We all know Taurus as a civilian firearms company renowned for its affordable semi-auto firearms and mix of classic and new revolvers. However, there’s a lesser-known side to Taurus beyond their budget-friendly handguns. I’m not referring to Rossi and Heritage. I’m talking about a distinct line of Taurus military firearms, a world apart from their civilian offerings yet largely undiscovered by the American market.
I call them the forbidden Tauri; Tauri is plural for Taurus, right? Eh, either way, it shows us how international the company is and that they produce more guns than you might realize. Let’s dig into the Taurus military firearms and see what we are missing out on.
Taurus T4
Most of us can probably guess what the T4 is just by its name. Taurus copied Eugene Stoner’s design and produced their M4 variant. The T4 comes in both the classic 14.5-inch barrel length and Mk 18 style 11.5-inch variants. These guns are straight M4-style clone rifles. Taurus released a few variants of the T4 as the T4SA to the American market, but I’ve never seen one in person.
The T4 gives shooters selective fire capability and features a quad rail, an optics rail, and the same six-position stock we all know and love. The Taurus T4 rifle has gone on to serve the Brazilian police forces and the Army. Taurus also sold T4s to the Philippine Army and the Armed Forces of Senegal. I’m sure it’s a fine rifle. It’s tough to mess up the Stoner design. The Taurus military weapons lineup wouldn’t be complete without some form of M4 firearm.
Taurus ART556
The ART556 and CT556 premiered in 2011, but I’d guess they are out of production. The ART556 was an assault rifle that jumped on the short-stroke gas piston train with a polymer lower and monolith upper. In 2011, guns like the SCAR, ACR, and similar platforms were all the rage. The ART556 offered you the Taurus version of this gun. It was complete with rails galore, ambidextrous controls, and a collapsing and folding stock.
The CT version was the semi-auto option. The guns came with either 11.5 or 16-inch barrels. I can’t seem to find anyone who adopted the rifle, so it may have just faded away. It looks pretty cool, and I would have been curious to see how Taurus could have competed with the SCAR and ACR with the CT556 in the American market. It might not have been a successful rifle in the Taurus military firearms lineup, but it’s worth mentioning.
Taurus T9
The Taurus T9 comes from the recent partnership of Taurus and Indian firm Jindal. The Indian government most certainly needs all the help it can get. They kind of suck at designing weapons. Their SOF required a submachine gun, and more than a couple of companies threw their hat in the ring. Taurus and Jindal produced the T9. The T9 is a micro-sized AR-style submachine gun.
The T9 features an uber-short 5.5-inch barrel, a collapsible stock, an M-LOK handguard, and a flat-top upper receiver. It’s super small, which is one of the big benefits of using a submachine gun, as is the short overall length. It’s a straight blowback design and appears to take Glock magazines. Taurus should consider bringing this to the States as a braced pistol and take it from the Taurus military world to the Taurus civilian market.
Taurus SMT
The Taurus SMT is the OG of Taurus submachine guns. It came out alongside the ART556, and if you compare the two, you’ll certainly see a very similar design inspiration. The gun used lots of polymer, lots of rails, and a monolithic scope rail and came in both 9mm and .40 S&W. Taurus also produced the SMT9C and SMT40C variants, which are uber small and essentially K models of the SMT series.
The SMT series were produced as semi-auto rifles and released in the States. I feel like I’m one of five people who own one. Sadly, Taurus didn’t support the weapon very well. The Taurus SMT series proved successful internationally. Police and military forces in Brazil adopted the gun, as did the Bangladesh military and the Indian military.
Taurus LT40
Taurus makes both a 38mm less lethal and a 40mm grenade launcher for Taurus military customers. The LT40 has a fascinating and fairly creative design. It can be attached to a rifle or used as a standalone platform. The standalone platform features a folding stock, an AR-15-style grip, and an optics rail. This single-shot design can pivot to the left or right to open the breech for loading grenades.
This ensures that it can use any length of grenade. The gun definitely takes some design cues from the ART556 and SMT with its use of polymer and a familiar ridge-like handguard. I can’t track any information regarding anyone adopting the LT 40 beyond the Brazillian military.
The World of Taurus Military Firearms
You might know Taurus for the Model 85 or the G2C, but that’s only scraping the surface of Taurus. As an international company, it produces more firearms than your standard. The Taurus military lineup is fairly diverse, and while they aren’t all hits, it shows that Taurus is more than a budget handgun manufacturer.
