Taurus introduced its newest, most carry-friendly, rimfire pistol earlier this year, and it aims to be both feature-rich and easy on the wallet.
The new TX22 Compact looks to be the hat trick in Taurus's .22 LR handgun lineup, coming on the heels of the well-received standard and Competition-sized models. Unlike the other formats of the TX22, the new Compact runs a 13+1 round magazine and not the more commonly-used 16+1.
Developed as a handier version of its older brothers, it features a 3.6-inch alloy steel barrel that gives it an overall length of just 6.7 inches. (All photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
In terms of dimensions, this puts it about the same size as a Glock 43 or Walther PPK but, at just 16.5 ounces, it comes in lighter than either.
The low weight despite a near full-sized grip comes in part from the extensive lightening cuts in the aluminum slide, which weighs only 3.9 ounces on our postal scale. Note that it has a hard anodized black finish and has forward slide serrations.
Overall height is 4.9 inches, which keeps it from being considered "pocket carry" sized. Taurus could have probably gone with a more compact 6-8 round magazine instead of the 13-rounder and chopped the grip down a bit to accomplish such mouse-gunnery magic, but then we would not be here talking about the TX22 Compact.
Blowback action, the barrel is semi-fixed and doesn't move during the firing cycle, which lends to accuracy.
The single-action-only striker-fired trigger breaks at around 5 pounds and, although smooth, had a fair bit of travel to it in initial testing. Note the memory point on the frame for the offhand thumb, or trigger finger if a southpaw.
Note the ambi manual safety lever. Overall width is 1.25 inches.
The barrel uses a suppressor adapter collar with a 1x28 TPI thread pitch. It requires a 3/8-inch open-ended wrench to remove the thread protector. No, it is not finger-tight, in our experience.
The internals are straightforward, and the gun disassembles without tools just like the TX22, with a recessed takedown latch just forward of the trigger. Notably, instead of sliding the top half all the way forward to remove it from the frame, you lift it almost straight off.
Unlike the rest of the TX22 series, which uses a three-dot sight system with a fixed front and two-way adjustable rear, the new TX22 Compact has a blacked-out serrated rear sight with a white dot front. Of note, this is the same sight used on the Taurus G3 series, which goes to say it is a standard Glock pattern. While no slouch on the range, the TX22 Compact was meant to be carried if needed.
The pistol ships with two 13-round mags that are polymer in construction and have a quick-loading follower hold-down button on the side.
A big selling point is that the TX22 Compact is that it's both suppressor and optics ready right out of the box, something that not a lot of sub-$400 rimfire pistols can say.
The optics footprint is common for subcompact guns, using the same Shield RMSc/RMS/RMSw/SMS pattern that works across the Holosun 407/507K, SIG Romeo Zero, and JP JPoint patterns. It is set up for direct mount, with no plates or adapters needed.
We went with one of Holosun's new green dot 507K-X2 models, which gives the option of a 2-MOA dot only, 32-MOA ring only, or ring with dot reticle – all without re-zeroing when changing reticles – while only weighing an ounce.
We then mounted a SilencerCoSwitchback in its short configuration. The shorty Switchback runs a titanium tube and only weighs 3.2 ounces in its 2.72-inch format. It is just about the shortest baffle-equipped can on the market, even when stacked up against the Bowers Bitty micro-suppressor. The only way you can go shorter is to opt for a wipe can, such as the GSL Pill Box/Gemtech Pill Bottle, which needs to be repacked every 50 rounds or so.
As shown, the dot-and-can-equipped TX22 Compact weighs just 20.8 ounces, loaded with 14 rounds of Federal Premium's Punch Personal Defense rimfire ammo.
So far, we have put just 300 rounds through the TX22 Compact with good results. We'll have a full review on it once we stretch that past a few thousand. Stay tuned.
