For the last few years I've pocket carried a S&W 442 in a Desantis nemesis, but lately I have been thinking about switching to my pt22 for pocket carry. A few reasons are:


Fits/carries better
much more consistent and faster draw from the pocket
easier and faster follow-up shots
carries more cartridges


I know the .22 has a dubious SD record but just wanted to see if anyone made a similar switch and how it worked out for them.

I wouldn't trade my pocket 442 for anything. Now if someone had a nice 2" Modle 10 round but I might trade one of my 442s.

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Two Handguns every day

You went from a 5 round .38 cal to a 8 round .22 cal. Interesting.

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Be of Honor, God Bless America

Ultimately, you have to do what's right for you. If the Taurus .22 works better for you than the 442, then go with it.

Personally, I wouldn't if I were in your position. I would rather seek out a Ruger LCP if I wanted something closer to the pros you listed. Maybe even one of the pocket 9mms that are available. I would suggest you look at those options, maybe even try some from friends or rental ranges, before making a wholesale switch. You may find something that meets your needs but offers something more effective than .22. Just my opinion, FWIW.

I have a 442, a 642, and a Ruger LCR in .22 WMR, and I would pocket carry any of them. I would not trust the Taurus, because I don't trust Taurus in general . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

I agree with your distrust of Taurus. However I think their
revolvers are ok. It's the semi-autos that are not trustworthy.

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In Omnia Paratus

The PT22 has a dismal record of failure right out of the box. Stay with the 442.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Thanks for the responses guys, looks like I'll hang onto the smith (or maybe just carry both..lol).

Regards,
Tx40d

Years ago I had a Taurus PT 22. Traded it in fast after the slide blew off at the range. Don't know if they fixed the problems. My 642 has been great and goes almost anywhere. If you want something smaller, trade that Taurus in on a Ruger LCP. In any case, keep the 442.
Shoot safe,
Frank

The PT22 wouldn't be my choice, but I do find a Ruger LCP easier to carry in some pockets than I do one of my j frames.

I wouldn't carry Taurus anything. A rock is probably more reliable.

This.

I use my 2" 10 for owb edc and my 442 for the pocket.

Excellent firearms.

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an actual conservative

My normal EDC is a 2 inch S&W Model 12-2 and a S&W Model 642-2. If wanting something real small, a KelTec PAT or P32 would be as small as I'd go. I had a P32 but swapped it away after shooting it over my Chrony.

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

If you want a reliable mouse 22 a S&W 2214 will fill that niche. Another one would be the budget priced Phoenix Arms hp22. I think there is a thread running about 22 mouse guns... somewhere..?

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John

Agreed. There are so many "itsy bitsy" automatics on the market now that I would have a hard time justifying even a .380, presuming the user in question was capable of handling a 9mm.

Additionally, the 8-round capacity of the Taurus is dubious. I don't think that the capacity-vs-firepower trade is favorable.

Have you tried a subcompact 9mm? And if you have, have you really tried to push yourself in terms of speed? You might very well find that a .22 is no faster.

I don't own a 380 or 32 (carried a P32 for years then realized I wasn't confident in my with the gun) or 22 for carry. I do have a model 60 that I pocket carry from time to time. I was hoping that my Glock 43 would take over the roll. Its hard to beat a j frame in the pocket.

My only real issue with a .22 for defense is that its a rimfire. We've all experienced misfires with even quality .22 ammo. It seems like in the last year or so since manufactures have caught up on the .22 shortage that I've experienced even more .22 misfires per box than usual.
Centerfire cartridges are more reliable.

My PT-22 worked well with HV 22 ammo, but fell apart upon field-stripping. I still have it, wondering if it is worth the money to ship back for the free repair work. It is a cheap copy of Beretta. I prefer a 38 or 380 for small guns, but I would pick a 25 over 22 simply because centerfires tend to be more reliable.

Their un trustworthiness branches out to their revolvers too.Alot of the Taurus Judes blew apart when introduced.

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Spin The Wheel

Problem was not fixed in 2012 I had two p22 blow apart the same day one dealer handed me anonther one same day 2 nd one did same thing. Handed it back to him for a refund bought a . 32 K el Tec. Its been flawless with 1000 threw it. I never went back to that dealer. I didnt. buy the .32 from hime either. I figured if he would hand me two that he had to know where pure junk why do business with them. Last Taurus I will ever pick up

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Spin The Wheel

Exactly my experience with the PT22 I owned very briefly. The pistol wouldn't cycle standard velocity loads. I tried CCI Mini-Mag 36 gr. HP's and it was working fine-until the slide flew off landing about six feet forward of me on the floor of the indoor range! Boy did that stop shooting.

I would not carry ANY .22 LR as a primary defense weapon because even the best .22 rimfire ammunition has a very high failure to fire rate compared to centerfire cartridges. The less chance of click instead of bang, the better.

