A little help for a neophyte, please...
Hi, I just purchased a Beretta U22 NEOS Blue .22 LR 6"....(I can't lie...I know nothing about the weapon, but it looked really nice!!!) If you can't tell, I'm a girl...LOL!!! My questions are: What type of ammo will it use and just how good is it. I know Beretta is a pretty decent name. I only bought it for protection, hopefully I'll never have to use it.
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Well, I think you were poorly advised. The Beretta is a fine pistol, but as the name implies it shoots .22LR (that is 22 caliber, long rifle when you buy it, it measures .22 inch in diameter and the bullet weighs about 40 grains, aboout 1/3 what you need) which is simply to small to be a reliable self defense round. OK for target shooting, hunting small game, and mafia style executions in the movies and tv, but way too small for self defense. You would need to consider a minimum caliber of .38 for a self defense round.
My heros have always killed cowboys.0 -
quote:You would need to consider a minimum caliber of .38 for a self defense round.
Ahhh!!! Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely keep that in mind!!!0 -
First of all, Enjoy the .22..... after you've found out what its for. Not trying to be Smart, but before you go about worrying what kind of gun, etc., and etc., let me suggest something. Find a Shooting Range with a good instructor capable of teaching "self defense using a handgun." This will give you some very basic and essential information about hand guns in general. Take the opportunity to "rent, beg, borrow, etc., several different types of guns and learn to shoot them. It's like buying a car. You wouldn't buy a Motorized Wheel Chair to haul freight from Coast to Coast, but you need to find out what would work for you.......
You will learn a great deal in a short time and you will find out if you want to shoot daily, weekly, monthly, or years.....or never! It will be a good experience and will be very helpful.
That being said....Welcome and I wish you well pursuing the shooting sport or just Self Defense.....!!!!
"Life is FRAGILE!" Handle With Care!0 -
Of corse Dog is correct in his assesment of the 22 for a self defence gun, but it is a good place to start. Most folks start with a 22 for a beginner. You can learn all of the things you will need to know about firearms with one. First and foremost is gun safty, and by the way more people are killed each year in the US with just that caliber. Learn from someone that has some training not someone with a Rambo complex. Then, when you are ready to step up to a gun that is more suited to the role of a self defence weapon you will be prepared. Carring a gun for self defence is a very big step, read as much as you can about it. And of corse practice, practice, practice. Good Luck
You'v gota kill it to grill it0 -
I also agree with everyone else here, the 22 would be one of the last weapons I would use or suggest to use as a "self defense" weapon. ANY handgun used for "self defense" is a up hill battle! It would take a pretty good "person" to place rounds in the "target" under "combat conditions" where they would do some good. I would advocate the use of a shotgun for home self defense. It has a natural pointing ability, and minimal need for schooling to use it effectively. Use the 22 for "fun"! My 2 cents ...Mark
"FEAR the Goverment, that fears your ARMS"0 -
The shotgun is actually a difficult tool for the novice to learn to shoot quickly and accurately. That old saying about not being able to miss with a shotgun is patently false.
Far better she begin with a .22, and thereby have something she can shoot quickly and accurately, than propel her into a centerfire she cannot yet handle.
I know of noone that would be OK with receiving 5 or 6 quick .22 Stingers to the chest...
Must... Kill... Scrappy Doo...0 -
Angerchild...take the .22 and learn to shoot it well. .22s are a great tool for the novice and starting with a smaller caliber gun helps in the sense that you won't learn any bad habits when shooting...at least you are less likely to learn them than if you were shooting a more powerful gun. Once you get the hang of it and shoot a few thousand [:D] rounds through it...you can get something bigger.
Most important thing is to feed your gun regularly...nothing is sadder than a gun that is malnourished.
"The only way American citizens can adequately be protected from terror and violence is when" those in authority protect us from those who would harm us, instead of protecting us from ourselves.0 -
Well, I sure hate to disagree with all these "experts" here but I've always carried a 22 as a defense gun. It's shot placement that counts if you really want to stop someone and simply having a gun and making noise with it will deter most unwanted advances. Even people who don't like noise & recoil will shoot and get proficient with a 22. They're usually very small so you have them when you need them. I hunted wild hogs with a colt woodsman for years as a kid til folks convinced me I needed more gun. Killed about 50 with it. Used a Ruger std auto in Viet Nam with good success and carried a beretta 22 when I was down town. If you hit them right, a 22 LR is all you need. If you don't a 44 mag won't get it done either, IMO. I was riding with a deputy in S FL one evening and a man approached the patrol car asking to be taken to the hospital. He had been hit 3 times in the head (no brain or spine) with a 45 auto at very close range. I think they kept him overnight & sent him home 
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Ditto what pikeal said, plus:
don't get rid of the .22
Most guys here have one for fun, plinking, or whatever. Even if you 'move up' to other calibers, if you stick with the shooting sports you'll want a .22 around just because.
