Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round 9mm 3.7in — Superb Optic-Ready

Description

The Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round is the optic-cut, ten-shot version of Taurus’s stretched micro-compact: a 3.70-inch satin black DLC barrel, a gas-nitride slide milled for a micro red dot, interchangeable backstraps, and two magazines.

Two things make this configuration worth singling out. The first is the optic cut, which on a carry pistol is no longer a luxury — a dot is faster to find under stress than iron sights and far easier for ageing eyes. The second is that the Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round gives up nothing but magazine capacity: the frame, grip and barrel are the full Carry size, so nothing about how it shoots is compromised to meet a limit.

What is on the gun

• A slide milled from the factory for a micro red dot, with the cover plate fitted for those who would rather run irons.
• A 3.70-inch satin black DLC barrel — a diamond-like carbon coating that is hard, slick and highly corrosion resistant.
• A black gas-nitrided slide, serrated front and rear. Nitriding hardens the steel itself rather than sitting on top of it.
• Interchangeable backstraps, so the reach to the trigger on the Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round can be fitted to the hand.
• A Picatinny rail moulded into the dust cover, and two flush-fitting magazines in the box.

Ten rounds, and the case for a dot

• Nothing on the Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round is shortened to reach ten. The grip is the full Carry length, so you keep a three-finger hold — which is what actually determines whether a small pistol can be shot well.
• If you later move somewhere without a magazine limit, the fifteen-round magazines drop straight in.
• A red dot puts the aiming reference on the target rather than asking the eye to focus on a front sight. That difference grows with age and with stress.
• Zero the optic and leave the irons alone — the Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round is not supplied with suppressor-height sights, so a dot sits above the iron sight picture rather than co-witnessing.
• Budget for the optic and for a holster cut to clear it. Both are part of the real cost of an optic-ready pistol.

Specifications

• Manufacturer part number: 1-GX4CRP941-10
• UPC: 725327634904
• Calibre: 9mm Luger
• Capacity: 10+1
• Barrel: 3.70 in, satin black DLC steel
• Slide: black gas nitride steel, optic cut, serrated front and rear
• Frame: black polymer with Picatinny rail
• Grip: polymer with interchangeable backstraps
• Action: striker-fired
• Safety: trigger blade and striker block
• Magazines: two

9mm Luger is standardised by SAAMI, so the same pistol runs on everything from cheap range ammunition to premium defensive loads. A 3.70-inch barrel is long enough that modern short-barrel defensive loads perform close to their advertised figures, which is not true of the shortest micro-compacts.

The fifteen-round version of the same pistol is stocked as the GX4 Carry TORO, and the iron-sight model as the GX4 Carry. For something smaller still, look at the GX4 micro-compact; for something cheaper and slightly larger, the GX2 Compact.

Why the Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round earns its place

• The Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round has a factory optic cut on a genuinely concealable pistol.
• A full-length grip inside a ten-round limit.
• DLC on the barrel and gas nitride on the slide, at a price where painted parts are normal.
• Interchangeable backstraps, so it fits rather than nearly fits.
• Two magazines and a rail included.

This is an everyday carry pistol for someone in a ten-round jurisdiction who wants a red dot and refuses to give up grip length to get one. It also suits a shooter whose eyes have started to argue with iron sights. The trigger is decent rather than exceptional; the Taurus GX4 Carry TORO 10 Round earns its place on features per pound, not on refinement.

In stock now at MAG5 Firearms in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Handgun sales ship to a licensed dealer in your state, where you will complete a Form 4473 and the background check before taking delivery.