# North American Arms > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/North_American_Arms > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/North_American_Arms.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Arms > Source revision: 1347826866 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) American arms company North American Arms Type Pocket Pistols and revolvers Industry Firearms Predecessor Rocky Mountain Arms Fate Active Products Pocket pistols Owner Employee Owned **North American Arms** is a United States company, headquartered in [Provo, Utah](/source/Provo%2C_Utah), that manufactures [pocket pistols](/source/Pocket_pistol) and mini-[revolvers](/source/Revolver), also called [mouse guns](/source/Mouse_gun).[1] The company was originally named *Rocky Mountain Arms* when it was founded in 1972. In 1974 it was bought by new owners who renamed the company *North American Manufacturing* (NAM) and then *North American Arms* (NAA).[2] ## Mini-revolvers ### Bicycle guns Hopkins and Allen produced a "7-shot .22 solid frame double action revolver, made between 1875 and 1907, known as the XL No. 3 Double Action small frame. The .32 Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless of 1888 to 1892 with the 2 inch barrel became known as a 'Bicycle' gun at some point, and the First Model Ladysmith (the 1902 M Frame Model .22 Hand Ejector), was often referred to as a 'Bicycle' gun. Iver Johnson made a similar gun—the Model 1900 Double Action small frame, a 7-shot .22, which appeared in 1900 and remained in production for 41 years."[3] ### North American Arms The mini-revolvers produced by the company are five-shot, [single-action revolvers](/source/Revolver#Single_action), which have a spur [trigger](/source/Trigger_(firearms)) design. They are reminiscent of late 19th-century pocket revolvers, the main differences being their size and also that NAA's mini-revolvers are made completely of [stainless steel](/source/Stainless_steel).[1] The design of the mini-revolvers was developed by [Freedom Arms](/source/Freedom_Arms), which stopped selling these mini-revolvers in 1990 and then sold the design to North American Arms. In 1978, [Dick Casull](/source/Dick_Casull) became a partner of Wayne Baker in the Freedom, Wyoming-based [Freedom Arms](/source/Freedom_Arms) firearms manufacturing business to produce a 5-shot mini revolver in [.22 LR](/source/.22_LR) known as "The Patriot", later offered in [.22 Short](/source/.22_Short) and [.22 WMR](/source/.22_WMR),[4] also a mini [double action](/source/Double_action) revolver, the Casull CA-2000 Mini.[5] A 4-shot mini revolver was also produced by Freedom Arms. The production of mini-revolvers by Freedom Arms ceased in 1990.[6] Casull was granted U.S. Patent 4385463 in 1983 for a floating firing pin for mini revolvers and U.S. Patent 4450992 in 1984 for a belt buckle holster that would hold a mini revolver.[7] The mini-revolver design was sold to North American Arms.[5] The company manufactures revolvers in the following calibers: - [.22 Short](/source/.22_Short) - [.22 Long Rifle](/source/.22_Long_Rifle) - [.22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire](/source/.22_Winchester_Magnum_Rimfire) - [.22](/source/5_mm_caliber) [Black powder](/source/Gunpowder) cap and ball[8] The cylinder must be removed from the frame to load or unload all NAA mini-revolvers, with the exception of two models, the "Sidewinder" (swing-out cylinder) and "Ranger II" (break-open cylinder). - North American Arms model NAA22S mini-revolver, chambered in [.22 Short](/source/.22_Short). - NAA mini revolver in .22 LR. It can fold into its own grip for safe belt clip carry. - The .22 M- A .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire revolver equipped with "Boot Grips". - This picture illustrates the NAA .22 Magnum Black Widow revolver cylinder in the safety position. - North American Arms Black Widow model NAA-BW-M chambered for .22 Magnum. - The top break "Ranger" came from a limited tool room run. ## Semi-automatics NAA Guardian in .32 NAA. In 1997 NAA branched out into semiautomatic concealed carry pistols known as the *Guardian* models to compete with [Seecamp](/source/Seecamp).[9] [Semi-automatic](/source/Semi-automatic_pistol) Guardian pistols are made by North American Arms in the following calibers: - [.25 NAA](/source/.25_NAA) - [.32 ACP](/source/.32_ACP) - [.32 NAA](/source/.32_NAA) - [.380 ACP](/source/.380_ACP) The .25 NAA cartridge was developed by North American Arms based upon a wildcat bottleneck cartridge using .32 ACP brass necked down to grip a .25 caliber bullet, with the goal of increasing penetration beyond what either a [.25 ACP](/source/.25_ACP) or .32 ACP could do.[10] Likewise, the .32 NAA was developed by North American Arms to increase the penetration of a .32 caliber bullet relative to a .380 ACP cartridge.[11] ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Peterson2011_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Peterson2011_1-1) Peterson, Phillip (19 August 2011). [*Gun Digest Book of Modern Gun Values*](https://books.google.com/books?id=HSMK1WNMbMYC&pg=PA195). Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 195. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4402-1835-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4402-1835-4). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-HoggWalter2004_2-0)** Hogg, Ian; Walter, John (29 August 2004). [*Pistols of the World*](https://books.google.com/books?id=okQH6zFgDtUC&pg=PA266). David & Charles. p. 266. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87349-460-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87349-460-1). