diff --git a/discovery/gce/gce.go b/discovery/gce/gce.go
index 6525ef9d90..507a3238a3 100644
--- a/discovery/gce/gce.go
+++ b/discovery/gce/gce.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"net/http"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
@@ -113,18 +112,34 @@ func (c *SDConfig) UnmarshalYAML(unmarshal func(any) error) error {
 	return nil
 }
 
+// instancesLister lists the instances of a project/zone, paging through the
+// results and invoking f for each page.
+type instancesLister func(ctx context.Context, f func(*compute.InstanceList) error) error
+
+// newInstancesLister captures *compute.Service in a closure instead of storing
+// it on the interface-boxed Discovery struct. This keeps the binary smaller:
+// otherwise reflection keeps every Compute method live, defeating dead-code
+// elimination.
+func newInstancesLister(svc *compute.Service, project, zone, filter string) instancesLister {
+	isvc := compute.NewInstancesService(svc)
+	return func(ctx context.Context, f func(*compute.InstanceList) error) error {
+		ilc := isvc.List(project, zone)
+		if filter != "" {
+			ilc = ilc.Filter(filter)
+		}
+		return ilc.Pages(ctx, f)
+	}
+}
+
 // Discovery periodically performs GCE-SD requests. It implements
 // the Discoverer interface.
 type Discovery struct {
 	*refresh.Discovery
-	project      string
-	zone         string
-	filter       string
-	client       *http.Client
-	svc          *compute.Service
-	isvc         *compute.InstancesService
-	port         int
-	tagSeparator string
+	project       string
+	zone          string
+	listInstances instancesLister
+	port          int
+	tagSeparator  string
 }
 
 // NewDiscovery returns a new Discovery which periodically refreshes its targets.
@@ -137,20 +152,18 @@ func NewDiscovery(conf SDConfig, opts discovery.DiscovererOptions) (*Discovery,
 	d := &Discovery{
 		project:      conf.Project,
 		zone:         conf.Zone,
-		filter:       conf.Filter,
 		port:         conf.Port,
 		tagSeparator: conf.TagSeparator,
 	}
-	var err error
-	d.client, err = google.DefaultClient(context.Background(), compute.ComputeReadonlyScope)
+	client, err := google.DefaultClient(context.Background(), compute.ComputeReadonlyScope)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error setting up communication with GCE service: %w", err)
 	}
-	d.svc, err = compute.NewService(context.Background(), option.WithHTTPClient(d.client))
+	svc, err := compute.NewService(context.Background(), option.WithHTTPClient(client))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error setting up communication with GCE service: %w", err)
 	}
-	d.isvc = compute.NewInstancesService(d.svc)
+	d.listInstances = newInstancesLister(svc, conf.Project, conf.Zone, conf.Filter)
 
 	d.Discovery = refresh.NewDiscovery(
 		refresh.Options{
@@ -170,11 +183,7 @@ func (d *Discovery) refresh(ctx context.Context) ([]*targetgroup.Group, error) {
 		Source: fmt.Sprintf("GCE_%s_%s", d.project, d.zone),
 	}
 
-	ilc := d.isvc.List(d.project, d.zone)
-	if d.filter != "" {
-		ilc = ilc.Filter(d.filter)
-	}
-	err := ilc.Pages(ctx, func(l *compute.InstanceList) error {
+	err := d.listInstances(ctx, func(l *compute.InstanceList) error {
 		for _, inst := range l.Items {
 			if len(inst.NetworkInterfaces) == 0 {
 				continue