Taurus 22TUC 22 LR 9rd US Flag Pistol

The tip up barrel is the whole point of the 22TUC. Press the release, the barrel pops up at the breech, and a round drops straight into the chamber - nobody has to fight a recoil spring or rack a slide to load it. For a shooter who cannot work a slide, that one feature turns a rimfire carry gun from a wish into something workable. The trigger is double action only, working much like a defensive revolver: a long, smooth stroke with a hammer strike heavy enough to set off rimfire primers, which are far less forgiving than centerfire.

This version wears a US flag engraving on the serrated slide over a black polymer frame in Taurus' micro compact size. Nine rounds of 22 LR in a package this small is a genuine pocket carry option, and Taurus points to advances in 22 LR terminal ballistics as the reason the cartridge earns the role at all. Recoil is close to nonexistent, so follow up shots stay on target and a new shooter has nothing to flinch from. The barrel is stainless and the slide is custom engraved, which is what separates this version from a plain black one. It is a small, light 22 LR built around one idea - that the gun you can actually load and carry is the one worth having.