Taurus GX4 Carry .380 Auto: 15+1 Optics-Ready, $340.99 MSRP

Taurus is chambering the GX4 Carry in .380 Auto, and the gun keeps the 15-round magazine that makes the 9mm version interesting. Announced from Bainbridge, Georgia, item 1-GX4CRP38031 lists at $340.99 MSRP and reaches authorized Taurus dealers beginning August 13, 2026. Street pricing already sits well below list, with stocking dealers showing it near $266.67.

Nothing else about the platform changed. The .380 carries the same 3.70-inch barrel, the same 6.56-inch overall length, the same slim profile, the same three interchangeable backstraps, the same MIL-STD-1913 accessory rail, and the same T.O.R.O. optic cut as the 9mm GX4 Carry. Shari-Lynn Fix, Director of Sales at Taurus USA, framed the addition as giving customers "another option that offers an even more comfortable shooting experience while maintaining the performance, capacity, and everyday carry features" of the GX4 family.

That is the whole pitch, and it is a coherent one. Most .380s ask you to give up capacity, a rail, or an optic cut in exchange for the softer cartridge. This one asks you to give up none of them.

Fifteen rounds ties the Ruger Security-380 for the highest factory capacity in the .380 class and roughly doubles the pocket guns. The Ruger LCP Max holds 10+1 at 10.6 oz. The S&W Bodyguard 2.0 holds 10+1 flush or 12+1 with its extended magazine at 9.8 oz. Both of those are genuinely pocketable; the GX4 Carry is not, and that is the honest tradeoff for the round count.

Against the Security-380 specifically, the two guns are nearly the same size: 6.52 inches and 19.7 oz for the Ruger against 6.56 inches and 21 oz for the Taurus. The Ruger counters with its Lite Rack slide and cocking ears, which is the better answer for a shooter with limited hand strength. The Taurus counters with the factory optic cut, which the Security-380 does not offer in any variant, and a lower street price. If you are cross-shopping the whole category, our ranked best .380 ACP pistols guide covers where each of these lands.

The GX4 Carry slide is cut for the Holosun K-series footprint and mounts those optics directly, without an adapter plate. In practice that means a Holosun 507K X2 or 407K X2 bolts to the slide as-is. Direct mounting keeps the dot lower over the bore and removes a plate interface that can loosen under recoil.

Footprint matters here, because Taurus does not use one cut across the GX4 line. The standard GX4 T.O.R.O. and the GX2 T.O.R.O. use the Shield RMSc pattern; the GX4 Carry uses the Holosun K pattern. The two are not interchangeable, and an RMSc-cut dot ordered on the assumption that all Taurus T.O.R.O. slides are the same will not sit down on this one. If you are choosing a dot from scratch, our pistol red dot guide breaks down footprints, window sizes, and astigmatism-friendly reticles.

Underneath the optic plate, the irons are better than the price suggests. The front is a fixed white dot steel sight and the rear is fully adjustable, which is unusual on a value-tier carry gun where drift-adjustable is the norm.

The GX4 Carry frame carries a MIL-STD-1913 accessory rail, which neither the standard GX4 nor the GX4XL has. That single change moves white-light options from clamp-on units to any standard subcompact rail light. For a carry gun that will spend nights on a nightstand, it is the difference between a real weapon light and a compromise.

The rest of the ergonomics carry over from the 9mm Carry: three interchangeable backstraps, a reversible magazine release, a flat-face serrated trigger, and magazine and grip cuts that let you strip a stuck magazine. The frame is stainless steel under the polymer with a matte stainless finish, the slide is alloy steel with a gas nitride treatment, and the barrel is stainless with a satin black DLC coating. Taurus owners looking at sight and holster upgrades across the wider polymer line can start with our Taurus G3, G3c and GX4 upgrade guide.

The trade is less recoil for less terminal performance, and the 3.70-inch barrel is long enough to make the first half of that trade real. Most defensive .380 loads are developed around pocket pistols with 2.7 to 2.8-inch barrels; nearly a full inch more barrel gives those loads more velocity to work with, which matters for hollow points that need a threshold speed to expand reliably.

The recoil difference is the point of the gun. Firing .380 from a 21 oz pistol sized for 9mm means less muzzle rise and faster recovery between shots than the 9mm GX4 Carry produces from the identical frame. That is a genuine advantage for shooters who flinch, who have wrist or grip limitations, or who simply want to train more without paying for it in fatigue.

Load selection does more work in .380 than in 9mm, because the margin between adequate penetration and over-expansion is narrower. Our best .380 ACP ammo guide ranks the loads that clear the FBI penetration standard, and our .380 vs 9mm vs .45 ACP comparison covers the ballistic gap in detail before you commit to the caliber.