Taurus makes good . . .

Prof Young · May 17, 2017, 09:40 PM

So my PT-22 that I bought used was a fail to load disaster. Could not get though a whole eight shot magazine without a jam. Usually had several jams. It was close to 50% failure rate. Plus it would stove pipe, plus it would start to field strip itself.

Sent it to Taurus with a detail description of the problems including picks. Got notice from them that it would be four to six weeks.

First serendipity was that it only took about 2 and a half weeks.

But the return invoice described the repairs as a "magazine adjustment" and a new "hammer spring." It noted that they put 18 rounds through the gun . . . but I was skeptical.

Second serendipity, they replaced one of the magazines with an entirely new one.

Third Serendipity - went to the range today and the little gun ran like a champ. Out of 150 rounds it failed to feed only four time and stove piped once. Compared to what it did before this was amazingly better. May now let it be my CC gun when I ride bike for exercise.

So I guess I'm not done with Taurus after all.

Life is good
Prof Young

Kreyzhorse · May 18, 2017, 06:15 AM

Quote:

Third Serendipity - went to the range today and the little gun ran like a champ. Out of 150 rounds it failed to feed only four time and stove piped once. Compared to what it did before this was amazingly better. May now let it be my CC gun when I ride bike for exercise.

So I guess I'm not done with Taurus after all.

Glad you got it back and it works a lot better now. I'd suggest still putting it through its paces but even with 5 issues out of 150, that seems high for a CCW gun.

**Mike Irwin** · May 18, 2017, 08:13 AM

I've had a PT-22 since the mid 1990s. I've carried it quite a bit over the years.

In over 2,000 rounds of Winchester Wildcat I have had 0 failures to feed, 0 failures to fire, and 0 failures to extract/eject.

That's right, ZERO.

I did have problems with CCI blazer no going off on the first hammer strike, but it would appear that is because the brass was either harder or thicker. Second strike set the round off 100% of the time, and when the CCI was done, I didn't get any more.

I love my PT-22.

Lexspeed · May 18, 2017, 08:19 AM

5 failures out of 150 rounds is not what I would describe as serendipity.

Yes, it sure beats a 50% failure rate, but you still need to work in it some before relying on it for a ccw. Have you experimented with various types and brands if ammo?

Onward Allusion · May 18, 2017, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Third Serendipity - went to the range today and the little gun ran like a champ. Out of 150 rounds it failed to feed only four time and stove piped once. Compared to what it did before this was amazingly better. May now let it be my CC gun when I ride bike for exercise.

Um, that's still a good number of failures for something that you will be using to protect yourself with. I would try a bunch of different ammo types and brands in it to get it to zero failures in a couple/few hundred rounds.

The alternative might be a NAA Mini for cycling.

TailGator · May 18, 2017, 10:22 AM

Not to pile on, but five failures in 150 rounds is not "ran like a champ" to me, either. The advice of finding a reliable ammo to feed it is wise if you are going to carry it for defense.

Gary L. Griffiths · May 18, 2017, 10:46 AM

FWIW, I have a Taurus PT-145 that has been 100% reliable after about 200 rds break-in. The only reason it isn't my "serious social occasion" piece is that the bore axis is too high, causing too much muzzle flip. My Springfield XDm .45 now fills this role quite nicely.

Prof Young · May 18, 2017, 03:06 PM

Yeah, I suppose you all are right. 5 out of 150 is too many for a CC gun. Was just so much fun to have the thing working so much better. Will experiment with rounds and if I find one that is 100% I may CC the gun with that ammo.

Life is good
Prof Young

ritepath · May 18, 2017, 04:10 PM

You can't judge the character of a company based on a little crappy 22. I'd have been more surprised if you're related a tale about how reliable it was.

svaz · May 18, 2017, 04:52 PM

Definitely try out different ammo. I sold mine decades ago because I didn't know that .22's could be ammo sensitive. I miss it to this day.

