The original Taurus TX22 did something Taurus pistols weren’t supposed to do in 2019: it earned a reputation for running. A striker-fired, full-size .22 LR with a real trigger and a 16-round magazine for about $300 became the default recommendation for a trainer pistol, and Guns & Ammo named it Handgun of the Year. Five years later, in May 2024, Taurus released the TX22 Gen 2, and it fixed nearly every complaint owners had about the first one.
Here’s the odd part. Two years into its life, the Gen 2 is harder to find and more expensive than it was at launch. Lucky Gunner’s Chris Baker, who tested it for his Project Rimfire series in June 2026, found retailers asking over MSRP and most shops empty. The reason has less to do with the gun than with an aftermarket trigger part, and we’ll get to that. First, what you actually get.
Taurus TX22 Gen 2 TORO
3 offers indexed for 725327941422.
|
|
What Changed From Gen 1
The frame, grip and trigger carry over. Everything forward of the trigger guard changed. The Gen 1 used a thin 4.1-inch pencil barrel with a screw-on suppressor adapter collar, and the collar had to come off before you could remove the slide. The Gen 2 gets a 4.6-inch heavy-profile bull barrel, threaded 1/2×28 directly at the muzzle with a thread protector. Addictive Ordnance called out the practical win: you can now pull the slide for cleaning without unscrewing anything up front.
The aluminum slide picked up three lightening cuts, one on each side and one on top. Taurus and several reviewers describe them as a reliability measure as much as a weight one, since a lighter slide cycles more easily with low-velocity ammo and with an optic bolted on. Speaking of which, the Gen 2 comes in two flavors: the standard model with iron sights only, and the TORO (Taurus Optics Ready Option) with a Shield RMSc cut milled into the slide for direct mounting, no plate needed.
Capacity went up. Every Gen 2 ships with one 16-round flush magazine and one 22-round extended magazine, plus a small loader tool for topping off the tall mag. Sights moved to what Taurus calls “industry standard,” which Skeens Handgun Training translates as Glock-compatible: a blacked-out serrated U-notch rear and a white-dot front. The cardboard box is gone too. Gen 2 ships in a foam-lined hard case.
Specs at a Glance
Taurus’s own site has not published a separate Gen 2 spec sheet at the time of writing, so figures below come from Taurus’s retailer spec data, Guns.com listings, and Lucky Gunner’s measurements. Where sources differ we say so.
| Caliber | .22 LR |
| Action | Striker-fired, single-action (Taurus Performance Trigger System) |
| Barrel | 4.6 in bull profile, alloy steel, threaded 1/2×28, thread protector included |
| Capacity | 16+1 flush, 22+1 extended (both mags included) |
| Weight | 17.5 oz empty (Lucky Gunner); Taurus lists 17.3 oz |
| Height / width | 5.44 in / 1.25 in |
| Frame | Polymer, two-slot Picatinny rail |
| Slide | Hard-anodized aluminum with lightening cuts |
| Sights | White-dot front, drift-adjustable serrated U-notch rear (Glock pattern) |
| Optic cut | TORO: Shield RMSc direct mount; standard: none |
| Trigger | About 4.5 lb (Lucky Gunner); Taurus quotes 5 lb |
| Safeties | Ambidextrous manual thumb safety, trigger safety, striker block |
| Controls | Reversible mag release; slide release left side only |
| Twist | 1:10 RH, 6 grooves (retailer data; Gen 1 was 1:16) |
| In the box | 16- and 22-round mags, mag loader, hard case |
| UPC | TORO 725327941422 (1-2TX22P141); standard 725327941989 (1-2TX22141) |
| MSRP | TORO $390 (per Lucky Gunner); standard about $299 at retail (per Skeens) |
Trigger and Ergonomics
The TX22 is one of only two striker-fired guns in Lucky Gunner’s trainer-pistol test group, alongside the Glock 44. Baker measured the pull at about 4.5 pounds and described it as “a bit like a light double action” with a heavier take-up and a wall you can roll through. His summary: “It kind of feels like what I’ve always wanted factory Glock triggers to feel like.” 9 Mil Ridge, after 1,400 rounds, called it “phenomenal” with a short, predictable reset.
The grip is the same one that made the Gen 1 popular. It’s sized like a centerfire compact, which is the point of a trainer. Skeens Handgun Training highlighted a detail most owners miss: the frame has a molded thumb shelf above the grip that works as an index point, so your support-hand thumb lands in the same place every draw. The manual safety is ambidextrous and, in Baker’s words, “in just the right spot,” wide enough to ride but not intrusive. The one ergonomic miss is the slide release, which is still left-side only.
Accuracy
Lucky Gunner shoots every Project Rimfire pistol the same way: five-round groups from a bench at 25 yards with three ammo types. The TX22 TORO averaged 1.6 inches overall and 1.2 inches with CCI Mini-Mags, which Baker says will put it among the more accurate guns in the trainer category. He credits the heavier bull barrel. For context, the TX22 Compact he tested alongside it averaged 2.9 inches. Neither number threatens a fixed-barrel target pistol, but 1.2 inches from a moving-barrel .22 that costs under $400 is a strong result.
Addictive Ordnance shot from a rest at 10 yards with Aguila copper-plated and CCI Standard Velocity, found tight groups that sat a hair right of center, and then repeated the test with a SilencerCo Switchback attached. There was no measurable point-of-impact shift with the can on.
