Taurus GX4 and XS Sights: Match Made in Shooter’s Heaven

Glows like Nancy Pelosi after 6 minutes of Happy Hour … but much prettier!

The Taurus GX4 puts a lot of features into your hand for a price that is nearly unheard of in today’s market. Of what’s included you get stellar ergonomics, an outrageous trigger, and ample magazine capacity. What isn’t included are a pair of good night sights. As deciding exactly what you want in night sights is a very personal choice, Taurus utilized a simple Glock-style slide cut to leave the market wide open to the end-user. While the world of handgun sights is my oyster, it’s hard not to gravitate straight to XS sights, which is exactly what I did.

Taurus cut both the standard and the new optics-ready T.O.R.O GX4 slides the same, so I decided to try a few different offerings, as I had two pistols to play with. Using a Lyman Accusight Sight Pusher Tool, I was able to remove the factory rear sights with ease. (I use this tool after learning the hard way that a hammer and punch will rupture a tritium vial, or at the very least destroy the gun’s finish when you inevitably slip.) Removing the front sights was as simple as twisting out the 2mm screw from the underside of the slide. I will advise that you exercise caution when removing the front sight though, as that tiny head hex screw can strip right out. If you are not sure of your ability, there’s nothing wrong with bringing your gun to a gunsmith to have them do it for you.

With the sights removed, I treated the standard slide to a set of XS’ DXT2 Big Dot sights. I went with orange because I dug the two-tone appearance, although a solid green variety is available too. Affixing the front sight required nothing more than replacing the hex screw with the fastener that XS includes, and using a bit of the thread-locking material that is also included. To my surprise, the DXT2 rear sight was able to be inserted by hand and then is kept in place with two set screws. I liked this system, as it makes it simple to adjust on the range.

On the other hand, the R3D sights that I put on the T.O.R.O. needed to be installed with the Lyman Sight Pusher. That’s not a bad thing, as it provides two fewer failure points, but at the expense of bringing the tool with you for your first range day.

I spend the next four hours getting to know my new sights as well as zeroing them in. (Ok, it didn’t take four hours, I just like shooting.) Starting with the DXT2 sights, I studied the diagram to get an idea of how to use them at various distances. The unique design of these sights consists of a “bowtie” style rear sight and a standard front sight that glows like Nanci Pelosi after the first six minutes of Happy Hour. The rear sight is treated with a vertical tritium vial that is used to “lollipop” the front sight.

Using a full-sized steel IPSC target, I found that as long as there was any sort of contact between these two components, I was hitting center mass at conventional defensive distances. If you are a “front-sight-only” guy, running these sights is going to be as fast as working a red dot. Switching over to the T.O.R.O., I got to play with the more conventional R3D sights. My handiwork had them nearly zeroed at 15 yards with just a slight windage adjustment being necessary. Aiming with these sights requires nothing more than connecting the dots and is so simple that even Joe Biden could explain it to his son after a 48-hour crack binge! As life sucks after daylight savings, I quickly found myself in near pitch-black conditions and really got to see these sights shine (pun intended, I’m sad and lonely). Rocking that steel target required no effort on my part and the glow that came off of these bad boys was quite stunning.

I was certainly impressed with these sights and the overly simple process of installing them. XS offers these two basic styles in a variety of colors and configurations to include a minimalist offering of the R3D that tones down the brightness by including a basic blacked-out rear sight. Sights for a plethora of other firearms are also available, so if you like what you see but don’t own a Taurus, you’re still in good shape. Regardless of what you like to carry, XS is bound to have exactly what you like to sight down. You can check out all they have to offer at XSsights.com, and remember Christmas is coming!