Beretta U22 Neos shooting session

I went out Saturday with my “newest, new” Beretta U22 Neos.  I call it that because it is the second new one I have had.  As written in previous posts, I purchased the U22 and had a small problem right out of the box.  The rear sight would not adjust.  I hesitated sending it back to Davidson’s because it shot so darn well!  I wondered if the replacement would shot like the first.

Beretta U22 Neos .22LR Target Pistol

I don’t think it’s luck.  I think Beretta has made a near perfect .22-target pistol.  The second one shoots just as good as the first.  I have owned and do own .22LR semi-automatic pistols.  I have read many reviews of such and there is always one reoccurring theme.  They can be picky about the ammo you feed it!.  I used to own a Ruger Mark II pistol.  I loved the gun and kick myself for selling it.  It was very accurate, but, you had to feed it a particular brand and type of ammo to get consistent feeding.  Even so, there was an occasional hiccup.  The same can be said about the Taurus PT22 I have.  If I try to feed it anything other than CCI Mini-mags, it will not feed well.

The Beretta U22 Neos breaks the mold!  I have fed it several types of ammo.  I have fired over 500-rounds through two different pistols without even one malfunction!  Beretta has got it right.

My older eyes don’t get along with iron sights.  I usually try to add a red-dot scope to the firearm if possible.  But, I wanted to give the U22’s iron sights a try.  I did much better than I thought I would!  Here is an example:

Five rounds from a Beretta U22 using iron sites at 7-yards.

Not bad!  The U22 has a Weaver-type rail system so why not add a red-dot scope?

I added my cheap red-dot scope I have used on other guns.  It’s is no where near the quality of a EOtech or AimPoint, but, it serves my purposes.  Here are the results using the red-dot scope:

Three rounds from a Beretta U22 using a red-dot at 15-yards.

WOW!  I doubled the distance and reduced the pattern by half. 

I just love my new Beretta U22 Neos.  It is fun and inexpensive to shoot.  I can see that if you used a 4-power scope, you could make decent shots at 50-yards and beyond.  I will be on the lookout for such a scope. 

If you are in the market for a .22LR target pistol, consider the U22.  It sells for around $250.  I would highly recommend getting it through Gallery of Guns.  They can ship it to your local FFL dealer and you will have the “lifetime replacement guarantee”.

This is why I will only buy from Davidson’s

Davidson’s Online is a firearms distributor for many FFL dealers as well as running Gallery of Guns.  Gallery of Guns is a website where you can shop for firearms and select from a list of FFL dealers to finalize the purchase.

I have purchased several firearms from Gallery of Guns.  One of the main reasons I like them is that they offer a “Lifetime Replacement Guarantee”.  Most people will never have to use that feature, but it is a comfort knowing you have it!

I recently purchased a Beretta U22 Neos.  This is a fine .22-caliber target pistol, but there was a problem.  The rear sight is adjustable…At least it was supposed to be.  Mine would not let you turn the screw to adjust the windage.  The screw was so “stuck” that it broke the adjustment tool!

I considered sending it to Beretta for repair, but I remembered I had the “Lifetime Replacement Guarantee” with my Gallery of Guns purchase.  I called Gallery of Guns and explained the problem and that it was present right out of the box.  They were fantastic!  There were no accusing questions that often follow when you report a problem.  She found the details of my purchase and said she still had the U22 in stock.  She reserved one for me.  This is important because of the firearm shortage going on right now.  All I had to do was take the pistol back to the FFL dealer that finalized the purchase.

I took my U22 back to Bull’s Eye Sporting Goods.  There was a prepaid shipping label waiting.  Once the firearm has shipped, Davidson’s shipped the replacement.  Yes, a brand new firearm was shipped before they even examined the pistol!  Now that’s customer service. 

I can not recommend Gallery of Guns enough.  Their prices are reasonable.  Sometimes they may be a little more that you can find at a gun show, but, the peace of mind you get is priceless.

C & E Gun Shows comes to Hickory in November

  Good news! The C & E Gun Shows is making its way back to Hickory, North Carolina on Saturday and Sunday, November 7th and 8th. The show will be held at the Hickory Metro Convention Center. Saturday hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Sunday hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission fee is $8.00 for adults and children 12 and under are free with a paying adult. You can save a little money by printing the "Get A Dollar Off Coupon".

For handgun purchases, have your North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit or be prepared and apply for and get one or more purchase permits from your local sheriff. Here is a map to the show:

Gallery of Guns

When you want to purchase a new firearm, you may want to consider Gallery of Guns.  Gallery of Guns is the internet sales site for the Davidson’s distributer.  Davidson’s distributes to many FFL dealers and always has a good selection of guns available at a very reasonable price.

The way Gallery of Guns works is that you go online and find the gun you wish to purchase.  You will then be asked for your zip code.  Gallery of Guns will display FFL dealers in your area that will receive and finalize the purchase.  Different dealers will have different prices.  They basically “bid” against each other by accepting different margins of profit.  Once you find the dealer you want, you will pay a small down payment with the rest due when you pickup the firearm.

One great thing about buying a gun from Gallery of Guns is that they offer a lifetime replacement guarantee!  If your firearms fails due to a manufacturer's defect, they will replace the firearm!

