Taurus TX22 Competition Model: Hands-On Review + Photos

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	Taurus TX22 Competition	Check Price

Many shooters immediately associate Taurus with high-quality revolvers that very closely resemble various models of Smith & Wessons and the Judge.

While Taurus still manufactures many excellent revolvers, they also produce polymer-framed striker-fired handguns, 1911-style handguns, and rifles and shotguns.

A recent sales figure shows that in 2020 41% of all revolvers sold in the United States were Taurus brand!

As good as the revolvers are, Taurus also turns out some pretty nice semi-auto handguns. The focus of this article is the relatively new Taurus TX22 line of semi-automatic 22 Long Rifle handguns. I had a chance to shoot the Competition version recently and was really pleased with how the gun handled and performed on the range.

The Competition model comes ready to mount your choice of red dot sights, including two mounting plates that offer a variety of footprints depending on your sight, and it ships from the factory with three 16-round magazines!

Taurus TX22 Competition For Sale

Specifications

Before we dive into the particulars, let’s take a quick look at the factory specs on the TX 22. 

The first thing you notice when you pick up the TX22 is that it is a full-size gun. Although it is very lightweight due to the polymer frame construction and the aluminum slide, this gun feels good in the hand. The next thing you notice is the trigger.

Trigger

The trigger on this gun is great! There is a fair amount of take-up, and the initial movement is actually a pivoting motion around a visible trigger pin. This is actually the trigger safety being released. The trigger then moves straight back, and you hit a very definite wall. This second stage is raising the striker block. 

When the trigger breaks, it is crisp, and there is no overtravel. This last stage is when the trigger bar pushes the sear, releasing the striker.

The specs list a 5-pound trigger pull. My Lyman Digital Trigger Pull scale showed an average of 4 pounds, 4.5 ounces for 15 pulls. 

The trigger itself is fairly wide and has a smooth face. I found myself wanting to just use the tip of my finger on the trigger, and, as a result, I started ‘pushing’ my groups consistently left. Once I adjusted my finger position, my groups centered up quite nicely.

Taurus calls their trigger in the TX22 the Pittman Trigger System (PTS) named for the engineer who designed it. The PTS incorporates a striker block and a trigger safety in addition to the optional frame-mounted manual safety.

Safety

While we’re on the subject of safeties, we may as well jump in right here. Taurus currently lists 12 variations of the TX22. Models are available with or without a manual safety. The Competition models all have an ambidextrous manual safety. 

I found the safety easy to manipulate and sweep off as I presented the gun to the target. Likewise, the safety is easy to engage with the strong-hand thumb with a quick click up. 

As mentioned above, the Pittman Trigger System provides a striker block and a trigger safety in it’s design.

Grip Frame

The TX22 is a full-size pistol and as such it fills the hand. The backstrap is nicely shaped and feels very nice in the hand.

The grip portion of the frame is lightly textured and provides a very comfortable grip. Granted, the recoil is very light and aggressive texturing is not needed on this gun.  The trigger guard is squared off and large enough, that you could shoot the gun with a pair of lightweight gloves on if needed. The trigger guard is undercut to provide for a higher grip on the gun.

The magazine release is located in its normal position on the left side of the frame for right-hand shooters. A little shelf directly below the mag release button makes it a little difficult to hit the button consistently.

However, by shifting the strong hand grip slightly, the mag release is easily pressed, and the magazines drop free.

The frame above the trigger guard has a scalloped area on both sides that serves as a nice tactile spot to index your trigger finger and your support hand thumb.

Under the barrel there is a standard rail section with two notches to make mounting a light or laser very simple. The disassembly latch sits immediately in front of the trigger and extends across the frame from left to right.

Slide

The slide is where the design of the TX 22 Competition model departs from other semi-auto handguns. On most handguns, the slide fully covers the top of the gun and barrel. Normally those that are optics ready have a cutout or plate that mounts on the rear of the slide in front of the rear sight.

Not so on the Competition model. The slide is cut and open from the rear of the breech block to about ¾” from the front of the slide; think Beretta 92-like slide. This exposes most of the barrel and an extended flat-surfaced breech block to which the optics mounting plates are secured.

The slide is constructed of aluminum and has a hard-anodized black finish. There are forward-angled serrations on the front and back of the slide to provide a firm gripping surface to manipulate the slide. The right side ejection port is lowered and flared back slightly to aid in ejecting spent cases.

Sights

The sights on the TX22 are a standard three-white dot affair. The front sight is pinned vertically to the front of the slide.

The rear sight is dovetailed to the rear of the slide. The rear sight is easily adjustable for both windage and elevation, which is a nice touch on a gun in this price range.

