Taurus GX2 9mm EDC Handgun Review
Hands-On The Feature-Packed 9mm GX2 With The Budget-Friendly $300-ish Price
It was a classic good-news/bad-news scenario. First, the bad news: Taurus has discontinued its popular G2c pistol. This polymer-framed 9mm pistol has been a great seller since Taurus introduced the 12-shot, striker-fired gun in 2013. With a retail price of around $300, it offered plenty of value for budget-conscious consumers. The good news is that the G2c is being replaced by the GX2 pistol, a completely new firearm featuring several refinements and upgrades over its predecessor, all without a price increase.
Last August, Hook & Barrel was invited to Gunsite Academy in Paulden, Arizona, for the launch of Taurus’ new GX2. Taurus President and CEO Bret Vorhees told the crew of gun writers, “With improvements we’ve made at our factory in Brazil, including 65 CNC machines run by robots and our coordinated measuring control system that constantly measures and adjusts to maintain tolerances, we’re able to produce a better gun for less money! We’re redefining value in the firearms industry—affordable doesn’t mean cheap!”
Taurus GX2 Details
The GX2 is a compact semi-auto, striker-fired 9mm pistol that has a capacity of 13+1. Its fire control group is contained within a stainless steel chassis pinned into a polymer frame. There’s a manual thumb safety located on the left side of the frame that allows for the slide to be manipulated when loading and unloading while engaged. Additional safeties include the passive firing pin block to ensure the gun doesn’t fire if dropped, and the trigger features a hinged safety lever, again to ensure that only a purposeful pull of the trigger will fire the gun.
Ergonomics & Shooter-Friendly Features
When Taurus set out to replace one of its best-selling guns, a strong focus was placed on the ergonomics of the GX2. The new pistol doesn’t feature replaceable backstraps, yet most writers at the Gunsite launch—both men and women—found the GX2 to be quite comfortable. Taurus engineers designed the backstrap of the GX2 to position the shooter’s hand as high as possible on the frame, and the undercut triggerguard also assists in promoting a high grip, which helps reduce muzzle flip.
Taurus molds a Picatinny rail into the frame’s dust cover for attaching tactical lights/lasers, and the magazine release is reversible for southpaw use. Texturing at the heel of the backstrap and frontstrap provides the user with a secure grip even when temps soar over 100 degrees, as we discovered at Gunsite. Indexing spots along the frame are also textured and give the shooter a handy spot to index to when their finger isn’t on the trigger.
Cocking serrations at the front and rear of the slide facilitate easy manipulations, even with sweaty hands. There’s a loaded chamber window at the rear of the barrel hood that helps indicate whether the chamber is loaded. One aspect that impressed me about the GX2 is that Taurus removes all sharp edges for comfortable carry. This often-overlooked treatment can make the difference between all-day comfort and exacerbated painful carry
GX2 pistols come with a steel rear sight that is drift adjustable for windage correction, while the front sight has a white dot. The neat thing about the new Taurus gun is that its dovetail is compatible with Glock sights, as is the front sight. Owners of the GX2 can replace the sights with aftermarket night sights if they feel the need.
I asked Vorhees about the exclusion of an optics plate. He said their market research found that those who invested in a $300 gun typically wouldn’t upgrade it with an optic that costs nearly as much as the gun. That makes sense to me! I own a lot of guns, and only a few of them are equipped with red dots. I rarely carry them because I don’t like the added bulk a red dot brings to an otherwise sleek handgun.
The Taurus GX2 Proves Its Worth At Gunsite
Earlier this month, Hook & Barrel ran a quick “new product launch” post where we mentioned a Gunsite “launch event that took place at Arizona’s Gunsite Academy. Under the guidance of Rangemaster Lew Gosnell, we completed several exercises with the GX2. Gosnell is one of my favorite instructors at Gunsite. The former Marine spent over 31 years as a law enforcement officer in East Los Angeles and also has a rich background in competition shooting, achieving wins in the old Soldier of Fortune 3-Gun matches, SASS End of Trail, and The Steel Challenge. His dry wit makes lengthy range exercises enjoyable, and no matter your skill level, he will always have a helpful tip to enhance your shooting skills.
