Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR 8-Shot Black — Superb Kit Gun

Description

The Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR is an eight-shot rimfire revolver on a small steel frame, with a three-inch barrel, fixed sights, an exposed hammer and a finger-grooved rubber grip, finished in matte black.

Three inches is the kit-gun length, and it has been for a century. It is long enough that .22 LR gets close to its potential and that the sights are far enough apart to shoot properly, and short enough that the Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR still fits a tackle box, a pack lid or a glovebox without argument.

What the extra inch is worth

• Velocity. A .22 LR round loses a surprising amount out of a two-inch barrel; three inches recovers a good part of it.
• Sight radius. The gap between the front and rear sight is what lets you hit a small target, and it is half again as long here as on the snub.
• Ejector stroke. A longer rod pushes fired cases fully clear, which matters more in rimfire than anywhere else because of how heavily .22 fouls.
• The Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR holds eight rounds in a swing-out cylinder, which is three more than a centre-fire revolver of the same frame size.
• Steel barrel, cylinder and frame — the Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR has the weight and balance of a real revolver rather than a toy.

Honest notes on rimfire

• The double-action trigger is heavy, because rimfire priming needs a firm hammer strike and the mainspring cannot be light. That is the type, not a defect.
• Rimfire misfires happen. In a revolver it costs you one more trigger press, which is a real advantage over a semi-automatic .22.
• .22 LR is brand-fussy. Buy two or three and shoot what groups; high-velocity 36 to 40 grain ammunition is the usual answer.
• Clean it more often than you would a centre-fire gun. Rimfire fouls heavily and sticky extraction is nearly always dirty chambers.
• As a defensive gun the Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR is a compromise and should be chosen deliberately — for someone who genuinely cannot manage centre-fire recoil, it is a reasonable one.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-942031
• UPC: 725327618713
• Calibre: .22 LR
• Capacity: 8 rounds
• Barrel: 3 in, alloy steel
• Frame: small, alloy steel, matte black
• Action: double action / single action, exposed hammer
• Sights: fixed
• Safety: transfer bar
• Grip: black finger-grooved rubber

.22 Long Rifle is standardised by SAAMI, but rimfire priming is a wet compound spun into the case rim, and how evenly it settles varies between makers and even between lots. That is why one brand runs perfectly in a given gun and another does not, and why a revolver — which needs nothing to cycle — is the most forgiving platform for the cartridge.

The same revolver with a two-inch barrel is stocked as the Taurus 942. For a long-barrelled rimfire that also takes .22 WMR, look at the nine-shot 992 Tracker. The centre-fire revolvers on this frame are the 605 in .357 and the 856 in .38 Special, so a holster bought for one will usually fit the other.

Why the Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR earns its place

• The Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR holds eight rounds on a frame that usually holds five.
• The barrel length that makes .22 LR worth shooting, without making the gun awkward to pack.
• Steel construction, so it handles like the centre-fire revolvers it is meant to train for.
• Cheap enough to feed that it actually gets used.
• A misfire costs one trigger press, not a malfunction drill.

This is a trail gun, a camp and tackle-box gun, a pest revolver and one of the best trainers you can buy for anyone learning double-action shooting. It suits a household teaching a new shooter and an experienced owner who wants to practise without spending on centre-fire ammunition. The Taurus 942 3 Inch 22 LR is not a concealed-carry revolver and not the right choice as a household’s only gun — but as the one that gets shot the most, it is hard to beat.

In stock now at MAG5 Firearms in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Handgun sales ship to a licensed dealer in your state, where you will complete a Form 4473 and the background check before taking delivery.