My father once refused to listen to a pop song. “I stopped listening to new pop and rock in the 60’s,” he declared. “I just listen to country music now.” Whenever I’m in a situation that calls for an open mind, that childhood memory pops into my head. So when Jeremy handed me the NAA Guardian — an all metal, hammer-fired, direct blowback pocket rocket — I had to remind myself to “keep an open mind.”
If first impressions last, the Guardian sets a high standard right from the git-go. NAA ships the Guardian in a simple, attractive, foam-lined locking metal case. It’s a far cry from industry standard plastic or cardboard clamshells; a testimony to the company’s attention to detail.
No surprise, then, that the Guardian’s fit and finish are fantastic. Machine marks are minimal and all edges are smooth. After handling another modern plastic fantastic pocket pistol (which may or may not be a Ruger LCP), the old-fashioned metal semi just feels better: stout, solid and substantial.
Many small gun grips don’t offer enough gripitude, even in ideal conditions. Add a dash of heat and a splash of humidity and sweaty hands quickly reveal their shortcomings. Testing the Guardian in the hothouse known as the Lone Star State, the gun’s rubber grip panels provided just the right amount of griposity; they’re textured perfectly and not too soft. The Guardian settles comfortably into the hand and stays there. And even with a high grip I never experienced slide bite.
The Guardian 380 ships with two, six-round magazines — one with a pinky rest and one with a flush-mount base. On these tiny pistols, though, the finger extension serves the ring finger instead, making the Guardian a three-finger gun.
Both mags are easy to load. Additional mags can be found online for $18.50, and there’s a 10-round version available.
The Guardian’s sights are fixed and practically invisible. We don’t need no stinkin’ sights! This is a contact distance gun; the pistol’s tiny sights are designed to prevent snagging on clothes when drawing the weapon.
I naturally assumed those tiny sights would lead to big groups. But I quickly got used to them and grew to really appreciate the precise sight picture they allow.
Like many — but not all — pocket pistols, the Guardian doesn’t have a dinky manual safety to futz with. Like the Kahr equivalents or any revolver you can name, the Guardian’s long, heavy, smooth trigger pull is its safety. Right answer.
That said, I’m no fan of double action triggers. I find them an inherent limit on my accuracy. The Guardian’s trigger is the exception that proves the rule.
Even with that mile long pull and near-14-lb pull weight and those tiny sights and short barrel, the Guardian’s accuracy was excellent. I shot the target above at 25 yards with about 3/4 second between each shot.
Jeremy and I kept pushing the pistol’s limits, and very soon were reliably hitting steel targets at 100 yards. I regularly shoot pistols at 100 yards and typically find that the front sight completely blocks the target.The NAA’s tiny front sight actually helped create a better sight picture at extended ranges. This gun is obviously not intended for that kind of distance, but it’s good to know it’s capable.
While recoil is snappy, the Guardian is easy to control and follow-up shots are surprisingly quick. Jeremy and I both noticed that the trigger slaps the shooter’s finger under recoil. It isn’t bad, but worth noting.
As the Guardian is a defensive, concealed carry pistol, reliability is paramount. I shot six different types of ammo, including factory Hornady and Fiocchi and Gorilla Ammo Silverback 95 grain hollow points. All functioned perfectly, with one exception. The pistol repeatedly choked on Creedmoor Ammunition 90 grain XTP hollow points, which measured slightly longer than its competitors.
Disassembly is a bit fiddly — until you find the sweet spot for removing the slide. Then it’s a snap.
To disassemble the Guardian, clear the gun, depress the small button on the passenger side of the grip and slide the slide to the rear a tiny bit, then lift and separate. To reassemble the pistol, ensure that the small guide rod contacts the front of the slide, hook the front of the slide into the frame, pull the slide to the rear, and push the slide down onto the frame. You will either need to push the hammer back with the slide or squeeze the trigger a little bit to allow the slide to click onto the frame.
Those of you who consider .380 too small for self-defense will be pleased to learn that The Guardian comes in two frame sizes and four calibers: a teeny-framed version chambered in .25 NAA and .32 ACP, and a small frame for .32 NAA and .380 ACP. The two North American Arms-created cartridges, the .32 NAA and the .25 NAA, are exclusive to these pistols.