If you can find someone to teach you how to use a shotgun, they are excellent home defense weapons. CG is right, they are not as easy as one might think.
ps Welcome to the shooting sports, more women are needed.
pps Lots of guys buy guns because they look 'cool' or 'menacing', in our case it's due to testosterone
Got a new gun for my ex-wife.....pretty good trade, huh?0 -
Put the shotgun back in the closet and take it out only when dove season opens. Scatterguns are a handful in the confined spaces of a home and I would never recommend a shotgun for self defense to a novice shooter. Anger, the Beretta is a nice looking pistol and I can easliy see how you might have been attracted to its modern and racey styling; the designers hoped you'd feel exactly the way that you do about their pistol's looks and would purchase it. I suggest that you follow the advice of our other learned members and shoot your new pistol as often as you can. After you feel comfortable handling the .22 and can consistantly hit your target then you should consider some professional firearms training. Failing this you should shoot as many different handguns as you possibly can until you find a model that "fits" you and your needs. Quite frankly I feel that your dealer did you a major disservice by selling you a casual .22 target pistol for use in home defense and I would have pointed you in another direction.
Mark T. Christian0 -
quote:Originally posted by angerchild
I only bought it for protection, hopefully I'll never have to use it.
What the others said, but...
Go to Walmart and buy yourself CCI Stinger 22 lr (long rifle) ammo--get about 10 boxes; that's 500 rounds--go to the range and shoot almost all of it.
If you keep the magazine loaded with the 22 Stinger ammunition (but for safety reasons, don't keep a round in the chamber), IF you did need to use it for self-defense, the 22 Stinger would be best.0 -
Ditto. A 22 isn't the best choice for self defense, but it will teach you gun safety and in a pinch it's been known to stop/kill when needed. Shoot your 22 till you are comfortable with it and take RancheroPaul's advice about getting some instruction on using a pistol in a defense scenario, it isn't as easy as it would seem. Some ranges rent pistols which would give you an opportunity to try a few different guns/calibers to determine what level of weight/recoil you are comfortable with. A lot of people find themselves in the 9mm to 45ACP range for self defense. The important thing is to be able to hit what you are aiming at. If you can only do that with a small caliber then stick with the <9mm calibers. If you can hit your targets quickly and accurately with a 40 or 45 then you will be better off. Also be aware that recoil and accuracy will vary between different guns and brands of ammo. An little AMT Backup 45 will have a lot more "kick" than a big heavy 1911 pistol. Little guns are often more "convenient", but they also tend to kick more. Find something that works for you. Have fun and stay safe.
Love them Beavers
SUPPORT THE I.N.S. , THE COUNTRY THEY SAVE COULD BE YOUR OWN0 -
ac,
First of all, I don't care for your name. Anyone who expresses anger and then goes out and buys their first gun needs to talk. Maybe not to me, but someone.
I plan on buying a Neos but might have suggested others for your first buy. Nothing wrong with a 22LR. Start off with a 357mag, and you might be too scared to shoot anymore.
Self defense, you say. If organized crime is after you, a 22 LR isn't going to do the job. If you are worried about some drunk following you home from the club to get a little frisky, well you will be just fine with the Berretta. Modesty keeps me from asking just where you are going to hide this thing!
You don't have to kill a jerk, just wing him and he will get a hormone adjustment real fast.
As others have said, shoot this thing to death. 22LR ammo is next to free. 6 months from now post again about your new 32, 380, or 9.
Stick in there kid!
cbxjeffIt's too late for me, save yourself.0 -
Wow, I'm surprised I got on. You are really getting a lot of responses from eager gun owners.
OK, Baretta is a great maker and it is probably a fine pistol.
It is not a good self defense weapon, as you've been told. The minimum pistol you can qualify for concealed carry in texas is a 9mm.
