Taurus USA has launched a trio of pistols comprising its new TX9 line of striker guns. Built on the same core platform, Taurus offers the TX9’s as a full size, compact, and sub-compact models; all are optic-ready, feature alloy steel slides, and are built around stainless steel frames. The TX9 handguns represents a first for Taurus, too.
“The big thing about the TX9 series is it’s the first gun that we’ve made that was designed from the ground up to compete for international service pistol contracts,” said Caleb Giddings, general manager of Taurus Marketing, said in an interview.
“It was genuinely built and tested to be a duty pistol, and that’s not something we’ve done before.”
Specific requirements will vary by agencies and units, but generally, a service pistol must have great reliability and durability, be able to operate in extreme weather and environmental conditions, be modular, and possess enhanced accuracy capability.
Could Taurus really do all that with a pistol carrying a suggested retail of $499, a price that will likely translate closer to $400 in gun stores and online?
I certainly did not subject the three TX9s I evaluated to a rigorous military testing protocol, which would require thousands of rounds and all kinds of high-tech equipment to measure wear and tear and respective tolerances, as well as numerous other shooters.
However, I did run over 300 rounds of range and self-defense 9mm loads through my test guns, shot them at various distances, buried one in a snowbank for 45 minutes and soaked another in water for an hour, and then saw how they functioned.
Short story: they worked well overall, and accuracy was exceptional. They also check the modularity box.
FYI, a TX9 Long Slide with a five-inch barrel will be available later in 2026, date TBD — a pistol I really want to try out. OK, let’s get into it.
Taurus TX9 Handguns Out of the Box
Triggers
On average, the striker-fired triggers on my three TX9s broke at 2 pounds, 6 ounces on the full size model, 2 pounds, 10 ounces on the compact, and 2 pounds, 9 ounces for the sub-compact — all pretty close and consistent.
The feel was a notch above those springy triggers found on many striker guns I’ve used; there’s some spring, but it’s not bad. There’s about 1/3-inch of uptake before you hit the wall and engage the striker assembly. The triggers also featured a bladed safety to complement the pistol’s firing-pin block safety.
Grip Customization and Optics Compatibility
To allow individual shooters to adjust the grip to their hand size, each of the three TX9 models ship with four backstraps (XS, S, M and L).
All TX9’s are optic-ready, too. Simply undo the screws holding down the rear plate on the slide and then add the Taurus Adapter Plate for your optic. The four plates available fit the vast majority of popular handgun optics and are available at ShopTaurus.com.
Frame and Grip Texture
As noted, the frame is stainless steel and not polymer, no doubt to enhance the pistol’s durability. That frame is located within a hard polymer grip module featuring an under-barrel rail, a generous trigger guard for gloved fingers, and the textured and undercut grip itself.
That grip texturing felt like a slightly raised sandpaper and my hands stuck to it even in the cold weather temps in which I ran the pistols. The rear of the grip also featured a substantial beavertail which secured the web of my shooting hand for a very stable hold.
Controls and Mags
The magazine release is nicely grooved for solid control and is reversible. The owner’s manual lays out reversal instructions.
Taurus includes two magazines with each model pistol. The Full Size sells with two 17-round mags, the Compact two 15-rounders and the Sub-Compact is available with either two 13-round mags or two 10-rounders.
Taurus TX9 Range Test
Taurus TX9 Full Size
I shot the three TX9s over the course of two mornings, starting with the TX9 Full Size. Taurus sent the pistol with a Swampfox Optics Justice II red dot already mounted, but the gun isn’t available in a budle with a red dot (yet). The Justice II featured a 30mm window and a 6-MOA red dot, and the controls quickly got me on target.
At 7 yards and shooting off-hand, I had little trouble pegging five-shot groups of 1.25 inches and better with the TX9 Full Size using both range and self-defense ammo. The best group at this distance was .75-inches using Federal Premium Law Enforcement Tactical 9mm firing a 147-grain HST bullet.
At 25 yards and shooting from a rest, the pistol was amazingly accurate. Sub-2-inch groups were rather easy to shoot. Best groups were five rounds of Nosler ASP self-defense and its 147-grain bullet at .80-inches, and five of Federal Punch, featuring a 124-grain jacketed hollow point, at 1 inch even.
Taurus TX9 Compact
The TX9 Compact also arrived with a Swampfox red dot: the slightly smaller Liberty II built with a 24mm window and a 3-MOA dot. Like the Justice II, this optic’s controls were precise and got me on target quickly.