At around $400, the NAA Guardian ain’t cheap. Not in terms of money or in terms of construction. NAA’s pocket pistol shoots accurately and reliably — as do many of its similarly sized, lighter, less expensive polymer-framed competitors. What you’re paying for here is the feel of real steel and longevity. Durability. Solidity. Is it worth it? You tell me.
Specifications: NAA Guardian .380
Caliber: .380 ACP
Capacity: 6+1
Length: 4.81″
Barrel Length: 2.5″
Height: 3.69″
Width: 0.94″
Weight: 20.4 oz.
Build: stainless steel frame and slide
Sights: Fixed Blade Sights
Action: Double Action Only
Grips: Hard Rubber Grips
MSRP: $456 ( street price is closer to $400)
Ratings (out of five stars):
Reliability * * * *
Jeremy and I fired several hundred rounds through three guardians, two in .380 and one in .32 NAA. All functioned flawlessly except with the aforementioned Creedmoor Ammunition 90 grain XTP.
Accuracy * * * * *
Surprisingly good for a gun this size. The tiny sights are precise and carry-friendly. Reliably hitting bad guy-sized targets at 100 yards was no problem if you can pull that long, heavy trigger smoothly.
Ergonomics * * * *
The grip angle is ideal for a carry gun and the Guardian’s rubber grip panels are comfortable. I really liked the slide serrations’ size and depth. The Guardian’s on the heavy side but not uncomfortable. Star deducted for annoying trigger slap.
Customize This * * * * *
NAA’s custom shop can trick out a Guardian with custom sights, frame stippling, slide serrations, and even custom serial numbers and engraving if that strikes your fancy. They also offer replacement grip panels, pinky rest extensions for magazines, and a variety of holsters. Really, more options than most would ever need on a carry weapon.
Overall * * * *
The Guardian .380 is a small, simple, well-constructed pocket pistol. If you can live with the trigger slap and want a slightly heavier gun (for better recoil control) that isn’t made of plastic, a properly maintained Guardian will help keep you safe for life.
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You can’t ‘defund’ something you’ve built on a 3D printer and a mill in your home shop.
End this pseudo scientific masturbatory exercise. Just fill a shell with baby batter and be done with it.
He must’ve gotten (D) on him somewhere.
IF YOU LIVE IN A BLUE STATE, YOU MAY BE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
IF YOU HAVE A (D) AFTER YOUR NAME, ARE A: LIBERAL / PROGRESSIVE / SOCIALIST / COMMUNIST / GLOBALIST / GLOBAL-WARMER / OR rino,
THE PROBLEM IS
PART
OF
YOU
AND YOUR MOTHER OWES US AN ABORTION.
That read well. I did’t know about those NAA cartridges either.
Understand with un-common ammo, it gets pricey. Add at least 100 bucks for a small supply. Like the NAA mini-revolvers, the small size means a shorter distance for sweat to contaminate ammo. Rotate carry ammo accordingly…
This brings back my memories of Rifle PT when I was in the army. You could use any weighted long object. But president Thomas Jefferson did say use a rifle for your walks instead of a ball. He said playing ball does nothing for you. But walking with a rifle adds to or exercises the mind. Or something to that effect.
I wonder what would happen if I started rifle PT on my front lawn or backyard???
Digital 4473 only means electronic NICS approval instead of the salesman having to stand around waiting on the phone. 4473s don’t create a registry as they are retained by the dealer. The “registry” part, unless something has changed since last November, is that the FBI wasn’t destroying NICS approval records promptly, as required by the law that established the system. Typical of bureaucrats deciding they don’t have to follow the rules. Things like that is why we oppose adding any more gun control laws to those we already have. It’s never about the guns, it’s always about the control.
Big guy: check
Big beard: check
Big dark sunglasses: check
Big SUV with dark windows: check
DBAL illum/desig that won’t ever go on one of these in the “real” world: check
Tattoos(tribal or otherwise): Fail
Why can’t these assholes just off themselves?
The usual “Divide and Conquer”. Effectively separate, other firearm owning US citizens from others. Criminalize, or Deprive them if their rights. It will now be up to local/state police to become draconian and violate the Bill of Rights.
A Sub 2000 is less than half the price.
Except when it’s a 26
This was a felon, not a “NRA nut”. The NRA supports laws against felons and crazies from owning firearms.
That Chicago, November 6, incident puzzles me. It sounds like the customer got away from the store, then retrieved his weapon and shot into the store at the bad guy.
And in Chicago they decided not to prosecute????
