Taurus Expands Their .22 LR Line With the New TaurusTX 22 Compact SAO Pistol

1. Maybe 22 magnum, but this has no purpose for me.

   • I scrolled down to say just that. .22LR is fantastic for plinking, and maybe as a micro backup for last resort, but I’d be more interested in a .22 Mag. I know Keltech has a great full-size model, but let’s see something in a micro carry frame.

     Honestly, I’d rather have this new Taurus than nothing, but if a quality .22 Mag micro ever hits the market, I’d prefer that.

     • In a short barrel, .22mag has little advantage over .22lr, unfortunately.

       If I’m in error on that, someone please show me. Where .22mag really shines is in a rifle-length barrel, eliminating pests.

       Combine that with an ammo cost easily 3-4 times that of .22lr, and .22mag loses a lot of luster of it’s supposed superiority, IMO…

       • According to Ballistics By The Inch, the Mag has +25% muzzle velocity over LR out of a 3″ barrel:

         http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/22.html

         http://ballisticsbytheinch.com/22mag.html

2. I’ve had nothing but trouble with smallish sized .22 autos. The larger guns like Rugers Mk.’s and the Colt woodsman and Hi Standards worked a charm.

   But the small ones? Meh, at best.

   • With how much of a chore procuring ammo has become here I am taking a long hard look at a Ruger Wrangler.

     • Spoiler alert: Unsolicited comments ahead.
       I use the Wrangler, SP101(22lr), and S&W 22Compact as my class guns teaching CC & firearms basics. They have all been absolutely great thru 10’s of thousands of rounds.
       And the gun that gets the biggest grins & “I want one!” comments:
       The Beretta Bobcat
       The Bobcat is an utterly fantastic pistol. Crazy accurate; consistently hitting 8” steel plates at 25yds.

       Explore your horizons!
       Ya don’t know what your missing…

       • Got to try a tomcat (3032 I think) and odd grip shape for my hand aside it did make a very small grouping……just not really near where I was aiming.

       • “The Bobcat is an utterly fantastic pistol. Crazy accurate; consistently hitting 8” steel plates at 25yds.”

         I have one, and agree. (Mine’s the 21A ‘Covert’ with threaded barrel.) the fixed barrel helps a lot in that department.

         For me personally, it’s deal-breaker as a backup carry piece is the direct blow-back action. If you have a failure to fire and pulling the trigger again fails to light off the round, you are forced to open the action and use your fingernail to dig out the dud round. And then cycle the action to load another round.

         If Beretta could somehow come up with a flat spring steel ejector ‘hook’ on the bolt face, I’d buy it…

     • I have the Single Six. Rugers are very good.

       What I did during the first ammo drought after Sandy Hook was buy pellet guns, Cheap and plentiful ammo and easy to teach grandkids on them.

       • I have lent both my S&W 22 Compact and a to Sig 322 to our gun club for various functions but mainly intro to firearms classes. The instructors for those events have said that they wish they could do a mashup gun the size of the S&W that holds close to the 20+10 of the Sig as neither one gets much cooldown time. This probably comes close to that. By the way, the running total between the two is now north of 10,500 rounds… glad I wasn’t loading the mags and buying the ammo

       • “20+10” should read “20+1” obviously, but 20 + 10 would be REALLY cool.

3. Hard pass.

   • My buddy has a Ruger Wrangler per my recommendation. To shoot with his grandkids. It’s been trouble free & was quite inexpensive. FWIW

     • How does it compare to something like the Buckmark or Mark series re miss/hang fires assuming same ammo used?

       • Dunno. I have no interest in 22’s. I have a compelling interest in keeping what I have🙄…

       • My Ruger Mark 1 has operated without a hitch for four decades. I learned long ago to avoid “exposed lead” bullets, as they sometimes caused feed issues with all my auto .22s, both handgun and rifle. The modern copper-flashed bullets are reliable.

       • The copper electroplate on the reputable manufacturer’s .22lr is a lot more durable than the ‘copper wash’ of old. It’s more like a a thin copper jacket than anything…

     • I went an even cheaper route with a Heritage. I haven’t shot that much with it, but so far, so good. That, along with my Marlin Model 60 equals fun for not much $. The Marlin doesn’t like the hollow points I’ve tried in it, but that doesn’t matter to me.

