22 target pistols: Ruger Mk III and Beretta U22

[SuperMag]

Took these two pea shooters to the range on Friday to compare them side-by-side. The Ruger shot a tighter group, but that's probably due to the holographic sight I have on it. The Beretta shoots a fairly tight group with open sights, and I'll bet I can tighten it up with a decent holo or red-dot. I used Remington Golden Bullet plated bulk ammo for this test. Match-grade would probably improve the accuracy of both pistols.

Here's the results:

http://www.mdshooters.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=2447&c=3

 

[BeltBuckle]

excellent. would be great to see results with identical sight. that
s better shooting than I can do, I suspect. looks like you might be anticipating recoil with a tiny bit of a push, though?...

 

[SuperMag]

Absolutely I'm anticipating recoil =o) I did this test after shooting 100 rounds through my H&K USP 40 cal, which bucks pretty good.

I'm just getting back into regular shooting after a long layoff, so the fundamentals are settling back in. Shooting for once per week...so to speak. Merry Christmas!

 

[SuperMag]

I've put about 3000 rounds through the Beretta U22 Neos. It shoots dead accurate with the open sights, and with a red dot sight, it puts multiple rounds through the same hole with match-grade ammo at 10 yards. It will not reliably shoot sub-sonics because the reduced recoil is barely enough to cycle the slide all the way to the rear for a clean extraction and battery of the new round. If you lightened the slide, it would probably work fine with the sub-sonics. It shoots really well, using standard 22 LRRF ammo. I de-burred the plastic castings with a small smooth file and 2000-grit paper to remove the mold marks and the VERY sharp corners at the mouth of the magazine well. It's very hand-friendly now. And now for the bad part: two days ago at the range (after about 300 rounds), the ejector claw went flying off the slide with a spent casing. I did recover the little plunger and spring, but the claw, which is less than an inch long and black steel, was impossible to find (it was an outdoor range), so I'll be on the horn with Brownell's tomorrow, ordering a replacement part ($4). I'll probably get a few in case this happens again.

 

[booker]

That's some fine shootin'. The Mark III is one of the most enjoyable pistols on the market.

 

[mcbruzdzinski]

Just curious about the Beretta U22. I found that I kept activating the safety with my hands. Do you find the location of the safety an issue when you shoot?

 

[SuperMag]

Thanks Booker.

Mike, the safely IS a strange design. When engaged, the levers on both sides hang down, projecting into the space normally taken up by the thumb's web on the shooting hand. It partially disengages the safety of you roughly handle the pistol without taking care to keep the safety engaged. If Beretta had called any of us, I'm certain we could have designed a better safety lever. I've racked my brain over Beretta's reasoning for the design, but cannot come up with any answer--short of "the safety pokes you in the hand to remind you it's engaged."

 

[SuperMag]

I gave the U22 pistol to Beretta (dropped it off at the Accokeek factory) and they checked it out. They could find no problems with the extractor. They shot 40 rounds and all was fine. The gunsmith did ask that I bring it back if the problem persists.

I got the pistol home and broke it down. When I removed the extractor, plunger, and spring, I mic'd the parts and recesses, and discovered the plunger spring is a few thousandths larger on one end, compared to the other end. I got out the spare springs I had ordered from Brownell's and holy moly they were the same way.

So I applied a little analysis to this and discovered the plunger should go into the small end of the spring, and the larger end goes into the journal drilled in the slide. Assembling it this way does two things: the smaller end of the spring grips the plunger's pin, and the larger end of the spring compresses in diameter just a bit to hold it securely in the journal.

Armed with this knowledge, it appears proper assembly is critical to keeping the extractor in place. Get the spring backwards, and (1) the plunger's pin is not properly gripped by the spring, and (2) the large end of the spring (on the plunger) suffers from restricted movement because it drags in the journal due to friction created by the larger diameter of that end of the spring. The spring hangs up just enough to allow a little play, and the extractor claw flies out as the slide rapidly transitions rearward.

I'm thinking some of these pistols are leaving the factory with the spring installed backwards, because there are others complaining of this issue with the U22.

At the range today, I fired 200+ rounds through the U22 with no issues. I reversed the spring, and about 30 rounds later, bye bye extractor.

So, problem solved: Get the spring installed correctly, and no problems with lost extractors.