Taurus Small Frame?

[TexiCali Slim]

My girlfriend was wanting one of the Taurus small frame pistols for X-mas. (only because it is pretty with pink grips) are these guns garbage? she isn't overly into guns so I would like to pounce on this and take her to the range so I can get her to catch the bug. But will I be clearing jams for her the whole time or will this be a decent gun?
I know this gun will get some bashing here but if you could focus on the positives as well I would appreciate it! thanx in advance guys.
ready, aim, fire!;)

[yomama]

Any small frame gun and small caliber will have jamming issues, but these can be prevented using certain ammo and using a little care.
With that said, i would not go with a large or small frame taurus. They are a great company...for revolvers. Semi-auto...jury is still out. I'm sure lot's of people here love theirs, but reputation is something.
For a small frame semi-auto, maybe keltec? They seem to be all the rage these days. :)

[springmom]

That little tiny tip-up gun?

I thought about one of those as a BUG, and yes, partly because they really are kind of cute. But I heard lots of horror stories about them jamming.

You can get a S&W airweight snubnose for about twice as much but it won't weigh much more or be much bigger (very nice for pocket carry or IWB) and they are MUCH more reliable. Either that or get her to thinking about a compact 1911 or a subcompact XD or such. Not cute, but dependable.

Good luck

Springmom

[jon_in_wv]

I think you mean PT22 not the PT92 (9mm). I bought a PT@@ for my wife. I could never recommend it to anyone for self defense. If you have your heart set on something like that get the Beretta version. My Taurus 22 never has worked right.

[TexiCali Slim]

to be exact, Man I LOVE this site for honesty and info. Keep 'em rollin folks!:D

[Qwiks draw]

Your girlfriend needs to try revolvers or semi autos that are reliable and not cute.Larger calibers can be used but a .22 rimfire with at least a 4 inch barrel would be a good step.Had to teach several women who were recoil and noise sensitive.My reliable PT22{yes there out there} short barrel made the gals jump.Pulled out the Taurus 94 revolver with 5 in. barrel and the Ruger Mk.III and the gals shot magnificently after that.But then I had help.There were 8 rimfire bullseye shooters present.Have someone else do the instructing if you can.One lady after 3 months bought a Ruger 22/45 Mk.3 and the other one owns a Ruger MK.3 and a CZ in 9mm.Cute they're not.The guns that is.Good luck with your adventure.:D :cool: :) :rolleyes:

[teejhot.40cal]

Actually I was going to get my girlfriend one also but she won't be carrying it. If it is not for CCW, who cares about the jamming issues, open her up to shooting through fashion.

[Qwiks draw]

Jamming issues?WE Don't need no jamming issue?:eek: .When the perp is going to kill or do grave bodily harm jamming is an issue.The PT22 has a tip up barrel so racking the slide doesn't need to be done by just inserting the 22 Barney Fife bullet,then close and shoot.If there is a jam tap, rack,bang method will not work with this pistol.No extractor.One has to open the action ,dump the round in the chamber, close, then rack the slide to continue shooting. Quickshok and Stingers by CCI are what I use.Have her try yours if you have it by I will stand by my other post above and say she needs to try something else in 22.Cutsy don't hack it.Good luck.:DPS She will enjoy it but seriously we have to look at all the issues.I'm not trying to dump cold water on this.

[teejhot.40cal]

For his girlfriend, jamming might not be an issue because it will be a range gun. Who cares if it jams every 50 shots on the range. If she is going to carry, then by all means get a Kel-tec or something of that nature. Home defense, hell Wal-Mart has a 12 ga. pump for $200. With girls cutsy is everything, if it ain't cute, you will never see my girlfriend with it. And we know that it is better to have a gun that jams every other shot than no gun at all

[garry owen]

Is her heart set on a auto? How about a Taurus 38 snubbie? They also make thier Model 85s with just about the same options, pearl grips, gold accents ect.

[jon_in_wv]

If my PT-22 "ONLY" jammed every 50 rounds, it might still be fun. But it jams MUCH more often than that. The slide is very hard to pull back and even with the tip up barrel clearing a jam can be a chore. In fact I have never fealt that is was a safe range gun. I would especially not get it for a new shooter. It's NOT FUN on the range. I don't think giving a new shooter a crappy gun is a way to endear them to the sport. It's just my opinion but Tuarus does make some really nice 22lr revolvers that would work much nicer for that job and you can get it shiny with pearl grips or rosewood, etc...

[gfen]

When my wife wanted to start shooting, I learned that looks counted more than anything else EXCEPT the fact that it had to be a .22.

