The Taurus TX 22 Competition entered the rimfire pistol market earlier this year and is making some big waves. This 22 LR handgun is a more affordable option for an optics-ready, suppressor compatible rimfire pistol that has proved itself through the months since its release to be extremely accurate, reliable, and ergonomic. What ISN’T there to like about it? Spoiler alert: I didn’t find the answer to that question. Below, you’ll find some more of my thoughts about this phenomenal firearm.
First Impressions
First, I just want to say what everyone is thinking: Taurus did a fantastic job making an attractive looking pistol. It’s not extravagant and it’s got a nice splash of detail worked in with functional purpose. The slide serrations on the front and rear do as intended, providing a place for positive grip while racking the slide. The stippling of the grip is not too aggressive but feels like it also adds some traction in my hand. The slide cut up top isn’t only aesthetically pleasing, but loses some weight to allow the longer slide on the TX 22 Competition to reciprocate under blowback operation just as reliably as its shorter progenitor, the TX 22. This slide cut also provides the space needed for the slide to reciprocate without contacting the optics mounting plate which is attached to the barrel of the gun. The finger groove, which I typically don’t like on pistols, is actually very comfortable and positioned perfectly for my medium-sized hands. Because there is only one, and it was strategically placed at the top of the grip to provide a comfortable groove for your middle finger to sit under the trigger guard, I think that this design will fit most people well.
The optics mounting method is very clever and simple, providing you with the option to mount most of the popular reflex sights on the market. This design uses a base plate that mounts directly to the slide, with double-sided inserts that can be changed for compatibility with different reflex sight footprints. The slide and barrel can be removed for cleaning by pulling down on the lever located on both sides of the frame inside of the trigger guard. simply pull this lever down, slide the barrel/slide forward and pull the trigger and it will all come off. There is no need to take the optic off of the barrel in order to remove it from the slide.
My favorite feature may just be the 1/2×28 TPI threaded muzzle. I have an OSS RAD 22 suppressor that I want to attach to this gun, but it’s currently in another state. I have no doubts that this pistol would make a reliable suppressor host and I’ll update this article in the future when I get the pleasure of shooting it in this configuration.
The Trigger
With something like “competition,” in your name, you have to have a good trigger. The TX 22 Competition doesn’t slouch in this category. The trigger pull weight comes in at 4-5 pounds depending on if the scale is in the middle of the trigger shoe, or at the bottom. It has a steady pull and clean break. I was pleasantly surprised when I first fired the gun because it exceeded my expectations in feel. I did notice that the trigger shoe itself has some wiggle to it, but after further inspection, I found that this bit of slop is required for its function. See, instead of having a blade safety located in the middle of the trigger which is depressed and deactivated by pressing the trigger, the trigger in the TX 22 Competition is the safety. let me be even more clear: the trigger on this pistol also acts in the same manner as a blade safety. If it is not rocked backward, the trigger cannot be actuated. The silver pin that can be seen in the picture above is the pivot point on which it rocks. While running the TX 22 Competition, you can’t even feel this happening and the trigger seems rock solid.