       • My girlfiend got a Heritage last month, so far so good. Its plunger spring is a little funky. The gunm appears to me that it is a better made revolver then they were 15 years ago.
         Think I’ll get one myself.

       • The little ‘Barkeep’ with a 2 inch barrel is a hoot, and available now with a rebate at $150 :

         https://www.academy.com/p/heritage-barkeep-wood-burn-scroll-22-lr-rimfire-revolver

4. Well after much hype I purchased a new G3C at a very good price and sold it the next day because more or less it is a is-what-it-is firearm that limits reliability tweaks. If the new .22 is to succeed it better run right out of the box otherwise it’s over Rover.

5. Wow I’m liking this. Looks like a fun plinker.

6. Single-action only, or double-action only?

   Where’s the hammer to cock it in the pictures?

   • Striker-fired. SAO.

     • So, zero difference in real-world use than a DAO?

       • Not really, DAO cocks and fires with each trigger pull whereas this is precocked after each slide cycling, so the trigger only has to fire the gunm. SAO triggers are usually much lighter and smoother

7. .22’s are fun to shoot. Out of all my guns in different calibers, when I want to just shoot for fun and enjoyment my .22’s are the most fun and enjoyable. My first rifle I could call my own was a .22 bolt action my parents gave me when I was 6 years old, still have it. The first rifle I ever bought with my own money, worked all summer break lugging-tugging and mowing grass and doing various chores for people to earn the money, and at age 7 with my parents permission at the hardware store I bought the first semi-auto .22 rifle among the other kids in the area that had their own .22 bolt action rifles and still have that rifle.

   • My first was/is a 1960 bolt action as well, given to me as a youth. Third generation owner. I completely restored it a few years ago, as the grain of the stock allowed a long thin crack to form. I had the barrel + action professionally inspected and reblued, while I did the stock myself (wet-sanding with a stain mix by hand to fill all imperfections that had formed over the course of 60+ years). Turned out looking brand new.

     That trustworthy friend is leaning up on the wall, outfitted with .22 Shorts, Minuteman style. I’ve defended my lush yard many times by sending (stubborn and destructive) rabbits and raccoons to the Great Beyond.

   • .22’s are fun to shoot. I like shooting them with a sawed off shotgunm at close range.

8. Not a Taurus fan and don’t own any but the TX22 series seems to be doing very well and this new model is a great size in that it looks very close to Glock 19 dimensions other than being about .3 inch less in length. Though nothing would ever replace my beloved Browning Buckmark I might take a chance on this, after letting others try it out for 6 months or so first, to have a more combat style 22 plinker and I expect quality wise it probably is as good as Umarex made 22 pistols anyway.

   • I bought the Taurus TX .22 for my wife after hearing how reliable and popular they are. I haven’t gotten her to shoot it yet but I’m loving it. 16 round capacity and it really does run everything I have but I prefer the CCI Mini mags. To me, this pistol is like the the Sig P365 and the XL, a very welcome surprise.

     • I’ve bought my wife a number of guns that she hasn’t shot yet… of course, she also hasn’t discovered that I’ve bought a number of guns
       “for her”. 🤫

9. Any idea if this fella takes the bigger 17 round mags of its sibling?

   • Maybe, but it looks like the (shorter) magazine on this is the same form factor, so the Tandemkross +5 baseplates look like they should work.

10. Did they ever get a barrel for the TX’s that don’t look like a minute jackhammer went down them?? I bought a TX22 and the barrel looks like shit but it does shoot straight so…… Guess I can’t complain.

11. Can the full size magazines be used? If so, then it does nothing for people with small hands. Nobody complains about too much grip sticking beyond the bottom of your hand. Just get the full size with more rounds and less recoil. There’s no market for .22 for self defense in a compact pistol. Maybe a few people can’t handle the recoil of a .380, but not enough to justify designing and testing a new SKU. It could be useful for training if it’s externally identical to a GX4, like a Glock 44 can use the holster for a Glock 19.

    • I have found that sometimes a smaller length grip is better depending on the shape, especially those that flare out a bit on the inside at the bottom to kind of lock the hand into the grip. I disagree about the number of people using 22LR for SD and think it is substantial, though I am not saying it is optimal but people need to use what works for them especially to be confident of hitting the target. The Ruger SR22 is popular for concealed carry and my wife has two cousins that use it for their concealed carry guns. I think Taurus did a smart move with this size TX22 and it will sell very well if it proves to be reliable and durable.

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