Modern Rimfire Shootout - P322 vs P17 vs TX22

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The world of rimfire pistols has rapidly modified and revamped. Revolvers and handguns just like the Ruger MK sequence dominated the outdated period of rimfire handguns. Semi-auto .22LRs had been all the time a bit finicky, and weapons just like the Ruger MK sequence and the S&W M22A labored effectively however didn’t look or perform like trendy handguns. That’s modified. Weapons just like the SIG P322, the KelTec P17, and the Taurus TX22 dominate the world of recent rimfire pistols.

These three trendy pistols are all in direct competitors. They’d be helpful for searching, plinking, and coaching. Which is greatest?

These trendy semi-auto handguns are polymer-framed and modular, use trendy designs, and have journal capacities increased than 10. In addition they are reasonably priced and in some way discovered a method to be dependable.

These three trendy rimfire weapons are practical however can be used as a coaching software that mimics a contemporary centerfire handgun. When seen aspect by aspect with a Ruger MK sequence, it’s clear that these weapons break from the .22LR mould.

The Greatest Trendy Rimfire Weapons

Right now, we’re going to evaluate the three most dominant trendy rimfire handguns: the SIG P322, the Taurus TX22, and the KelTec P17. These three are the preferred. Whereas weapons just like the Glock 44 and FN 502 additionally fall into this style, they aren’t almost as common or widespread as these three weapons. With that stated, let’s meet the rivals.

SIG P322

The SIG P322 is odd. Sometimes, corporations produce .22LR pistols that mimic their customary handguns. The P322 isn’t a duplicate of the SIG P320 or the SIG P365. Its format appears to be nothing greater than a generic semi-auto pistol.

How California Is Starving the Availability of Lawful Handguns — The P322 comes with two magazines, a threaded barrel, and a flat face set off.

The SIG P322 includes a 20-round journal with an prolonged 25-round journal out there. The pistol has a Picatinny rail, is optics-ready, has a threaded barrel, and even permits you to change between a flat and straight set off. It may well additionally settle for a Defend RMSc footprint optic.

The P322 comes with two magazines and {a magazine} loader. It’s simple to make use of, enjoyable to shoot, and really trendy.

KelTec P17

The KelTec P17 is one in all two trendy rimfire pistols produced by KelTec in .22LR. This can be very reasonably priced and has a reasonably distinctive footprint. The P17 is the smallest of the three weapons and can be the slimmest by far. It isn’t only a trendy rimfire pistol however is arguably a contemporary equipment gun.

KelTec Debuts Compact and Affordable 17-Round .22 LR Pistol: Meet the P17 — The P17 is exclusive in its class for its dimension and design. It’s odd, however KelTec is all the time a bit of odd

The KelTec P17 makes use of 16-round magazines which can be additionally very small and straightforward to make use of. The P17 does have a rail, however it isn’t optics-ready out of the field. Customers need to buy an optics-ready slide, and optically, it’s remoted to a considerably novel Crimson Hint optic attributable to weight and reliability considerations. KelTec did embody a threaded barrel.

The P17 comes with three magazines.

Taurus TX22

The Taurus TX22 is a little bit of a shock from Taurus, and it’s the gun I usually level to after we discuss how a lot Taurus has modified through the years. The TX22 sequence doesn’t straight symbolize anybody Taurus pistol, however just like the P322, it represents the generic trendy gun.

Taurus Hits it Out of the Park with the New TX22

The TX22 includes a 16-round journal. The Compact, Competitors, and Technology 2 variants are optics-ready, however this Gen 1 mannequin shouldn’t be. The TX22 sequence has grow to be fairly common for Taurus.

The TX22 comes with two magazines and {a magazine} loader.

Reliability

A giant drawback with rimfire weapons is reliability. The .22LR isn’t identified for being highly effective, so even straight blowback weapons could be finicky. The reliability of earlier generations of .22LR semi-automatics required high-velocity ammo, which tended to be lower than reasonably priced. I introduced three a great deal of .22LR to check these trendy rimfire pistols.

Every gun began with low cost Winchester white field ammo, which is customary velocity .22LR. Then we had the nonetheless reasonably priced Federal Automatch, a bit of hotter, and the true sizzling stuff, Aguila Tremendous Further. If one gun couldn’t eat one kind of ammo, it’d get upgraded to the following kind.

three modern rimfire handguns — Trendy rimfire handguns have by no means been extra dependable. These three are champs and eat most ammo varieties

The SIG P322 and Taurus TX22 ate by means of the Winchester ammo with none points. It chewed by means of the usual velocity stuff with out a drawback.

keltec p17 cycling — The KelTec P17 carried out effectively, however fell behind the opposite two. It had this bizarre quirk of a sluggish slide.

