So NOW what should I do?

[skeptical_in_Ohio]

Hi all-

I've had a Neos for a while now; despite reading in over 90% of the posts/reviews I could find that it will "eat anything", when I first got it I found it didn't like Federal AE or Federal Bulk. It didn't particularly like CCI Blazer either; rare was the mag that I got through without a FTF, FTE, FTL or an empty not clearing prior to the slide closing. After I started lubing it more liberally it began to tolerate Blazers, and likes CCI Minimags and the CCI AR Tactical.

Maybe I'm cheap, but for a plinking pistol I'd like something that will shoot the better inexpensive stuff rather than the better not-so-inexpensive stuff. Both MiniMags ($35/500 rounds at Wal-Mart) and AR Tactical ($33/500 rounds anywhere around here) are a bit more than Blazer (routinely less than $20 per 500+ rounds), so I'd like to figure things out.

I kept wondering why it still tended to have issues over the past few range trips and actually contacted Beretta for a shipping tag. I figured that today, when I took it out, if it kept having problems I'd go ahead and let Beretta see what might be the deal.

Then this happpened today...

20 MiniMags - no problems
59/60 AR Tactical - no problems - I have posted a picture of the 60th round which got chewed up while loading (it stuck and I racked the slide resulting in this) - it also looks like the case got dented a bit
1/8 Cheap (really cheap) white box Winchester from Wally - no problem with the first round (up until it didn't eject); further the other 7 rounds were so irritating (every problem I've ever had at least once) that I stopped at 8 rounds and went to Blazers.
69/70 Blazer - no problems - the one problem round was an empty that didn't quite clear before the slide closed.

Hence, save with really cheap stuff (that did to be fair work in my Marlin 60 and Savage Mark II) it seems to have done well. Now I'm thinking maybe I just stand pat and plan on shooting Blazers, or at least wait until I see the problems in a big way again. It may seem odd, but this throws me a bit - I was prepared to experience the issues and ship it to Beretta, but I wasn't prepared for it to shoot really well. This outcome returns me to uncertainty, waiting to see if the problems re-emerge. To be honest if it had performed as well throughout its life as today I wouldn't be posting this today.

Any advice on what I should do now? Should I continue to keep it really clean/well-lubed and shoot Blazers or is mine unduly picky compared to other peoples' Neos pistols, meaning I should send it to Beretta?

I put a poll here - I was curious how these worked anyway. Thanks for your time and attention.

Dave

 

[ku4hx]

If it ever hiccups again, ship it. If it doesn't then it's just now broken-in maybe.

 

[ForumSurfer]

Honestly I'd sell it and try another model instead of tying more money up in shipping.

I like a 22 that will run dirty and get me through a day of shooting with the kids. That means it needs run several hundred rounds without cleaning or additional lubing. I like to run cheap ammo and the good stuff. Sometimes I'm poking holes in paper, other times we're shooting tin cans or steel so minimags are a bit overkill at times.

 

[chicharrones]

My Neos will eat most ammo, but it will not eat all ammo.

The two that I remember that give intermittent feed problems are:
Federal Lightning
Winchester Power Point

The one type I've had trouble with in all my rimfires with apparent weak/bad primers is:
Fiocchi Lead Nose

I have other rimfires with ammo preferences that are different from the Neos. It seems to be the nature of many rimfire guns to run some ammo better than others.

 

[ForumSurfer]

I should also say that I've owned a few 22's over the years that started out picky. I reserve judgement until I've broken it in proper by running a couple thousand rounds through it and stripping it. Some of them just need some shooting and TLC.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Not saying it isn't, but make darn sure the barrrel nut is tight. If the barrel isn't firmly seated against the frame, you'll encounter all kinds of malfunctions.

Otherwise, I'd keep shooting it awhile. My 6" Inox NEOS has been very reliable. Occasional issues that you'll encounter with any rimfire, but I can't recall it ever disliking a particular ammo that I've fed it.

 

[MCgunner]

Sell it and get a Ruger.

 

[SwampWolf]

Will Beretta send you a "shipping tag"? If so, I'd go that route. From what I've read on various forums, Beretta's customer service leaves something to be desired.

 

[THowie]

I'd ship it...

 

[MachIVshooter]

Sell it and get a Ruger.

I wouldn't trade my NEOS for a MK III.

 

[labhound]

Keep in mind that .22LR ammo is the most inconsistent ammo around. Even a good gun will occasionally fail with any .22LR ammo.

 

[skeptical_in_Ohio]

Hi all-

Thanks for the input - in addition to the advice in the posts, 64% voted keep shooting until it reemerges while the other 36% suggested going ahead and shipping it in (22 voting).

For now, I'll just keep shooting the Blazers (and some of the AR stuff) until/unless the number of incidents gets over 2-3 times per range trip (about 100 rounds usually).

Thanks everybody.

Dave

 

[j1]

Try various brands of ammo and stick to what works and avoid anything which gives you problems. My Ruger 10 22 allows you to hear the difference in the sound level of cheaper ammo. I call them "piffers." The big box bulk pack is the biggest culprit. Blazers seem to work well in anything I try. Hollowpoints are a problem.

 

[cougar1717]

I'm kind of skeptical...I think there is an expected level of exaggeration if someone says that any semiauto 22LR feeds everything perfectly. Semiauto 22LR's can be quite particular. I have a friend whose Neos prefers Remington Golden Bullet. Feeds very well with the expected percentage of duds. The issue that I see most often is that those bulk package conical nose bullets in the value packs usually don't feed very well. Even a Ruger Mark III - what some would consider the pinnacle of reliability can and will eventually choke on Winchester Xpert. I would consider the percentage of issues that the OP experienced is typical to most 22LR semiautos: 2 magazines of Mini mags with no issues and one issue per 6-7 magazines worth of AR tactical or Blazer. IMHO, it's better to bite the bullet and purchase the more expensive round-nose ammo for a semi-auto than fight with the conical nose bulk packs just because they're a little less.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Sell it and get a Ruger.

You beat me to it...I'd sell it and get MK I or MK II.

 

[skeptical_in_Ohio]

Next range trip - keeps on shooting well

Hi all-

Since my last post, I've had another opportunity to shoot the Neos again; this Wednesday past. Approximately 150 rounds of Blazer and only one issue (one round didn't quite clear the slide). I also shot about 50 rounds of CCI AR Tactical.

I actually did an experiment this time - before the previous session I had cleaned it really well (along with appropriate lube). This time I just made sure to clean well and lightly oil the mags along with running a soft brush over the breach and feed ramp and a putting a bit more oil on the slide - left it a bit sloppy actually. The idea was to let it be a little dirty to see if I could get it to give problems.

The result was a bit under 200 rounds fired and only one issue of any type. Either I've found the sweet spot on lubing/cleaning or it's now broken in. It's always been very accurate; now it's starting to get pretty reliable too.

Thanks everybody for their votes and advice.