North American Arms .22 Magnum Revolver Question

[Ratdog68]

Anyone here have one of these little gems? I just bought one (used, LGS). If you have one, a favor to ask. Remove your cylinder, fully insert your cylinder retention pin, and, please advise. Does your pin enter the rear face of the frame, thus providing full support (axle) for the entire cylinder's length? Or, does it sit shy of the rear of the frame? I see there is a hole in the rear face of the frame on mine, consistent with the end of the retention pin to dock into. My retention pin is shy, by approx. 3/16" from reaching the rear face of the frame.

I'm wondering whether I have a retention pin for the .22 lr or .22 short revolver, since their cylinders are shorter, and would have less span, due to the shorter length of those models' cylinders.

I was so excited to find one, I neglected to give it the thorough eyeballing I gave it after finally being able to take possession of it (damned 10 day waiting period now). It was locked into one of the safety notches, and I missed some telltale concerns that I only found after getting it home this afternoon and eyeballing it closer. When the hammer is at rest over an empty chamber, or at full cock (empty), there is more movement of the cylinder than I anticipated to find... then, I noticed that the retention pin does not dock into the rear face of the frame and I began to go "Hmmmm????". I have an email in to their customer service and am awaiting their reply.

 

[Ratdog68]

After some online digging, I believe I've found my answer. This pic appears to show a retention pin that could dock into the back face of the frame, giving full support to the cylinder. Mine is shorter than shown here. From shoulder to tip, mine is 1 5/8". From the front of the frame where the pin is inserted to the rear face of the frame is 1 7/8". I believe I have a retention pin for a .22 lr revolver.

 

[pruhdlr]

I do not own that particular weapon . . BUT . . seems to me that all revo's with that system have a cylinder pin that inserts into the rear of the frame somewhere under the hammer/firing pin ass'y.
I have owned many other single action revo' that do.
Seems if there was no lockup at the rear the weapon would get tons of endshake and the accuracy would greatly suffer. I suggest you not fire it that way until you contact NAA in the AM. I have delt with them several times and they have EXCELLENT customer service.
Please let us/me know how this turns out as I am contemplating buying one of these revo's in the mag.
Thanks --- pruhdlr

 

[Ratdog68]

I'm awaiting NAA's reply to my email. If they don't offer to hook me up with the correct length pin, I'm told that Numrich has them in stock (and are proud of them). I don't blame them for "what is" since I bought a used gun. The LGS wouldn't know the complete history of it. M'be an unknowing previous owner had more than one, put the wrong pin in this one? M'be an assembly error at the factory and the piece never worked right for the original owner, so, he sold it? Can't know for sure. I'm certain this one needs a new/correct pin. Until then... the only "duty" this one gets is, hold still for a little Flitz getting rubbed on it.

Will definitely sound off as the dust settles in this chapter.

LOL.. the old "buy a used gun" thing. Give it a good "once over" to see what you have. The LGS employee dismantled it when she handed it to me to eyeball, so, I was really only eyeballing parts/pieces in my hand. Everything appeared to be in good condition, the price was fair, and my head was more focused on the Shockwave I was buying at the same time... since I knew I'd be taking the Shockwave home that day.

Something to be aware of with these (if you have both cylinders). The .22 magnum barrel bore is slightly larger than that of a .22lr, so, the .22lr may key-hole on the target. Not what I'm concerned with, as this is a "get off me" at bad-breath only distance type of last ditch effort tool. NAA also suggests you buy the cylinder at the same time as the weapon when ordering... so they can ensure the second cylinder it timed correctly to that gun.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

I have one of them here RD. Mine is the bulldog version and the lock up is slightly different than yours, but the length of my pin from shoulder to tip is 1 7/8" and goes from front of cylinder opening all the way into the face of the rear of the cylinder opening as shown in the pictures.





Hope this helps.

 

[Ratdog68]

Yes, aware of the difference in how the pins work between the models. That's what I needed confirmation of. We'll see how NAA responds soon. Numrich has them for $40+, I'll keep them as option #2.

Grassy-Ass Ameeeeeeego !!!!

 

[Ratdog68]

Got a reply back from NAA. They've kindly offered to repair (lifetime warranty) it if I send it back. I'm appreciative of that, and am willing to do so. I've asked them to send me a correct cylinder retention pin to see if that alone resolves it. I'm awaiting their reply. They've confirmed the manufacture date is 2006.

Overall, a sweet little revolver.

This is what I believe to be the offending part. The pin should go back into the back face of the frame to provide full support for the cylinder. Additionally, due to the larger diameter of a .22magnum round, the cylinder will be larger in diameter than a standard .22lr cylinder. As such, the bore for the pin to ride in will be a tad lower in the frame than it would be on a .22lr frame. I believe this to be why the pin falls out when the muzzle is down. The detent does not reach high enough to engage the dimple on the underside of the barrel.

The rear face of the cylinders show no abnormalities, due to poor wear patterns. I doubt this thing's been shot hardly at all.

 

[pruhdlr]

This is great to hear. They have been known to stand behind their products even if the owner does something "silly".
Their explanation of the problem and "fix" seems to me to be right on. Hope you get this resolved in a proper and timely manner. My vote is . . . you will.
Also - - -> the NAA website offers tons of parts to customize your weapon as you would like. This is one reason that I am seriously considering buying one.
Thanks for your post and info. --- pruhdlr

 

[Ratdog68]

Well... their next reply was (after seeing the pic, I guess my written descriptions aren't clear enough?): "Oh, that is DEFINITELY NOT the correct cylinder pin for your gun! The gun shop MUST have inadvertently swapped pins between your gun and another one! And, I was provided a link for purchasing the correct pin from their online store for $25, plus $7 shipping. That beats Numrich's $41 plus shipping... so, I ordered a pin. If I'm not 100% happy with the results/accuracy, I'll ship it to them for repairs as they offered. I should have it the first of the week. Would've been nice if they'd've actually read my initial email a little closer and deduced what I was telling them (3/16" too short). I could've ordered and had my pin installed in my gun by now. Oh, well... now I'm eyeballing a 1" Pug with XS tritium sights. LOL I just hate this damned mandatory 10 day waiting period WA State has shoved down our throats. What good/use is the full back ground check for the CCW then? (Bastards)

 

[Ratdog68]

Wellllll... my cylinder retention pin arrived just now. AMAZING how much "more gooder" things work with the right parts! No more wobble, no more end to end play, solid lock-up, and ALMOST no daylight between the breech and the front of the cylinder. And, the detent marries up to the dimple on the underside of the barrel.

NOW I'm ready to see if it shoots well. If it doesn't, then I know it was shot a bunch with the wrong pin and I can elect to have the factory do repairs. If it shoots good, I'm GTG.

I've got a new box of .22 magnum from CCI, a couple of boxes of .22lr mini-mag CCI (800 rds total) for daily carry in the pocket. Already have plenty of bulk plinking fodder. Also have some Quick Strips for both. Found a rubber grip for it that I like a lot, and a pair of kydex neck holsters for options. A little Flitz polish, and she's all purdied up.