North American Arms Guardian .380 ACP

By Eric R. Poole

Said to be Inspired by the Seecamp LWS .32, the Guardian first appeared in 1997 with a chamber for .32 ACP. And then came NAA’s proprietary cartridge, the .32 NAA, which was a .380 bottlenecked cartridge loaded by Cor-Bon that pushed a 60-grain jacketed-hollowpoint (JHP) bullet to 1,200 fps. These pistols are still small enough for pocket-holster carry by today’s standards and are inherently safe enough for the task. They lack an exposed hammer and feature a 12-plus-pound, heavy, long-stroke double-action (DA) trigger. If the trigger is pulled on a Guardian, it’s because the person pulling the trigger wants the pistol to go bang.

Even before concealed carry became as popular as it is today, the Guardian earned a loyal following for its reputation of being well-made and reliable. However, the limited availability of .32 ACP and NAA’s own .32 left a demand for a new model. In 2001, before it was easy to search for hard-to-find ammunition on the internet, NAA launched its newest — and slightly larger — Guardian in .380 ACP. During the last 16 years, NAA has made subtle improvements to these pistols, which is likely the reason it remains in production and …Read the Rest

Source:: Guns and Ammo