Intro
Taurus introduced the GX4 to the world in May 2021, and I was able to get an early test model from the company slightly before. A good sequel to the company's budget line of increasingly well-made and dependable G2 and G3 series pistols, the GX4 was more of the same, only smaller and with a better trigger.
Specs (Via Taurus)
- Overall Length: 6.05 inches
- Barrel Length: 3.06 inches
- Barrel Construction: Stainless steel, 1:10 RH rifling
- Slide Construction: Alloy steel, gas nitride finish
- Overall Height: 4.40 inches
- Overall Width: 1.08 inches
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Weight (Unloaded): 18.70 ounces
Function
Designed as a low-print EDC handgun from the ground up, the GX4 is fairly "melted" with few sharp surfaces to catch on a draw from concealment. This also translates into it having abbreviated surface controls. The most often used of these, the push-button magazine release, is reversible and easy to use, allowing the mag to drop free. The slide catch, however, is very small – about the size of a Tic Tac – and fairly hard to use without concentration and clean/dry hands, at least in my experience. This is a pistol you slingshot into battery, for sure.
Over the past 18 months or so, I have put well over 1,000 rounds through the GX4 and have never suffered from a stoppage in that time that was the fault of the pistol. I ran the pistol with a mix of mostly 115-, 124-, and 147-grain factory 9mm loads, including Winchester white box round-nosed FMJ, Winchester red box USA Ready flat-nosed FMJ, Federal Syntech training loads, and some assorted steel case. Self-defense loads included Winchester's USA Ready 124-grain JHP+P, Browning's X-Point 147-grain JHP, and Speer's Gold Dot Short Barrel Personal Protection 124-grain +P, the latter for use in personal carry as it grouped the best.
Speaking of personal carry, the GX4 proved such an easy carry – just 24.8 ounces when fully loaded with 14 rounds of 124-grain Gold Dot. Of note, that is the same magazine capacity as on the vaunted Browning Hi-Power, my first carry gun back in the late 1980s.
Shooting & Accuracy
The trigger is flatter than those previously used by Taurus and breaks at 90 degrees with little take-up and a 6-pound pull on average through the first 500 rounds, then measured at closer to 5.5 after 1,000 rounds. For a factory trigger, it feels good.
Check out this video of the trigger in use:
When it comes to accuracy, this is not an Olympic-quality match pistol but rather a practical handgun optimized for carry purposes. With that in mind, it is more than capable of palm-sized groups in the center of a target at 7 and 10 yards.
I like to run the old 50-round DHS/FPS handgun qualification course several times per year with my carry gun, as it is well-rounded to include fire from the strong and weak hand only, barricade fire, timed reloading, a failure drill, and shooting at ranges between 1.5 and 25 yards. Thus far, I have put the GX4 through that course several times and had no problem pulling a qualifying score.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Inexpensive
- Reliable
- Accurate for practical use
- Uses a common sight dovetail (Glock pattern)
- Good trigger
Cons
- Requires a tool for takedown
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The slide catch lever could be better
Final Thoughts
I review lots of guns, typically about a dozen or so models every year for the past decade and change. While I may buy some from the companies after the end of the test and evaluation period, I only wind up carrying a few on a regular, daily basis. The GX4 falls into that slim category.
I'm not the only one either. At a recent industry event, I was sitting at a table with two other gun writers and the subject of EDC came up – they both kind of sheepishly admitted to carrying the GX4 rather than a more Gucci brand they had readily available. The reason? It was extremely concealable, and it just flat-out worked.
What more can you ask for?
