The Taurus PT-22

A Taurus PT-22 shown with high velocity ammunition. Taurus 

advised against the use of high velocity ammunition in the PT-22

Years ago, I had a Beretta 21A Bobcat in .22 LR. It was a delightful little pistol that I sadly let get away. Light in the pocket with usable sights and acceptable short range accuracy, it was a great companion when roaming the woods or fishing a pond. It was also fairly reliable, cheap to shoot, and just plain fun. While I did not consider it a primary defensive weapon, it was accurate and reliable enough to serve the purpose, providing that it was fed with agreeable ammunition. Yesterday, I shot what appeared to be a Bobcat clone: the Taurus PT-22.

The Taurus looks and feels like a Beretta 21A but unlike the Beretta, it has a Baughman style front sight, a large magazine release located on the frame at the rear of the trigger guard, decent wood grips, bobbed hammer, double action only trigger, magazine extension, and hooked trigger guard. The front sight is easy to see and the magazine release is easy to use. The grips are reasonably attractive. The bobbed hammer is OK and it makes sense with the double action only trigger. The finger rest provided by the magazine extension might benefit some shooters but I don't care for it and the hooked trigger guard is just as ugly and useless on the PT-22 as it is on every other pistol that is so equipped.

The trigger is long and somewhat heavy but it breaks crisply and it is not hard to get used to. I was able to get nine round, offhand groups at fifteen feet that measured around two inches and I was able to make consistent head shots on a B-27 silhouette at twenty-five yards. I feel like this is pretty good accuracy for me and this type of pistol and I have no complaints. In shooting one hundred rounds of bulk packed Winchester ammo there were two jams, which I attribute to overloading the magazine: though the magazine capacity is eight rounds, it was possible to load nine. 

Overall, the Taurus PT-22 is a cute little pistol that fits the hand pretty well, provides a functional sight picture, and offers nine rounds (eight in the magazine and one in the chamber) in a package that weighs roughly twelve ounces yet offers negligible recoil. One hundred rounds is by no means a comprehensive evaluation but from what I saw, the PT-22 performed well and should offer the same utility as the Beretta 21A Bobcat. Since the little Taurus and one hundred rounds of ammo take up about the same amount of space as three packs of cigarettes, it would not be hard to include one in an emergency kit.