Taurus PT-22 Anyone??

[kymasabe]

Was reading the lastest copy of "Guns & Weapons for Law Enforcement" and they had a little piece in there about BUG guns and mentioned many L.E.O. carry the Taurus PT-22 as a back-up because it is small and light. Well, I was wondering if anyone really has one of these and if they're reliable. I'm thinking about picking one up for my wife as a small self-defense gun. Get her started shooting, comfortable with somethimg small, then she can get her CCW and move up to whatever she wants IF she wants to go bigger. I figure ammo would be cheap at least with a PT-22 !!

[denfoote]

It's a copy of the Beretta Bobcat.
I thought about getting one but I think the Taurus 94B2 (snub .22 revolver) is a better deal. The same round capacity (9) as the 8+1 PT-22, but with the advantage of less to go wrong!!!

[dogngun]

denfoote is right. Go with a small revolver is you want a .22 for carry reasons. Small .22 auto pistols are notoriously unreliable, and the Taurus is no exception. They do make several fine .22 revolvers small enough for your purpose.

Mark

[liliysdad]

My father has carried a PT22 for so long that the nickel is peeling off. The little gun is as reliable a .22 as I have ever seen. He shoots primarily Velocitors through it, and it eats them with aplomb. Good little guns, IMO.

[railroader]

I had one for a while. It was very reliable but it shot about 4 inches high at 10 yards. The trigger on them is double action only which is quite smooth and similar to a revolver. Mark

[WESHOOT2]

Bumped into two cops, both wearing PT22's as back-ups.
Intrigued, I investigated further, and have carried one as back-up (car gun, 'purse' gun, pocket gun) since the mid-'90's.
(They had their guns gently dehorned at certain areas; if you own one you can do the same.)

Took a couple hundred rds to break it in; never failed once I fed it W-W Super-X.
Ever.

It's in my 'purse' right now.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

I guess you need to find one that is reliable. Mine was a terrible jammer and I got rid of it. It was a nice looking gun but I couldn't trust it.

I have a NAA Mini revolver for a 22 little pocket gun.

[Apple a Day]

I own one.
It took about 200 rounds to break it in. It had several failures to feed. I shot it, cleaned it , shot it, cleaned it. After 200 rounds I haven't had any problems other than the expected ammo-related sort. If your wife is going to carry it then don't skimp on the ammo choice.
I have handed it to a couple of women to shoot. Neither of them liked the long double action pull of the trigger. On the plus side it has the tip-up barrel so she won't have to deal with working the slide. If she isn't going to carry this one then I'd go with something larger like a Ruger Mk II or III, a Baretta Neos, or something that would be more comfortable to shoot.
I agree with some of the other folks that for self defense with a .22 I'd go with a revolver. I'd even look for a .22 magnum if I could find one.
Best of luck,
Apple

[FLA2760]

Hi
I agree that you should go with the Taurus model 94revolver. I have one, an ultralight, and it is a nice little shooter and much more reliable than its semiauto brother. If your wife wants a semi auto because it is smaller and thinner than the revolver I would think of a .25 or better yet a Kel-Tec P32. I have a P32 and it has been 100% reliable. Have fun.
Steve :D