While the crowds were busy having posters signed by Minsk-born “Red Army Girl” Yulia (if you have to ask Y, I can’t explain it) my eyes were drawn to Century International Arms MDL 38-3. MDL for I forgot to ask what, 38 for .38 caliber and 3 for three-rounds. Ladies and gentlemen (hey guys! over here!), I present the “world’s slimmest revolver.” Which is a bit like the world’s most fire-retardant paper hat. But it’s a thing, right? Not yet it isn’t. Century may not take as long to bring the gun to market as their name suggests, but there is no firm release date for the MDL’s arrival at your LGS. They’ve promised us a T&E sample when the first batch is released. To which I replied “Baba s vozu — kobyle legche.” Luckily, Yulia didn’t smack me. Make the jump for the reveal . . .
3 rounds and not semi auto?-
Cuomo’s soon to be favorite gun……..
Nope; it has 4 rounds too many for his taste
Chiappa called and said “not so fast”
Luckily, Yulia didn’t smack me.
Pretty sure you would have deserved it if she had.
If you had seen her cleavage, you would have gawked too! Yipes
For technically challenged people. 3 rounds? Really?
Better than a derringer for probably 2x the price!
Well that’s one more than the Double-Tap. If it’s reasonable I would at least give it a look.
Before the image loaded I was hoping for NAA sized pistol but this looks more like .380 sized. Hmm.. Only 3 and slower to reload or 6-8 quick plus extra mags. Unless this retails for $100 or less who will be buying?
Idea… Backup gun for a family of three or the last three people on earth during the zombie invasion.
People that wish HiPoint made revolvers.
No one ever said after a gunfight that they wished they had fewer rounds.
I don’t choose a gun that’s best for carrying, I choose a gun that’s best for fighting.
I’ll pass thank you.
So you carry an M4 then?
I was thinking something very similar before seeing your response to Rabbi. Any handgun is inferior to any rifle chambered in 5.56 mm or higher. I get tired of hearing from condescending caliber-snobs who don’t have a clue that even their favorite large-frame pistol is not “best for fighting”.
The Rabbi is an expert, not to be contradicted. For crying out loud, he’s a firearms trainer for “a New Mexico police agency”.
Fugly, ftupid, fhit…
It looks cool, at least.
Also, MDL stands for Maximum Density Leadchucker.
Might be minimum density leadchucker considering its size.
I thought it stood for Might Depend on Luck :}
Hmm… make a good back up. I’d be into that. If the price is right.
Looks very neat, except for the grip. The overall effect is of a state of the art cellphone with a dead rat stapled to it.
Winner: most perceptive and hilarious analysis!
+1–not that I totally agree, but that is just too funny!
+2 ROTFL
This is a solution in search of a problem. A J frame is not hard to conceal, and if you need something slimmer, buy an LCP or the like.
Thumbs down.
Hmm, looks hideous. It’s also tactically inferior to a 5 or 6 shot .38, which is arguably tactically inferior to a 6-7 round subcompact single stack pistol in 9mm or above. While a few shooters like Jerry Miculek can reload a revolver with incredible speed, most of the rest of us can’t. I’d try one on a range for the novelty, but that’s about it. Hard pass.
A three shot revolver is a great idea — if you intend to carry ten of them.
Well, looks like with the barrel aligned at the bottom of the cylinder instead of the top it’ll at least have reduced muzzle flip compared to other snubbies.
That was my thinking as well. Lower bore axis, less felt recoil. So it oughta be a fairly soft shooter. I think this would make a decent back-up gun. As a primary CCW? I…don’t think so.
But you could fit more than one…
It’s the shittiest part of a snubby, made shittier…
Wow, that’s… really something in that image, there.
Well, it ain’t that bad – if you use a class mod that increases mag size.
We could cross-breed it with Maurice…
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/03/03/maurice-frankenruger-magazine-fed-revolver
Slap a 9rd mag on the little booger…
That is not bad idea, but my first post was a reference to the game “Borderlands”. Where you can equip items which increase magazine size, resulting in a three-shot sniper-revolver having 5 shots while the character still reloads 3 rounds.
Still, it seems like a good idea. Maybe you could check with them (Century) whether they would like a collaboration or something.
Hells bells…..me commie too !!!
“Make the jump!”
Well, if the price was low enough, I might consider it for a glove-box gun for my daughter’s car (would beat a Bond Arms derringer by one shot)–but I can tell you right now, the price won’t be low enough. But I’m glad someone saw fit to post a booth babe, anyway…
It may be thin, but its huge considering it holds three rounds. And that front sight? The ports? Wtf who designed it? Someone’s elementary-aged kid?
Aww, the Chiappa Rhino and a J frame got together and made a baby! So ugly but cute at the same time. The 19th century wants its handgrip back.
Another problem, aside from grip angle, overall size, and limited capacity, is that you have to manually rotate the cylinder to make sure it clears the frame for ejection and then manually rotate it back into position so it starts on the first chamber after reloading.
It looks to have more than 3 rounds in the photo.
It’s three, and only three.
They’re just creating a product in case New York law is expanded to the entirety of the US. If that ever happens we’ll be talking about “New York reloads”, and “throwaway guns” in the same sentence. This model fits that mold perfectly. Unfortunately for Century Arms and this design that will never happen.
Although there is one market segment that might like this; purse gun carriers.
I sent a link to Dallas Archer.
I don’t see much use for the rest of us.
I was at the gun show in Cedar Park, TX today. The man standing next to me looking at handguns picked up the NAA mini revolver and whispered to his wife/GF, “this is the one the girl hid in her XXXX.” She didn’t seem impressed, but did add “good thing it’s stainless, who knows what that would do to a gun..”
It took all I had to not laugh out loud.
One shot more than a derringer and with complicated lock work to boot?
Curio/10
I wonder if +P can be used, hmm, avg. gun fight being 3 shots, reliable, no fte, ftf with rubber grips, I’ll give it a try. Put on my ankle now I have a back up.
it cant be a 3 shot. because you can see 2 chambers, im betting a 4 shot. the timing would be impossible by the looks of it. if it was a 3 shot that would be difficult.
BUT THAT FUCKING GUN IS SEXY TAKE MY MONEY NOW!!
give me one in 22!!!!!!!!!!
Neat.
Sorry but no. A Sig P238 with 7+1 beats the crap out of this thing.
My Chiappa Rhino looks sexy by comparison. And, it holds 6 rounds of .357-Mag.
Jeff Quinn will love it.
world’s first 3 shot derringer…the Heizer 2 shot is jealous, even with it’s “tactical reload”
There is no 2 shot Heizer…it is a single shot derringer. Double Tap made the 2 shot.
Perfect!!! Two in chest,one in head and throw it in the river…
How much does it weigh, and how much does it cost?
If it beats Bond Derringers on weight and cost, it might have a market.
A similar one already made. the Cobray / Leinad Pocket Pal – a convertible revolver in 22lr (5 shot) and 380acp (3 shot). Really inexpensive too.
So far this is November and CAI has given no date nor expectation. Maybe nest year or it will become a vapor-gun?
Got a reply from CAI on Face Book NOT in 2015
“Not at this time, we refocused engineering time on our AK lineup of the C39V2 and RAS47”