PT22 Taurus...any good?

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Does anyone have any first hand experience with the Taurus PT22 auto loader? I have a chance to pick up one at a decent price and don't know anything about them. The flip up barrel is kinda spooky, and that's how you load the first round???

I also looked at the Phoenix HP22. From what I have read these things are very reliable and accurate in spite of there inexpensive price and are built well.....except for the goofy double, triple safety thing.

Any feed back on these would be appreciated
 
You don't have to load the first round that way; it's just an option for those with slide-racking issues. Many of the little Berettas have that feature, too. I don't have the Taurus, so I cannot comment firsthand.
I do have the HP-22A, and it is a dandy little gun. However, the multiple safety thingies are kind of awkward. Also, to unload the gun, you have to remove the magazine and empty and re-insert it it to clear the chamber, or use a second empty magazine.
If you're considering this as a carry weapon, the Phoenix, while a darn good shooter, is remarkably heavy. Mine's fun to shoot, though.
The Taurus is a double-action/single-action gun. The Phoenix is single-action only.
 
The Taurus PT 22, like the Beretta it copies, does not have an extractor. In case of a FTF you can flip up the barrel and shake out the bad cartridge ( very rare occurrence ) It can also be used to load and unload the round in the chamber with out racking the slide. Not really a deal breaker and better than the Phoenix IMHO.
 
I've got a PT22. I use the tip-up barrel to load the first round because the slide on mine is really tough to pull back. I don't care for the magazine disconnect but I know it's another safety feature. I'm accurate with mine out to 10 yards. Perfect reliability with high velocity, but it's picky.
 
Well...I had one... and when the slide blew off at the range shooting standard pressure 22's... I sent it back to Taurus they fixed it and I immediately traded it off. Until that failure it was awesome.

Sent from my Nexus One using Tapatalk
 
I use the tip-up barrel to load the first round because the slide on mine is really tough to pull back.
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+1 on that. I let a friend shoot mine, and he thought it was broken because he couldn't rack the slide. It's that hard. The spring is a $&*@^ and there's hardly anything to grab onto.

Other than that, I like mine. I wouldn't rely on it as a carry gun, but it's fun for shooting cans and such.
 
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I had one, but the darn thing was unreliable to boot with numerous FTE's and FTF's. It was a nice looking gun though, but that particular pistol left a bad taste in my mouth. I sold it off to a gun shop at a loss, but I didn't want to keep an unreliable gun.

However, I may have just gotten a lemon, so the one you get might be great. YMMV.
 
Wow, your slide blew off at the range too! I wasnt going to mention that, but if I'm not the only one it happened too then I dont feel so bad.
 
That's odd because that's the first time I've heard the slide blow off. Can't do that unless things are put together sloppily which means the store who sold it and the user did not check the gun over prior to use.

I own two PT22's and come from where the majority of PT-22 owners have never had that happen and the Pt-22s have given sterling service.

My first PT-22 is over 20 years old and still running strong. The newest one is only a few years old and has no problems.

No hypervelocity rounds are supposed to be used with the PT-22 or Beretta 21A. A lot of people out there either ignore that completely or never read the manual that comes with the gun.

My PT-22s like CCI Mini-Mags and Remington Golden bullets.

I like the Beretta 21A and the Taurus. I just like having the DAO only trigger for each shot. That way ther is no need to get used to the DA first shot and then the single shot after that.
 
I had one, and it was a fine gun, no memorable problems. It was however a gun with no purpose for me. I have better .22 target/plinkers, better small carry guns, etc. I traded mine off and never missed it.
 
PT22 Taurus...any good?
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In a word, NO. My wife wanted one so she bought it. You can't load the magazines to capacity, it won't shoot more than a few rounds without jamming, it would fire with the lock engaged when we bought it, and its been back to Taurus twice with no resolution. I avoid Taurus products for the simple fact they even sell a piece of garbage like this. Get the Beretta, don't buy the Taurus.
 
Weregunner, I admit that my issues with the slide may have been due to user error, i only mentioned it after I saw that another user had the same problem. User error would not have caused the FTE's and FTF's though.

However it may be a fine gun, but i disliked the amount of jamming it did more than the one issue with the slide. I personally was unhappy with the gun, but YMMV.
 
I'll cover the jamming issue to a degree. It a known documented many times fact that especially small guns are ammo specific and finicky.

Many types of ammo have to be tried to find out what works and doesn't.

Most people have found out the CCI rounds work well as well as various Remington rounds.
 
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well, i never ran any hyper ammo in mine, just mini mags. after it came back, i never trusted it again.
 