Democratic party strikes again, shooter probably was a Democrat, let into this country because he was an illegal. Armed by the ATF for fast and furious school yard sting. backed by the BLM and ISIS and managed by Feinsteins black ops department so the feeble and senile old cow can get re elected
What this means is that every gun has to have a registered owner, direct out of the factory, just like cars and trucks do. What this means is that every year the owner has to bring it in to be re-registered, and verified by law enforcement that the gun is still in the person’s possession.
If the gun is stolen or lost, the person has to report it very quickly, because if they don’t, they are responsible for what that gun does.
What it means is that we need a system more like Japan’s where there is meticulous accountability for the ownership of a gun.
The way it’s set up now, guns are just circulating out there freely , with little or no accountability, and are getting picked up by a wacko like this guy.
Outfits like the NRA are making it very difficult to prevent incidents like this.
We need to tighten up on accountability for gun ownership. It’s very lax.
Gun ownership policies are hyper-liberal. They need to become much more conservative.
If big gun organizations like the NRA, and so forth, do not step up to the plate and take responsibility for promoting greater accountability, then they ARE part of the problem. They ARE part of the cause.
13 years old, Colt Gold Cup 1911 with a distant uncle at his range. I vividly remember somehow hitting the X once at +/- 7 yards. From then on I was hooked.
First we are a constitutional republic second please edit your articles before you post you misspelled question.
Sometime my Email does not work properly, that’s why I wrote postal address.
If I intended to buy pistol 40 or some one else, I hope shipping ll be free.
I also try that could I prepare some people for business level your products?
My policy towards clowns: aim for center of mass, empty magazine. Repeat as needed.
Now you know why I’m no longer allowed to go to the circus…
I bought this rifle 3 months ago from the gun store I work at. We had got 3 of them in, and i grabbed the first one. The other two sold in the next two days. My first 3 shots were a .50 group. I was very pleased. Then the rifle quit working. I was having light strike after light strike on the cases. So I changed ammo. Same thing. Changed again. Same thing. This was Hornady, Remington and Winchester ammo. Sent it back to Ruger along with the other 2 we sold, all of them experiencing the same problem. Got them back. None if them had been fixed. Sent them back again. Same result. All the while Ruger was saying there was no problem in emails to me and the other owners. Sent them back one more time, same result. I sold mine to a gentleman who was convinced he could get it to work with handloads (It doesn’t) and the other 2 were returned to our store and the owner got the distributor to take them back. Apparently this is a very common problem with this particular rifle. I was very disappointed as I have owned many Rugers over the years. I will not be purchasing any more.
Finn Aagard.
I would love to see one of these in .22LR. It could be a viable carry for someone with strength issues, or recoil shy. It would also make a good practice companion to the other Guardians, using inexpensive ammo. Otherwise, just a lot of fun!
I only buy solid stainless handguns. Much better balanced, and durable, than aluminum alloys. Don’t even talk to me about plastic. I’m also a revolver guy, so the Guardian weight would be good for me. I’ve considered it as a smaller carry, instead of my snub Ruger SP101 loaded with .38s (FWIW, 26 ounces empty).
Last comment, I have always been more comfortable having a parts supply for my guns; anything subject to wear or breakage over the life of the gun. Does NAA have parts available for owners to buy?
I am a pocket gun enthusiast. I am thinking about getting one to add to my collection.But what is the best little 380 I have run across. The Beretta Pico. Best build quality I have seen and totally reliable. Actually have two of them. I stopped counting flawless rounds at 2500 (somewhere around 4,000 mark now. for the first one and 1500 for the second one. And extremely mild and little muzzle flip. Read your review of that gun and have to say you were way off, for this quality gun. I hope you get this review right. You got it right on the Nano, otherwise I would not even be reading this post.
I see a website where I can get a used Guardian for about half off. I suggest you do another review of the Pico.
I posted above as Tim G, considering a Guardian.
I bought one in May, and went for the .32 ACP version. It’s significantly smaller than the 380, and six ounces lighter loaded. Makes a difference. The .32 is close enough to .380 in terminal ballistics, with half the kick. I feel it’s a better choice for a light, pocket size gun. If the “bigger is better” crowd would dump their macho and do some research, there would be more 32s on the market.
FWIW, I’ve done several hundred rounds with zero malfunctions. Mine likes Aguila or Remington FMJ just fine, so haven’t tried any other. The Guardian 32 is a great carry gun, outdoes the Seecamp IMHO.
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