In the Field
As I mentioned already, the Taurus TX 22 Competition has incredible ergonomics. When this pistol is in my hands, it truly feels like it was made specifically for me. I ran hundreds of rounds through this handgun with very few malfunctions and I feel like the ones that I did have were partially caused by me. I took this gun straight out of the box, filled a magazine, and went to shooting. At this point, I had some stovepipes, but they were still far in-between. The gun came bone-dry so I put a couple of drops of oil in the slide rails and went back to shooting. From here on, 0 malfunctions. During this process, I installed my Crimson Trace CTS-1250 reflex sight and went back to shooting. With this optic, I felt like the gun, as well as myself, were incredibly accurate because I was hitting everything that I pointed it at. The true accuracy test was coming up soon…
Specifications
- .22 LR
- 16 or 10-round magazine capacity
- 3 magazines included
- striker fired, single action
- fixed white dot front sight
- fully adjustable white dot rear sights
- 3 safety mechanisms: striker block, manual, trigger safety
- full sized frame
- polymer grip
- hard anodized aluminum slide
- 8.15 inch overall length
- 1.25 inch overall width
- 5.44 inch overall height
- 23 oz. weight
- additional features
- picatinny rail (Mil-STD 1913)
- threaded competition grade barrel
- 2 different optic mounting plates (4 different footprints)
- MSRP: $533.33 (increased since the launch of this product, used to be $484.00)
Accuracy
For accuracy testing, I placed a target at 15 yards and shot 5 shot groups with 8 different common ammunition types. For each group, I would waste 5 rounds into the berm when transitioning ammunition types, followed by a 5 shot group on paper. Sometimes switching between plated vs non-plated or waxed vs non-waxed ammo can impact groups and I wanted to minimize this. Yes, I realize that there are some high-end target ammunition options that I did not test, but I’m convinced that at least 2 of the different ammunitions that I tested shot better than my own capabilities. The eight ammunitions I tested were Remington Subsonic 36 grain, Winchester Bulk 36 grain, CCI MiniMag 36 grain, CCI Quiet 40 grain, Federal Target Grade 40 grain, Norma Tac-22 40 grain, Aguila Super Extra 38 grain, and Aguila Super Extra 40 grain. NOTE: without a suppressor, my TX 22 did not cycle the CCI Quiets, as is common with many semi-auto pistols. If you shoot them suppressed, the added backpressure may be enough to cycle the gun though, depending on suppressor design.
Below, you’ll see the results of my testing. The group size in inches and MOA can be seen below each group inside of the grey box. I will also list group sizes in the description of each photo in case the decreased photo quality from upload makes it hard to read.
Final thoughts
I’ll keep this part short and sweet: I had a phenomenal experience with the Taurus TX 22 Competition. I have no major gripes about the handgun and I will be recommending this pistol to anyone who is in the market for a reliable semi-auto 22 LR handgun. It is extremely comfortable in the hand, the manual safety is very positive, the trigger is excellent, accuracy was amazing… I almost feel guilty giving this handgun such a glowing review, but I feel that it earned it thoroughly.
Learn More about the Taurus TX 22 Competition HERE!
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If we already own the TX22, we should just be able to order the necessary add on’s, not a whole new gun!
Unlike the last guy, I have Taurus 9, 45, and 22 autos. They have never miss fired ever. The TX22 eats every brand of ammo I have. Excellent training gun.
Why would anyone shoot a pistol without cleaning or lubing it first.
Would anyone be so stupid to do this with their own firearm?
This review is completely worthless as any issue found may have been caused by the writer.
In spite of an initial issue (fully resolved by Taurus) with an EDC TCP 380, I bought a standard ( non RDS) TX 22 to assist with student training. After getting them good on the TX, the only changes when stepping up to 9mm are managing recoil and dealing with the longer, grittier, less crisp pull of typical striker triggers.
It is also now by far my favorite personal range toy.
– easy mag loading and control manipulation
– feeds everything reliably
– better trigger than both my TPSFX or 320X5 Legion, both of which I love.
– Less expensive, more available and maybe better trigger than the S&W M&P22 (which is also awesome)
I get that RDSs are the new hotness, but proficiency with standard sites is a fundamental skill that translates to virtually all platforms. Kinda like learning to drive on a manual.
I have owned 6 Taurus autos and 5 revolvers, the revolvers were ok I had no complaints! The autos 2 .22s, 2 45 acps and 2 9mms, The 1st 45 went 2 years befor stopping igniting primers totally, was returned to Taurus 2 times. still didn’t work, traded for a 9mm with same problem, other 9mm never fired a whole mag without problem! The 22s same problem, got second 45 in trade and never even tried it, I have heard that lube in stricker channel caused misfires but seems outlandish, but 9mms and 22s weren’t lubed here! Do your self a favor and get a keltec p17 or p33 and have fun!