LaserLyte V-Mini Laser Sight Grips & North American Arms 22LR, A Winning Combo

Duncan Johnson is a recent college graduate living in Virginia and our next generation of shooter. In this review Duncan, gives us a millennial’s take on shooting the LaserLyte V-Mini Laser Sight Grips on the North American Arms 22LR.

USA –  -(Ammoland.com)- If you are unfamiliar with North American Arms, they produce well-crafted handguns that can easily be concealed in a pocket. Their firearms are small. The pistol I own is the NAA 22LR and it is about the same size as an iPhone 6.

Say what you will about it’s diminutive size, but I really like this as a B.U.G. gun (Back Up Gun). The fact that this gun is small enough to fit in my pocket, roughly the same size as my car keys, is an appealing feature. Of all the guns that I have shot to date, I have never held a gun this small.

The NAA 22LR is only 4 inches long, with a barrel that is only 1 1/8″. This is a single action, 5-shot revolver that is very small in my hand. I have to hold it with my middle finger around the grip. The size of the revolver compliments the single action mechanism, with my thumb I am easily able to recock the hammer.

For me, and older shooters may cringe, shooting a revolver is kind of a new thing. After shooting the NAA 22LR, wheel guns are something I would like to work with more.

Maybe it is just my age or inexperience, but this is only the second single action revolver that I have ever fired. The first single action revolver I ever shot was my firearm trainer’s Colt Python in 44 Magnum. Everyone in the class got to shoot it once, and the teacher loaded our first shot to be after an empty cylinder in order to help understand the next trigger pull and the action of the cylinder. That next shot was the strongest recoil I have felt on a firearm. (funny right?) Now I am on the opposite end of the spectrum with the NAA22LR.

Unlike the Colt, the NAA22LR is a great gun to start with for a new shooter or somebody looking to expand their collection. The gun is very quiet, especially when using CCI’s Quiet 22LR Ammunition. There is also hardly any recoil with each shot.

For this review, we ran a mix of CCI, Winchester, and American Eagle, all of which fired and held good hit marks from the hammer on the shell rim. My favorite round was the Quiet 22LR from CCI because I heard a noticeable drop in noise compared to the other ammunition.  My second choice would be the Mini-Mag 22LR from CCI, which on the box had the highest F.P.S. at about 1200.

That is not to say that the NAA22LR is the perfect gun and for new shooters it might be awkward to handle such a small firearm. That also applies to shooters with larger hands, as I said before the gun grip is held by my middle finger alone. It is important to remember safe handling rules with this gun because of its small size. Always maintain correct muzzle direction and keep fingers away from the business end when firing. With such a small gun it is easy for your hand to go past the barrel especially if you are using a cup grip.

The greatest drawback that the NAA22LR has is it’s iron sights and aiming with them. Acquiring a sight picture with such a small firearm is difficult but the gun also barely has rear posts. From what I observed this required me to hold the front post high on my target to hit my intended mark. That’s not a problem to remember and account for with each shot when target shooting for fun. But acquiring that sight picture each time will be a challenge that might cost you severely if your target is not cardboard and is firing back.

Laserlyte NAA 22LR/22S V-Mini Grip Laser

The solution with aiming this gun successfully is a simple to assemble aftermarket product available from LaserLyte. The V-Mini Grip Laser Sight is the perfect add-on to the NAA22LR and it greatly improves accuracy with the firearm.

Installation of the LaserLyte V-Mini Laser Sight Grips is as simple as removing the rosewood grips off the NAA22LR. Then installing the V-mini hand guards. If you need a better explanation watch the video below. As a note when you are at the range and holding the laser on target, it may feel as though you need to adjust the laser. From what I noticed the laser required slight dialing in on elevation and windage. I would advise that you shoot the gun a few times using the laser though as the adjustments I needed were very minor and I ended up having to dial back a few times.

The reason for the discrepancy I believe has more to do with the size of the gun rather than the LaserLyte V-Mini Laser Sight Grips being off. It is difficult to perceive exactly where a 1 ⅛” barrel is pointing and where you expect it will hit a target that is 7-8 feet away.

So shoot the laser as it is out of the box before you make adjustments, it may be closer to bullseye out of the box than you think.

Choosing between the iron sights on the NAA or using the LaserLyte V-Mini Laser Sight Grips is a no-brainer, I would go laser.

The reasons are simple. Target acquisition and sight picture are instantly made easier, which makes firing this weapon far more accurate. The primary issues that I have with the gun out of the box are solved with one aftermarket product.

Now, someone is going to again say well that sight is battery powered and it will die and then you will be left with iron. Again, valid argument but we are talking about making a gun far more functional for the user to repeatedly hit their target. The only issue I have found with the laser sight is that it prevents the cylinder from being removed through the right side.  It is not an issue it just means unloading and loading will require the cylinder be pushed through the left side of the frame.

Recommend that you watch this video in full screen, you should be able to see the impact on the targets.

What is most important with a gun this small is that the laser sights do not make the gun any less concealable. If you want a pocket gun, that has laser sights, and you are preferential to revolvers, then look no further. The NAA22LR with the LaserLyte V-Mini Laser Sight Grips is an awesome little gun. Whether you are new to shooting or adding to the arsenal this gun is fun to shoot and is very easy to conceal. With the Laserlyte NAA 22LR/22S V-Mini Laser Sight Grips the NAA22LR becomes a complete combination of an accurate concealed mini pistol.

About Brian D. Johnson:

Brian Duncan Johnson is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. His focus of studies were on History and Government. Duncan is a regular contributor to AmmoLand and assists in the everyday gun-news publishing as an assistant editor.