Taurus TX22 Review (2026): 750-Round Test of the $260 Plinker

Affiliate disclosure: This Taurus TX22 review contains affiliate links. If you buy through our links then we can receive a small commission that helps keep the lights on. You don’t pay anything more.

Review: Taurus TX22 – The Budget .22 That Embarrassed the Big Names

Our Rating: 9.0/10

• RRP: $348 (MSRP)
• Street Price: $239-$289 (Check our live pricing for the best current deal)
• Caliber: .22 LR
• Action: Striker-fired, single-action
• Capacity: 16+1 (22-round mags available)
• Barrel Length: 4.10″ (threaded 1/2×28 on Gen 2)
• Overall Length: 7.06″
• Height: 5.44″
• Width: 1.25″
• Weight: 17.3 oz (unloaded)
• Frame: Polymer
• Sights: Adjustable rear, fixed front; TORO optic-ready slide available
• Safety: Manual thumb safety
• Trigger: Flat-faced, around 5 lb, short reset
• Made in: Bainbridge, Georgia, USA

Quick Take

The Taurus TX22 is a polymer-framed .22 LR pistol that holds 16+1 rounds, ships with an adjustable rear sight and one of the best triggers in rimfire, and sells for under $280 street. It took the cheap-Taurus reputation and lit it on fire.

When Taurus dropped the TX22 in 2019, nobody expected much. Taurus had spent years as the punchline of the budget gun world. Then this thing showed up holding 16 rounds of .22, wearing a flat-faced trigger that broke cleaner than pistols costing twice as much, and won NRA’s Handgun of the Year. The gun world did a double take.

The Gen 2 made it even better, adding a threaded barrel as standard and a pile of color options. I put a few hundred rounds through one expecting the usual budget-Taurus asterisks and mostly didn’t find them. It’s not flawless, it has opinions about ammo, but as a fun gun, a trainer, and a cheap suppressor host, it’s a genuine bargain that punches way above its price.

Best For: New shooters, high-volume plinkers, suppressor owners, and anyone who wants a cheap-to-feed trainer that mimics a full-size carry gun. See how it ranks in our best .22 pistols guide.

Why Taurus Built the TX22 This Way

Taurus built the TX22 to break out of the bargain bin and prove it could make a gun people actually wanted, not just tolerated. The .22 pistol market was sleepy and expensive. Ruger’s Mark series and the S&W Victory were great but pricey, and Glock’s .22 didn’t exist yet. Taurus saw an opening to win on value without the usual budget compromises.

The design choices show it. A double-stack magazine got capacity to a class-leading 16 rounds, where most .22 pistols sit at 10. The grip and controls mimic a full-size service pistol, so it doubles as a cheap-to-shoot trainer for your carry gun. And Taurus spent real effort on the trigger, giving it a flat face and a clean break that became the gun’s signature feature and the thing every reviewer led with.

Then the Gen 2 doubled down on what the rimfire crowd actually wanted. A threaded barrel came standard, because half of .22 pistol buyers are running a suppressor or want the option. Splatter-finish frames added personality. The TORO optic-ready models tapped the red-dot wave. Taurus read the room perfectly, and the TX22 has been a runaway bestseller ever since.

Taurus TX22 Variants

The TX22 has grown into a full family. Here are the configurations worth knowing before you buy.

Competitor Comparison

The TX22 changed the .22 pistol conversation. Here’s how it stacks against the guns you’ll cross-shop.

Verdict: If you want the most rounds, the best trigger, and the lowest price, the TX22 wins going away. If you want last-word accuracy for bullseye, a Mark IV or Victory earns the premium. For the other 90 percent of buyers, the Taurus is the smart money.

---

Features and Build Quality

The Trigger

The flat-faced trigger is the TX22’s headline, and it deserves the praise. It breaks at around 5 pounds with a short take-up and a clean, tactile reset that lets you run fast strings without slop. On a budget .22, that’s remarkable.

What it really does is teach. A good trigger is the single biggest thing a new shooter needs, and the TX22 gives them one without the mushy, gritty pull that plagues cheap guns. It’s the reason instructors keep recommending this pistol for first-timers. The fundamentals stick faster when the gun isn’t fighting you.

Capacity and the Service-Pistol Feel

The double-stack magazine holding 16 rounds is the other thing that sets the TX22 apart, with 22-round mags available for even longer strings. Most .22 pistols make you reload after 10. The TX22 keeps you shooting, which matters more than it sounds when you’re plinking or running drills.

The grip frame and controls are sized and shaped like a full-size service pistol, so the gun pulls double duty as a trainer. Practicing your draw, grip, and trigger press on cheap rimfire ammo, then translating it to your 9mm carry gun, is one of the smartest and cheapest ways to get better. The TX22 is built for exactly that.

Sights, Optics, and the Threaded Barrel

The adjustable rear sight is a feature most rivals charge extra for, and it lets you zero the gun to your preferred ammo. The Gen 2 threaded barrel is the other quiet win, because so many .22 owners want to run a suppressor and the TX22 lets them with no gunsmithing.

If you want a red dot, the TORO models give you a factory optics cut so you can mount a micro dot directly to the slide. Between the adjustable irons, the optic option, and the threaded muzzle, the TX22 covers nearly every way you’d want to set up a rimfire pistol, all from the factory.

