I Got a Cool Little 22 Pistol Today

When I was young, I had a Jennings J22. I never could get it to shoot more than 3 rounds at a time, before it was jammed. I had a Stainless Mark II Target at the time also, so I sold the Jennings and never looked back. I have thought about that little pistol, from time to time, thinking how great a reliable 22 pistol of that size would be. I decided I would like to have another 22 micro pistol, so the search was on. I found the Beretta 21a, and the Taurus PT-22. I know there are others, but decided that one of the two mentioned pistols would be what I would end up with, since they are both from major manufacturers, and because I was intrigued by the "Tip Up" barrel design. I read reviews of each, and was disappointed that neither had a stellar reputation as far as reliable functioning. Then I stumbled onto the Taurus PLY-22. It is a redesign of the PT-22 with a polymer frame. It has an 8 shot magazine, a manual safety, a magazine disconnect, and second strike capability. I decided from the positive reviews, that I would order one, since none of my local shops had any in stock. I got the Stainless version, and there is a blued model also. I hadnt heard from the gun shop I ordered it from for a few days, so this morning, I decided to go in and see what was happening. When I walked in, it was sitting on the counter, waiting for me. I did the paperwork and went straight to the range. When I got there, I ran a soaked patch, and then a dry patch down the barrel, and loaded up the magazine with Mini Mags. An hour later, I was very pleased. I had shot 200 rounds thru the little Taurus, and it functioned PERFECTLY. I had some other 22 ammo in the bag, so I decided to try it. I shot Remington Golden, and CCI Blazer Bulk. All shot without any failures of any kind. Total round count was 380 and no troubles at all. This little pistol is a joy... no slide to manipulate, easy to see if its loaded, very accurate at 7 yards, smooth DAO trigger, and its a looker also. I had 2 shooters come ask what I had, and to shoot it. They both were impressed, and both said they would like to own one of these little Taurus pistols. I field stripped it when I got home, and I see no signs of any wear. Sure is easy to clean the barrel. I held it all afternoon, looking at it from different angles, and enjoying the way it feels, and operates. It wont be a carry gun, simply a toy. I would never carry a 22 for Self Defense, but I guess it would make a good BUG. My wife will like it, because she wont have to rack the slide to charge it. Thats the beauty of a "Tip Up". Im getting up early tomorrow, and going back to the range, to burn some more ammo thru my new little friend.

A couple quick pictures, cause I know... No Pictures, Didnt Happen...

I shot it some more today, and I learned something. First, its excellent as far as feed and eject. It has fed and ejected every single round I have loaded into it. This has been CCI Stingers, Velocitors, Mini Mags, Blazer bulk, Remington Golden, Remington Yellow Jackets and Vipers. The total round count is now 620 and it has been perfect. I had some fail to fire problems, but a second strike would always fire the cartridge. I realized that I was the cause of the misfires. I was staging the trigger, trying to get the best accuracy out of this little pistol. I think staging it, causes the hammer to not get as much energy going, to fire the round. If I pulled the trigger briskly, I never had a misfire. The gun is Double Action Only, so there is no real way to extract Single Action accuracy from it, and it wasnt designed for this. Keeping this in mind, its a great little pistol. I am very pleased with its performance.

I now have 900 rounds thru the PLY-22 and Im really happy with it. Its a great little pistol. It isnt ammo sensitive at all, feeds and ejects anything I have fed it. It feels great in the hand, and points naturally. The Tip Up feature makes it very pleasant to load, and to check the barrel. I have always wanted a "Tip Up" and it really is a nice feature. I will probably pick up the Beretta 21a, and I also would like a Beretta 86, a tip up .380

The 22-PLY and 25-PLY are newer versions of the old PT-22 and PT-25,,,
People aren't reporting the problems that the PT pistols had.

Perhaps Taurus finally got it right with these little mouse guns.

Click to expand...

Aarond... I figured you might comment about yours. I read your posts about the one you own. I agree with what you have said, and I think the new PLY 22 is as good as it gets. Its made in America, and is a very good value.