Bullets range in the following approximate power.
(estimates off the top of my head)(been alwhile since I looked them up)
foot pounds (ft.lbs) are a measure of energy taken from velocity and bullet weight.
25 auto 75- 80 ft lbs
22 long rifle 150- 165 ft lbs.
380 auto 190- 220 ft lbs.
38 special 190- 220 ft lbs.
9mm auto 350 - 410 ft lbs.
40 smith&wesson 400- 500 ft lbs I think
45 auto 390- 450 ft lbs
357 magnum 400- 525 ft lbs
You guys reading this, please cut me some slack, I'm know some of these figures are not exact.
A good quality more powerful pistol, really doesn't kick that much and you will find they can be really fun to shoot. Lots of women I have taken out to shoot, really get to like it.
Feel free to ask all kinds of questions, and you will find almost every guy has ALL the answers. For this reason ask a number of different people in order to weed out the bs. ESPECIALLY IF BUYING A GUN.
Learn safety, gun operation, and get plenty of experience in shooting, and I'm sure you will know all you need to in a year or two to get a really nice pistol that will fit you fine and be powerful enough to protect you.
I am excited at your adventure into guns because I enjoy them so much myself. I'm sure some guy in your life is going to love shooting with you.
Good luck
Eric
thats'me0 -
Well, you've got advice coming from all directions, so let's get back to basics (since this is your first firearm).
Although .22 is a poor choice as a defensive weapon, it's a very good choice as a first handgun.
.22 is accurate and has low recoil and, given proper instruction in gun safety and handling, is an excellent tool for entry into gun ownership.
"Given proper instruction" is very, very important. Please, don't go off and try to shoot your Beretta by yourself. This could very dangerous.
If there's a Gun Club or Shooting Range nearby, ask about a firearms handling or gun safety course. Or you could ask at local gun shops.
If none are available, at the very least, don't try to shoot your gun until you can find an exprienced shooter to teach you.
Once you've learned to handle your Beretta safely and well, and have put several hundred (or better still, several thousand) rounds thru it, c'mon back and we'll talk about moving up to something more powerful....and more suitable for self-defense.
Have fun, and shoot safely.0 -
I wanted to chime in before this topic gets locked. Some good info from everyone here. The .22 Berreta is a nice begginers gun. I agree with everyone else here and recommend you pratice pratice pratice. Like everyone else said it's not ideal for defense. One of it's problems is that it doesn't penetrate clothing very well. If someone is wearing bulky clothing that .22 might not do the job. I would reccommend you get yourself a good 4" barrel revolver preferably a Smith & Wesson or a Ruger in .357 magnum but shoot .38 special ammunition out it.
I own a wide variety of handguns but for home defense & selfprotection I keep a ruger GP100 .357 mag revolver loaded at home. It is what we call a double action revolver & has the following benefits:
1. Long trigger pull. You have to think about what your doing before pulling the trigger. With this type of gun you are not going to accidently pull the trigger. For that reason I would do a lot of training in double action. Don't cock the hammer in a defensive situation. We don't want to accidently shoot the husband or kid when they are up going to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
2. Simplicity. Revolvers are easy to load & unload. You don't have to worry as much about:
a. whether or not you left the chamber loaded?
b. is the safety on or off?
c. is the gun loaded at all? With a revolver you can just look at the side of the gun or back of the clynder and see if it's loaded but be sure to open it and double check.
3. Reliability. If you keep a semi-auto pistol loaded long enough, you will find that the magazine springs weaken & cause jams. I have gone thru many a 1911 spring this way. The revolver doesn't have that issue.
4. It's easy to learn to use a revolver. The mechanism is simpler(if there is such a word) all you have to do is pull the trigger.
5. Interchangeability of ammo, the 357 revolver will allow you & your family (if such is the case) to pratice with light (low recoiling) 38 special bullets. You may find that .38 special is all you need but understand that any .357 magnum revolver will allow you to shoot 38 special ammo which is less expensive and less scarey.[;)]
6. Weight, I reccomend going with a 4" barrel revolver. While those little snubnose barrel revolvers look cute they are actually painful to shoot because they have no weight to them. A heavier revolver dampens & lessens the recoil or jump from the bullet being fired.
