Before You Buy - Taurus GX4
Continuing on with our Before You Buy series on micro-compact concealed carry handguns, we finally move on to one of the more budget-friendly offerings currently available - The Taurus GX4. A wild departure from anything the Taurus firearms company has ever done, the GX4 is their first ever 11+1 flush-fit capacity 9mm micro-compact. The GX4 was released in early 2021 to a fairly warm reception which includes my own experiences with the platform, about a year or so later, Taurus released the GX4 T.O.R.O (Taurus Optics Ready Option) which added the ability to mount a red dot on the pistol's slide which is a feature that the market heavily demands these days. Like with other Before You Buy blog posts, we’ll be checking out Taurus’ first micro compact option to see its specifications, features, and some things to consider before you decide to adopt one into your concealed carry lineup.
Specifications and Features
As I stated before, the Taurus GX4 is a completely new offering from Taurus even when compared to their precious compact pistols the Taurus Millennium, G2, and G3 pistols. The Taurus GX4 is significantly smaller than its predecessors and does away with some features that weren’t necessarily needed or even appreciated by adopters of the previous pistols. This includes the Taurus Millennium, G2, and G3’s “striker-fired action with restrike capability.”
All this means is that if by some chance the chambered cartridge doesn’t go off on the first trigger pull, the gun is automatically recocked and strikes the hammer again with a second, third, or fourth trigger pull - since the standard practice and teaching is now more often “rack tap bang,” this feature was done away with for the introduction of the GX4 which may have not been an intentional design decision but one that is welcome anyway.
Finally, the GX4 is also offered in an “XL” configuration featuring a slightly longer barrel and slide which is also available in a T.O.R.O model. I have used and reviewed all configurations of the handgun and found the performance to be about the same amongst all of them aside from the length of the barrels and slides as well as the optics mounting capabilities. For the sake of simplicity, you can use this review as a broad overview of the capabilities of the other variants of the GX4.
- Caliber: 9mm
- Sights: Fixed Front, Drift Adjustable Rear
- Capacity: 11-rounds
- Action: Single Action Only (striker-fired)
- Included Magazines: 2
- Flat Face, Serrated Trigger
- Length: 6.05 In.
- Width: 1.08 In.
- Height: 4.40 In.
- Barrel Length: 3.06 Inches
- Rifling 1:10 RH 6-Groove
- Frame: Stainless Steel with Matte Finish
- Slide: Alloy Steel with Gas Nitride Finish
- Barrel: Stainless Steel Barrel with Satin Black DLC Coating
- Visual Loaded Chamber Indicator
- Trigger blade safety
- MSRP (standard model only): $392.42
Range Performance
Taurus firearms have often carried a notorious reputation for being unreliable, cheaply made, or not durable. While this may have been true of some models of Taurus firearms in the past, the new GX4 does not follow any of these same issues. Right off the bat, the GX4 is by far one of the most concealable firearms in my inventory, and over several months of carrying the GX4, I came to not only enjoy carrying it but shooting it as well.
The GX4’s grip is just long enough with a flush-fit 11-round magazine to fit all of my fingers on it. Building a proper firing grip may be difficult for some users who have larger hands, but if you’re still wanting to get the affordable GX4 and have a better grip, Taurus also sells 13+1 extended magazines with a pinky extension. The GX4’s slim profile and concealability really do stem from its short overall height of just about four and a half inches and I think that the extended magazines are both unnecessary and also diminish the GX4’s already stellar concealability in the height department.
Over the last two years, I’ve had the opportunity to put thousands of rounds of various types of ammunition including the occasional full magazine of carry ammo and I’m happy to report that the gun so far has shown no signs of breaking, or failing to mechanically operate. I have been known to be quite neglectful when it comes to firearm maintenance and my GX4 is no exception, it has seen no real cleaning of any sort since I have owned it but it still seems to be holding up well in terms of corrosion resistance the DLC barrel coating, stainless steel parts, and nitride slide finish have gone a long way in preserving the appearance of the firearm.
The trigger on the GX4 is probably one of my favorite features about the gun aside from its concealability. The trigger is simply great and has a nice clean break without a lot of “slop.” I wouldn’t necessarily call the GX4’s trigger pull “light” however since it breaks at an average of just under 4 lbs, the trigger has a good combination of pull-weight and safety factor built into it which should be suitable for almost any level of shooter.
Before You Buy - the Pros and Cons
The GX4 did surprise me when I first reviewed it back in 2021 near its release date. Fast forward to today and I still have almost nothing negative to say about it. The GX4 simply combines a lot of great features, great reliability, and enough options at an affordable price you can’t say no to it unless you’re simply just afraid of buying a less expensive product. I would highly recommend the Taurus GX4 for smaller-framed individuals who may have a hard time concealing larger compact firearms like the Glock 19, or Sig P320 Compact. However, before you decide you should consider a couple of pros and cons for the GX4 to help inform your ultimate decision:
Cons:
- Limited aftermarket parts availability
- No factory options with night sights
- Disassembly requires a tool (albeit a simple one that is included with the gun)
- The grip may be too small for people with larger hands
Pros:
- One of the smallest micro compact 9mm pistols currently on the market
- Great striker-fired trigger
- Available with either 10-round flush-fit or 13-round extended magazines
- Lots of Taurus GX4 Holsters are available from Falco!
- Stock GX4 sights can be replaced with aftermarket Glock signs including night sights
- Replaceable backstrap for different sizes/types of hands
- Very affordable price
The Taurus GX4 is everything that I look for in a concealed carry piece. Not only is the GX4 reliable, concealable, durable, and shootable, but the GX4 is also most importantly affordable which is something that you don’t often find when it comes to quality handguns. If you already have a GX4 and are looking for a Taurus GX4 holster, Taurus GX4 OWB holster, or even a Taurus GX4 IWB holster, Falco Holsters has many suitable options including one of my favorites - the belly band which allows you to carry concealed without the need for a belt!
Final thoughts
The GX4 may be missing some of the bells and whistles some of today’s other micro-compact 9mm pistols come with but it certainly makes up for it by being the best combination of price and value in this specific category of concealed carry a firearm - at least in my opinion. If you do not like it as I do, you can take a look at the Taurus TX22 too. As always we’d like to hear what you think of the Taurus GX4, let us know what your experiences with the handgun have been so far.
Luke Cuenco
28.4.2023