And accurately, as attested to by the 1-inch group at 12 yards firing from a rest with SIG SAUER 9mm and its 115-grain full metal jacket bullet.
The Swampfox also helped me drill six rounds of Fiocchi CovertX at .70 inches from seven yards offhand. I used the same CovertX at 25 yards and placed eight rounds into a 1.9-inch group.
Taurus TX9 Sub-Compact
The Sub-Compact held up its end, too, very able to drill 1-inch and better groups at 7 yards offhand with both range and lighter self-defense ammunition. The latter included Federal Punch with five rounds at 0.875 inches.
I also tried out the sub-compact with the Federal Law Enforcement and Nosler ASP. At common self-defense distances of ten yards and under, the pistol was more than accurate enough to do the job. But muzzle flip was noticeable, too, with these more powerful rounds driving their heavier, 147-grain bullets.
If I had to choose just one of the three? I’d go with the Compact model. It strikes as a fine balance of concealability and accuracy.
Taurus TX9 Mini Torture Test
Lawenforcement and military service pistol competitions begin with an agency calling for submissions of handgun prototypes and a listing of the various specifications and requirements the agency wants met.
Requirements vary by agency, but most agencies demand that the service pistol be able to function and function well even in extreme weather and environmental conditions.
Living in north-central Wisconsin as I do, and doing my shooting for this review in December, provided one such extreme testing opportunity: snow.
Snow Test
I did my snow test on Day Two of my shooting. The temperature stood at 25 degrees with a wind chill of 0 degrees; snow flurries dusted me and the pistols.
I fired off 10 rounds of 9mm range ammunition through the TX9 Compact, reloaded the pistol, including a round in the chamber, and dropped the pistol into a pile of snow. With my booted foot, I piled several inches of snow over the Compact.
I dug out the pistol 45 minutes later, blew off what snow I could, though much of it remained stuck to the pistol and optic, and fired off 10 rounds without a hitch.
Water Test
Meanwhile, I’d brought along a tall stainless container holding five inches of cold water. I set the pot next to my shooting table and submerged the sub-compact loaded with 10 rounds.
After an hour of soaking, I pulled out the pistol, shook it to remove water from the barrel and fired the 10 rounds in the magazine. No problems at all, even though ice had formed along the left side of the Sub-Compact which while in the water had faced the snow-covered, frozen ground.
I would’ve loved to cover one of the pistols with sand and dirt for a couple hours, too, after first wetting it down. But sand and dirt are actually very hard to come by here in December with the ground covered by a foot-plus of snow and multiple layers of ice!
To repeat, my two small tests didn’t constitute the intensive testing a law enforcement or military agency would perform. No doubt the TX9 handguns will go through such rigorous evaluations in the near future, and I will definitely track how the line fares.
But the TX9 handguns I shot did pass those two tests of mine and proved themselves extremely functional and very accurate.
I’ve reviewed pistols with much larger price tags that did not perform as well as the Taurus TX9 line. Whether or not Taurus wins a big military contract, the TX9 pistols function impressively and does so at an amazing price.
Taurus TX9 Line Specs
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 17, 15, 13, or 10 rounds
Firing System: Striker
Action Type: Single
Front Sight: White Dot Fixed Post
Rear Sight: Drift Adjustable Notch
Safety: Firing Pin Block, and Trigger Safety
Frame: Stainless Steel
Slide Material: Alloy Steel
Slide Finish: Gas Nitride
Grip Material: Polymer
Magazines Included: 2
TX9 Full Size Specs
Barrel Length: 4.5 inches
Overall Length: 7.75 inches
Overall Width: 1.28 inches
Overall Height: 5.2 inches
Weight: 25 ounces
Magazines: 2, 17-round mags
MSRP: $499.99
TX9 Compact Specs
Barrel Length: 4.0 inches
Overall Length: 7.19 inches
Overall Width: 1.28 inches
Overall Height: 4.8 inches
Weight: 23.7 ounces
Magazines: 2, 15-round mags
MSRP: $499.99
TX9 Sub-Compact Specs
Barrel Length: 3.4 inches
Overall Length: 6.62 inches
Overall Width: 1.28 inches
Overall Height: 4.5 inches
Weight: 21.7 ounces
Magazines: 2 13-round or 2 10-round mags
MSRP: $499.99
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