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [*Mini Revolvers*](https://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/MiniR/minir.html) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-gdcc_4-0)** Jerry Ahern (2010), [*Gun Digest Buyer's Guide to Concealed-Carry Handguns*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ulWbH-4xtd8C&pg=PA21), Gun Digest Books, pp. 21–22, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4402-1383-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4402-1383-0) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-RIP_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-RIP_5-1) *[R.I.P. Dick Casull](https://naaminis.com/smf/index.php?topic=14978.0)* 1. **[^](#cite_ref-EPR2003_6-0)** Hartink, A.E. (2003). [*The Complete Encyclopedia of Pistols and Revolvers*](https://archive.org/details/completeencyclop0000hart/page/132). Edison, New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc. pp. [132–134](https://archive.org/details/completeencyclop0000hart/page/132). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7858-1871-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7858-1871-7). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Buffaloe_7-0)** Buffaloe, Ed. ["Mini Revolvers"](http://unblinkingeye.com/Guns/MiniR/minir.html). The Unblinking Eye. Retrieved 13 August 2013. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-theearl_8-0)** John Taffin (November 2009), ["The "Earl": a new mini-mag from North American Arms"](http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_11_56/ai_n56225248/), *Guns Magazine* 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Ayoob2007_9-0)** Ayoob, Massad (28 September 2007). [*The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery*](https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSOkN9sQDdMC&pg=PA38). Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 38. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4402-1825-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4402-1825-5). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Shideler2011_10-0)** Shideler, Dan (28 February 2011). [*Gun Digest Book of Semi-Auto Pistols*](https://books.google.com/books?id=0jZQ25ruJU4C&pg=PA56). Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 56. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4402-2439-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4402-2439-3). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Barnes2012_11-0)** Barnes, Frank C. (5 October 2012). [*Cartridges of the World: A Complete Illustrated Reference for More Than 1,500 Cartridges*](https://books.google.com/books?id=bjhy8uv196IC&pg=PA333). Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. p. 333. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4402-3059-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4402-3059-2). ## External links - [North American Arms](http://northamericanarms.com/) - [The North American Arms Pug Review](https://web.archive.org/web/20080917094125/http://www.carryconcealed.net/reviews/The+North+American+Arms+Pug+rated+by+the+Carryconcealed.net+team.-REV53.html) - [U.S. patent 4,450,992](https://patents.google.com/patent/US4450992) Belt buckle-mini-revolver combination patent v t e City of Provo Attractions BYU Arboretum Bean Museum Carillon Tower Harris Fine Arts Center LaVell Edwards Stadium Marriott Center Larry H. Miller Field Museum of Art Museum of Paleontology Museum of Peoples and Cultures Smith Fieldhouse Events Festival Latinoamericano Freedom Festival Stadium of Fire Sunfall Festival Utah Valley Marathon Other Covey Center for the Arts LDS temples City Center Provo Peaks Ice Arena Shops at Riverwoods Utah Lake State Park Utah Starzz Utah Valley Convention Center Velour Live Music Gallery Historic locations Houses Alexander Allen/Carriage Beebe Booth Brown Clark–Taylor Cluff Davies Eggertsen Frisby Hines Mansion Johnson–Hansen Knight Knight–Allen Knight–Mangum Loose Ray Roberts Smith Smoot G. Taylor T. N. Taylor Twelves Wentz Other Historic districts Downtown East Central Fort Utah Hotel Roberts Knight Block LDS Lakeview Tithing Office Tabernacle Third Ward Chapel Lewis Terrace Maeser School Olmsted Station Powerhouse Provo Canyon Guard Quarters Provo City Library Silver Row Startup Candy Factory Utah State Hospital Rec. Center Superintendent's Residence West Co-op Industry & business Action Target Agel Enterprises Alpine Air Express Bluehost Combustion Resources Empower Playgrounds Morinda New Play Project North American Arms Novell Nu Skin Qualtrics Revere Health Vivint Geography Bridal Veil Falls National Forest Uinta National Forest Wasatch–Cache National Forest Provo Canyon Provo Peak Provo River Utah Lake Utah Valley Y Mountain Education Brigham Young University Provo School District Independence HS Provo HS Timpview HS Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions Healthcare & research Utah Valley Hospital Utah State Hospital Media Newspapers Daily Herald The Universe Television BYU TV BYU Television International KBYU KUPX KUTH AM radio KEYY KIXR KOVO FM radio KBYU KENZ KXRK Transportation California Zephyr I-15 Provo Airport Provo station Amtrak UTA The Ryde US-89 US-189 SR-114 SR-265 Utah Transit Authority FrontRunner Utah Valley Express Other Community Action Services and Food Bank Flag of Provo, Utah Google Fiber Missionary Training Center Notable people Sundance Resort Utah County Wasatch Front --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [North American Arms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Arms) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Arms?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.