Taurus GX2 9mm Luger Compact Pistol: Affordable Carry

Taurus's affordable new GX2 is the compact 9mm new shooters have been looking for.

July 01, 2025 By J. Scott Rupp

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Over the past few years, Taurus has proved that it not only builds top-quality guns but comes up with designs that make sense for defensive handgunners. I’ve been particularly impressed with the G3 family of 9mms, as well as the GX4, and now Taurus has introduced the GX2—a gun aimed straight at beginning shooters.

A member of the GX family as opposed to the G2 family, this is unapologetically an entry-level compact pistol with a suggested retail price of $310. A cursory internet search showed the street price to be in the $250 neighborhood, and you’d be tempted to think a gun this inexpensive would be a waste of time. I can assure you that, in this case, inexpensive doesn’t equate to cheap.

With its 3.4-inch barrel, 6.2-inch overall length, a height of 4.9 inches and a weight of just under 20 ounces, the GX2 is in the sweet spot for a carry gun—compact and light but large enough to be controllable. Width across the slide at the single-side thumb safety is 1.2 inches, so it’s nice and slim as well.

The slide features a matte black, corrosion-resistant finish. Angled, nicely sharp serrations on the front and rear make it easy to manipulate the slide even if you’re wearing gloves or your hands are slippery. The front of the slide is beveled for easy holstering, and a notch in the barrel hood lets you look into the chamber to determine the gun’s condition.

Sights

rear serrations — Both the front and rear sights are steel and set in dovetails on the industry standard pattern. The plain black serrated rear won’t snag on the draw and provides a great sight picture. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

The sights are nothing fancy, but Taurus doesn’t skimp by going the polymer route. The front and rear are both steel, and they’re on the “industry standard” (read, Glock) pattern, so there’s no shortage of aftermarket options.

But short of going with night sights, I love the Taurus setup as is. The drift-adjustable rear is plain black and serrated on its face; it’s paired with a white-dot front. The sight picture they create has no rear dots to distract you from a good front-sight focus, and the relationship between front and rear provides an ideal amount of light on either side of the front sight—fast to acquire but not so much room that accurate shot placement is a struggle.

The slide is not cut for optics, which is what you would expect for a beginner or entry-level pistol. Judging by other Taurus models, this decision chops a good $30 or $40 off the price tag, and if you fall into the beginner camp, a lot of folks—including me—still recommend iron sights when you’re starting out.

As I mentioned, the GX2 sports a thumb safety. That’s the right call on an entry-level/beginner’s defensive semiauto, as many new shooters simply feel more comfortable having a safety. The GX2 incorporates a trigger-blade safety as well.

Safety

The gun has a single-side thumb safety in addition to a trigger-blade safety. Unlike other G-series guns, it has a rotating takedown lever for simple fieldstripping. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

This safety is not very wide, but it is long enough to provide good leverage. I found it easy to move to the Fire position, although it was stiff enough that I couldn’t move it from Fire to Safe easily with my firing-hand thumb unless I shifted my grip significantly.

The slide-stop lever is likewise small and unobtrusive, but it’s well shaped and serrated so it is possible to use it as a slide release if that’s your preferred procedure.

There’s a wee bit of molding behind the serrated, triangular magazine release to prevent accidental operation. I could easily press the release without shifting my firing grip, which is something I can’t do with a lot of guns.

In what I think is a good move, the GX2 has a rotating takedown lever. This is in contrast to the takedown screw on the GX4 or the transverse bar on the G3 guns. Right out of the box this lever did require a significant amount of force to move it into the down position, but it became easier with use.

Defensive Trigger

pistol grip — While the GX2 lacks interchangeable backstraps, many shooters will find the grip just right, and the bump on the frontstrap provides an excellent indexing spot. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

After removing the magazine and ensuring the gun is unloaded, let the slide go forward before attempting to rotate the lever; make sure the lever is as far forward as it will go. Then, with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, the manual directs you to pull the trigger to remove the slide. I found it easier to pull the trigger before rotating the lever.

Inside you’ll find the stainless Sharpshooter barrel and a two-piece recoil spring. The spring is captured, with a plastic fitting at the back that butts against the barrel lug. After cleaning the barrel, bolt face and extractor hook, Taurus recommends lubricating the frame rails and the barrel lockup points.

The GX2 trigger is nicely done. It has a flat face, with a bit of a dogleg. Unlike the long take-up of the G3s, the GX2 has a more normal amount of take-up followed by a relatively creep-free 5.5-pound break on average. It’s got a crisp reset as well—short, tactile and audible. In short, it’s a perfectly fine defensive trigger.

The GX2’s frame and grip are very well done. The GX2 has a three-slot accessory rail out front, making it easy to add a light, laser or combo unit. The frame also includes textured indexing spots on the left and right, something Taurus has paid attention to with its recent semiauto models.

