The Taurus G3 T.O.R.O.
The Budget Optic-Ready Option
Silk purse at a flannel shirt price — Taurus is becoming the new working
man’s gun with its quality, list of features and competitive pricing.
Imagine heading to the indoor range with your no-frills buddy. Nothing’s better than a day of shooting, right? Your buddy’s a down-to-earth, jeans and plaid flannel shirt kind of guy and shoots guns like himself. Nothing fancy — just rugged, well-priced, run-of-the-mill shooters.
Like most ranges, the firing line is dim, while the range itself is well lit. You both unpack, settle in, ready to shoot. The command is given, “the range is hot” so you and your buddy both start shooting. During the next ceasefire, as the targets come back, you do what everyone does and peer over at your buddy’s target.
Each of his smaller targets show tight, neat groups. Way smaller than yours. Hmmm … he notices you staring at his target and simply winks. He’s shooting his new gun, the one he tried to tell you about on the way over but you only listened half-heartedly. He even mounted a red dot sight on it, just like yours. He asks if you want to try his gun …
The G3 T.O.R.O. comes complete with cover plate and four
additional plates, covering practically every red dot sight out there.
A Revelation
Picking it up, your fingers and hands instantly feel the generous stippling. It’s perfectly located, providing a wonderful grip. You notice something else too — is that a palm swell? Subtle, it feels great! There are also two indentations, fore and aft each side of the frame, perfect for indexing your grip each time you pick up the gun.
You’re genuinely excited! But you never let on, because after all, he’s your buddy. You place several 2″ orange squares on your blank target backer and send it downrange. Again, the command is given, “the range is hot!”
A torrent of gunfire starts as you insert a loaded magazine and rack the slide to chamber a round. Even racking it seems much smoother and easier than your gun. Raising it, you find the red dot sight and it magically finds the square you’re aiming at. Steadying the dot, you start your trigger press.
The first half of the press is met with little resistance, as the second half slowly and smoothly starts picking up weight. Before you know it, the trigger crisply breaks to unleash the striker.
Tank used TRUGLO’s TRU-TEC red dot sight for testing.
The Big Reveal
The voice in your head says, “Darn, this is nice! What a smooth trigger!” You’re genuinely impressed with the way the gun feels and shoots. You’ve never shot better. As the lights are turned up for the ceasefire, you make out the factory markings …
The gun is Taurus’ new G3 T.O.R.O., or Taurus Optic Ready Option. Wow! Who would have thought a Taurus would shoot and feel so good? Let me tell you, things have changed at Taurus and the G3 series is just one example.
The G3 T.O.R.O. breaks down like most striker fired pistols.
Exam Room
The Taurus G3 T.O.R.O. is the real deal! Roughly the same size as a GLOCK 17, but with a 0.49″ shorter barrel, the G3 is well-built and shoots like the big boys with a small-boy price tag. It has the best trigger on any factory striker-fired pistol I’ve ever shot and there’s something really cool about the trigger.
Technically, the G3 is a single-action, striker fired pistol. However, should the chambered round fail to fire, you have re-strike capability. The trigger resets forward, allowing the shooter to pull the trigger again, in double-action mode, without having to rack the slide.
This is great for training, as you can use one of the newer clip-on GPS units such as those from Mantis which synchronizes with your smart phone for endless “dry fire” practice. These units show how steady your hand is during your trigger press, showing where your hits would have landed on your smart phone screen.
With today’s ammo shortage and cost, it’s a great way to train, without having to rack your slide after every trigger press, defeating the “true feel” of shooting.
Plate Gate Perfection
Taurus ships the G3 T.O.R.O. with a cover plate installed, along with four different mounting plates for about every red dot sight available. I used a TRUGLO TRU-TEC MICRO sight as my red dot for testing. This sight comes with a cross-bolt base, which is easily removed.
Base Plate #2 works perfectly for this sight. Just place the plate into the mortise and set the sight on top, aligning the witness studs to the holes in the sight, then install your screws and you’re ready to go — simple!
The 1791 Gunleather Optic Ready Multi-Fit is perfect for the G3 T.O.R.O.
There’s More …
Remember those indentations on the frame? They’re called “Memory Pads” and they provide witness points, each and every time you draw your gun and establish grip. They instill confidence because you know a consistent grip is the cornerstone for repeatable accuracy.
The frame also has an integrated Picatinny rail allowing the installation of an auxiliary light/laser of your choosing for either illuminating or zeroing-in on your target during low light conditions.
Other features include a windage-adjustable serrated dovetail rear sight with post front sight. A loaded chamber indicator lets you know at a glance if the chamber is loaded. A traditional thumb-safety adds extra security as well as the striker block and trigger safeties.
A Teflon coating on all moveable parts ensures smoother operation and it is very noticeable. Front and rear cocking serrations and scallops on the magazine extension provide enhanced gripping ability during slide manipulation and magazine removal. The slide is finished in a tough and durable Tenifer matte black coating, like more expensive guns.
Weight is 34.2 oz., overall length 7.28″, width 1.2″ and height 5.2″. The G3 T.O.R.O. ships with both 15- and 17-round blued steel magazines.
Even Tank’s handloads shot well in the Taurus G3 T.O.R.O.
The gun ships with both a 15- and 17-round steel magazine.
Shooting
I used orange 2″ squares on a blank target backer (sound familiar?) for sighting-in the TRU-TEC red dot sight, setting my target at 50 feet while using SIG SAUER 124-grain full-jacketed ball ammo. My first shot was about 10″ low with windage being almost perfect.
Adjusting the TRU-TEC’s elevation with the provided screwdriver, I fired again. Elevation was perfect but I was 1″ to the right. A final windage adjustment had me on target, the last three rounds clustering into a 1″ group. Tracking adjustments were perfect for the TRU-TEC sight.
Shooting for groups, SIG SAUER 124-grain FMJ ammo averaged 2″ for 5 shot groups. Black Hills 100-grain HoneyBadger ammo averaged 2.5″ while their 115-grain JHP EXP shot under 2″ groups. Handloads consisting of MP Molds 140-grain radiused flat-nosed powder-coated slugs, over 4.5 grains of 231 consistently shot 2″ groups.
Shooting was from the bench, forearms perched on a 6″x6″ wood block for stability. This is my sighting-in/accuracy testing routine. Needless to say, the accuracy of the G3 T.O.R.O. is impressive! Using a Lyman trigger scale, the trigger averaged 4 lbs., 10 oz. for five pulls, while being very smooth and crisp.
The 1791 GunLeather Optic Ready (OR) Multi-Fit Belt Holster is perfect for the T.O.R.O. as a CCW rig. Designed for red dot sights and made of top-quality steer-hide, this double-slotted holster keeps the G3 T.O.R.O. strapped tight against your body. The low-cut front accommodates all optic sights while still maintaining retention qualities.
Summation
If you enjoy packing a budget-priced quality shooter, the Taurus G3 T.O.R.O. is the gun for you. Don’t take my word, try one out. You’ll be as impressed as I was. I won’t be sending this gun back, either. It carries comfortably and conceals nicely with my plaid-flannel shirts …
My daughter likes it and shoots it well too. She’s already talking about taking it with her to Veterinary school this fall. The G3 T.O.R.O.’s price and quality make getting another one doable, and to me, that’s as high a compliment as you can give any gun.
MSRP: $449
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