Taurus TX22 Brace-Ready: Factory FSA Lite Braced .22 Pistol

The braced Taurus TX22 is a TX22 built on a new frame that ends in a Picatinny rail, sold two ways: the TX22 With Brace, which ships with a Strike Industries FSA Lite folding brace installed, and the Brace-Ready TX22, which ships with the bare rail. Taurus announced both on October 15, 2026.

Everything forward of the rear extension is the TX22 rimfire shooters already know: a 4.6-inch barrel, the TORO optics-ready slide, a striker-fired single-action trigger, and the 16- and 22-round magazines. The braced gun is aimed at the same crowd that has been bolting aftermarket PDW chassis onto standard TX22s; our TX22 chassis and PDW kit rankings cover that route.

The braced TX22 uses a remolded frame with a rear extension that carries an M1913 Picatinny rail as part of the polymer. That rail is the brace interface: the FSA Lite clamps to it on the With Brace model, and on the Brace-Ready model it is open for whatever 1913-mount brace you choose.

The second change is an ambidextrous AR-style charging handle built into the rear of the slide. With a brace hanging off the back of the frame, pinching slide serrations is awkward; the charging handle moves that job to a lever you can reach from either side.

The extension adds length and weight even without a brace. The Brace-Ready TX22 measures 10 inches overall and 17.30 ounces unloaded, against 7.6 inches for a standard TX22 Gen 2 T.O.R.O. Buy the standard TX22 if you want a holster-size rimfire pistol; buy the braced frame if the gun lives on a bench or in a range bag.

The FSA Lite is a lightweight folding brace from Strike Industries. On the TX22 With Brace it folds along the left side of the frame, giving a 10-inch package that extends to 19.5 inches. The braced pistol weighs 24.9 ounces unloaded, 7.6 ounces more than the Brace-Ready model.

The choice between the two models is simple. Buy the With Brace model if the FSA Lite is the brace you want. Buy the Brace-Ready model if you already own a 1913-mount brace or want a different one; our 1913 brace guide ranks the rail-mount options.

The braced TX22 takes an RMSc-pattern red dot directly on the TORO slide, so a Shield RMSc, SIG Romeo Zero, or Holosun EPS Carry-size dot mounts without a plate. Our pistol red dot guide covers which small-footprint dots hold up.

On the threaded models, Taurus pairs the gun with its own TTX22, a 5.5-inch, 3.71-ounce sintered titanium can on 1/2x28 threads that launched in September. A light can matters more on a braced .22 than on a bare pistol, because the brace already pulls the balance rearward and a steel tube would swing it back to the muzzle. The full TTX22 rundown is in our Taurus TTX suppressor coverage, and the best .22 suppressors guide ranks the alternatives.

The braced TX22 is the best host Taurus has built for a TX22 forced reset trigger. An FRT turns a TX22 into a very fast rimfire, and the hard part of running one off a bare pistol is keeping the muzzle on target while the trigger resets under your finger. The FSA Lite adds the third contact point that shooters have been getting from aftermarket chassis, the charging handle clears a malfunction without pinching the slide, and a 22-round magazine keeps the gun running longer between reloads.

The Freedom Finger 22TY is the FRT to pair with it. It is a drop-in 316 stainless part that replaces the factory disconnector, and Freedom Finger lists it for all TX22 models and all generations, the broadest fitment of the TX22 FRTs. The braced TX22 is a new model built on a new frame, so confirm it with Freedom Finger before you order. Freedom Finger also says to test the 22TY unsuppressed first, because added back pressure from a can makes it pickier about ammo. Our TX22 forced reset trigger guide compares the 22TY with the MaRs Pulse22.

The standard TX22 Gen 2 T.O.R.O. runs $389.99 in the catalog, while the braced model runs $507.99. The braced gun costs more and gives up holster size; in return you get a third contact point, a charging handle, and a rail that does not depend on an aftermarket chassis.

Pick the standard TX22 for a holstered trainer or a competition gun. Pick the braced model for a bench, plinking, or suppressed range gun where stability matters more than size. If you already own a standard TX22, a chassis kit is the way to get a similar setup without buying a second pistol.

Federally, a braced pistol is legal to buy, and the 2023 ATF stabilizing-brace rule has been vacated and is not enforced. That does not make every brace-equipped gun a pistol: federal classification still turns on whether the specific weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder, and a configuration that meets the short-barreled rifle definition is an NFA firearm.

Since October 9, 2026, ATF does not enforce the NFA Form 1 approval and registration requirements for short-barreled rifles, as a matter of enforcement discretion, and the federal making tax has been $0 since January 1, 2026. An SBR still needs an approved Form 5320.20 before interstate transport, and state law still applies. Illinois names arm braces as an assault-weapon feature on detachable-magazine semiautomatic pistols. Check your state on our pistol brace state law map before you buy. This is a summary, not legal advice.

Adding an FRT brings its own rules. The 2025 DOJ settlement with Rare Breed Triggers treats a forced reset trigger as one round per trigger function, not a machine gun, but it covers rifles and grip-forward pistols. The TX22 feeds through the grip, and the federal FRT status of grip-fed handguns is less settled. Sixteen jurisdictions restrict or ban FRTs under state law; see the forced reset trigger state law map.