Call me an elitist, but I’m a S&W and Springfield fan when it comes to my polymer pistols. Gaston’s guns are OK, but they’ve never fit me. So when it comes to a carry gun, mine either says M&P or XD(m). I basically wouldn’t be caught dead with a Glock. However, the folks at Taurus have me begrudgingly admitting that I might have been a narrow in my assessment of carry guns. And here’s why . . .
Fit and Finish
In my mind, Taurus guns have always been associated with “The Judge” and generally larger, cheaper handguns. So imagine my surprise when I unboxed the Taurus PT111 Millennium G2 to find a well-crafted, compact polymer handgun. I racked the slide a few times and rattled it in the hopes of finding some sloppiness. No dice. I slid an empty magazine home, heard it click, and then hit the release. I watched the magazine drop free. Damned if everything didn’t seem to work. And then I saw that MSRP was $349. Consider my snobbiness subdued.
Reliability
I immediately headed to the range and ran a few hundred rounds of Blazer 115 gr., cheap steel-case Tula, and 147 gr. HydraShocks. I’m pleased to report that the G2 ate everything without so much as a single hiccup. However, due to the current climate surrounding ammo availability, I was unable to put more than 200 rounds downrange and I so am unable to make a complete judgement on reliability. However, I ran the gun with only the lubrication from the factory (not much) and didn’t clean it at all.
Accuracy
I found the G2 to be quite accurate given its diminutive size. I was able to produce minute of bad guy groups at combat distances. Even though the rear sight is adjustable, there was no need to mess with it as the gun hit what I was aiming at out to about 15 yards. The targets above were slow fired at 7 yards. The G2 uses fairly standard 3 dot sights and I found them easy to get lined up and on target. Beware aggressive cleaners as these are just painted. Caustic substances could likely eat those dots away.
To Carry or Not?
As a gun, it does the basics of what a gun should do. It fires with each squeeze of the trigger, and it does so fairly accurately. A carry gun however, should be able to do all that as well as be comfortable to tote and dead stupid easy to use. The thin profile of the G2 makes concealed carry extremely comfortable. I carried the G2 in my CompTac MTAC IWB holster and hardly noticed it at all. The gun is light and doesn’t have any major protrusions to jam into your side. When you do clear leather, you’ll find the G2 easy to get a grip on as it’s covered in nearly abrasive stippling all over. There’s simply no way to grip the G2 and not get a good purchase.
The G2, though, sports a manual safety which I believe fails the “dead stupid easy” test. The safety is very small and hard to flick off in a hurry. For that reason, I would be hesitant to have it has my personal carry weapon. During my time carrying the gun for this review, I carried it with the safety off. There’s also a loaded chamber indicator, which I also think you don’t need unless you have bad gun safety habits.
Trigger (double-action/single-action, 6lb trigger pull)
The go pedal has a LOOOOONNNGG travel that measures 2 lbs. to get you to the very crisp 6 lb. break with just a tiny bit of reset that kind of pops back on you. In the video above you can see the trigger sort of spit past the reset. The G2 also features a second strike capability which some folks seem to count as a feature. Personally, if a round doesn’t fire, I want it out of the gun and now. However, with ammo in short supply, maybe it’s worth giving the primer a second tap just to make sure. Second strike or not, the trigger break is very crisp and contributed to the gun’s good accuracy.
Cleanliness
The Millennium G2 breaks down just like one of Gaston’s guns. Clear the gun, pull the tabs down, squeeze the trigger and pull the slide forward. The G2 breaks down to frame, barrel, recoil spring, and slide. All the surfaces are coated and carbon wipes off easily with a bit of your cleaner of choice. Reassembly requires no fancy acrobatics and be accomplished in about 30 seconds.
Final Conclusions
The G2 is a surprisingly good gun. While small, it still packs 12 + 1 on board in an easy to shoot, accurate package. It carries nicely and is covered in grippy stippling so you can always get a good purchase. The only real “ding” I have is on the gun’s manual safety. And the only manual safety I’ve really ever liked in a carry gun is the big paddle on the 1911. If you give the G2 a try and like it, you might just consider carrying it with the safety off like a true mall ninja.
Specifications: Taurus Millennium G2
- Model: 111G2
- Finish: Blue
- Caliber: 9 mm (.40 coming soon!)
- Capacity: 12+1
- Weight: 22 oz
- Barrel Length: 3.2 inches
- Length: 6.24 inches
- Price: $349 (usually about $100 less via Cabela’s and Brownells)
Fit and Finish * * * * *
The level of quality evident in the G2 is in line with $600 – $900 polymer frame pistols. No rattles, squeaks, or clumsy machining.
Reliability * * * * *
Zero FTF/FTEs during testing, but due to current ammo shortages, this wasn’t really a complete test.
Accuracy * * * *
For a carry gun, it was accurate enough. This is definitely not a 50 yard pistol, but can definitely be considered combat accurate.
Carry * * * *
From a form perspective, this is a very concealable gun capable of holding a decent amount of 9 mm. However, it has a manual safety that’s hard to (de)actuate in a hurry.
Trigger * * * * *
Crisp and breaks like glass at 6 lbs. exactly. The reset point is a short throw away, and has an audible click. The second strike capability is nice, but in my opinion doesn’t add a lot of value.
Cleaning * * * * *
Super easy.
Overall * * * *
As a standalone product, this is an awesome gun. I was thoroughly impressed and I would have expected something like this at a price point closer to $500-$600. For a $349 price tag, this may be the best “bang for the buck” pistol I have had the opportunity to test.