Taurus TX22 Competition SCR Semiauto .22LR Pistol: Review

Taurus knows a good thing when it sees it, and the TX22 platform is definitely a good thing. Introduced in early 2019, it is a polymer-frame, striker-fired .22 pistol that earned high praise as a great all-round rimfire. Taurus followed that up a couple of years later with the Competition version, which incorporated reversible optics mounting plates that make it easy to add a red dot.

Now we have the TX22 Competition SCR, the SCR standing for Steel Challenge Ready. Not familiar with Steel Challenge? It’s my favorite among the action sports: eight stages of five targets, where you simply engage those targets as fast as you can—no moving, no on-the-clock reloads, just shooting. To create the SCR, Taurus added the Game Change Pro Squared 22 compensator from Tandemkross. It’s contoured specifically for the Taurus TX22, although it will fit other makes. It’s made of stainless steel and features Tandemkross’s proprietary Easy-Clean coating for simple maintenance.

Comped Rimfire

This compensator adds a bit of weight out front for better balance, and it vents gases at 45 degrees on both sides of the comp to reduce muzzle jump. Think muzzle jump doesn’t matter in a rimfire? It does in events like Steel Challenge where every fraction of a second counts. If you don’t want to shoot the compensator, a barrel thread cap is provided. The other upgrade also comes from Tandemkross, and it’s the Eagle’s Talon extractor. If you’re a plinker or a hunter, you don’t give much thought to extractors other than keeping them clean because it’s unlikely you’ll ever wear one out. But serious competition shooters care, as they put thousands of rounds through their guns every year. The Eagle’s Talon is made of hardened tool steel, and it’s precisely EDM machined so its hook will grab and eject each round without fail, year in and year out.

Aside from these two upgrades, the rest of the pistol remains the same, which is good. The first thing you’ll notice is the gun’s outstanding grip. Taurus designers spent two years working on it, and they got it right. It’s hand-filling, but not to the point anyone will have a problem handling it. It has a small ridge just below the trigger guard—which is undercut for a high grip—where my middle finger naturally fits. A slight flare at the base allows me to exert more pinky pressure, which helps keep the muzzle down on presentation and therefore helps acquire a red dot faster.

The second thing you’ll notice is the excellent trigger. While it has a rather long take-up, the break is excellent. The trigger on my sample broke at four pounds, five ounces with almost no overtravel. The reset is short and crisp. The gun also sports a reversible magazine release, which lefties will appreciate. The slide on the TX22 Competition SCR is skeletonized, and in addition to the Tandemkross extractor, it also features an oversize ejection port. Slide serrations are both front and rear. Iron sights include a white-dot front and a white dot rear that’s adjustable for windage and elevation.

Red-Dot Ready

Red dots mount to the 5.25-inch match-grade bull barrel. This setup gives the TX22 an accuracy advantage in that the red dot does not ride on a reciprocating slide but instead stays fixed on the barrel. The barrel’s custom feed ramp is polished for smooth, sure feeding. For testing and competition, I mounted an Ameriglo Haven red dot, an easy task thanks to the two polymer sight plates that come with the pistol. Bench accuracy was excellent with the three competition-type loads I had on hand.  While CCI Clean wasn’t the most accurate from the bench, it did provide the most velocity and therefore the most energy to operate the slide, and that’s what I chose for a Rimfire Challenge match I took the gun to.

It’s a sport that is almost identical to Steel Challenge and combines speed and accuracy. And one critical note here: While the SCR is designed to be competition ready, it comes with only three magazines. You really need five for both Steel Challenge and Rimfire Challenge, so you’ll need to buy two more. Sixteen-, 15- and 10-rounders are available at Taurus’ website. While pinpoint accuracy isn’t crucial because the targets are relatively large, reliability is. I saw several pistols on my squad choke at various points in the match, costing their owners precious seconds, but the Taurus never hiccupped once. The compensator kept the muzzle nice and flat, and the gun’s balance made for sure target transitions.

The Taurus TX22 was already a terrific .22 semiauto, and with the upgrades on the Competition SCR version, it’s a great gun to get you into the rimfire games or simply to enjoy shooting a well-balanced, nice handling, accurate .22 pistol. I didn’t own a dedicated competition rimfire pistol prior to testing the TX22 Competition SCR. I do now.

Taurus TX22 Competition SCR Specs

• Type: Semiauto, rimfire
• Caliber: .22 Long Rifle
• Capacity: 16+1 rds., 10+1 rds. (tested)
• Barrel: 5.25 in. w/Tandemkross Game Changer Pro Squared compensator; barrel thread cap 
• OAL/Height/Width: 8.2/5.4/1.3 in. 
• Weight: 23 oz. 
• Construction: Aluminum slide, polymer frame
• Trigger: Single action, 4 lbs., 5 oz. pull (tested)
• Sights: Three-dot, adjustable-rear irons; two optics mounting plates
• Safeties: Ambidextrous thumb, trigger, striker block
• MSRP: $589
• Manufacturer: Taurus

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