I’m quite impressed with how much of a difference a few Taurus TX22 upgrades from TandemKross can make. Despite the popularity and low price of this little .22 LR pistol, I had never got around to buying one. Heck, I never even handled one at the local shop. Nothing against Taurus, I was just too busy with several other platforms. And then a friend of mine got one. He loves it, but noted that the performance is a bit lacking in a few areas. While he felt the trigger could be improved, I called it “The worst rimfire trigger I’ve ever tried”. Seems as though he also had some extraction issues. So we reached out to TandemKross for their Taurus TX22 Victory trigger, lightened trigger spring, and Eagle’s Talon extractor. Because I’ve got no time for unreliable rimfire pistols with mushy triggers.
TandemKross Victory trigger for the Taurus TX22
Machined from aluminum, the TandemKross Victory trigger for the Taurus TX22 is everything the OEM trigger isn’t. It’s got a flat face with good texturing, and it’s adjustable for pre and post-travel*. That asterisk isn’t nearly big enough, but I’ll get to the adjustable part in a bit. Combined with the lightened trigger spring from TandemKross, it drops the pull weight by about 2 pounds. Available in either black or red, it looks at least 100 times better as well. If you only had $54.99 to upgrade your Taurus TX22, this is where you should spend it. Just remember to budget another $12.99 for the trigger spring.
The lightened trigger spring and Eagle’s Talon Extractor for the Taurus TX22
As mentioned, the TandemKross Taurus TX22 lightened trigger spring is only $12.99, and will lower the pull weight by about two pounds. It works with all models of the Taurus TX22, and is best when paired with the Victory trigger too. It deserves better than that terrible polymer trigger. And so do you. While you’ve got your Taurus TX22 apart for upgrades, do yourself a favor and swap the factory extractor for the $14.99 TandemKross Eagle’s Talon Extractor. Made from EDM-machined hardened steel, it’s going to rip your empties from the chamber with authority. I’ve got them in many other pistols and rifles, and they work great and will outlast the OEM unit by a wide margin.
Installation of the Taurus TX22 trigger upgrades from TandemKross
This was one of the more complex trigger upgrades I’ve done, but it was by no means difficult. It does require patience, and a light touch when bending some plastic. Overall, it was just a matter of going slow, and paying very close attention. The two set screws for the trigger are the key to getting it right the first time. As long as they are installed correctly, you’re gold. Otherwise, adjusting one of them requires disassembling the pistol again. Here’s Bill from TandemKross showing how it’s done.
This video is a bit of a two-for-one. Because while it’s apart for the trigger swap, it’s easy enough to replace that trigger spring as well. The good news is that there were no surprises, and no small parts or springs launched across the room. While I was feeling a bit intimidated before I started, everything went back together just fine. And thanks to the video, the pre and post-travel were spot-on, so no adjustments were necessary.
Installation of the Eagle’s Talon Extractor for the Taurus TX22
Like the TX22 trigger upgrade, the installation of the Eagle’s Talon Extractor looks a little complicated, but ended up being pretty simple. The original extractor is easy enough to swap, but there’s some vague “wiggling and tapping” to get it out. Again, it’s not difficult, but the extractor doesn’t just lift right out. And the replacement needs to go in at a fairly specific angle. Patience is the key once more.
Range time
With all three parts installed, and everything function tested, it was time to hit the range. The trigger felt better in pretty much every way. That mushy plastic shoe won’t be missed at all. In its place, the aluminum Victory trigger has hardly any pre-travel, and breaks nice and crisp around 3 pounds. Reset is short, and there is very little overtravel. As much as I would have liked to adjust the trigger a bit more, I’m sure it would compromise reliability to tighten up the travel any further. A polymer-framed rimfire just can’t be held to very high tolerances.
Turns out the trigger was just fine when shooting vs dry firing anyway. If hitting steel at speed is your jam, this is the way. A good reminder that sitting at a bench and testing a pistol trigger isn’t the same as doing mag dumps. We ran some cheap bulk ammo through it, and it cycled just fine with no more extraction issues. Which is great, because that trigger now has such a narrow range that we can shoot much faster. And no more worries about getting pulled a bit off target by that awful OEM trigger.
Conclusion
As mentioned, I hadn’t handled a Taurus TX22 before doing this upgrade. Sure, I did dry-fire it a few times to see how bad the factory trigger was. But that was it. And with the addition of three parts, it’s almost a different pistol. The TandemKross Victory Trigger for the Taurus TX22 really transformed it. Had I tried the trigger in the store, it would be a hard pass for me. Yet with the trigger upgrade, I might consider adding one to my collection. TandemKross says they’re all about “Making good guns great”, and that’s no lie. They may have even made a mediocre gun great this time.
As always, I’d like to thank the folks at TandemKross for providing their Taurus TX22 Victory trigger, lightened trigger spring, and Eagle’s Talon extractor for our testing and evaluation. Find them and the rest of their TX22 accessories on the TandemKross Taurus TX22 pages.
Okay, readers, who’s installed this trigger? Did you do the spring too? Thoughts? Comments?
Great info. I purchased a TX 22 and feel the same way about the factory trigger. Can’t wait to trade out the trigger and what the heck – might as well do the spring and extractor while I have it apart. I’ll let you know how it goes. Thanks for the article.
Do it! After this little upgrade, I finally went out and got one for myself. Stay tuned for more TX22 content.