Taurus on Tuesday delivered a new installment in its popular and budget-friendly 9mm G3 pistol series, the G3XL.
The crossover design blends the polymer grip frame of the compact G3C, with its standard 12+1 magazine capacity, with the more full-sized 4-inch barrel and slide of the Taurus G3 to create the G3XL. The result is a very concealable handgun that still allows a decent sight radius akin to the one seen on the Glock 19, while just weighing 24 ounces.
The overall length of the new Taurus G3XL is 7.28-inches while height is 5.1-inches with the standard magazine inserted.
The steel alloy slide has a Tenifer matte black finish. We found the same finish on the G3 series to be better wearing than the one used on Taurus's earlier G2 line of pistols.
With a 3.2-inch barrel, the commonly-encountered G3C is just 6.3-inches overall, putting it right at an inch shorter than the G3XL, and couple of ounces heavier. However, in terms of height and width, the guns are a match for each other, no surprise as the G3XL uses the same grip frame as the G3C.
In the hands, the extra inch of slide/barrel really makes a difference. The G3C, left, G3XL on the right
How the new Taurus G3XL, center, fits in compared to the gunmaker's 15+1 capacity G3X and the G3C.
Of note, while the G3XL still has a striker block safety, trigger safety, and loaded chamber indicator, Taurus eliminated the manual frame-mounted safety lever seen on the rest of the line to ensure smooth draw and re-holstering.
While the length of the accessory rail on the G3XL is reduced from the standard-sized G3, we still found the 500 lumen Streamlight TLR-7A and the 1,000 lumen Inforce Wild to fit.
The G3XL ships with a pair of 12-round magazines, the standard mag of the G3C series. It will also accept available 15- and 17-round magazines meant for the G3, although they will extend past the grip.
The pistol takes down simply and with no tools, unlike Taurus's GX4 micro 9, and can be figured out in about five seconds for anyone familiar with a Glock. Note the two-piece captive recoil spring.
The striker-fired system uses a single action trigger with a restrike capability and seems to be the same trigger as used in the G3C, G3X, et. al. We found it breaks at about 5.5-pounds after a deep take-up and has a short reset for a factory striker-fired trigger. On restrikes, the weight is closer to 6.5-pounds.
The blacked-out drift adjustable rear and single fixed front dot sights are metal-- and Glock pattern, which means they can be swapped out with ease for those who want night sights or something more exotic.
