GX4: Taurus Enters The Double-Stack Micro 9mm Game

Taurus’s new GX4 is the latest pistol in a recent trend of micro-compact double-stack 9mm pistols intended for concealed carry. 

GX4 Features:

• Its internal steel frame gives the polymer pistol more rigidity, improving its accuracy potential.
• Controls are contoured and recessed helping ensure a smooth draw.
• The trigger is a big improvement over previous Tauruses, much snappier and smoother.

The 9mm has become the de facto cartridge for concealed carry pistols. Anything smaller has been deemed too anemic for proper self-defense, and anything larger is difficult to make concealable. Modern manufacturing improvements have allowed companies to finally start making auto-pistols as small as a .380 but with the same stopping power as a typical full-sized duty gun. Magazine capacity has also seen major improvements with the development of double-stack mags only slightly larger than single-stacks of previous generation CCW guns.

Taurus is tackling this market with the new GX4. The gun ships with two flush-fitting 11-round magazines. Taurus also makes extended 13-rounders as well as an 11-rounder with a pinky extension floor plate, both provide the shooter with a more solid grip on the pistol. In both cases, it puts the pistol in the running against other popular options in this class of handgun, with Taurus offering a price advantage.

Glockish

Like many modern handguns, the Taurus GX4’s design takes inspiration from the Glock. It is striker-fired and utilizes a familiar trigger safety. It has no external controls besides a slide stop lever and magazine release button. Like a Glock it has a polymer frame, but it also has an internal steel frame to minimize flexing and provide better engagement with the slide.

Thought was put into the design to tailor the GX4 towards concealed carry. The controls and profile of the gun have been contoured and recessed to ensure a snag-free draw from a waistband. At the same time, aggressive stippling and texturing has been added to the grip, which features swappable backstraps. The stippling provides the shooter with more control over the small GX4, which has snappy recoil like all micro 9mm pistols do.

The trigger is another major area of improvement over older Taurus triggers, which were typically mushy with a very long take-up. The new trigger is reportedly much nicer with a clean break and short reset. Serrations on its flat face also help the shooter maintain control and proper grip angle while firing.

The market can only handle so many pistols of this style. As more companies release their own versions of the micro-compact double-stack 9mm carry gun we will eventually see which survive into the future and which will fall into obscurity. As it stands Sig and Springfield are winning this fight, but companies like Ruger and now Taurus are challenging their position with similarly styled, more affordable options.

The Taurus GX4 has a 3.06 inch barrel and weighs 18.5 ounces unloaded. The MSRP is $392.42.

For more information on the Taurus GX4, please visit taurususa.com.

More Taurus Handguns

• Taurus G3 9mm Pistol
• The G3c : Carry-Ready 9mm From Taurus
• The Taurus 1911 Commander in 9mm
• The .460 S&W Taurus Raging Hunter

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