I suggest that you listen to her, otherwise you may find she doesnt enjoy the hobby as much as you liked. At the same time, it doesn't hurt to provide helpful guidance, and the suggestion that a 2" jammomatic might not be the wisest option to start with. Surely if you look with her, and provide different options, she'll find something that appeals to her, and has more functionality than the PT22.

My suggestion, take a look at the Browning Buck Mark line. My wife found the special edition of the..err.. Challenger? her favourite with the nice, carved rosewood grips but decided she didn't like the length or style of the barrel. She found the Micro the most appealing in size and shape, except for the black plastic grips. In the end, she decided she'd perfer a Taurus .22 revolver, and we never did buy it for her.. Been too much other things going on. :)

[Qwiks draw]

The guys here have good advice.Tried my wife and daughter on the Taurus PT22.They both got a flinch from the noise cause of the short barrel.My Taurus 94 revolver still has a stiff trigger pull and am working on that.Rented the Browning Buckmark,Ruger Mk.II ,and they got to shoot a friends SIG Trailside.They now are target shooters and own 5.5 in. barreled Rugers. All the old timers who hung out at our local gunshop all had good input and I handed the gals off too them.Boyfriends and husbands sometimes have to let others teach the female students.My ego wasn't bruised.Good luck.:) :cool:

[Qwiks draw]

I have to recant.Did not mean to offend with earlier comments.If the lady likes colors by all means get her the PT22.Its the fun that counts and she has something more in common with you.And shes one of the shooting fraternity.Hey,Taurus has all kinds of different color schemes on a lot of different models.She might just go for something else if and when she's ready and at her own pace.My thinking gets skewed sometimes from thinking tactical all the time.20 years in the military can do that at time.Still,no excuse.Have fun.

[MountainBear]

If it is not for CCW, who cares about the jamming issues, open her up to shooting through fashion.

I agree, if this is what it takes to get her into shooting, then its worth clearing jams on occasion. Start her here and then move up to something better. Teach her why the gun jams and the differences between semi-auto vs. revolver, etc.
I don't buy guns for myself that have a reputation for jamming a lot, but if thats what it takes to get a hesitant individual to go shooting, DO IT!

[Qwiks draw]

Amen, Mountainbear,Amen:D

[TexiCali Slim]

As with the general concensus, I will go with the "nickle plate sissy gun with the gay pimp from New Orleans grips":rolleyes: But as said this will be to ease her into shooting, and get her to goto the range with me. This will be a "bait and switch" approach but with all due time, and she can keep this gun forever as a fashon extra for all I care, as long as it is a reminder for when I got her hooked. Thanks for all the input, and it is as allways greatfully considered. But I think we rounded all the bases here so........
I hereby deem this post, Case Closed:)

[jon_in_wv]

Ok. But I still can't fight the feeling that like most women if she injoys her independence, whe won't like having to give her gun to a big strong man to make it work for her all the time. The PT has no extractor. Clearing jams with it is ugly.

[kymasabe]

I had a Taurus PT22 that I bought at a gunshow for $200 that worked GREAT once I figured out what ammo it liked. It wouldn't shoot worth a darn with standard velocity .22LR ammo. I tried high velocity and things improved but when I started using CCI Velocitors...wow...that little gun ran great and never jammed again.

If she's (your wife/girlfriend) is not a shooter but is showing an interest...get he what she wants. Let her make buying mistakes like every other shooter does. If she want's the cute little pink .22auto...GREAT. It's a start. After a couple of months she may be bored with it and want to move up but at least she got started.

Again, after I switched to Velocitors, I ran almost 1000 rounds thru that little gun without a single problem.

Alternatives:
Kel-Tec .32 decent little gun, not too much kick. I wouldn't recommend the .380, is like trying to hold onto an exploding credit card when you fire the thing.
NAA Guardian, also pretty good. I'm a big fan of the .32NAA, necked down .380 case with a .32 bullet.
S&W 432PD revolver (or 431PD). They're lightweight revolvers and fire the .32H&R Magnum round. Very little recoil but ballistics close to .38 special. The 432PD was also available for a while with Crimson Trace laser grips.

[Qwiks draw]

If jamming is a problem with the PT22[Beretta also makes pop up barrel models] just hit the button,open the barrel,which it does by itself vigorously and pull out the bad round and pop in the new one.Then reclose barrel.Easy and simple IMHO. Oh yeah.Beretta model 21 in .22lr has no extractor either.

[WESHOOT2]

Two plainclothes walk in.
Both are wearing PT22s as backup, so we start chatting.

I bought one.

Once I figured out what ammo mine preferred (W-W Super-X) it has been flawless and never jammed again.
Granted I shoot it little (it's a social gun) but it's had a few rds through it.....

Your results may vary; my wife demanded I give her my GP100 (okay; I bought another :D )