[lklawson]

A buddy of mine asked me to come help him teach an Ohio CHL class over the weekend. We've worked together several times before when I was "the lead" but this was his class so he was "the lead."

Usual stuff. Classroom was his basement and we went to private property for range requirement. Small class (which is good) of 7 people. 3 participants were ladies; two of which had never shot handguns before. This is also good; they don't have ingrained bad habits.

By the end of the day, we had all participants passing the Ohio range requirements.

After the class, we all stuck around the range and the instructors brought out some other things. I brought out my 5.56 AR Carbine and my 300 BO AR Pistol. An SKS came to the line, and a .22LR AK and and .22LR AR.

At first the young ladies were skittish about the AR but after a little convincing they shot. First one round in the mag, then moving up to a handful of ammo. I always asked them if it hurt their shoulder, even though it was loud. "No, my shoulder is fine." I engaged some discussion about why this, no vastly less "scary" rifle, is so vilified as a "Weapon of War on the street!!!"

The most memorable shooting error that I saw was both of the new shooters would take aim, then too-quickly take their finger from outside the trigger guard, slap the trigger, and yank it back out of the trigger guard. Unsurprisingly, they had trouble being accurate that way. I eventually broke them of the habit.

While most of the shooters brought their own guns, the most popular guns on the line were ones which we, the instructors, supplied; all .22LR pistols. A Kel Tec P17, a Ruger Buckmark, and a Beretta U22 NEOS.

Fun day.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[SWAGA]

Good day.
I haven’t gotten any closer then just looking into getting instructor certification.

 

[lklawson]

Good day.
I haven't gotten any closer then just looking into getting instructor certification.

You're probably better served by taking more classes as a student anyway.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[histed]

Kirk - that Neos your's? I still think I want one just cuz they look like Buck Rodgers' ray gun. How reliable are they?

 

[lklawson]

Kirk - that Neos your's? I still think I want one just cuz they look like Buck Rodgers' ray gun. How reliable are they?

Yeah, it's my NEOS. I really like it and half bought it because of the ray-gun look.

It's been fairly reliable. Seems to eat pretty much whatever ammo I put in it. Cleaning is pretty easy too.

The LOOOONG sight radius makes it easy to use. Mag release is kinda odd. I hate the thumb safety. It's in the wrong place and if it's engaged, it digs into the meat of my hand when I hold it. Luckily, it is only a range toy so I never use the safety. It's either unloaded or on the firing line and having a fresh mag jammed in.

It's a gun that I have never had any second thoughts about buying. (though I did kinda get boned by Gander Mountain when I bought it)

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

 

[ajole]

Don’t buy a NEOS until you handle one. I can’t grip them right, too little room in there where the web of your hand is supposed to go.

Other than that, I’d own one.

 

[histed]

Don't buy a NEOS until you handle one. I can't grip them right, too little room in there where the web of your hand is supposed to go.

Other than that, I'd own one.

I have - quite often - and I love the way they feel in my hand, especially the longer barreled ones. @lklawson - what's odd about the mag release?

 

[ajole]

I have - quite often - and I love the way they feel in my hand, especially the longer barreled ones. @lklawson - what's odd about the mag release?

I bet it's too far back, and sits on the web of the hand, instead of forward by the thumb.

Edit: DOH!
I saw safety...not mag release.

Dragonbreath got it right.
But then...I've changed a gun or two to be trigger finger mag release, so...:banana:

 

[Dragonbreath]

The NEOS mag release is on the right side of the gun above the trigger. Same as my Colt Cadet.

 

[lklawson]

I have - quite often - and I love the way they feel in my hand, especially the longer barreled ones. @lklawson - what's odd about the mag release?

NEOS Safety:
Two big things. First, the placement means that I can't really swipe it off with my firing thumb. It's way far back. I have to use my non-firing hand to disengage it. Second, when it is engaged, it is "down for safe" (which is psychologically and bio-mechanically "wrong" ...but I digress). When it the "down for safe" condition, the tip of the safety digs into the top web of my firing hand when I have a full and proper grip on the gun.

These issues only matter if I was going to try to "carry" the gun. Not thinking self defense, but maybe like a "trail gun" or something. I would want it Condition One in an OWB hip holster. But the safety just doesn't lend itself to this sort of use.

But I don't really need a Trail Gun .22. What I need is a range and target .22 and the NEOS works exceptionally well for that. It's great for teaching new and inexperienced shooters. The weight of it means that even the negligible recoil of a .22 disappears. The (comparatively) long barrel means that the sight radius is fairly long (for a pistol) making it easier to be accurate. It has a good trigger. The magazines are easy to load because they have a knob on the side for that purpose. Maintenance and cleaning is easy. It's a good gun, just not a "Trail Gun," imo.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

I have - quite often - and I love the way they feel in my hand, especially the longer barreled ones. @lklawson - what's odd about the mag release?

Oops. Mag release.

The mag release is a push button on the right hand side of the frame, just above the front of the trigger guard. Right handed shooters will use the trigger finger to push on the frame just outside of the trigger guard. It's non-standard.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk