It was a couple of months ago the North American Arms Ranger II mini revolver made it’s way to me for a review.  Also recently, I published my review on the TALO edition NAA mini revolver. After about 150 rounds of .22 Magnum between myself and a few of my friends now, let’s go over what I have learned.

 

This model is a break action, half cocking the hammer and pulling back the latch the revolver hinges open. At the end of the throw, the star ejector pulls the rounds about halfway out of the cylinder.  This makes loading and reloading much faster than the other NAA revolvers.

 

The little revolver is built solid and is quite attractive. The cylinder has notches machined between the chambers in the cylinder. These are for indexing the hammer mounted firing pin, so you can safely carry the revolver with all five chambers loaded and the firing pin does not rest on the cartridge. Cocking the hammer aligns the cylinder for live fire. The trigger broke clean at eight pounds.

Average five shot group at twenty-one feet, offhand.

.22 WMR ballistic test and comparison. 

Range Time 

Conclusions 

The NAA Ranger II is less than ideal for a defensive handgun. Being a .22 Magnum five shot revolver it is lacking in ammunition power, being single action, capacity, and is slow to reload. With the break action feature, it is quicker to reload than the other types of NAA mini revolvers. That begs the question, why even consider owning one. Being the smallest revolver I am aware of it conceals very easily and weighs just over four ounces, which opens the door for that consideration if concealment is paramount. After about 150 rounds downrange between myself and a few friends there were no issues with reliability and we all got the hang of running the mini revolver. Accuracy at twenty-one feet with five shots averaged a six-inch circle. Before all the hate mail flows about caliber wars and capacity keep in mind this may be a viable option for some people, that could serve well as a second or third handgun for those who desire such options. It is always good to have options. This model also comes with a .22 LR cylinder so it can be converted to .22 LR if you so choose.

Specifications 

Caliber: .22 WMR/.22 LR
Capacity: 5
Length: 4.5″
Height: 2.38″
Width: 0.88″
Weight: 4.8 oz.
Barrel Length: 1.63″
Sights: Half-moon Sight
Action: Single Action
Stocks: Wooden

Acknowledgments 

North American Arms 

Hornady 

By Hunter Elliott

I spent much of my youth involved with firearms and felt the call early on to the United States Marine Corps, following in my father's and his brother's footsteps. Just after high school I enlisted and felt most at home on the rifle range, where I qualified expert with several firearms and spent some time as a rifle coach to my fellow Marines. After being honorably discharged I continued teaching firearm safety, rifle and pistol marksmanship, and began teaching metallic cartridge reloading. In the late 1990s I became a life member to the National Rifle Association and worked with the Friends of the NRA. Around that time my father and I became involved with IDPA and competed together up until he passed away. I began reviewing firearms for publications in the mid 2000s and have been fortunate to make many friends in the industry. Continuing to improve my firearms skills and knowledge is a never ending journey in which we should all be committed. I am also credited as weapons master on a few independent films.

One thought on “North American Arms Ranger II”
  1. Good review, Hunter. This video really shows how I need to practice with this one in order to shoot with ease and confidence. Not going to give up, going to practice.

    Barbara

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