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.

Ammo!

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There is one thing that is as elusive as UFO's, Big Foot, And the Loch Ness Monster. Ammunition! Some calibers are so rare, you just buy it without question when you see it.

Today, I went to Wally World to see if they received a shipment. To my surprise They had a couple boxes of Winchester 9mm 115-grain FMJ 100-round Value Packs. "I'll take both!" They also had the Federal 550-round .22LR bulk packs. "I'll take one of those, too!"

Maybe the ammo shortage is starting to come to an end. Let's hope so. But, for now, I can go out and poke a few holes with my 9mm pistols. It's been a while. Time to give them a workout.

I Have A New Rifle Coming.

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I have been waiting to purchase a tactical rifle for a while. The availability has been very low. My first preference was the Kel-Tec SU-16C rifle. It is a good alternative to the $1200 AR-15 rifles on the market, but at a price of around $650 or so. The problem is trying to find one! I did see one at a gun store, but they were asking way too much for it.

I usually buy my guns from Davidson's Inc. They have an online store. When you purchase a firearm, you put a down payment and they ship it to your local gun dealer. There, you pay the rest and fill out the paperwork for the transfer. I put myself on an email notification list to let me know when the SU-16C comes in. I received an email, but when I got to the site, they were all gone.

The AK-47 rifles weren't much cheaper! They usually go for around $1000. Both the AR and AK seemed to be out of my price range...Well that's what I thought! While searching Davidson's one day I noticed something. An AK-47 in the low $600 range including tax and shipping!

The AK-47 was from a company I've never heard of before. IO Inc. is making AK-47's in Monroe, North Carolina. Yes, an AK-47 that is 100% made in America. I had to do a little research before plopping down over $600! I searched the web and found out that they have been making them for under a year. At first they had a few minor fit problems, but according to what I read, these problem were quickly resolved. I found out that IO Inc. has been making firearms for a while now and I actually spoke to someone who used to work there. He said they do good work and produce a fine product.

I really wanted to see one before ordering it blind. I called IO Inc. and they told me that there was a dealer about 45-miles away. ROAD TRIP! Hyatt Guns in Charlotte has a very good selection of firearms, but their prices are way too high. For example, the IO Inc. AK-47-C I was looking at on Davidson's for $626 was selling for $799. I talked to a very nice person on the staff and explained my problem. I showed the printout of the price from Davidson's and asked if he could get close to the price. He talked to the owner and said with tax, they could do $701. This was a difficult decision, but $75 was too much of a difference. If it had been $50, I may have taken it.

One good thing that did come out of the visit to Hyatt's. I got to see the IO Inc. AK-47-C up close and personal. I was very surprised at the quality of the rifle. I have seen many AK's and they are usualy a mixed bag of quality. Granted, all I saw before were the eastern block made rifles and although very functional, they are cosmetically lacking. The IO Inc. model really looked good!

I wasn't really in the market for an AK, but two factors made me make the leap. First, the likelyhood that I would get a Kel-Tec SU-16C for a good price in a timely manner was very slim. Second, since I have an SKS rifle, I have a lot of ammo sitting around that just screams to be fired! If I had purchased the Kel-Tec, I would have to buy a lot of new ammo.

I should have my new rifle in a week. I will post some pictures and a first impression of it after breaking it in.