Opinions on Taurus PT22

[dayman]

I'm thinking about buying a Taurus PT22 for my wife for Christmas.
Specifically, the version with the wood grips and gold highlights.
I had considered the equivalent Beretta, but they're not available locally, and I can get the Taurus for right around $200 new.

She's not a gun person at all, but after a couple dog attacks that got some press, and a couple stabbings in the "city" where we do our shopping, she has started to show some interest, and agreed to take the CCW course, and start carrying if I could find her something small and attractive that doesn't kick.
She's 6mo pregnant, so she doesn't have any interest in going around to a bunch of gun shops to test guns, and doesn't have enough experience with guns to have opinions on much besides looks. So, finding her something is going to be a "me" job. As good as all the "let her choose" advise is, it's just not going to happen. My hope is that owning something she likes to shoot will get her a little more interested, but she's not there yet.

She's very recoil sensitive, and therefore hasn't ever done enough shooting to get over her initial fear of guns. However, she's started shooting my 22/45 from time to time, and it doesn't seem to bother her. 9mm/.38 however, she doesn't find enjoyable at all. For the moment at least.
She did enjoy my Beretta 950 before (like a fool) I sold it, so I"m looking for a roughly similar package.


Anyway, back to the Taurus.
I know they don't have the best reputation in general, but I thought I remembered reading some good things about the PT22 line in particular.
I'm not intending for this to be a heirloom, and it's doubtful I'd ever sell it. I just want to get something that will be reliable enough that it's fun to shoot, so she can get comfortable shooting, owning, and carrying a gun.
If all goes according to plan, I'll probably have her pick a more permanent replacement for her birthday next summer. And there is a chance she'll never actually feel comfortable carrying, so either way I don't want to invest a ton of money in it.

So, is the PT22 an okay place to start? Or are there other options in the "aesthetic micro .22" family that I'm missing?
The only other option I can think of is the Beretta, but I'd have to wait around to find one, and it would almost certainly be above what I could afford for it to be a Christmas present.
I'm fairly sure that getting her nothing but a gun for Christmas would not win me any favor.

 

[Garycw]

Hey drayman, the situation sounds a little familiar. My wife is diffidently not a gun person either. She was recently persuaded by some friends to go and take the CCW course & dreading it. She was amazed how much she enjoyed it. Before I let her shoot a model 10 38 spl. Went ok. Then a Taurus TCP 380. & said ouch, never want to shoot again and then a gsg1911/22 and she loved it. Accurate too, but too large to carry. She took her CCW with 1911/22 and amazingly well.
I have two Taurus (1) TCP & (1) PT745 and both are great. No problems at all with them. I think your choice is good. She could practice with reg 22 rounds, then load HP stingers for her protection. Any gun you get her won't be much good if she's afraid to shoot it. Maybe later she can work up to a sig p238 after trying first. They're small and very light recoil for the size.

 

[aarondhgraham]

I would recommend a slightly different version,,,

I would recommend a slightly different version,,,
The PT-22 and PT-25 have a spotty reputation at best.

But,,,
The 22-PLY and the 25-PLY have much better reputations.

Essentially the PLY series are the same gun internally as the PT series,,,
But according to most owners on the internet,,,
They are much better pistols.

I own both the 22-PLY and the 25-PLY,,,
Mine get shot quite a lot and have proven to be very reliable.

The 25-PLY has never given me a problem,,,
The only problem I have had with the 22-PLY are results of cheap rimfire ammo.

My 22-PLY runs federal bulk ammo just fine,,,
But when I carry it when I'm doing my exercise walking,,,
I keep it loaded with CCI Mini Mags as they are more reliable for ignition.

The price runs about the same,,,
I paid $201.00 each for mine a bit over two years ago.

Anyways, just tossing that out for you.

Aarond

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[amd6547]

My own recommendation is to avoid Taurus altogether, and get a Ruger SR22.

 

[ShipWreck]

My own recommendation is to avoid Taurus altogether, and get a Ruger SR22.

This. Over the years, this topic has come up here and at The High Road gun forum as well. The answers are typically the same. I would suggest checking the old threads via the search.

I've had one and would never get one again. I know it doesn't help you at the moment, but I've explained it so many times over the years.... That's why I suggested the original poster look thru old threads.

The Ruger is a much better gun.

 

[PetahW]

.

I once bought a new PT-22, with the Rosewood grips & gold highlights - it function well for the 1st year or so, but then suddenly started to FTF 3 shots out of 5 - so I traded it to an FFL for a different type handgun.

IDK about the newer PT-22-PLY, but most users seem to like them.

Whatever you decide to do, please don't EVER deal with the Taurus warranty system - which is like Chinese water torture, but not as satisfying.


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[Shadi Khalil]

The SR22 is a great choice.

 

[Tinner666]

My wife carries a PT22 and loves it. No issues or malfunctions. Accurate. No recoil and she carries a spare mag or two and in confident she can empty the mag in one area really fast and reload in case she needs more.
She didn't like the TCP recoil, so I sometimes carry it as a BUG. MiniMags for duty use.

 

[weblance]

I have the PLY-22 that aarondhgraham speaks of. Mine has been very good, accurate, good trigger and over 700 rounds now without any issues other than rimfire ammo related. It will, from time to time, misfire if you are "staging" the trigger, trying to get the best accuracy. If you pull the trigger briskly, it fires every time.

The problem with these "tip-ups" is the lack of an extractor. If you have a misfire, you have to open the barrel, which most of the time will flip out the bad round, and then close the barrel, and rack the slide, for a reload. Not great in a high stress situation.