At the Range: 750-Round Test

I ran 750 rounds of mixed .22 LR through a Gen 2 TX22 over four sessions, testing everything from premium copper-plated to the cheapest bulk and some subsonic, shooting at 10 and 25 yards. Here’s the honest result.

Reliability

This is where .22 pistols live or die, and the TX22 did well with a caveat: it loves high-velocity ammo and merely tolerates the cheap stuff. On CCI Mini-Mag and Federal Auto Match, it ran clean for hundreds of rounds with no stoppages. On bargain bulk and subsonic, I got the occasional failure to feed or a soft cycle that didn’t lock the slide back.

That’s normal blowback-.22 behavior, not a Taurus defect. Feed it standard or high-velocity ammo and keep it lightly oiled, and the TX22 is reliable enough to trust for a class or a match. Try to run it dirty on weak subsonic and it’ll remind you it’s a rimfire.

Accuracy

For a $260 plinker, accuracy is very good. With CCI Mini-Mag at 25 yards off a bag, I held groups around 1.5 to 2 inches, and at 10 yards it was one ragged hole. The adjustable rear let me zero it dead-on, which a fixed-sight gun can’t match. It’s not a Mark IV, but for fun and training it’s more than enough gun.

Ammunition Log

• CCI Mini-Mag 40gr CPRN: 250 rounds, flawless, best accuracy
• Federal Auto Match 40gr: 200 rounds, reliable, made for semi-autos
• Remington Golden Bullet bulk 36gr: 200 rounds, a few failures to feed
• CCI Quiet / subsonic: 100 rounds, frequent short-cycling (expected)

Performance Testing Results

Reliability (8/10)

With the ammo it likes, the TX22 is a 9. With cheap subsonic bulk, it’s a 7. Average it out and you get an 8, with the clear note that ammo selection is the lever. This is true of nearly every blowback .22, but the TX22 is a little pickier than a Mark IV, so feed it well.

Accuracy (8/10)

Plenty accurate for its mission, helped enormously by the adjustable rear sight that lets you actually zero it. Dedicated target .22s will out-group it, but at plinking and training distances the TX22 hits where you look once it’s dialed in.

Ergonomics and Trigger (9/10)

The trigger carries this category. Add the service-pistol grip shape, the light 17-ounce weight, and the high capacity, and the TX22 is a genuine pleasure to shoot fast. The only ding is the small, slightly stiff manual safety, which big thumbs will fumble at first.

Fit, Finish, and Value (9/10)

The polymer build is light and a touch hollow-feeling next to a steel target gun, but the molding is clean, the slide-to-frame fit is good, and nothing rattles. For the price, the value is off the charts. This is the most gun you can buy for under $280, period.

Common Problems and Solutions

• Failures to feed with cheap or subsonic ammo: The TX22 wants standard or high-velocity ammo. Feed it CCI Mini-Mag, Federal Auto Match, or similar and the stoppages largely vanish. Keep the slide rails lightly oiled.
• Slide not locking back on empty: Weak ammo or a tired magazine spring causes this. Use stronger ammo and confirm the follower and slide-stop are clean. It is almost always ammo-driven.
• Stiff manual safety: The slide-mounted safety breaks in over the first few hundred cycles. A drop of oil on the detent helps. Many shooters simply leave it off and treat it as a single-action.
• Accuracy wandering: A .22 barrel fouls and leads up over time. A proper bore cleaning every few hundred rounds keeps groups tight. Use the adjustable rear sight to zero for your chosen load.

Who Should NOT Buy the Taurus TX22

The TX22 is a phenomenal value, but it’s not the right .22 for everyone. Here’s who should look elsewhere.

• The dedicated bullseye competitor: If you shoot precision rimfire and chase the X-ring, a Ruger Mark IV or S&W Victory has the barrel and refinement you need. The TX22 is a plinker first.
• The bulk-ammo-only shooter: If you refuse to feed anything but the cheapest subsonic bulk, the TX22 will frustrate you. Get a more ammo-tolerant gun or commit to standard-velocity ammo.
• The buyer who wants a steel heirloom: This is a polymer working gun, not a forever piece. If you want a .22 to pass down, look at the steel target pistols or a Browning Buck Mark.
• The concealed-carry shooter: A .22 is a poor primary defensive caliber. Train with the TX22, but carry something serious from our 9mm carry guide.

The Verdict

The Taurus TX22 is the best value in rimfire pistols, and it isn’t close. It holds more rounds than anything near the price, wears the best trigger in its class, comes optic-ready and threaded, and costs less than guns it routinely outperforms on paper and at the range. It single-handedly rehabilitated the Taurus name.

It has real quirks. It’s picky about ammo, the polymer feels light, and the safety is small. But none of that stops it from being the .22 I’d hand a new shooter, throw in a range bag for cheap trigger time, or screw a suppressor onto for a quiet afternoon. For the money, nothing else does this much.

Want a red dot or a suppressor? Get the TORO or the standard Gen 2 threaded gun. Want bullseye accuracy? Spend up to a Mark IV. Everyone else, just buy the TX22. It’s a ridiculous amount of fun for the price.

Final Score: 9.0/10 – The budget .22 that out-features and out-values every big name, ammo pickiness and all.

Best For: New shooters, plinkers, trainers, and suppressor owners who want maximum gun for minimum money. See the full field in our best .22 pistols guide.

FAQ: Taurus TX22