Taurus TP-22

M

Mike Irwin

Staff
After reading the Beretta .25 ACP thread, I decided to start one on this gun...

I've had mine about two years, and have put nearly 1,000 rounds through it.

Biggest problem with it at the outset was the rotten, nearly square grips. Several hours with a rasp, a block plane, an x-acto knife and sandpaper took care of that. I contoured and thinned the grips, removed the grip medallions, filled the holes, stained the grips and urethaned them. BIG improvement.

Others have mentioned the unreliability of these small .22s. As I said, I've put nearly 1,000 rounds through mine, and have YET to have a single malfunction. Needless to say, I'm impressed.

I also like the tip-up barrel, which others have noted as being a detriment. It allows very rapid clearing and rearming of the gun. This being a DAO makes this feature paticularly nice as I don't have to worry about racking the slide and wondering if it is going to go off when the hammer follows the slide down. :)

It's not the most accurate thing in the world (it shoots a few inches right at 7 yards), but I can keep all 9 shots in the head of a B-27 at that range.

It's what I normally use when I want to carry a gun, but I have to really understate it.

Does anyone else have one of these critters? What do you think of it?
 
Mike,

I've had one of these little pistols for about 5 months now and I love it! Several years ago, I'd bought a Beretta 21 in 22 cal. It was very inaccurate, even at 5 yds. and was finicky about ammo. It would shoot only a couple of brands without hangups.

The Taurus, on the other hand, will shoot any high or hyper velocity ammo reliably and accurately out to 7 yds., which is plenty with a small 22. Mine has the rosewood grips. They're larger than the standard woodens grips and they fill the hand nicely. The only downside - and it's minimal - is that they're a little bit bulkier than yours. However, they do add to the shootablity of the pistol.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the PT22 and it functions well in its role - it's there at the times when I can't carry a real defensive handgun!

I hope you enjoy yours as I have enjoyed mine.

Good shooting,

Nazman
 
Nazman,

The documentation that came with my TP-22 specifically says NOT to use hyper-velocity .22 LR ammo, as it will quickly damage the gun...

Mine was bought new, so it's about 3 or 4 years old now.

Perhaps they've changed the protocol on it.
 
Mike Be careful what you shoot in it. I ka-boomed mine with about 3 rounds of that hot Antigula (sp) stuff. It split the end of the slide at the point where it goes under the tip up part of the barrel. Taurus fixed it for free (and gave me a nifty trigger lock too :) )but highlighted the note that came with the gun not to use high vel ammo in it. I have shot some CCI Stingers in it with no problem but not a steady diet of them. I do use Stingers as my carry round. About the only standard ammo I've found it didnt like was that steel cased Russian stuff. Good little gun and you sure dont want a good shot shooting at you with one from about 12 yards in for sure.
 
Gopher,

I'm using Winchester Wildcat in it. So far, no overt signs of wear other than a little dimpling at the base of the frame near the breech.
 
I really liked the SA PT22. I don't much care for the DAO. Anybody know if NIB SA PT22s can still be had?

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So many pistols, so little money.
 
Tecolte,

I didn't even know that Taurus MADE a single-action version of the TP-22. I thought they were all double-action only.
 
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