The Meridian Munitions Snapper-22 is an eight-shot double-action revolver chambered in .22 LR, built with a lightweight aluminum frame and a three-inch barrel. It is the cheapest revolver Meridian Munitions produces — cheaper even than the Roundhouse — and fills the absolute bottom of the revolver market. The small caliber allows eight rounds in a compact cylinder, giving the Cricket more capacity than most revolvers twice its price.

The Cricket is not a weapon anyone chooses if they have other options. The .22 LR round from a three-inch barrel is marginal for self-defense by any standard, and the aluminum frame feels insubstantial in hand. But the weapon is nearly silent compared to larger calibers, produces virtually no recoil, and costs so little that losing or discarding it carries no financial consequence. These characteristics have made it unexpectedly popular among populations who need a weapon that won't draw attention.

In Shelf districts, the Cricket occupies a specific niche: it is the weapon people carry when they don't want anyone to know they're carrying a weapon. The mild report won't echo through apartment corridors, the small frame disappears in a coat pocket, and the .22 LR round — while weak — is still lethal at the distances that matter in hallways and stairwells.