I have an HP22 an love it for its accuracy and reliability (with fresh recoil spring). The gripe I have is it eats a recoil spring every 500 or so rounds. However, Phoenix Arms will send you new ones free, the lifetime warranty. It's SO accurate for a pocket gun, I use it as a kit gun, take along when fishing or outdoors. I don't carry it for a CCW, have bigger calibers in better guns for that.

I don't like the tip ups. Had a Beretta and it was a total POS, jamamatic. I thought I could make it feed, but I was wrong, sold it at a gun show to a dealer. The Taurus is a similar design, so I have just not ever been interested after that Beretta burned me.

There is NO pocket sized .22 on the market that can out shoot the little HP22, not that I've found. Yeah, it's a might heavy, but not all THAT bad. I carry it in a back pocket homemade wallet holster when fishing or just outdoors as a plinker, small game getter, etc. I have other kit guns I like to shoot better, but they don't fit in a pocket. That's why I keep it around. Kinda neat lookin' gun, too. :D

Get the Beretta, don't buy the Taurus.
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One of the biggest POSs I ever owned was that Beretta. I'll pass, thanks. It's the design, I'm convinced, not the maker. I don't like Beretta handguns, anyway, but especially the 21A and other little crappy .22s they offer. The Neos is a bigger gun, but it's just plain Buck Rodgers/Hans Solo fugly. Their shotguns are another matter. ;)
 
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Mine went back to factory 2 times for light strikes I got tired of click about 3 or 4 times than bang Plastic grips broke factory replaced the grips polished feed ramp and sent back Same thing click click bang . I sold it bought a Beretta 21 love it and bought a 2nd Now my girls can both be shooting and not worring about who turn. The Beretta's have been very reliable I shot CCI standard velocity LRN in them . That end of my Taurus experiment . 2 out of 3 have been bad. I have 5 KelTecs that all work fine
 
I had one and took it out with my other 22's and lots of ammo to see what it liked best. Oddly, it performed very well with cheap Win. Wildcat ammo. While it was reliable, accuracy wasn't anything to brag about. It shot low and to the left. If I adjusted my aim and shot at the top of the target, I could hit bullseyes with it.
 
I know it ain't in the OP as a choice, but doesn't Bersa make a .22? I once had a Star Mod F used that was neat, but bigger than the little pocket guns. I've never been interested in the Walther little pocket .22, either, heard all sorts of bad reports on those and they're kinda expensive for what they are, anyway. I think for the money, I'll stick with my little HP22 even though I admit I'd rather have a higher quality gun. It's just that it shoots better than the higher quality guns of its type and it's proven to be quite reliable. :D
 
No, I have one and desperately want to get rid of it. VERY unreliable and basically a useless gun. I bought mine b/c it was a good deal but it's really not worth much. Had to send it back after the first day of firing because the trigger would not reset on it's own.
 
MCgunner said:
I don't like the tip ups. Had a Beretta and it was a total POS, jamamatic. I thought I could make it feed, but I was wrong, sold it at a gun show to a dealer. . . .

One of the biggest POSs I ever owned was that Beretta. I'll pass, thanks. It's the design, I'm convinced, not the maker.
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That's my experience exactly with my Beretta 21. I still have it after many, many years and I have done many things to it including replacing parts. Solid point Mini-Mags were the most reliable reaching all time highs of 50 rounds without jamming, but it's down to a mag or two now.

Regarding the Bersa Thunder 22 or the Firestorm 22, I think it is a fantastic .22 handgun (not counting moving up to a Ruger MK class of gun). The Bersa still needs premium ammo for the first few hundred rounds but it will eat up some bulk ammo after that.
 
After reading that Firestorm test, I think I want one. It's bigger than pocket sized, but small on the hip. Of course, I have my revolver for a hip carry outdoors. But, check out this quote from the article, runs shot for shot with the HP22 for accuracy and ain't very expensive and all steel gun or steel/alloy, not zinc. I will keep the HP22 if I get it, though.

The pistol proved to be plenty accurate for a gun of its type, keeping all shots within three inches at twenty-five yards,
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Worst jam-o-matic I ever owned was a PT-22.


Couldn't make it through a mag without at least one and usually more jams. Sent it in and they sent it back with a new mag. Still jammed up on any and all ammo and now the safety would come on when I was firing. I also noticed the frame was starting to mushroom on the edges and showing signs of battering from the slide.


I traded it off and wouldn't take another one if you gave it to me.
 
my pt22 took several trips to the range, adjusting mag lips, to get it to feed...taurus warented cracked grips and broken barrel release...would i buy an other ...probably not...gary
 
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