Last of all remmember that you might need to grab this gun in the middle of the night when you are 1/2 awake & 1/2 coherrant in your thoughts. I keep the revolver loaded for this reason.
When I'm fully awake, I carry & compete with the semi-autos such as Sigs, Glocks, & Colts.
Once again pratice practice practice. Also if there is an indoor shooting range nearby go and rent a .357 revolver & buy .38 special bullets to shoot out of it.
By the way feel free to ask tips from anyone you see on the range. I'm sure some old fart like the ones on here [:D]would be glad to help you out.
I know I have used some terms you may not be familiar with so here are some pictures of what a revolver & semi-auto looks like:
This is what my Ruger looks like. [;)][:D][;)]
Semi-auto as seen below:
Feel free to ask any or as many questions as you like. By the way welcome to the board.
Regards,0 -
Guess I'm gonna get the last word on this topic.
Let's see now, the experts say that a .22 caliber pistol is no good for defense. OK, how about offense? Sen. Robert Kennedy was killed when shot several times with a .22, and President Reagan almost died from a single .22 wound.
I guess then it depends on your intention of use. If you're planning on shooting someone a .22 will do. If you need a defensive weapon, you'll have to carry a more macho gun (even if you are female [;)]). So to be safe you better carry two according to the experts, LOL.
Charlie
"It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com0 -
Oh man, I can't remember the last time an experts thread went this long.
angerchild, welcom to the boards.
Ma'am you are getting some good advice here. You have a quality firearm, but its main advantage for defensive purposes is that its small size is easy to conceal. It is not very powerful, and you need to learn to handle a semi-automatic pistol. (For example, if a double action revolver misfires, you just pull the trigger again. If your semi-auto misfires or jams, you must know how to clear the bad round quickly.)
I highly recommend that you go to www.nra.org and check out the information there, some is specifically intended for women with little to no firearms experience.
And by all means take a certified handgun operation and safety class. It will be worth it.
redcedars0 -
Hi, I am a fairly big guy (225 lbs.)and I can promise you that if you are 3'2" and pointed that little tiny gun at me, I would listen and ask you to forgive me for urinating on myself. Now if you just wanted to shoot me, you might have to pull the trigger a few times more than normal. If you are not body guard for Allen Iverson or a police officer, I would say your 22 should do the trick for self defense. Plus the recoil is small so it will be a pleasure to shoot compared to something with stopping power. Enjoy your gun.
Mad Dog0 -
Lots of good advice, BUT......if you live in an area where you need to worry about keeping a gun for self defense, then you need to worry about a burglar stealing your gun when you are not home. Home break-ins are the Number One source for the guns used by criminals. While a safe is preferred, the minimum that you should have is a steel lockbox bolted to the wall.
Think how badly you would feel if some sociopath were to steal your gun and use it to kill innocent people, or, worse yet, use it on YOU.
Neal0 -
WOW ...I'm really surprised at the response here (THX CPT. KIRK!) ...And I'm surprised there are people that are advocating the use of a 22 as a "self defense" weapon! ...Granted it's better then nothing ...but not by much. The other thing that surprises me is that there are some here that DON'T advocate the use of a shotgun as a primary "home defense weapon"! I can think of no better weapon for this job. I'm not saying a 32" long tom, ...but a 18"/20" Rem. 870 or Mossberg 500 would fit the bill VERY nicely. I personally have seen a full clip from a 45 auto "dumped" at a guy from a starting range of 20 yd.s down to about 5 yd.s, with NO HITS! It took the 1st SGT's 12ga. to stop this guy at about 10 yd.s! ...Give ME a shotgun any day!!! AGAIN, my 2 cents! ...Mark
"FEAR the Goverment, that fears your ARMS"0 -
Actually, what Mark Christian said was that they are a handful in a tight space and he would not recemmend one for a novice shooter.
I agree with both points, which is why I advocate training.
At point blank range, when a bad guy is coming at you, something is better than nothing, even a little .22. The reason I like the shotgun is lack of penetration.
Whatever works for you is what is best, misses suck whether it's a shotgun, .45 or BB gun. We just all have different ideas on what is ideal.
Got a new gun for my ex-wife.....pretty good trade, huh?0 -
angerchild: All the posts here need digesting, but most all are correct so I wont add anything to them.[^]Welcome to Gunbroker.
Bolt
PEACE THROUGH SUPERIOR FIREPOWER0
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