Taurus 942M 22 WMR 3in 8-Shot Black — Superb Trail Revolver

Description

The Taurus 942M 22 WMR is an eight-shot .22 Magnum revolver on a small steel frame, with a three-inch barrel, fixed sights, an exposed hammer and a matte black finish.

It is the .22 WMR twin of the 942, and the cartridge is the reason to choose it. .22 Magnum carries roughly double the muzzle energy of .22 LR and shoots noticeably flatter, which turns a plinker into a genuine small-game and pest revolver. The Taurus 942M 22 WMR is the version to buy if the gun is going in a pack or a barn rather than a range bag.

What you are getting

• The Taurus 942M 22 WMR holds eight rounds in a swing-out cylinder — three more than a centre-fire revolver of the same size.
• A three-inch matte black alloy steel barrel, with steel cylinder and frame. The Taurus 942M 22 WMR has the weight and balance of a real revolver rather than a toy.
• Fixed sights: a milled rear notch and an integral front ramp. Nothing to adjust, nothing to knock out of zero.
• An exposed hammer, so you can shoot single action for a deliberate shot at a rabbit and double action for everything else.
• A transfer bar safety and a black finger-grooved rubber grip.

Honest notes on .22 Magnum in a handgun

• Most .22 WMR ballistics are quoted from rifle barrels. Out of three inches you lose a large share of that velocity, and what you lose comes back as flash and a genuinely loud report.
• Ammunition matters more here than in almost any other chambering. Loads built for handgun barrels — CCI’s Uppercut is the obvious one — do far better than rifle-optimised varmint ammunition.
• .22 WMR costs several times what .22 LR does. If the gun is mostly for practice, the .22 LR 942 is the sensible buy; if it is for pests and trail work, the Taurus 942M 22 WMR is worth the difference.
• Rimfire misfires happen. In a revolver that costs you one more trigger press, which is a real advantage over a semi-automatic.
• The double-action trigger is heavy, because rimfire priming needs a firm hammer strike. That is the type, not a defect.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 2-942M031
• UPC: 725327618676
• Calibre: .22 WMR (.22 Magnum)
• Capacity: 8 rounds
• Barrel: 3 in, matte black alloy steel
• Frame: small, matte black alloy steel
• Cylinder: matte black alloy steel
• Action: double action / single action, exposed hammer
• Sights: fixed
• Safety: transfer bar
• Grip: black finger-grooved rubber

.22 WMR is standardised by SAAMI and is a longer, wider case than .22 LR — which is why the two are not interchangeable and why a .22 Magnum revolver needs its own cylinder. Never attempt to fire .22 LR in a .22 WMR chamber: it will sit loose, the case will rupture, and the accuracy will be worthless even when it does not.

The .22 LR version of the same revolver is stocked in three inches and two. If you want both cartridges in one gun, the nine-shot 992 Tracker ships with a .22 LR and a .22 WMR cylinder. The centre-fire revolvers on this frame are the 605 and the 856.

Why the Taurus 942M 22 WMR earns its place

• The Taurus 942M 22 WMR holds eight rounds of a cartridge with roughly twice the energy of .22 LR.
• Steel construction, so it handles like the centre-fire revolvers it shares a frame with.
• A three-inch barrel — enough to make .22 Magnum worth chambering, short enough to pack.
• Fixed sights and simple mechanics for a gun that lives outdoors.
• A misfire costs one trigger press, not a malfunction drill.

This is a trail, camp and pest revolver, and a good choice for anyone who wants a rimfire with more reach than a .22 LR. It suits a farm, a tackle box or a pack, and it is pleasant enough to shoot that a new shooter will not flinch. The Taurus 942M 22 WMR is not a defensive first choice and not an economical practice gun — for volume shooting, buy the .22 LR version and keep this one for work.

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.