The P17 had occasional points with the Winchester ammo. These points occurred a minimum of as soon as in {a magazine}, and the commonest malfunction was a failure to eject. These points remained with the Automatch ammo. It was a much less widespread title, however I nonetheless had just a few failures to eject. Once I moved to the Tremendous Further, the issues disappeared.

The TX22 and P322 tie for this win.

Trendy Rimfire Accuracy

I examined accuracy up shut and much away. The TX22 and SIG P322 carried out about the identical up shut. The P17 is able to good accuracy, however it hits method increased than you’d count on. The weapons all have adjustable sights. I dialed the P17’s rear sight in to maneuver the purpose of affect downward, however it did have the quantity of adjustment essential to get a correct POI/POA.

shooting bill drill with modern rimfire handgun — These trendy rimfires all carry out effectively at shut vary and when pace issues. As you’d count on the recoil may be very low

The SIG does have an optic, which may be thought of an unfair improve. Nonetheless, it’s a Ruger ReadyDot, which can’t be adjusted. It might actually be extra of a detriment. As I shot with the ReadyDot, I spotted I needed to apply a bit of Kentucky windage to hit the middle. This isn’t an issue at 10 and 15 yards.

SIG P322 on target — The P322 may be extra correct with a greater crimson dot. At 25 yards it’s not horrible.

Nonetheless, the ultimate check was a five-shot group at 25 yards. With the P322, the rounds all hit the goal however had been unfold pretty far out. One didn’t hit the black of the goal.

KelTec P17 accuracy — The P17 was robust to shoot as a result of all the pieces hit excessive. Even with the sights adjusted it didn’t work all that effectively.

Fantastic-Tuning

It took me a number of makes an attempt to search out the precise low maintain on the P17 in order that the rounds would hit the goal. As soon as I discovered the maintain, I landed 4 of the 5 on the goal. One even hit the Bull’s Eye in some way.

tx22 accuracy — The TX22 was essentially the most correct of those three weapons. It actually impressed me.

Of those three trendy rimfire pistols, the Taurs TX22 proved to be essentially the most correct. Even with its low cost plastic iron sights, the TX22 put out a really respectable group. All 5 are within the black, and I walked away very impressed with the TX22.

Ergonomics On Trendy Rimfire Weapons

Ergonomically, the TX22 and the SIG P322 aren’t too completely different. The P17 takes a distinct route, however it’s not bad. The TX22 and P322 use generic pistol controls. They’d translate to trendy weapons from SIG, Taurus, Glock, FN, and extra. The P322 pulls forward of the TX22 when it comes to ergonomics by going ambidextrous.

The TX22 has an ambi security, however the P322 has an ambi security and slide lock. The P322 additionally has a bigger journal launch than the TX22. This makes it simpler to achieve and faster to reload. It’s a small distinction, however it offers the P322 a slight benefit.

reloading the TX22 — Reloading the TX22 was simple, however the P322 was the quickest and best to reload. The KelTec was the slowest by far. All three has some ambi controls.

The P17 has ergonomics everywhere. The protection and journal releases are ambidextrous. The protection sweeps downward and is positioned on the body however a great bit beneath the slide. The journal launch may be very European, with a set off guard launch. I like this sort of journal launch.

grip size modern rimfire pistols — The KelTec has the thinnest grip by far.

Nonetheless, the P17 magazines don’t drop free, so you must pry them out. The P17 additionally includes a slide lock that’s a little bit of a trouble. It’s tremendous small, and also you’re assured to get your thumb hit if you drop the slide—a painful little pinch. I’m additionally not a fan of the dearth of curves within the P17 grip. It makes it really feel like holding a board.

Finally, the P322 has the most effective ergonomics of the three weapons.

Trendy Rimfire Affordability

That is the only part. What’s essentially the most reasonably priced of the three weapons? I went to varied retailers, each large and small, to get an concept of the road value of those pistols. I additionally checked out the price of magazines to spherical out the dialog.

The Taurus TX22 Gen 1 retails for proper round 299. Magazines price 24.99.

three affordable modern rimfire handguns — These three are all pretty reasonably priced, however the P17 takes the cake. Even the magazines are low cost

SIG ups the ante by promoting their pistols for a mean of round 399. The 20-round magazines price 29.99, and the 25-rounders high the scales at 49.99.

The KelTec P17 retails for a mere $219.99, making it essentially the most reasonably priced of the bunch by a protracted shot. The magazines retail for lower than 20 bucks, however KelTec sells them for $14.99.

The Trendy Rimfires

Trendy rimfire handguns are altering quickly. They’re bettering whereas being reasonably priced, modular, and trendy. As a man who loves some rimfire taking pictures, the extra trendy pistols we get, the higher. Finally, every of those weapons has its advantages, and general, I’m pretty impressed by them.

Personally, the TX22 may be my favourite. A Gen 2 optics-ready mannequin could be fairly the gun. Nonetheless, the P322 and P17 each have some benefits. With that in thoughts, which might you choose?

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