GarandTd · May 19, 2017, 07:21 AM

I agree about trying different ammo. I have a Remington nylon rifle that, with certain brands of 22lr has all those failures several times per 10rd mag.

Ibmikey · May 20, 2017, 06:41 AM

Your story is so typical of my and so many others experience, buy one then send it in to see if they can make it shoot reliably. I am glad your pistol now works but would look elsewhere for a personal defense pistol.

peggysue · May 20, 2017, 07:04 AM

I have a bunch of 22LR small pistols. Ammo is the key factor. I always have success with CCI Min Mag 22lr. Cheap crap ammo will not work in all. Sorry

PT-92 · May 20, 2017, 08:23 PM

I have a PT-22 & 25 and I can honestly say that absent modifications to the gun neither run 100% with SV ammo--that said, the only .22lr handguns I have that will run absent a hiccup is a revolver and perhaps my S&W M&P 22 which is virtually flawless with SV but not 100%. I have several more 22lr pistols including a Walther PPK and likewise they too demand a healthy HV diet to run reliably.

Indeed, mouse guns IMO require HV ammo to run 100% and if I were to carry one for my primary CCW I would use CCI or Aguila HV. In fact, I do carry a Beretta 21A everyday as a BUG and it is loaded wit Stingers or something of a similar nature meaning hot.

James K · May 22, 2017, 12:28 PM

Granted that a .22 is seldom used as a defense gun, but even so, a 1% failure rate is pretty high. If an ammo change doesn't fix the problem, I would trade the gun or relegate it to the strictly fun category where reliability doesn't matter.

Jim

JoeSixpack · May 22, 2017, 04:28 PM

Don't quote me on this But I think I read statistically 22lr was actually used.. ALOT, just cause it's cheap and common.. er well use to be anyway.

One of the things I don't like about 22lr for defense .. at least in semi's is because even if you have a gun that has a impeccable cycle history I run into a lot of duds in bulk ammo.

although the more expensive stuff "match" and CCI specialty (stinger, velocitor, etc) seems more reliable... I still favor revolvers for 22lr if I was gonna use it for primary defense gun.

Prof Young · May 23, 2017, 06:30 PM

I was hopeful as I ran CCI mini-mags and the gun ran great for the first 60 rounds then it hung up twice on the way to 100 rounds. Ah well. May be a lubrication thing. We'll see. Still a lot of fun to shoot.

Life is good
Prof Young

Big Shrek · May 23, 2017, 09:01 PM

.22lr's are fond of light amounts of Lube on the rails,
and sparse oil on the internals.
Blow dry with a compressor.

The worst things about using a .22lr as self-protection,
is the ammo. By its own nature it's a little spotty.
I avoid Remington rimfire ammo like the plague...
Usually use CCI Mini-Mags for reliability, as they rarely have issues.

And then there's the Velocity of the ammo...
Sub-sonics are not to be used for SD...
perfect for rat-killing, but lousy vs bad guys.

Standard Velo often isn't enough to work the slide on many.

High-velo varies by as much as 200FPS,
so you have to watch what you get there.

And only a few are rated for Hyper-velo,
which is basically the +P+ of .22lr's.

And of course, there is the average "Break-in Period".
Which is usually 500-1000 rounds.
I'll take two bricks and torture test a new pistol, basically...
shoot the bleep out of it as fast as I can.
Usually get the headaches out in the first 500,
then they'll settle down for the next 500.

If you get a lot of hangups/stovepipes,
check for a burr on the slide rails/internals with a Q-tip.
If hairs pull off the Qtip, you gotta burr there

Sometimes it's just a machining error you gotta
hit with a file real quick to resolve...

