Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
I’ve never fired ten shots groups with a handgun to test for accuracy. Until I shot Tanfoglio’s Defiant Force 22 TB pistol, imported exclusively by the Italian Firearms Group (IFG). I couldn’t stop at five rounds of 22 Long Rifle. The pistol was too damned accurate and I was having too much fun.
I made my ten-shot groups from a rest at 12 yards at my outdoor range. Perfect day, sunny and 63 degrees. The Force 22’s iron sights popped nicely. I wasn’t mag dumping and I didn’t shoot any of those Olympic one-ragged-hole groups.
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But I felt pretty accomplished, especially with my top group, ten shots at .725 inches using Winchester Silvertip self-defense 22LR ammunition. And several groups at 1.4 inches with other ammunition brands.
Competition Plus
Tanfoglio designed this full-sized semi-automatic rimfire as an alternative to its line of full-sized competition pistols. This way, someone who ran a Tanfoglio competition center fire pistol can practice with a similar-sized gun using much less expensive rimfire ammunition. Practice wear and tear is saved on the actual competition pistol, too.
Smart!
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Yet the Force 22 TB is much more than a comp practice gun. Plinking, small game hunting and garden pest removal, home defense, punching nice groups into paper, and beating up empty pop cans—this pistol does it all.
Features On the Force 22 TB
The Force 22 TB is built with a durable aluminum slide atop a polymer frame. That slide is available in either a light blue Cerakote finish or a reddish-orange Cerakote.
This semi-auto operated with a blowback system, the barrel fixed in place. The five-inch chrome moly barrel was CNC machined and was also threaded, which explains the “TB” designation.
The Force 22TB featured a double and single action trigger system. The full-size ambidextrous safety snapped positively into and out of SAFE with my shooting hand’s thumb. The magazine catch was reversible for lefties.
The two poly magazines that came with the pistol held 10 rounds of 22LR. The magazines featured loading tabs. There were also numbers along both sides of the magazines to indicate the number of rounds loaded.
I switched between the two magazines for my shooting, and they worked perfectly.
The grips were rather sharp, with a series of tiny points, and engaged my hand nicely.
Target Spots
Before I started on my 10-round groups, I first tried out the pistol in five-round segments to familiarize myself and to determine if the sights needed adjustment. The rear sight was fully adjustable for elevation and windage. Turned out, no changes were needed. The pistol was on.
A generous rear notch and long sight radius also helped make tight groups.
Initially, I used Birchwood Casey Target Spots in fluorescent green and orange. The handy Target Spots have a sticky backing and I affixed them to a white rectangle of paper. Their colors also popped nicely with the Force TB’s sights.
Target Spots come in small sheets of four Spots. But once you remove the Spot, you in effect have a new, close-range target, in this case, a shiny white circle. I used this “new” target near the end of my shooting at seven yards offhand the pistol loaded with Winchester Silvertip ammo.
Various 22LR Brands
In addition to the Silvertip, I ran the Force TB with CCI Ammunition Clean-22 High-Velocity and CCI Hyper Velocity rounds, Federal Premium AutoMatch, and Winchester Wildcat.
In 200 rounds, I only had one malfunction. It occurred on my 27th shot, when the Winchester Wildcat empty brass failed to completely eject, holding up the bolt.
I should add that I did not clean the pistol. It arrived with lubrication on the slide rails. So, I just ran it as it came.
The aforementioned 10 shots with the Silvertip self-defense were the top group at my 12-yard shooting. But other solid groups included:
–Five shots of Winchester Wildcat at .80-inches, 12 yards.
–A pair of 1.0-inch groups at seven yards offhand, Federal AutoMatch.
Hot and Dirty
I was near the end of my shooting, and my groups were getting larger. The barrel was quite hot, and with almost 200 rounds fired off the gun was definitely in need of a deep cleaning.
But I was pretty sure the problem was me.
So, I loaded the magazine with 10 rounds of the CCI Clean-22 Hyper-Velocity, got back to my 12-yard position, and shot two five-round groups. First group, 1.2-inches.
Second group, and my very last rounds through the pistol: .60 inches.
Even hot and dirty the Force 22 TB was a champ.
The Force 22 TB – A Keeper
In single action, the pistol’s trigger snapped off at 3 pounds, 3 ounces on average. The trigger had approximately one-third of an inch of take-up before it came up against the wall/sear, and then snapped off cleanly.
In double action, the trigger pull registered an average of 6 pounds 13 ounces, and the pull itself was quite stiff.
The stiffness of the double-action pull was the only complaint I had with the Force 22 TB. Overall, the pistol was well-designed, accurate, and a great deal of fun to shoot. Our current “build it back better” economy has me leery of any unnecessary purchases or I would buy this handgun.
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Specifications: Tanfoglio Force 22 TB
Caliber: 22LR
Operation: Blowback, Semi-Auto
Barrel: Chrome Moly Steel, 5”
Barrel Threading: 1/2X28
Slide: Durable Aluminum
Slide Finish: Blue or Red Cerakote
Frame: Polymer, Black Finish
Trigger: Single/Double Action
Sights: Adj. Rear, Black Front Post
Length: 9.1”
Height: 5.6”
Width: 1.6”
Weight: 24.3 oz.
MSRP: $605.00
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I’d rather have a Taurus TX22 Competition for about $200 less: 5.25″ threaded bull barrel, optic-cut slide and 3 26-round mags..
Pretty cool but no option for optics and only 10 round capacity in full size gun is a deal killer for me, especially at a $600+ MSRP. Maybe they will offer a Gen 2 with upgrades some time.
Be nice if those magazines worked for a CZ Kadet .22!