the Sentinel, the cylinder pin is captive and a part of the cylinder crane meeting. As soon as that’s launched, you push the cylinder out, and it swings open on the crane. Every part stays hooked up to the gun, so no unfastened components.
Whereas most DA revolver cylinders swing out to the left, the Sentinels swing out to the appropriate. In the event you’re reloading if you swing the cylinder out you push on the spring loaded cylinder pin and it ejects the empty circumstances by the use of the star meeting within the cylinder. Similar to each DA revolver you’ve ever used. No have to push the shells out with any form of too. In the event that they do stick the star nonetheless pushes them out far sufficient that they’re simple to pluck out together with your fingers.
For loading, simply drop 5 rounds in and shut the cylinder. Then line the hammer up with the index notch, like with the opposite NAA Minis. It’s a sooner, less complicated course of than the normal NAA weapons, and retains the entire components collectively. It may be slightly sticky popping the cylinder open. Lining up the cylinder pin if you shut the cylinder might be fidgety too. It’s not fairly as clean as say a Smith or Ruger revolver. Nonetheless, it’s a lot less complicated than reinstalling the detachable cylinder.
Vary Time
On the vary, the Sentinels dealt with rather a lot like my Black Widow. The boot grip is slightly completely different than what my Widow wears, however provides sufficient room for an excellent buy. I may at all times get the identical rubber grips I’ve on the Widow. The boot grips are trimmer within the pocket, although, and nonetheless let me get an excellent two-finger grip. I kinda just like the seems too.
The Quick Dot sights are simple to choose up. They aren’t as exact because the Widow sights however they’re faster to choose up. They’re higher suited to quick and shut protection work. They’re an enormous enchancment over the fundamental half-circle entrance sight and no rear sight of the normal fashions.
Recoil with the .22 Magnum within the little sub-7-ounce gun is brisk, however under no circumstances painful. The Sentinel jumps greater than it kicks. It does have fairly a little bit of bark too.
I used primarily CCI 40gr Maxi Magazine JHP’s, Hornady 45gr XTP Crucial Protection, and Speer 40gr Gold Dot .22 Magnum hundreds for my testing, preserving in thoughts the protection nature of the Sentinel’s design. Most taking pictures was carried out with a mixture of one and two hand taking pictures at 5 and seven yards. The Sentinel is a get off me gun. I didn’t see the necessity to do a lot taking pictures previous these ranges.
On the 5 and seven yard marks I may preserve all of my rounds in a bunch simply lined by the palm of my hand. That won’t sound nice in case you’re taking a look at taking pictures tight teams, nevertheless it’s loads to inform somebody that you simply’d reasonably dangle on to your pockets in the present day, thanks. Out at 15 yards I may preserve my spherical contained in the 8 ring on a B-27 silhouette. Generally slightly tighter. I didn’t shoot previous that distance. The small grip and tiny spur set off are meant for concealment, not goal taking pictures.
A Journey Again to Utah
After I first went to the vary, all was not peaches and roses. At 5 yards, I used to be getting fairly constant keyholing, indicating that the rounds weren’t stabilizing. This can be a brief 1.4 inch barrel sending quick .22 Magnum rounds downrange. A fragile stability must be achieved there. I’ve heard the argument that at these ranges, keyholing doesn’t matter. I can’t think about your penetration goes to be superb with a spherical hitting sideways. The FBI penetration exams wouldn’t approve.
I discussed North American Arm’s guarantee earlier, and I did benefit from it on this case. It additionally goes to point out you that gun writers don’t essentially get cherry picked weapons for evaluation! After a few weeks at NAA I bought my Sentinel again and headed again out to the vary.
After the rework, issues had been significantly better. I discussed stabilizing that quick .22 Magazine out of so brief a barrel is hard, proper? Effectively, even after the return I’d nonetheless get an occasional keyholed spherical, nevertheless it was dramatically higher. Whereas earlier than I’d have on common 3 of 5 rounds keyhole, now I would get one each couple of cylinders. With correct ammo alternative it just about went away. For me, that ended up being the Speer Gold Dot load.
A Pocket Pistol Like No Different
Stuffing a .22 Magnum spherical inside a swing-out cylinder revolver the scale of the NAA Sentinel is not any imply feat.
There’s actually nothing else prefer it in the marketplace. In the event you’re in search of the smallest Magnum doable for pocket carry, then test it out.
Like with any defensive pistol, make sure you practice with it and confirm that it capabilities as anticipated with the load you propose to hold.
The place To Purchase
