NAA Sidewinder review ...

I finally took the proverbial leap and purchased the NAA Sidewinder (1.1") with 22 mag and 22lr cylinders. This little feller normally sells for ~ $425, but I stumbled on an unadvertised sale ... OTD $330 I went to the range today and will share some thoughts:

Out of the box, the Sidewinder is tight ... it takes some practice and careful reading of the booklet to finesse the cylinder out (to the right of the frame). Each of the two cylinders is easily installed by simply removing a single screw on the yoke ... this is quite a bit faster for reloading than the standard NAA cylinder. My Sidewinder has a small bead front sight, which makes this essentially a point and shoot gun, and primarily a < 15' shooter. (Better sights are offered on other models). The 22 mag grip is bigger than the one on the 22lr models, but is realistically suited for small/medium hands. My hands are the latter, and the grip just fit ... large palms or long fingers will be problematic.

Accuracy was not great, but I attribute that to learning the firearm my first time out. Mags have minimal recoil, but do make the Sidewinder significantly rise upward with each shot ... Long rifles are hardly noticeable. The ejector rod/star need to loosen up so as not to stick, but even then, brass does not completely eject 90% of the time. After ~ 10-15 rounds, the barrel is H-O-T, and can heat up the ejector rod as well.

Overall first impressions: Fun little gun to own and shoot. Very light and handy, with five rounds of 22 mag/lr on board. Well made and solid, despite its light weight, and hopefully it will smooth out with use. At ~ 12 paces, I consistently hit center mass, but forget about tight groups. Well worth the discount price I paid, but I wouldn't drop $425 + tax/tags on one. Photos show comparative sizes between the Sidewinder and a S&W 351C (22 mag), 317 (22lr), and 65 (38/357).

I give the Sidewinder a solid "B" ...

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NAA Sidewinder review ...