Taurus PT22

The PT22 is a .22LR semi-automatic pistol produced by Taurus and features an 8+1 round capacity magazine. The PT22 is often viewed as a Taurus copy of the Beretta 21 Bobcat due to having a similar "tip up" barrel. In fact this small pistol is very different in design and function from the Beretta. The PT22 is a cast steel frame and slide, manufactured in Florida, USA. It has a spur-less hammer, and a long but smooth double action only (DAO) trigger. The "tip up" barrel is useful in that the first round may be chambered directly into the barrel, and the operator does not have to "pull back" or "rack" the slide. Retracting the slide is difficult due to the heavy spring required in this blow-back action. The grip feel of the PT22 is "fat", and fills a normal-sized hand. This width may make the PT22 difficult for some smaller handed people to hold comfortably. The function and reliability of the PT22 is passable, with occasional failures to feed (but fewer than most Beretta 21s). The Taurus PT22 is only able to fire standard or high velocity cartridges; while hyper and ultra velocity cartridges will load and fire, they cannot be safely used in the PT22.