Taurus in 2021 has moved to deliver a more polished version of its already well-liked TX 22 rimfire semi-auto pistol, the optics, and suppressor-ready TX 22 Competition.
Taurus has long produced .22 LR handguns, going back to successive generations of revolvers in the 1980s, then the PT22 mouse gun, itself an ode to Beretta's tip-up barrel pocket gun. However, autoloading plinkers by the company were rare, with the 6-inch barreled PT-922 only in the Taurus catalog briefly about 15 years ago.
This changed with the TX 22 in 2019.
The standard Taurus TX 22. (Photos: Taurus)
A full-sized striker-fired gun with a polymer frame, the gun used the Taurus Pittman Trigger System (PTS). It shipped with an adjustable rear sight, had an ergonomic grip and Mil-Std 1913 accessory rail, used 16-round mags, and retailed for cheap. Like sub-$350 cheap with three mags and a threaded barrel. What's not to like?
Now, taking feedback both from the public and the company's own cadre of professional shooters, the TX 22 Competition brings a lot of great upgrades to the platform. What stays the same is the basic layout and construction: a polymer-framed striker-fired handgun with a high-grade aluminum slide and alloy steel barrel. The gun uses the same surface controls, and thus is the same width – 1.25 inches at the widest point.
What is new is a longer, competition-grade 5.25-inch bull barrel with an improved slide, as well as an optics mounting system that accommodates the most popular pistol MRDs. The price difference is about $135 more, or $485.
The Taurus TX 22 Competition has an overall length of 8.21 inches, about 1.15 inches longer than the standard TX 22 due to the longer barrel. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Weight, unloaded and unequipped with accessories, is 23.2 ounces. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The internals are straightforward, and the gun disassembles without tools just like the TX 22, 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.
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. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
We found no issue mating up a standard 1x28 TPI suppressor, a basic Tactical Innovations TAC65 shown attached. Loaded with 17 rounds and with the shown Leupold Delta Point Pro and suppressor fitted, we found the all-up weight of the TX 22 Competition to be just 29.3-ounces. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The magazine release ships installed on the left side of the pistol but is reversible by the user. Note the slide catch and frame-mounted manual safety. Internally, the TX 22 uses a striker-block safety and trigger safety as well. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
We found the Taurus-standard PTS trigger pack broke at 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. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Like the TX 22, the new TX 22 Comp uses a three-dot sight system with a fixed front and two-way adjustable rear. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The rear screw adjusts elevation up and down while the front sight adjusts windage left and right. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
We found ours to be on target to point of aim right out of the box, with the above being the typical example of 25-yard offhand slow fire using unadjusted sights in initial testing with bulk pack ammo. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The main selling point of the TX 22 Competition is the optics mounting system. The pistol ships with an installed baseplate and includes two adapter top plates. (Photos: Taurus)
The four resulting mounting patterns is compatible with the Trijicon RMR, C-More STS2, Vortex Venom, Doctor Noblex, Burris Fast Fire, Sightmark Mini, Holosun HS507C, and Leupold Delta Point Pro and are threaded as shown for the optics’ screws. (Photo: Taurus & Chris Eger/Guns.com)
We found one of Leupold's new Delta Point Pro 6 MOA optics to fit like a charm. Although, sadly, the installed factory sights are too low to co-witness. More on this red dot in future articles. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The pistol ships in a plastic clamshell case with three mags, a mag loader, documentation, two adjuster plates, and a storage lock. Note the foam is cut for an MRD to be stored installed on the gun. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The mags are polymer in construction and have a quick-loading follower hold-down button on the side. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
So how did it shoot? So far, we have about 500 rounds through it with only two jams, likely ammo-based, and the gun has set the stage to be both reliable and exceptionally accurate. Stay tuned for an extended review as we continue to hit the range with the Taurus TX 22 Competition.