Nutnfancy has made a couple videos of the Davidson’s facility.  It is very interesting and worth a look.  Here are the YouTube videos:

The Beretta U22 Neos. Affordable fun!

Well I went out and did it.  I bought a new gun!  With the expense of ammunition, I needed something affordable to shoot.  I was looking for a .22LR target pistol.  I had narrowed it down to either the Ruger 22/45 MKIII or the Beretta U22 Neos.

Many years ago, I owned a Ruger MKII with the bull barrel.  This was the steel frame model.  This pistol was a joy to shoot.  It was very accurate.  The grip was angled like the old Luger pistol.  This is viewed by many to be the perfect angle for natural aiming.  The workmanship on the Ruger was top-notch.  But I was looking for something a little different.

Ruger MKII With Bull Barrel

I have had a Beretta pistol before; the 92F.  It was one of the finest pistols I have ever owned.  I was very impressed with the craftsmanship of the gun.  Beretta also makes a .22LR plinker.  The U22 Neos.

Beretta U22 Neos

The Neos is Greek for “new”.  And by looking at the gun, new is a good description.  It looks like something out of a Star Wars movie.  Just because it has the Beretta name on it doesn’t mean it is a good pistol, so I did some research on it.  I didn’t find anything negative about the Neos.  Just the opposite.  Everything I found points to a well made and fun to shoot pistol.

The Ruger 22/45 and the Beretta U22 Neos both have polymer frames.  Both are about the same weight.  Both reliable and made well.  So what made me choose the Beretta?  Two things made me gravitate towards the Beretta Neos.  First, it has the same grip angle as the more expensive Ruger steel frame pistol.  Second, the Beretta is by far easier to field strip and maintain.  If you ever owned a Ruger 22 semi-automatic pistol, you know that it can be a bear to take down and reassemble.  I know a story of someone who sold the Ruger pistol cheap because he couldn’t reassemble it! 

Ruger 22/45 MK III Pistol

The Beretta U22 Neos is a breeze to take down and reassemble.  It is a much simpler and modern design.  The Ruger 22 has been around for quite a while and has changed very little.  Unlike the Ruger, the Neos is a striker fire design.  This cuts way down on complexity of design.

Beretta U22 Neos Striker Fire System

Both pistols were selling for the $250 level and both are very well made high-value pistols.  The two things that sealed the deal for the Beretta was the ease of field stripping and the styling.  You just gotta love the looks of it!

When my new pistol arrived I noticed that the fit, finish, and quality was as I expected from Beretta.  It was just fantastic.  The feel of the action was solid.  The angle and contour of the grip fits naturally in my hand.  This makes makes aiming effortless.  There was one problem that I have found, though.  The Neos has an adjustable rear sight, but the windage adjustment screw will not budge!  Beretta supplied an adjustment tool that has a flat head screwdriver for adjusting the sight.  I used enough pressure to break the tool trying to adjust the sight.  I have emailed Beretta to see how to get this fixed.  I am sure they will correct the problem.

As you can see in the pictures in this article, the Beretta U22 Neos has a Weaver-type rail attached to the barrel.  This is important as I have mentioned in previous postings that my “old” eyes don’t like iron sights.  I added the red/green dot scope that I used on my Marlin rifle.  I just love it!  As you can see by the target, it allows me to shoot very accurate…Even with old eyes!

10-Rounds at 7-yards using CCI Mini-Mags

The target above shows a 10-shot group at 7-yards.  The white circle is 1-inch in diameter.  I am not the best marksman around.  I am very impressed with the performance of the Beretta Neos.  I shot at 25-yards and got most of the rounds in the 4-inch black circle.  I will work on that!

On the two days of shooting the Beretta U22 Neos, I fires about 300-rounds.  I used three types of ammo.  CCI Mini-Mag round nose 40GR copper coated bullets, Winchester Super Speed round nose 40GR copper coated bullets, and Federal 36-grain hollow point copper coated bullets in the bulk pack.  It fed all three types of bullets without even one malfunction.  Out of the box, the Beretta was 100%.  As usual, the CCI Mini-Mags shot best, but not by much!  Even the cheaper Federal ammo performed well with the Beretta.  The reliability may in part be due to the Beretta magazines.  These are fantastic and among the best I have ever seen for a handgun.  The spring and follower are extra smooth in operation and the finish of the magazine body is superb.  Good job, Beretta!

Now that I have the scope zeroed in, I can take it in the woods and plink!  I love shooting the steel reactive targets with a .22 pistol or rifle.  The red/green dot scope will make target acquisition fast and accurate.  And being a pistol shooting the .22LR round, I can shoot all day and not break the bank!

It has been a long time since I owned a .22 target pistol.  I look forward to shooting thousands of rounds through it.  Hey, trigger time is trigger time!  I love shooting .22’s as much as the bigger rounds.  And with the cost savings, I can participate as often as I like.

Note:  All images except the target have been borrowed from the internet.

Charlotte Gun Show in October.

The Dixie Gun and Knife Classic Gun Shows is having an event in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 24th and 25th. This is a good opportunity to stock up on ammo and look for that hard to find gun.

This gun show will be at the Metrolina Expo Center. The doors open on Saturday at 9:00 AM and close at 5:00 PM. On Sunday, the hours are 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission is $7.00 for adults and children under 12 are free with paying adult. You can get a $1.00 off coupon here.