We fired at targets from 3 to 25 yards. We practiced double taps to the high chest and the failure drill, which included a pair to the chest and one to the head. We shot with only our strong hand and then our weak hand, and the more I fired the GX2, the more I liked it. Gunsite’s Urban Scrambler allowed us to shoot on the move, navigate around barricades and obstacles, and reload on the fly. We cleared rooms in the Playhouse, Gunsite’s famous shoot house, engaging targets from an arm’s length to 15 yards, and when I did my part, the GX2 performed well. I thought to myself, of all the high-end guns I own, I’m not sure any could have helped me shoot better than the GX2 did.
I used a Taurus-branded UM Tactical holster for range exercises. Made from Boltaron, a material designed to withstand heat and cold better than Kydex, I attached a simple belt clip to the holster for appendix inside-the-waistband carry and outfitted a Boltaron magazine carrier similarly. I found it to be secure and quick, and even wearing the rig for hours proved to be comfortable.
Over the span of two days, I fired more than 300 rounds through the GX2 without any failures. One thing I didn’t get the chance to do at Gunsite was shoot the gun from a bench for accuracy.
Testing The GX2 Back Home
A couple of months after the Gunsite launch, Taurus returned the gun I had used for more testing on my home range. To eliminate as much human error as possible, I fired all of my groups from a seated rest using a DOA Tactical portable shooting bench and rested the GX2’s dust cover on a Ransom Rest Multi Cal Steady Rest. I fired three groups with each of the ammunition types listed, and the best groups were recorded in the accuracy chart. Targets were set out at 15 yards.
One of the things that made shooting groups with the GX2 easy was its trigger pull. My test sample’s trigger broke consistently with 3.5 pounds of pressure, and it was easy to maintain sight alignment while adding the pressure needed to break the shot. The trigger breaks crisply, and its reset is firm.
Doubletap’s 77-grain solid copper hollow point produced the best five-shot group, measuring just 1.07 inches. This has been a favorite carry load of mine for a while. It is consistently accurate, and the lightweight projectile reduces recoil impulse. I’ve seen this round penetrate 14 inches of ballistic gelatin, expand to 0.72 inches, and retain 100% of its weight. What’s not to like, right?
My collection of two range loads and four defense ammunitions all performed flawlessly in the GX2. I’ve yet to have a stoppage. These rounds all have differing bullet nose profiles and overall lengths, yet they fed, cycled, and extracted without a burp.
Here’s a quick look at my home-range shooting results…
Performance: TAURUS GX2
LOAD ACCURACY
Note: Bullet weight was measured in grains and accuracy in inches for the best five-shot groups at 15 yards.
The GX2 Meets The “Best Bang For Your Bucks” Threshold
I’m not aware of any other 9mm pistol on the market that offers shooters as much value for their money as the new Taurus GX2. It features great ergonomics, a very good trigger, and delivers the accuracy and reliability required for confident concealed carry. While Taurus lists the suggested price of the GX2 at $311, you’ll likely find it at your local retail shop for significantly less.
Specifications: TAURUS GX2
- Caliber: 9mm
- Barrel: 3.38 inches
- OA Length: 6.19 inches
- Weight: 20.6 ounces (empty)
- Grip: Textured polymer grip frame
- Sights: Drift adjustable, Glock compatible
- Finish: Melonite-style black
- Capacity: 13+1
- MSRP: $311 (as tested)
About Gunsite Academy
Gunsite was founded in 1976 by retired Marine Lt. Colonel Jeff Cooper. He was a proponent of the Modern Technique, which he developed while competing at Big Bear Lake, California. Borrowing on Jack Weaver’s bent elbow and push-pull grip, Cooper expounded on it and developed a curriculum designed to ingrain life-saving skills and confidence-boosting ability in his students in just a week’s time.
Gunsite’s training area covers more than 3,200 acres and boasts numerous ranges, including a 2,000-yard range, as well as classroom facilities, shoot houses, and a fully stocked pro shop. There is a campground for use by clients with RV’s and campers, hot showers, and laundry facilities. Gunsite staff trains law enforcement, military, and qualified civilians in the safe and effective use of firearms. To schedule a class or learn more about Gunsite visit their website at www.gunsite.com.