May 17, 2017, 09:40 PM	#1
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,404	Taurus makes good . . . So my PT-22 that I bought used was a fail to load disaster. Could not get though a whole eight shot magazine without a jam. Usually had several jams. It was close to 50% failure rate. Plus it would stove pipe, plus it would start to field strip itself. Sent it to Taurus with a detail description of the problems including picks. Got notice from them that it would be four to six weeks. First serendipity was that it only took about 2 and a half weeks. But the return invoice described the repairs as a "magazine adjustment" and a new "hammer spring." It noted that they put 18 rounds through the gun . . . but I was skeptical. Second serendipity, they replaced one of the magazines with an entirely new one. Third Serendipity - went to the range today and the little gun ran like a champ. Out of 150 rounds it failed to feed only four time and stove piped once. Compared to what it did before this was amazingly better. May now let it be my CC gun when I ride bike for exercise. So I guess I'm not done with Taurus after all. Life is good Prof Young

May 18, 2017, 08:13 AM	#3
Mike Irwin Staff Join Date: April 13, 2000 Location: Northern Virginia Posts: 41,390	I've had a PT-22 since the mid 1990s. I've carried it quite a bit over the years. In over 2,000 rounds of Winchester Wildcat I have had 0 failures to feed, 0 failures to fire, and 0 failures to extract/eject. That's right, ZERO. I did have problems with CCI blazer no going off on the first hammer strike, but it would appear that is because the brass was either harder or thicker. Second strike set the round off 100% of the time, and when the CCI was done, I didn't get any more. I love my PT-22. __________________ "The gift which I am sending you is called a dog, and is in fact the most precious and valuable possession of mankind" -Theodorus Gaza Baby Jesus cries when the fat redneck doesn't have military-grade firepower.

May 18, 2017, 10:46 AM	#7
Gary L. Griffiths Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2000 Location: AZ, WA Posts: 1,466	FWIW, I have a Taurus PT-145 that has been 100% reliable after about 200 rds break-in. The only reason it isn't my "serious social occasion" piece is that the bore axis is too high, causing too much muzzle flip. My Springfield XDm .45 now fills this role quite nicely. __________________ Violence is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and valorous feeling which believes that nothing is worth violence is much worse. Those who have nothing for which they are willing to fight; nothing they care about more than their own craven apathy; are miserable creatures who have no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the valor of those better than themselves. Gary L. Griffiths (Paraphrasing John Stuart Mill)

May 18, 2017, 03:06 PM	#8
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,404	Yes, I suppose you are right . . . Yeah, I suppose you all are right. 5 out of 150 is too many for a CC gun. Was just so much fun to have the thing working so much better. Will experiment with rounds and if I find one that is 100% I may CC the gun with that ammo. Life is good Prof Young

May 18, 2017, 04:10 PM	#9
ritepath Senior Member Join Date: February 22, 2009 Location: Virginia Posts: 1,419	You can't judge the character of a company based on a little crappy 22. I'd have been more surprised if you're related a tale about how reliable it was. __________________ There's only one...

May 18, 2017, 08:19 AM	#4
Lexspeed Senior Member Join Date: November 18, 2015 Location: Southern IL Posts: 152	5 failures out of 150 rounds is not what I would describe as serendipity. Yes, it sure beats a 50% failure rate, but you still need to work in it some before relying on it for a ccw. Have you experimented with various types and brands if ammo?

May 18, 2017, 10:22 AM	#6
TailGator Senior Member Join Date: May 8, 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 3,787	Not to pile on, but five failures in 150 rounds is not "ran like a champ" to me, either. The advice of finding a reliable ammo to feed it is wise if you are going to carry it for defense.

May 18, 2017, 04:52 PM	#10
svaz Senior Member Join Date: June 11, 2009 Location: KFHU Posts: 177	Definitely try out different ammo. I sold mine decades ago because I didn't know that .22's could be ammo sensitive. I miss it to this day. __________________ At your local library, 973.931 PAU

May 19, 2017, 07:21 AM	#11
GarandTd Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2016 Location: Rural PA Posts: 1,639	I agree about trying different ammo. I have a Remington nylon rifle that, with certain brands of 22lr has all those failures several times per 10rd mag. __________________ 22lr, 20 gauge, 8mm Mauser, 35 Remington, 30-06, 5.56x45/223, 9mm, 380acp

May 20, 2017, 06:41 AM	#12
Ibmikey Senior Member Join Date: June 1, 2013 Location: Now relocated to Texas Posts: 2,943	Your story is so typical of my and so many others experience, buy one then send it in to see if they can make it shoot reliably. I am glad your pistol now works but would look elsewhere for a personal defense pistol.

