It has been just over five years ago
that Paco Kelly reviewed the
then-new Beretta .22 Neos pistol for Gunblast.com. I had
seen a couple of them at the time, but had never warmed up to
their space-age looks, and haven’t really paid much attention
to the Neos, thinking it to be just a fancy little plinker. I
had always been served well by the Ruger and Colt
autos to fill my need for a good .22 auto pistol, so until
recently, I had handled, but never fired a Neos. That was a
mistake.
Speaking with Jason Cloessner at Lipsey’s
one day, I asked the question that I always do; “What’s new
and interesting on the market?” Jason told me that they had
just received a shipment of Beretta Neos pistols that
were built exclusively for Lipsey’s, featuring pink grip
inserts. Knowing that such feminized pistols appeal to many
women, I figured that there would be a lot of interest in such a
pistol, and asked if he could loan one to me, which he
graciously did. The Pink Neos is like other Beretta U22 Neos
pistols, with the exception of the color of the grip inserts.
The grip inserts on the Neos are of a synthetic rubber material,
and offer a good hold on the pistol, being a bit more tacky than
the slick polymer frame. From the beginning, shooting the Neos
was a real pleasure. The feel of that futuristic grip fits the
hand so well, that it feels as if the folks at Beretta knew
exactly what they were doing when designing the rakish grip. The
closest thing that I have ever felt to the grip of the Neos was
the old Whitney Wolverine. Some of the High Standard
auto pistols of a few decades ago also had such a rakish grip,
but it was not contoured as well as on this Neos. Another
welcome feature of the pistol for me is Beretta had the good
sense to include a safety lever for us left-handed shooters as
well. I have often wished that someone would produce a .22 auto
with an ambidextrous safety, and the inclusion of one on an
inexpensive pistol such as the Neos shows the thoughtfulness
that went into the design of the pistol. Also included is a
cocking indicator that is large and easy to see, along with a
slide lock that holds the slide open after the gun is emptied.
The slide lock also comes in very handy when disassembling the
pistol for cleaning, which is done easily without tools by
loosening the large thumb-wheel located above the trigger guard.
The sights on the Neos are large and highly visible, with the
rear being fully adjustable and recessed into the heavy top rib,
which will accommodate any Weaver style scope rings. The
trigger pull on the sample pistol was crisp, but a bit heavier
than I like, releasing at just under four and one-half pounds.
Not bad, and better than most on the market, but I like a
lighter pull on a .22 target pistol, but the pull is about right
for a field gun. That brings us to the accuracy of the Beretta
Neos. It is not designed to be, nor marketed as, a target
pistol, but the accuracy displayed by the sample gun would allow
it to serve well as an informal target pistol, and to also make
for a dandy squirrel and rabbit gun. I was pleasantly surprised
by the accuracy of the Neos, especially using cheap bulk .22
Long Rifle ammunition. The worst accuracy displayed was with Wolf
match ammo, and even it grouped under one and one-half
inches at twenty-five yards. Several brands grouped under one
inch, and keep in mind, the Neos sells at the time of this
writing for under $250 at many retail gun shops.
For accuracy testing, I attached a Leupold
2.5 to 8 power handgun scope, which proved to be a perfect match
for the Neos. I tried the Neos with a variety of .22 Long Rifle
ammunition, and it proved reliable and accurate with every type
of ammo tested, but let me back up a bit to the day that the
Neos arrived. Mark Johnson and Monica Meira were
here visiting doing a photo shoot for a new book upon which they
were working. They are both photographers from London, England,
and are very good at their craft. Being from that part of the
world, they get very little opportunity to shoot firearms, and
almost never get to shoot a handgun. Being that the Pink Neos
was designed with the female shooter in mind, I asked Monica if
she would like to shoot the new pistol. She was delighted to
give it a try. One of the two magazines included with the pistol
would not feed reliably, so we set it aside and used the one
that functioned well. )Trying to figure out the problem later, I
discovered a small burr on the inside of the magazine, right at
the top rear, that was catching on the rim of the cartridge as
it was being lifted into position to feed into the chamber.
Removing that burr with a couple of strokes of a small file
resulted in one-hundred percent reliability, and the pistol
functioned perfectly thereafter.) Monica loved the Pink Neos,
and shot it very well. She has a real eye for design, and really
liked the looks and feel of the Neos. Monica has a photography
studio in London, and you can view some of her work online at
her website, www.mojocandy.com.
The Neos tested here has a six inch barrel, but
it is offered in a four and one-half inch version as well. The
sample gun weighed in at 35.8 ounces, with an empty magazine in
place. Most of the weight is in its heavy profile barrel and the
top rib, with the frame made from a lightweight plastic. The
ten-shot magazines are, thankfully, made of stainless steel. The
magazine release is perfectly placed for a right-handed shooter
on the right side, just above the trigger guard. It is easy to
push, and the magazine drops out quickly under spring pressure.
The Pink Neos proved to be an excellent
performer, and reliability was perfect, with the exception of
the burr in that one magazine, which I think was just a fluke.
The pistol is sleek, balances well, is very accurate, and points
naturally. The Pink Neos should prove to be very popular with
women and young girl shooters. It offers Beretta quality at a
fair price, with a bit of extra feminine flair, and it is made
in the USA.
The Pink Neos is available only through
Lipsey’s dealers. For the location of a Lipsey’s dealer near
you, click on the DEALER FINDER at www.lipseys.com,
or have your dealer call 1-800-666-1333 to become a Lipsey’s
dealer.
For a look at the Neos and other Beretta
products, go to www.berettausa.com.
Jeff Quinn
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For a list of dealers where you can
buy this gun, go to:
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Our British friend Monica Meira helped Jeff test
the Beretta Neos.
Leupold's excellent VX-III 2.5-8x handgun scope was
right at home on the Neos.
The Neos proved to be very accurate with a variety of
ammunition.
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