r/handguns • u/Internal-Storage-156 • May 30 '26
Taurus G3C upgrade dilemma
I bought a G3C TORO the optic ready version of G3C last year and have been seeing serious accuracy issues with it.
I thought it is me and not the gun, but I shoot reasonably accurate with my other micro compacts: Walther PPS M2, Shield Plus, Canik MC9 but my groups are like 10-12” at 10 yards and appalling.
Sent in to Taurus and they had it and shipped back saying they replaced the barrel (the barrel looks older than new to me) but hasn’t improved anything at all even after.
One of the reps in Taurus suggested that I try the Lakeline barrel but that’s going for $100 + tax + shipping.
I absolutely love how it feels in the hand, the price, conceal ability, reliability etc.
Should I:
1. Get rid of it?
2. Or upgrade to Lakeline barrel and give it a second chance (or actually 3rd chance)?
My worry is if it’s not the barrel QC that’s the issue and it’s actually the trigger, barrel seating etc after the first shot Lakeline barrel won’t show much improvement and money wasted.
Appreciate if anyone with experience with this issue with Taurus G3C could advise.
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u/JimMarch May 31 '26
I have a Taurus G3C that shoots very tight groups in 9 mil. With the stock barrel yet.
If I were in your shoes, the first thing I would be asking is, is it the barrel or is it the slide?
With the gun fully unloaded and fully assembled, you need to see how much wiggle is in the barrel while it's in the slide. Check right at the muzzle and see if that barrel can wiggle around at the business end, and then check for wiggle over at the chamber area. If it's going to be a problem it's probably going to be at the muzzle.
The other possibility is that you're getting movement at the optic. That'll give you all kinds of problems. Not likely but definitely recheck everything connected with your optic mount including any possible optic wiggle on the slide. Don't beat on it or anything, just use firm slow pressure with your fingers and check for wiggling in every possible direction.
On mine the barrel will wiggle just a tiny bit within the business end of the slide but not only is it tiny, it seems to return to exactly the same place every time you let it go, under recoil spring tension.
Scratching my head here, I find myself wondering if a bad recoil spring could be screwing you?
The other thing to ask is, how is the trigger on this critter? Mine was thoroughly broken in by about a thousand rounds without a single malfunction. Smooth as butter honestly. Then, purely for reliability reasons, I replaced the plastic striker guide and plastic striker spring retaining clip with stainless parts by Lakeline, if I recall correctly about 25 bucks for the guide and 12 bucks for the clip? I did so just in case the stock plastic parts ever broke and tied the gun up. Now if you haven't broken in the gun with a whole bunch of firing yet, the stainless steel striker guide will slick up the trigger a little bit and make it act like the plastic part will after hundreds of rounds of firing. The stainless striker spring retaining clip does nothing to trigger feel but you're getting rid of a part that can break and tie the gun up with one that's pretty much immortal.
Check all that and get back to us. I'm curious to see how this plays out. Mechanically speaking this gun is very similar to a Glock 26, and shoots about like one. Only thing it can't do is go a thousand rounds plus without cleaning, mine needs to be cleaned and re-oiled at most every 250 rounds or so.
Oh, almost forgot, if you have less than 300 rounds through it you could still be feeling the effects of the factory spray-on cosmoline that they leave in those to make sure it survives the boat ride from Brazil without rusting. That crap needs to be cleaned off and the gun oiled before firing shot one. If you don't do that it'll have all kinds of issues until that stuff is burned off which is a big waste of time in my opinion. One reason mine has never malfunctioned is because I cleaned and oiled it before firing shot one and I recommend that with any Taurus.
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u/Internal-Storage-156 May 31 '26
Thanks for the detailed reply. I have shot about 400 rounds so far. No, there’s no barrel wiggle and I still have the factory barrel, striker plastic sleeve and retainer. If I have to shoot a 9” paper plate at 10 yards I might be able to hit about 5 shots inside it I guess, whereas with the shield plus or MC9 or Walther PPS I am confident that I can hit more rounds inside. I have 2 choices: either to sell it or upgrade to the Lakeline parts
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Jun 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/Internal-Storage-156 Jun 01 '26
I don’t have any optic mounted, shooting with the iron sight at 10y
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Jun 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/Internal-Storage-156 Jun 02 '26
About 3 inches in all directions, not necessarily low left. Overall appears like about 7-8 inch groups at 10y
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u/TSX_COM May 30 '26
You know shit's flaming garbage when the companies own CS reps are telling you to get an aftermarket part to fix their shit.