Grip and Control

pistol with two magazines — Even though the GX2 is an inexpensive gun, Taurus provides two quality 13-round magazines with the pistol. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

While the GX2 lacks interchangeable backstraps, as someone with medium-size hands I found the grip to be just right. It features textured panels in all the right places, and unlike any other G-series pistol, it has an indexing “bump” on the frontstrap that, at least for me, is a big help in achieving a consistent grip.

Further, the grip is long enough that I can get all three fingers on it. The base of the grip flares slightly, which I find really comfortable and believe it provides a bit of additional control. And speaking of control, the undercut behind the squared-off trigger guard promotes a high handhold.

The GX2 comes with two 13-round magazines with flat base pads, bright yellow followers and fully numbered witness holes. Neither the magazine well nor the base pads have the cutouts for stripping a stubborn mag that you’ll find on other G-series guns, but here the grip terminates completely above the magazine—no polymer overhangs—so the base pads are easy to grasp.

Shooting the gun revealed a few things. One, it’s accurate, as you can see in the accompanying chart. The Fiocchi load was not only the best shooting load, it was also the most consistent—no super big groups, no super small groups, just solid across the board. That’s something I love to see in any handgun. Federal’s Punch was no slouch in that department, either. None of the loads shot poorly, and even the light-bullet HoneyBadger—which not all guns like—performed decently.

Reliability

accuracy results — (Accuracy results provided by the author)

Two, the GX2 is completely reliable. There were zero failures to feed, to fully lock up, to eject, nothing. And that’s with bullet weights spanning the 9mm spectrum, 100 to 147, and including HoneyBadger’s fluted solid-copper bullet, Hornady’s polymer-tipped FTX and two different hollowpoint designs. A good 200 rounds right out of the box without a hiccup.

Three, it’s really shootable for a small, light gun. I ran Bill (six shots at speed) and X (head/body target transitions) drills at 10 yards, and the GX2 was accurate and fast to get back on target. Handling was great, and as I mentioned before, I liked the bump on the frontstrap as an indexing spot. The texturing on the grip is just right and provides a solid hold without being abrasive.

Operating the controls and conducting reloads depended a good bit on whether I was wearing gloves or not. It was a frosty 15 degrees the morning I tested the GX2, so mostly it was with gloves on. I couldn’t get a good feel for the safety on the draw, and during reloads the magazine tended to get trapped by the gloves. That’s not a function of the magazine base pad design but rather the grip length, and with gloves it’s just that the grip doesn’t extend far enough to dodge the glove material.

Without gloves it was a different story for the most part. Mags dropped free without issue, and they were easy to seat, so reloads were fast and sure.

Subtle Quirk

muzzle of pistol — The GX2 incorporates a three-slot Picatinny rail for adding a light or laser. The matte black slide is beveled at the front for easy holstering and has front and rear serrations. (Photo courtesy of J. Scott Rupp)

Earlier I wrote that I could place the safety on Fire easily, but that was not the case on the draw. I had to cheat a little bit on the initial grip in order to consistently deactivate the safety when punching the gun toward the target.

Shooters with longer thumbs or slightly larger hands won’t have this problem, and in the end I just shot the pistol with the safety off. Not being a fan of safeties on striker-fired guns in the first place, especially those with trigger safeties like this one, I was totally okay with it.

One thing I will note for shooters who haven’t spent a ton of time stuffing rounds into pistol magazines. The GX2’s mags are on the stiff side, and if you’ve got strength issues or are suffering from arthritis or a similar problem, do yourself a favor and pick up a magazine loader. Frankly I’m using these more and more anyway as I get older and more prone to aches and pains, especially on cold days.

I didn’t carry the GX2 extensively, but what time I did spend with it showed it to be a fine companion. The GX2 does not fit Taurus G3 or GX4 holsters, but it did fit an outside-the-waistband rig I had for a Springfield XD. Mission First Tactical offers a convertible appendix inside-the-waistband/outside-the-waistband holster for the GX2, and of course you could always go with CrossBreed’s excellent MultiFlex. I think the small size of this adjustable and convertible holster would make it a great choice.

Industry Support

However, I don’t expect it will be long before GX2 holsters will be widely available because I think this gun is going to sell like hotcakes. It’s got everything you could want in a defensive gun: a just-right size for concealed carry or home defense; 100 percent reliability; decent accuracy; a rail for lights and lasers; and of course, that sweet price.

Plus it comes with two magazines, and if you’ve looked at prices for good metal mags like these, you know they aren’t cheap. The ability to upgrade to night sights with the wide availability of aftermarket options is another bonus, even though I find the stock sights to be perfectly fine for most purposes.

If you’re on the prowl for your first defensive pistol, I don’t think you can go wrong with the GX2—especially if you’re on the fence about what you want and would like to get in the game without a big investment. But really anyone in the market for a gun in this size class will find it a great choice.