In 2019, Taurus USA released one of the first guns in the company’s catalog, designed and manufactured right here in the United States in Bainbridge, Georgia. The TX22 is an innovative blowback, striker-operated pistol in .22 LR caliber with magazines that offer more ammunition capacity than traditional single-stack models. The standard TX22 model, which was the first to ship, features a sighting system, controls and profile comparable to popular 9mm defense pistols. This version accommodates 16-round magazines and weighs just 17.5 ounces thanks to the polymer frame and an anodized aluminum slide. The slim 4.1-inch barrel sits flush with the front of the slide, but it features muzzle threads recessed into the slide that can be added with an included adapter to mount devices such as compensators and suppressors.
In 2021, the company was ready to launch the TX22 Competition model with a 5.25″ threaded barrel and an extended slide. As part of the system’s blowback design, the barrel is stabilized relative to the frame so it doesn’t shift or tilt when passing sideways. This allows the Competition version of the TX22 to have an optics mounting plate inserted directly into the top of the barrel, which also keeps the optics and bore in line. The top of the slide is cut off if necessary to make room for the plate.
The TX22 standard model (left) compared to the new TORO Black configuration (right).
The third member of the TX22 series, the optics-ready Compact TORO model, joined the lineup in 2023. The pin-shaped barrel with its recessed threaded muzzle has been shortened to 3.60 inches and the grip frame is also about half an inch shorter, matching the profile of “micro nine” carry pistols. This reduces the magazine capacity to 13 rounds, but this model also accepts larger 16-round magazines. TORO, which stands for Taurus Optics Ready Option, means that the slide comes with a cutout designed for direct mounting of Holosun K-pattern footprints. With an adapter plate, optics with Shield RMSc or J-Point footprints can also be used. The slide features three weight-reducing ports between the muzzle and ejection port to offset the extra weight of an optic.
The recessed muzzle thread of the standard pencil stock (left) is shown next to the extended bull stock (right) and the threaded muzzle of the Black model.
Which brings us to the subject of this review, the new-for-2024 TX22 Black. I mentioned the previous models here because the Black includes features from all three models. The Black model is built around the standard frame, which borrows some of Walther’s PPQ designs, but without interchangeable backstraps. The dust cover features a molded-in 1.75″ accessory rail. Frame indentations above the square trigger guard serve as rest points for the trigger finger.
The Black model’s slide features weight reduction holes in front of the chamber.
External controls include a reversible metal magazine release button, a left-side slide stop, and a slim, ambidextrous thumb safety lever. The trigger is fitted with a hinged shoe, taking the place of the more common integral blade safety. This particular pistol featured a trigger pull of 4 pounds, 9 ounces, with the slightly spongy pull and break common to striker-fired semi-automatic pistols.
The Holosun SCS carry optics device is robustly built, easy to use and features a rechargeable solar-powered battery.
This model comes with two magazines, one of which has the original capacity of 16 rounds. The second magazine is a novelty. It is a 16-round magazine housing fitted with an in-house designed grip extension base that increases the capacity to 22 rounds. At the time of writing, additional extended magazines are not listed for sale on the company’s website shoptaurus.com, but hopefully will be available soon.
The controls of the Black pistol are modeled on the previous TX22 models.
The standard-size forged aluminum slide carries over the front weight reduction ports and TORO optic cutout from the Compact model. The metallic sighting system consists of a white dot front sight and a serrated, drift-adjustable square rear sight. Although the front and rear cocking serrations are a plus, the slide is relatively easy to manually pull through.
The external shape of the TX22 Black is similar to that of many popular compact 9 mm pistols.
The TX22 Black has a threaded bull barrel that has the same barrel profile as the Competition model, but has been shortened from 5.25″ to 4.60″. This means the barrel extends about half an inch beyond the slide, allowing the 1/2×28 TPI threaded muzzle to be used to mount muzzle accessories without an adapter. A thread protector is included.
Like other striker-fired, polymer-framed pistols, this pistol can be easily disassembled for routine cleaning.
This is a multipurpose rimfire rifle that is suitable as a replacement for compact 9mm pistols. With that in mind, the weapon was fitted with the recently released Holosun SCS K-size carry scope for range evaluation. This model’s 7075-T6 aluminum body is enclosed to keep dirt and debris away from the critical components. A single control button activates a green targeting reticle that consists of a 2-MOA dot surrounded by a 32-MOA circle. The owner can choose to use just the dot, just the circle, or both together. The brightness of the reticle is automatically adjusted via multidirectional light sensors depending on the ambient light level.
This pistol comes with a 16-round magazine (left) and one of the new extended 22-round magazines (right).
The SCS in this micro-optic’s name stands for Solar Charging Sight. It features a top-mounted solar panel that’s connected to a built-in 20,000-hour rechargeable battery. This means the sight can run indefinitely without needing to replace the battery. Other features include an IPX8 waterproof rating and a multi-layered glass lens. The SCS-Carry comes with mounting hardware for a suggested retail price of $470.
This pistol proved to be reliable and pleasant to shoot.
I was excited to take this version of the TX22 to the range to see how the combination of its features would combine and how it would perform. Test ammunition ranged from inexpensive bulk packs to high-quality hunting hollow point bullets. The pistol had two ejection failures within the first 50 rounds fired. After that, everything ran smoothly with no further ammunition-related malfunctions. I am happy to report that the pistol was mechanically sound and the new extended 22-round magazine proved to be just as reliable as the 16-round magazines.
The shooting test included four factory magazines and a mix of practice and small game hunting loads in .22 LR caliber.
When I ran five consecutive five-shot groups of accuracy with the standard model with its 4.1-inch barrel at 25 yards, the spread was 2.98 inches using typical sporting goods store ammunition. The same testing process with similar ammunition using the Competition model’s 5.25-inch barrel with barrel-mounted optics reduced the spread to 2.17 inches. The new Black model, with its 4.6-inch barrel and slide-mounted optics, split the difference with a spread of 2.45 inches using Browning, CCI and Federal loads. The table below shows the complete performance results, including 10-shot bursts fired alongside a Garmin Xero C1 Pro chronograph:
With a five-year production history, the Taurus TX22 series of pistols has proven to be durable, reliable and enjoyable to shoot. The Black model is a particularly flexible configuration that successfully suits a variety of rimfire pistol roles, including casual plinking, small game hunting and as a rimfire replacement for similarly sized centerfire pistols.
The Browning load produced a five-shot group of 1.87 inches.
But among its many features, perhaps the most notable is its price. At the time of this writing, the standard TX22 model is listed on the company’s website with a suggested retail price of $349. The black model is listed for $364. That means you get the optics-ready slide, threaded barrel, and an extended 22-round magazine for just $15 more. That makes it a real bargain in my eyes.
Taurus TX22 Black Specifications:
Manufacturer: Taurus International Manufacturing Inc.
Action type: semi-automatic rimfire pistol with recoil mechanism
Cartridge chamber: .22 Long Rifle
Barrel: 4.6″ alloy steel; six grooves, 1:10″ right-hand twist
Frame: matte black polymer
Magazine: 16- and 22-round removable box
Sights: white dot at the front, serrated square notch at the rear
Trigger: Single-action, 4 lb., 9 oz. trigger pull
Total length: 7.06″
Height: 5.44″
Width: 1.25″
Weight: 580 g (with 16-round magazine)
Accessories: cable lock, instruction manual
MSRP: $364