May 20, 2017, 07:04 AM	#13
peggysue Junior member Join Date: May 20, 2014 Posts: 1,835	I have a bunch of 22LR small pistols. Ammo is the key factor. I always have success with CCI Min Mag 22lr. Cheap crap ammo will not work in all. Sorry

May 20, 2017, 08:23 PM	#14
PT-92 Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2007 Location: "Undisclosed Bunker" Posts: 1,464	I have a PT-22 & 25 and I can honestly say that absent modifications to the gun neither run 100% with SV ammo--that said, the only .22lr handguns I have that will run absent a hiccup is a revolver and perhaps my S&W M&P 22 which is virtually flawless with SV but not 100%. I have several more 22lr pistols including a Walther PPK and likewise they too demand a healthy HV diet to run reliably. Indeed, mouse guns IMO require HV ammo to run 100% and if I were to carry one for my primary CCW I would use CCI or Aguila HV. In fact, I do carry a Beretta 21A everyday as a BUG and it is loaded wit Stingers or something of a similar nature meaning hot. __________________ NRA Life Member “A free people ought...to be armed..." ―George Washington

May 22, 2017, 12:28 PM	#15
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Granted that a .22 is seldom used as a defense gun, but even so, a 1% failure rate is pretty high. If an ammo change doesn't fix the problem, I would trade the gun or relegate it to the strictly fun category where reliability doesn't matter. Jim

May 22, 2017, 04:28 PM	#16
JoeSixpack Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2017 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,048	Don't quote me on this But I think I read statistically 22lr was actually used.. ALOT, just cause it's cheap and common.. er well use to be anyway. One of the things I don't like about 22lr for defense .. at least in semi's is because even if you have a gun that has a impeccable cycle history I run into a lot of duds in bulk ammo. although the more expensive stuff "match" and CCI specialty (stinger, velocitor, etc) seems more reliable... I still favor revolvers for 22lr if I was gonna use it for primary defense gun.

May 23, 2017, 06:30 PM	#17
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,404	Ran some cci high velocity stuff and . . . I was hopeful as I ran CCI mini-mags and the gun ran great for the first 60 rounds then it hung up twice on the way to 100 rounds. Ah well. May be a lubrication thing. We'll see. Still a lot of fun to shoot. Life is good Prof Young

May 23, 2017, 09:01 PM	#18
Big Shrek Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2009 Location: NorthWest Florida Posts: 1,358	.22lr's are fond of light amounts of Lube on the rails, and sparse oil on the internals. Blow dry with a compressor. The worst things about using a .22lr as self-protection, is the ammo. By its own nature it's a little spotty. I avoid Remington rimfire ammo like the plague... Usually use CCI Mini-Mags for reliability, as they rarely have issues. And then there's the Velocity of the ammo... Sub-sonics are not to be used for SD... perfect for rat-killing, but lousy vs bad guys. Standard Velo often isn't enough to work the slide on many. High-velo varies by as much as 200FPS, so you have to watch what you get there. And only a few are rated for Hyper-velo, which is basically the +P+ of .22lr's. And of course, there is the average "Break-in Period". Which is usually 500-1000 rounds. I'll take two bricks and torture test a new pistol, basically... shoot the bleep out of it as fast as I can. Usually get the headaches out in the first 500, then they'll settle down for the next 500. If you get a lot of hangups/stovepipes, check for a burr on the slide rails/internals with a Q-tip. If hairs pull off the Qtip, you gotta burr there Sometimes it's just a machining error you gotta hit with a file real quick to resolve... __________________ Marlin Specialist Calico Specialist A gun should be a tool in the hands of a deadly weapon, not a deadly weapon in the hands of a tool.