Shooting Session With The Taurus PT-22

(Click on any image to enlarge)

As mentioned earlier in this blog, I had sent my Taurus PT-22 out for repair. Taurus replaced the slide under the lifetime warranty at no charge. I finally made it to the range to make sure everything function properly. Everything works great!

I shot at several distances from 3-yards to 7-yards. This is what I feel is the effective range for this firearm. The Taurus PT-22 is not a target pistol. It is a compact, concealable, personal protection weapon. It that role it is more than adequate.

Some say that a semi-automatic pistol firing .22-caliber rimfire ammunition is not reliable. This is too much of a blanket statement to be true. I have found that up to 125-150 rounds, the Taurus PT-22 functions perfectly, but after this amount of shots, the gun gets sufficiently "dirty" and will have some failure-to-feed malfunctions. I have had the Taurus PT-22 for over a decade and this has been true from day one! I don't see this as a problem since I clean my guns often and usually after every firing session. I carry this pistol concealed from time-to-time when a larger pistol is not practical. If I ever have to use it for its intended purpose, I don't forsee shooting more than 18-round anyway!

I have a few targets to show you. I started at 3-yards and fired a 5-shot group. I then moved it to 5-yards and 7-yards. I ended with a 9-shot magazine dump quick fire (1/2-second per shot) at 3-yards. Here are the results. Note: For scale, the center "white" circle is 1-inch in diameter. Each ring out for the center is in 1-inch increments. So the center "white" circle is 1-inch, the next ring is 2-inches, etc.

3-Yards, 5-Shots


5-Yards, 5-shots

7-Yards, 5-Shots

9-Shot Magazine Dump
Quick Fire (1/2-second per shot)
3-Yards

I am very happy with the Taurus PT-22. I am not the best marksman. I am getting old, fat, and blind! That being said, the results show that the average shooter can expect 3-inch or less groups up to 7-yards. The quick fire magazine-dump at 3-yards really blew me away. I simply presented the weapon to the target and fired quickly. Yes, the .22-caliber cartridge is an underpowered round. But, most every handgun cartridge is! I think 9-rounds in a group that small will do the job.

As mentioned, I have had it for quite a while and have fired over 2000-rounds through it. It still looks and functions great thanks to proper care and the lifetime warranty. One final note about most .22-caliber handguns. They are usually finicky about the ammo you feed it. You will probably have to try several brands and loads before you find the right match. I found the best results with CCI Mini-Mag High-Velocity copper plated round nose bullets. Many purest will say to use hollow points, but with a .22-caliber long rifle shell, I feel penetration is more important than expansion. That's why I don't use hollow points in this caliber.