However, this gun is made to mount a red-dot optic, and you should. The TX22 Competition comes complete with two optics mounting plates that allow you to mount just about any modern red-dot sight you choose.

Simply mount the plate, choose your optic and mount it, give the thread locker 24 hours to cure, and head to the range. No ordering plates or machining your slide. This gun is literally ready to go as soon as you open the box.

Barrel

We’ve already discussed that the breech area of the barrel is designed specifically to mount your optic to, rather than the slide.

The alloy steel barrel is 5.25” long and has a matte black finish. 

It is also threaded to accept a muzzle brake or suppressor. Standard TX22 models come with a special barrel adapter to mount a suppressor. The Competition models are ready to go. Just remove the thread protector, screw on your suppressor, and commence with reduced noise shooting.

I spent two evenings at The Range LLC in Yakima, WA getting to know the TX22 Competition model. Until last week I had not handled this firearm, and I will admit I have very little time behind red dots on handguns, so this was a great learning experience.

This particular gun has a Holosun 507C X2 mounted on it. The first thing I noticed is that the trigger on this gun is far better than I expected. Easy uptake, crisp break, no over travel. I did find that initially, I was only placing the tip of my finger on the trigger. As a result, I was pushing my groups consistently left of my aiming point. 

The trigger is pretty wide, and there is no Glock-like trigger safety, so I didn’t feel like I really needed to bury my finger on the trigger. However, my groups started centering up as I placed more of my finger on the trigger and executed a better trigger press.

All the magazines supplied with the gun functioned perfectly. I experienced one failure to eject out of several hundred rounds fired, and I blame it on the ammunition. Otherwise, the gun functioned just fine with all ammo tried. I had several brands of ammunition available to run through the gun:

• CCI Mini Mag 40gr RN
• Winchester 36gr HP
• Armscor 36gr HP

The TX22 definitely seemed to favor the CCI and Winchester ammo during my range time. In no particular order, I shot groups from 5 yards to 25 yards just to see what I could do with the pistol. I also shot a few groups off the bench, rested on a sandbag to see how things looked since my offhand groups were showing great potential. 

From the bench, with the Winchester ammo, I managed a 3” group at 25 yards for 10 rounds. Offhand from 25 yards with the CCI ammo, the gun printed 8 of 10 rounds inside 3 ½” and I probably caused the two flyers opening the overall group to about 5 ¼”.

At 5 and 10 yards, this gun will print 1-hole groups if you are doing your job.

I also had a chance to run some low-light/no-light drills with the Training Director on Friday night. The first drill consisted of 3, 2-round drills with no light at 5 yards. Then we moved out to 7 yards and fired 3, 2-round drills strong hand only while running a flashlight with the support hand.

Finally, we moved the target to 15 yards shot with only red/blue police strobes with 3, 2-round drills. I managed to put all 18 rounds in a 6” circle with a gun I had never shot at speed, especially in the dark.

Image	Product	Price
	Holosun 507C X2	Check Price
	Tandemkross Fiber Optic Front Sight	Check Price
	Forged Outside the Waistband Holster	Check Price
	Everything Kit	Check Price

There’s not a lot you need to do with the TX22 to make it run. If you have a Competition model, you definitely will want to take advantage of the red-dot ready configuration.

Holosun 507C X2

This is a cool sight that can be a 2 MOA dot only or a Circle/Dot style of reticle. The Holosun line offers a lot of optics at very competitive prices. 

Tandemkross Fiber Optic Front Sight

In the world of custom parts for race guns, Tandemkross is at the top of the list. The bright fiber optic upgrade really makes the front sight pop.

Holsters

For the standard TX22 models, there are holsters available from many manufacturers, including one of my favorites, Forged.

The Forged Outside the Waistband Holster offers a great option to carry your standard model TX22 and can accommodate some muzzle devices as well.

Forged also has an option for your TX22 Competition model if you want to run your TX from the holster to train for your USPSA matches.

Full Custom Kit

If you want to take your TX22 from good to great, look no further than this complete kit from Tandemkross.

I was pleasantly surprised by the quality, performance, and accuracy of the TX22 Competition model I shot. I found the gun easy to manipulate, easy to shoot fast, and accurate enough that in the hands of a good shooter could be a great training gun, or play the role of a primary gun for the rimfire division of the Steel Challenge matches.

I may have to add one of these to my collection in the near future. I really like the looks of the TX22 SCR (Steel Challenge Ready) model with the compensator!

If you are looking for a great 22 Long Rifle handgun at a very competitive price, do yourself and favor and take a look at the TX22 line from Taurus.