Reliability: What 2,000-Plus Rounds Across Four Channels Showed
Lucky Gunner’s full-size TORO ran 200 rounds of CCI Standard Velocity and 300 rounds of Mini-Mags with no malfunctions, in both magazines, suppressed and unsuppressed. 9 Mil Ridge’s Gen 2 passed 1,400 rounds of mixed CCI, Armscor, old Federal and Winchester Expert 42-grain with two stoppages, both of which he traced to ammo: a premature slide lock during fast fire and a dud with a good primer strike. Addictive Ordnance and 704 Tactical each ran their guns with standard-velocity ammo, suppressed, with an optic mounted, and reported zero issues.
Lucky Gunner’s video is the most methodical of the bunch and includes the compact for comparison:
Two caveats. Baker notes that TX22 owners with problems are easy to find online, and his own TX22 Compact threw two or three failures to extract per 100 rounds regardless of ammo or cleanliness, which he blames on a chamber imperfection on that one gun. The Gen 2 full-size has the better track record, but rimfire pistols are rimfire pistols. The second caveat is minor: 9 Mil Ridge found the thread protector loosening during long strings and recommends a dab of blue Loctite if you never run a suppressor.
Suppressed and Optics-Ready
This is where the Gen 2 earns its upgrade over the Gen 1. The direct 1/2×28 threads mean any rimfire can goes straight on. 704 Tactical, who owns three TX22s with “thousands upon thousands” of rounds through them, ran CCI Clean-22, Mini-Mags and Standard Velocity through an SDTA M22 can with a Cyelee dot on top and called the TORO “the new gold standard for optics-ready full-size 22s out of the box.” Addictive Ordnance’s only complaint suppressed was gas and a little carbon back at the shooter’s face, which is normal for a blowback .22.
His walkthrough covers the box contents, the Gen 1 versus Gen 2 barrel change, and a 22-round mag of suppressed fire:
The RMSc cut on the TORO takes Holosun 407K/507K, Primary Arms Micro Reflex, Gideon Judge and similar dots directly. 9 Mil Ridge runs a Holosun 507K green dot and notes the irons still show in the bottom third of the window as a backup. Lucky Gunner mounted Gideon Judge optics for testing. If you’d rather use a different footprint, adapter plates are widely available, and Baker calls the TX22 aftermarket “a strong second place” behind the Ruger Mark IV for triggers, barrels, springs and internals.
Why It’s Sold Out: The Forced Reset Trigger Effect
The TX22 is, as far as Lucky Gunner knows, the only .22 pistol with a forced reset trigger (FRT) conversion available. An FRT replaces the factory disconnector so the slide pushes the trigger forward on each cycle; hold pressure and the gun keeps firing. Several companies make them, a federal court ruled in 2025 that they don’t meet the legal definition of a machine gun, and demand for the host gun spiked. That’s why a $390 pistol is going for more than MSRP and why shops are empty.
Baker’s take is worth reading before you buy one for that reason. He had to add aftermarket slide weight to get his TORO to cycle with an FRT, and even then it only ran suppressed and in short bursts. Hits were hard to come by, the novelty wore off quickly, and switching back to a normal trigger means disassembling the gun rather than flipping a switch. Legality also varies by state and could change. His bottom line: don’t pay over MSRP for the FRT hype, but if you end up with a TX22 anyway, “you still have a very solid .22 trainer pistol.”
Price and Availability
MSRP for the Gen 2 TORO is $390, with the iron-sight standard model around $299 at retail. Through early 2026 both were easy to find below MSRP: Addictive Ordnance bought his TORO from Palmetto State Armory for $259 with five magazines, and 704 Tactical’s five-magazine Tac Pack was in the $250 range. Skeens noted a Taurus promotion in January 2025 that added three free magazines by mail. As of mid-2026, online pricing sits above MSRP and in-store stock is thin. If you find one at or under $390, that’s the price to pay.
Who It’s For
The TX22 Gen 2 is a trainer first. If you carry a striker-fired compact, this gives you the same grip angle, a similar trigger, a manual safety you can learn to ignore, and 22 rounds of cheap practice per magazine. It’s also a genuinely good suppressor host now that the barrel is threaded properly, and the TORO’s direct optic cut makes it the cheapest way to practice dot-tracking on a pistol. Steel Challenge shooters like Skeens run them as-is.
It’s not a bullseye gun. A Ruger Mark IV or a fixed-barrel target pistol will out-group it. And it’s not a first choice for anyone who wants a full-auto simulator; that path is expensive, finicky and legally fluid.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Bull barrel threaded directly 1/2×28; no adapter, slide comes off with the can removed
- Striker trigger around 4.5 lb that reviewers compare favorably to Glock’s
- 1.2-inch 25-yard groups with Mini-Mags in Lucky Gunner’s bench test
- 500 and 1,400-round tests with zero gun-caused malfunctions
- 16- and 22-round mags, hard case and loader included
- TORO’s RMSc cut takes popular micro dots with no plate
- Huge aftermarket for parts and upgrades
Cons
- Currently selling above its $390 MSRP due to FRT demand
- Slide release is left-side only
- Thread protector can loosen during long strings
- Some owners report lemons; the compact variant had extraction issues in testing
- Small factory irons; most buyers will want an optic
- Taurus has not published a dedicated Gen 2 spec sheet online
Verdict
The Gen 2 is the TX22 the Gen 1 should have been: same trigger and grip, a real threaded bull barrel, a proper optic cut, and more capacity, for about the same money. Across four independent tests it was accurate for its class and ran everything from Standard Velocity to Mini-Mags, suppressed or not, with an optic or without. Lucky Gunner’s summary fits: “an excellent value and a very strong contender in the trainer pistol category.” The only thing wrong with it right now is the price people are paying for it. Wait for MSRP, buy the TORO, put a dot on it, and shoot bricks through it.
Do you own a Gen 1 or Gen 2 TX22? Has yours been a runner or a lemon, and which ammo does it like? Let us know in the comments.
