I love it when a company answers customers’ calls by reworking an existing firearm to improve its design and features. At the Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous media event, this seemed to be a common trend at the manufacturer’s tables. One of the leaders in listening to its customers and improving designs lately has been Taurus USA. As an example of this, Taurus gives us the GX4 Carry T.O.R.O.

The Taurus GX4 Carry T.O.R.O.

The company honestly has really created quite a stir in the industry over the past few years with all the new pistols it has released. It all started with the TX-22, which sort of rebranded the company. Then Taurus came out with the G3 lineup. The company then quickly answered the call of the concealed carry crowd and came out with the GX4.

Over the years, we have seen the GX4 evolve with some fantastic new variants. But now Taurus has given us the GX4 Carry T.O.R.O., which is a fantastic update to the already incredible pistol.

The GX4 Carry in Hand

The Taurus GX4 Carry boasts a larger but compact frame. This delivers the perfect balance of capacity and concealability for anyone carrying the gun. Pretty much think of this gun as a GX4 on steroids.

The new polymer frame very closely resembles the smaller frame of the original pistol. However, a little more length added to the grip portion of the gun creates a perfectly balanced pistol. That longer grip ensures the shooter will have a very sure full-hand purchase on the pistol during shooting. But it is still small enough to conceal easily. It also allows for easier draws under stress.

Taurus didn’t let any space go to waste and was able to pack two extra rounds into the magazines that fit this new longer grip. Two 15-round magazines with a beveled and angled base pad for easier concealability are included.

Taurus also added a small finger indexing bump into the middle of the longer grip. This little subtle bump really improves the overall feel of the gun in my hands and allows for more control.

On the front of the new frame, you will find a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny Rail. It’s a great addition, making the package a bit more versatile by allowing the shooter to accessorize it easily.

That pic rail also helps balance the GX4 by adding a small amount of heft up front to offset the extra rounds in the magazine. This is the most balanced and best-feeling GX4 I have shot—and I have shot every single one of them.

The Trigger

Inside the frame is a flat-face, serrated polymer-shoed trigger. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the best on the market at this price point. It has a mild take-up with a clean, crisp, short break once you hit the wall. Follow-up shots are easy, thanks to the nice short, extremely smooth trigger reset. Likewise, the longer frame aids in recoil management very well.

You can also swap the magazine release button from left to right for southpaws. The frame has easy-to-swap backstraps, allowing each shooter to customize the pistol. Correspondingly, it comes with three different backstraps in the box to choose from.

The slide is the same as the one on the GX4 XL, with a set of industry-standard steel iron sights. The sight channel has been cut to accept sights from Glock pistols. So, if you want to change them out, there are plenty of options already on the market. I actually added a set of Precision Carry sights from Continuous Precision to my gun.

A 3.06-inch DLC-Coated Barrel offers strong durability and performance in any shooting environment.

Shooting the GX4 Carry T.O.R.O.

I was able to get my hands on the pistol back home. Because I already have the GX4 and the GX4 XL, I was able to do a side-by-side range comparison.

The Carry model offered a noticeable advantage in recoil management and overall comfort while shooting. Thanks to the T.O.R.O. (Taurus Optics Ready Option) system, I can mount any Holosun K-series footprint and similar optics directly to the slide.

To test the pistol, I shot a mixture of 9mm ammo. This included 115-grain Pinnacle TAC-XP, 125-grain Hornady steel match, 124-grain Black Hills JHP, 100-grain Black Hills Honey Badger, and 115-grain Fiocchi FMJ.

I ran around 400 rounds through the sample I received over the course of three range sessions. Additionally, I also have about 400 more rounds through the sample as a rental gun for my CPL Classes. It ran without a single malfunction out of the 800 rounds.

I mainly shoot outdoors at steel. However, I did run some simple accuracy tests on paper targets with the iron sights. I started off doing accuracy testing by shooting at 10 yards. My best groups were with the 100-grain Black Hills Honey Badger rounds. Although everything I fed the GX4 Carry was accurate and achieved tight groupings. 

The average 10-yard groups I shot were around 1.5 inches. My students ran some cheap reloads and Remington UMC 115 Grain rounds. Every single student who shot the pistol asked what it was and mentioned that they really enjoyed shooting it, too.

Final Thoughts

If you are in the market for a new carry gun, Taurus may have the perfect option for you with the new GX4 Carry T.O.R.O. With an MSRP of only $515.99, this gun will not break the bank. But it will offer an extremely reliable pistol that you can count on every day.

For more information, please visit TaurusUSA.com.

Taurus GX4 Carry Specs