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Virtue,Liberty & Independence

In the last 6 thousand rounds or so that I have fired I have had zero fail to go bang on the first try when shooting Federal and CCI ammo in my pistols along with CCI and Geco in my bolt rifle. This covers the last 4 years of shooting.
There is of course one exception, Winchester made ammo, I used less than 1/4 of a bulk box.. naasty stuff. I got desperate to re supply my stash and found cheap was not worth the hassle. That box was shelved and earmarked as give away. Yes there is junk ammo out there. Yet I'm sure there are as many good brands out there as crummy ones. My advice? ... choose to be picky.

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John

Have to agree that I haven't had many .22's fail to fire...good ammo will help the odds there. A good .22 is way better than going un-armed.

Having said that...I carry a 442 every day and trust the .38spl to do the job IF I do mine....

I have no experience with the PT22, but have to agree with everyone else who think that a J-frame Centennial is hard to beat for pocket carry. From the mid 80s to mid 90s, I carried a similar .22 pistol in pockets - the Beretta Model 21A. I have two, have pretty much worn them both out shooting them (probably 5k or more rounds each), and would tout them as the best .22 pistol in that class. I carried them for reasons they included maximum concealment ability. The Taurus, I believe is a little bigger than the Beretta and any concealment advantage over a J-frame vs a small auto is negated.

Lately I've been carrying a Glock 43 in pocket and would suggest like other posters that there are better options for pocket carry than a .22 pistol. Back when I carried the Beretta, there just wasn't anything on the market that was as consistent or reliable (mine handled practically every .22 bullet I ever tried). Today there are a lot of better options.


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Depends, who made the rock?

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Certified Curmudgeon

PT-22. Provides 9 quick shots if you must use a .22. They need the more powerful round to cycle, but they are not designed or rated for +p ammo, which can damage them.

Also, consider a Beretta Tomcat in .32 with Polycase Extreme Cavitator ammo for a more effective round, but with the same tip-up barrel design.

You're not gonna find much love or anything positive on this site regarding the Taurus brand. (I've never encountered one, and have no intention to do so)



Regarding the 442.....
That 38 is as predictable as the sun coming up tomorrow.
SD , close range , its gonna work.

On payday, I'll be carrying one

I recently switch to 22LR for EDC because my arthritis in the hands made handling my 9mm to difficult and painful. I just could no longer get off a tightly grouped series with any speed. I count on speed of delivery of a tight group to a selected target area for SD.

I did a great deal of research on the topic of 22 for SD, and you would be surprised at the amount of support that decision gets from experienced shooters.

I started a thread about my choice and change. It has numerous replies from experienced LEOs and Others who have seen the effects of the 22 on adversaries. There are even a couple replies from people who have been shot by them. It's a long thread, but it has a lot of food for thought. You can read it here.

I can totally understand your rationale for switching to .22 LR, but the PT22 is one of the last pistols I'd want in that caliber. I'd much rather take a revolver, or at least a semiauto with a better reputation for reliability.

Friends don't recommend Taurus to any one. Just say no !

We (my wife and I) have a PT-22 and it is an absolute blast to shoot and is reliable using quality ammo such as CCI, or something comparable. That said, we're not using it as a carry pistol - more of a plinker/trainer and it's handy for pest control around our rural property. I personally opt for something center-fired for carry. I use a single-stack 380 that's even thinner than the PT, uses more robust and dependable ammunition, and only holds one less round. I guess I'm saying my personal issue would be more with the round it uses than the gun itself. I think the previously mentioned Beretta Tomcat would be my choice if I really thought I wanted to use a pistol with that manual of arms.

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M&PC FS BG Shield+ 642 686+

I'll trade you a tire iron for the 442 and you'll be much better protected with it than with the PT22. Seriously, Taurus makes some guns that are decent but a PT22 isn't one of them. They're junk, or at least the one I briefly owned was.

I have a PT22 that has broken the barrel pins (twice), barrel, slide, and extractor. It has never gone all the way through 2 bricks (1000 rounds) without a failure. The first couple of times back for Taurus repair, Taurus paid the shipping, but the other 3 times I had to pay shipping. While letting students fire it after it last came back, the barrel pins loosened, which I later repaired myself with "sleeve" locktite. I no longer include it routinely in my sample class guns, but if you really want to, you can shoot it. It feeds the greasy plain lead Blazer .22s well.
Would I carry it for defense? No. A SIG model 230 .380 is as low as I will go.

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Science plus Art

Pocket, or holster.

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Certified Curmudgeon

Recently I transitioned from 9mm to 22LR for EDC. Arthritis in the hands were the motivation. I thought about 380, but after much research I decided on the 22. It is quite adequate for SD if you are able to be accurate with a succession of shots and use high quality ammo.

I started with CCI Mini Mag in RN and HP. But I am changing to CCI velocitor based upon my continuing research. My Compact 22 has never been fed bulk ammo. I believe in practice with your carry round, and bulk ammo is asking for failures in 22.

I am considering a 22 pocket pistol for those rare times when I just cannot carry my M&P 22 Compact.

The thread I started got pretty long, but it was encouraging because people with experience in SD with a 22 offered a lot of reassurance.

The thread which you should at least browse carefully can be found here.