The Ruger SR22 is a great gun, but may be too large for what she wants. Its certainly NOT a pocket pistol. She could use it in a holster bra, or any of the standard type holsters, IWB, OWB, belly band, ankle. Its a much better choice than a "tip-up" 22.

How about a snub nosed revolver in 22 or 22 Magnum. The Ruger LCR is excellent, as is the Charter Arms Pathfinder, and the many flavors of Smith & Wesson. Many people find a Double Action, or Double Action Only revolver to be perfect for someone without a lot of interest in guns, or the desire to be really into the shooting sports. They are simple to operate, easy to load, unload, can be loaded, and stored, for long periods of time without worry, and one of the best features of a revolver, if you have a misfire, you simply do what comes naturally, pull the trigger again.

A small revolver is slightly larger than the "tip-up" 22s, and smaller than the Ruger SR22P.

I would consider a revolver.

 

[WESHOOT2]

mine's in my coat pocket

Around 1995-96 I was in a 'local' gunshop, and two plainclothes were also visiting.
Both were wearing PT22s as back-ups (the gunshop owner was also a 'smith, and had gently dehorned their pieces).
We talked; they were happy; I went and bought one.

Mine has backed up my 'always' for many years; it fires without fail ammo it 'likes' (I think I'm using 40g LRN W-W Super-X); it is sufficiently accurate and controllable; its safeties makes sense for its role; it costs little; its tip-barrel system makes loading, unloading, and confirming empty easy and seamless; buy.

 

[WESHOOT2]

Oh

My wood stocks are beat to crap.

 

[Microgunner]

They, along with the Berettas they're copied from, have no extractors making clearing a malfunction difficult.
Therefore, they should not be considered for self defense.

 

[JERRYS.]

pay close attention to what many have said here... while they like their guns, they've had issues, ammo related. that is the Achilles heel of rimfire guns.

if she must have a small .22lr get her a snub revolver. the LCR has a better trigger pull than any other D/A .22lr revolver ive tried. about as good a S&W centerfire.

at least if and when there is an ammo issue when her life is at stake she can simply pull the trigger again to get a fresh round.

 

[dayman]

The SR22 doesn't really fit the bill at all.
It's big enough that - if she were willing to carry something that size - I could find a soft shooter in a better caliber than .22.
I'm looking for the least obtrusive thing to carry. If you want to try to convince a pregnant woman to start wearing a bra holster go for it, but I'm all set on that front.
I'm looking for an attractive pocket/purse pistol with as little kick as possible.
And I'm not overly worried - at this point - about the reliability of rimfire, or the difficulty in clearing malfunctions. I'm more concerned about the ease of carry, so that the transition into CC is as gentle as possible.
The odds of her having to actually use it, and then also at that moment running into a problem are insanely low. I had a Beretta in .22short for a few years, and it never had any issues.
Since she's also perfectly content not to carry at all, this is truly a "better than nothing" situation.

I think it may have actually been the PLY22 I was remembering hearing good things about recently.

A .22 snub would be good idea - she actually generally prefers revolvers - but she didn't react favorably at all to the looks of the LCR, and there aren't a whole lot of available options. She's an artist, so looks are far more important to her.
My original plan was a 642, but since she didn't care for the kick from my sp101 with .38spl, I can only assume she'd like the lighter gun even less. I should point out that while she didn't like it, she could manage it. But, .22's are the only thing she actually "likes" shooting at this point, and are therefore the only things she'd actually practice with.

I've heard from a couple people who have and like the Tauri .22 tip-ups. Has anyone actually had one, and had a problem with it?
I have a reasonably well equipped shop, and I know a couple of smiths that are always willing to trade some carpentry/construction for some gun work, so - of the problems they're likely to have - how likely are they to be fixable?

 

[weblance]

but she didn't react favorably at all to the looks of the LCR, and there aren't a whole lot of available options.

If she doesnt like the LCR 22, These two are common. The Pathfinder is half the cost of the Smith, but the Smith is all Aluminum, and a real dandy revolver. Its amazing how light it actually feels.

Charter Arms Pathfinder

Smith and Wesson 317

 

[Onward Allusion]

Personally, I would not use a Taurus semi-auto for CCW or SD. The exception being the PT92. A revolver, sure...

You may want to look into a Kel Tec P-32. Smaller, lighter, & thinner than either the PT or PLY and shoots a more "powerful" round. It's also centerfire. More reliable than rimfire. If your wife will be purse carrying, then weight becomes less of a factor and you may want to look into the NAA Guardian 32 or even the Beretta Tomcat.

 

[WESHOOT2]

ever had a wheel jam?

MY PT22 is a second (or third) gun; it is extremely rare for it to be my primary.


(It only jams AFTER it's been fired, ay?)

 

[skoro]

My opinion is that the Berettas the Taurus was copied from are MUCH better.

 

[In memory of dad]

Pt22

Got one. Finicky with ammo and they way the ammunition companies making 22lr so fast now probably not going to help with finicky part. Makes a good range gun to practice clearing jams.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Mine was a terrible gun. It never ran with numerous types of ammo.

It would jam, it would eject an entire round rather than feed it.

It tried to load a round and slammed the slide on the round and bent it in half.

Now this is one gun and I understand statistics but that did it for me.

I note that I saw a Beretta 21 also be quite the jammer. The 22s in the small semis have a bad rap.

The 25s (no experience) are said to be more reliable.