Rifleman Review: Taurus G3

The Millennium G2 was one of Taurus' most successful handgun lines, and in 2019, the company modified its design to create a new pistol, the Taurus G3. Like the previous Millennium G2 line off of which it was based, the G3 is a polymer-frame, striker-fired, recoil-operated handgun with added features and a slightly larger size. It was reviewed by American Rifleman staff in 2020. 

The Taurus G3 handgun.

Taurus adjusted the overall size of the G3's design over the compact G2, resulting in a more mid-size handgun platform. Chambered in 9 mm Luger, the G3 has a 4" barrel over the G2's 3.2" barrel. The same is true for the grip frame, which has extra height added to the grip. As a result, the G3 has a greater magazine capacity than the G2. Where the G2 was limited to 12-round magazines, the G3 comes with one flush-fitting, 15-round magazine as well as a 17 rounder with an extended baseplate.

A view from the right side of the Taurus G3.

The slide of the G3 is made of carbon steel topped off with a matte finish, while the barrel is made of stainless steel and left bare. The added length to the slide allowed for the addition of serrations the the front, in addition to the rear sides of the slide, which is not found on the G2. A small loaded-chamber window is also machined into the top of the barrel. On top of the slide, the G3 comes with a fixed front sight post and drift-adjustable rear sight, with both being of the white three-dot variety.  

A closer look at the stippled texturing molded into the grip frame of the Taurus G3.

Another feature added to the design of the G3 due to its overall larger size is an enlarged Picatinny rail on the dust cover, with three slots afforded to the G3 over the G2's single slot. The grip features mildly aggressive stippled texturing on the slides, as well as on the front and back strap, which offer firm yet comfortable control over the pistol. There are also recesses added to the grip frame for the indexing of the thumb and trigger finger.

Testing the Taurus G3 on the range.

For controls, the G3 has a reversible magazine release, a slide catch on the left side of the frame and a blade-in-trigger safety on the trigger shoe. Two disassembly tabs can also be found on both sides of the frame. The specific version of the G3 reviewed here also features an added manual safety lever behind the slide catch, though other versions are offered without this feature, if so desired. The trigger itself has a crisp break, with the specific model tested breaking between 5 lbs. to 5.5 lbs.

The G3 has all these features at a price point that makes it a fairly feature laden handgun that is also budget friendly. Form more information on the Taurus G3 pistol, and its other version which are now offered, visit taurusua.com.

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