Last year Taurus released their freshly updated G3C compact 9mm pistol. Being the successor of the G2C, the G3C (and by extension the G3) received some upgraded features and a new look. I reviewed the G3C upon release last year and if you want my review of the full pistol without the optics cut then you can read that here. Today we’ll be discussing the Taurus G3C TORO (Taurus Optics Ready Option) pistols that have just been made available.

TFB Review: The Optics Ready Taurus G3C TORO

The TORO pistols in both the compact and full-size configurations have nearly the exact same features, specifications, and operation as the standard G3 pistols but with the added option of being able to mount almost any red dot currently on the market. It is worth noting, however, that both the G3C TORO and the G3 TORO can accept aftermarket Glock sights in addition to the optics mount.

It seems that Taurus is leaning very hard into the Carry optics market which I think is a great move for the company considering the increasing popularity of this specific niche of pistols.

TAURUS G3C TORO SPECIFICATIONS

Caliber: 9mm Luger

Capacity: 10- or 12-round

Slide Finish: Tenifer matte black

Operational Controls Finish: Black Teflon coating

Grip/Frame: Polymer

Firing System: Single action with restrike capability

Action Type: Striker

Safety: Manual, trigger safety, striker block

Sights Front: Fixed (white dot)

Sights Rear: Serrated drift adjustable

Slide Material: Alloy steel

Overall Length: 6.3″

Overall Width: 1.2″

Overall Height: 5.1″

Barrel Length: 3.2″ (stainless steel)

Weight: 22 oz. (unloaded with magazine)

Magazines Included: 3x10rounds or 3x12rounds

Packaging Size: 9.8″ L x 6″ W x 1.8″ H

Packaging Weight: 33.20 oz.

Additional Feature: Picatinny Rail (Mil-STD 1913)

Red Dot Compatibility

As stated above, the Taurus G3 and G3C TORO pistols can now accept red dots right out of the box. This includes popular optics like the Holosun 407C, Holosun 507, Trijicon RMR, Docter Noblex, Vortex Venom, Buris Fastfire, Sightmark Mini, C-MORE STS2, and of course the ever popular Leupold Delta Point red dot.

Taurus does a great job of making all of these options available by providing not only the mounting plates for each style of optic mount but screws for each type of optic as well. This is great so you don’t have to go hunting for matching screws for your specific optic, and they’re also great to have around as spares if you do have the correct hardware to mount your optic.

With Taurus being a more budget-friendly option, I think it’s great that they’ve included access to the wide variety of red dot optics we currently have on the market and I’m sure this will include some more recently announced optics that we saw during Gun Fest 2021.

Ultimate Budget Carry Contender?

There are a few reasons why I think many people would want to have this type of pistol. Most of us these days aren’t really rolling in cash and sometimes we just need a gun ASAP. Throughout my testing of both the standard G3C pistol and the new G3C TORO pistol, I’ve had zero failures of any type with a very wide variety of ammunition.

I went ahead and purchased the Taurus G3C to continue my testing of that pistol, and I started to run some of my own hand loads through it, and I’ve got the round count of that pistol well through the 1,000 round mark by now. The pistol impeccably reliable in its own right and now that I have access to the G3C TORO I have been even more impressed that the recoil spring assembly is able to meter even some of the lighter loadings of 115 grain 9mm.

This is an important aspect too as I have often had reliability in some of my other pistols when switching from iron sights to Red Dots without taking into consideration the added mass that the action now has to overcome in order to reliably cycle the weapon. No such problems exist so far in my testing of the G3C TORO. As configured, all my testing was done with arguably one of the heavier optics available – the Holosun 407C which weighs in at around 1.5 oz without the mount.

Durability

The main reason I wanted to put a (costly) higher round count through this review pistol was to test what I consider to be something of paramount importance – keeping the dot on the pistol. With many red dot optics, you’re really only getting one or two threads of engagement into the slide of your pistol to keep the thing on. I’ve seen red dots come off of pistols before due to mounting hardware being sheared off so I think it’s worth it to test out your carry optics rig before carrying it out in the field.

With the rounds I put through the pistol I didn’t need to tighten the hardware down any more than when I initially attached the optic. However, I’d recommend that you bring a tool to check the tightness of your attachment by using something like a torque limiter. If you’re having issues with your hardware coming loose after about 200 rounds or so, I’d apply some yellow thread locker to keep things tight. You could also use a red thread locker if you are near certain you’ll never be taking off your red dot.

Faster Target Response

With all that said the mounting plate included for the Holosun 407C worked perfectly and I didn’t have any issues carrying the G3C TORO in my belly band. I would have liked to test out the G3C TORO using a properly fitted OWB holster like I have for the standard G3C but I simply didn’t have access to one that could accept an optic.

As I’ve grown more accustomed to shooting with a red dot instead of iron sights, I have found that the distinct advantage of pinpoint accuracy is nothing to be scoffed at. At 10 yards on a 3″ dueling tree, I had far better results using the G3C TORO over the iron-sight-only model. Although a reduction in overall visibility is to be expected, I find that having better accuracy as well as a positive indication that you are on target (seeing the dot) is going to be more beneficial to you in a defensive situation.

In Closing

I walked into this review expecting to not learn very much but now that I’ve had a chance to compare two pistols of the same model side by side, I feel like the concept of carrying optics is growing on me even more. I do, however, really wish Taurus would start making these pistols without the manual safety.

The paranoid person living inside of me wishes only that some suppressor height or co-witness height sights were available for the pistol from the factory in the unlikely case that your battery fails or your red dot is somehow rendered inoperable. It’s always nice to have a backup option. However, the G3C and G3 TORO Pistols do feature slides machined to accept aftermarket Glock sights if you feel the need to change them. There are also versions of the non-optic ready G3 pistols out now which can also accept aftermarket sights.

With the reliability and performance I saw and the sheer amount of optics options available to the end-user, I think I could solidly recommend the G3C TORO to someone who is looking to enter the carry optics world on a budget.