LOL Lets ramp it up a bit as we move to page 2

Seeing as how no one's arguments/posts seem to be changing any minds;

First see my post #8 about the Taurus guns being built under licence from Beretta . Probably with lower labor costs. To paraphrase Bush 43 the Taurus guns are in effect "Brothers by another mother" to the Beretta 92.

Now to Ramp it up are Italian made Beretta's "better" than American made Berettas?

Are the Maryland guns better than the Tenn. guns???

I've never owned a Taurus, but my buddy had the Taurus 92 in 40 S&W. Gun would not run, even after polishing of feed ramp, etc. The 40 S&W flat point bullet would feed from the mag and jam at the bottom of the feed ramp. He owned it less than a month before trading it off. He owns a 92fs in 9mm and it has been flawless. Not exactly apples to apples because of caliber. And if he could run RN bullets through the 40, it may have worked. Just my observation....

ColbyBruce

I used to work the World's largest loony bin.

Now I own my own much smaller and quieter one;-)

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Certified Curmudgeon

Never intended it to be a "knock" on the gun, they're great guns, just overkill in size for the round.

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Dave Ramsey Cultist

“are Italian made Beretta's "better" than American made Berettas?”

I have owned a Beretta 92f and three 92fs pistols, two made in Italy and two made in the USA. While I personally shot all four of them about the same I had a neighbor who did shoot the two Italian guns much better. He pointed it out to me, while trying to buy the gun in the photo I posted in this thread.

By much better, I mean he could nearly cut his groups in half, with my guns and his own two guns. Shortly before he retired and moved to Florida in 2015 he swapped his USA made 92fs and a Benjamin for a Italian made 92fs.

Well, I guess I'll tell my story and opinion too...

I bought a Beretta 92FS from a sheriff's sale. Pictures were awful. Case number on the side turned people off. Turned out someone had put a piece of tape and written on the tape. Described as fair condition. Got it CHEAP.



When I cleaned it up, it turned out to be almost perfect. Put some nice grips on it.




Ended up buying a Taurus PT-92 soon after. It was every bit as reliable as the Beretta.




In one of my periodic purges, I ended up getting rid of the Taurus and keeping the Beretta.

To be complete though, I bought a Beretta 84 and a Taurus PT58 (clone), and the PT58 was the least accurate pistol I have ever shot.

My opinion, get the Beretta.

I'm sure the Taurus is a good gun. I have CZ 75's, I would get one over an EAA Witness (a gun that looks just like the CZ).

Big Taurus claim to fame is the frame safety. The slide safety doesn't bother me, as I own S&W's, other Beretta's, and some Makarov-style guns, all with slide safeties. BTW, I also have guns with Sig-style decock only, as well as 1911/CZ style frame safety. If you enjoy and get accustomed to the gun, you will have zero trouble handling any of them.

Too much gets made of size and control placement, in my opinion. Most of us merely enjoy a finely made handgun.

Keep in mind that Taurus bought a BERETTA factory that was built in Brazil to fulfill Brazilian military contracts. I think the Brazilians insisted that the plant be located there. It also made the .25 guns, like the M-950. Occasionally, one of those turns up in the USA. I think I've seen them marked in English, not in Portuguese, so some US sales must have happened. No idea who imported those. Or, how, as they were made post GCA 68 and would be too small for legal importation. May have been intended for South African sales?

I think the Brazilian army guns were made as and marked as, Berettas, probably a M-92S variant. If Ray in Rio ses this, he may be able to comment.

No Taurus-marked guns were made until AFTER Beretta filled its Brazilian contracts and sold the factory. Did Taurus itself later get Brazilian military or police contracts? Don't know. Good question. I think they made or licensed some Chilean contract guns marked as made in Chile. And I think I recall some marked as made in or issued in Peru, too.

So, I went and checked out the PT92 last week. It had very minimal wear, didn't look like it had much use. Here's what I thought of it -
DA/SA trigger pulls felt just like my Beretta 92S.
The slide did not have the same smooth action as the Beretta, like someone stated here previously. It was nice, though.
The frame mounted safety/decocker is so much better being there and not on the slide. But the lever was pretty stiff, especially the decocker. It take some effort to engage.
Overall, I was very impressed. So much so, that I couldn't resist. He came down a little on the price. $300 OTD, so I HAD to take it home.
It had quite a bit of heavy grease in it. Almost like the stuff that comes in a new gun. I gave it a thorough cleaning and lubed it up. Then I took it to the range a few days later. I put 400 rounds thru it. 300 Fed American Eagle 124gr, 50 cheap Fed from Walmart 115gr, 50 Fed HST 147gr. I was very happy with it. Compared to the 92S, the taller 3 dot sights were a big improvement.
I'm not a fan of that wide grip, so I ordered G10 grips from Hogue. I emailed them and they said their G10's were a bit thinner than stock. Finding thin grips for a PT92 is difficult as they are slightly different than the Berreta. However, I found that my 92S G10 grips could fit with a little trimming to accommodate the frame mounted safety. And the screw holes would have to be opened up a bit since they don't quite line up. So if a person wanted a larger variety, you could order grips for a Beretta if you don't mind a little work.
I also found Mec Gar 18 round mags for around $22. So those will be ordered as well.
I thank all of you for the feedback. I think I'll be happy with the Taurus.


Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

At $300 OTD I think you did good. I think that after a good clean and lube, much of the stiffness will go away. Congrats!

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-John

I have not owned either pistol , however I have seen what other have owned and have seen the results of firing lots of rounds , perhaps more than some , as our guns can only be fired at an approved range here .

The result is that the Taurus pistols break down more often than quality pistols do . The Taurus 92's tend to shear the locking arrangement on the under side of the barrel . Also Imbel 45 pistols do the same . A side note, the Taurus in question was imported into Canada before Taurus USA was established . The owner was told by Taurus USA , too bad we don't know you . I do not know if a Beretta barrel would fit a Taurus pistol .

Regards .

Hogue G10 grips came in. I was told they were thinner than factory grips. If they are, it's not by much. I can't really tell the difference. But the G10 material and texture give it a much better feel and that's what I was looking for.

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

Seems like a good gun. I’ll admit, the blingy chrome ones are cool.

I think they're actually polished stainless.

Thanks. This is one of the best, most informative posts in this topic.

But I think you're referring to the locking block? That is a poor design that has been re-done in real Berettas, now on the Third Generation locking blocks.I think they're now supposed to last about 30,000 rounds, about three times longer than the early ones.

Thanks, too, for the data on Imbel .45's, the basis for the Springfield Armory guns sold here.

The locking blocks are a known issue in the Beretta and its cousin Taurus.
I read somewhere that the blocks will fit either brand.

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Who are those guys?

I am not a fan of the Taurus PT92. I was given one to use on a shooting course and the safety/decocker just did not work as it should. In fact my South African made Z88 was infinitely more reliable.

As an aside, I have a .25 Beretta made in Brazil and it works flawlessly. A friend bought a .25 Taurus and in never worked properly right out the box. Sent in for repairs and still doesn't work.

Me, I'd stay with Beretta. I've used the S and SBs in particular without any issues.

I will say this, to those moaning about the slide mounted safeties on the Berettas and the issues they can potentially cause, there is an affordable kit out now from Beretta that can turn the standard safety decocker into a “G-style” decocker only. It prevents the safety from accidentally being placed on during slide manipulation or at any time really, and it a tremendous upgrade. Worth a look.

Second on the G model or the decocker kit.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

Great upgrade.....................


Did both of my Centurions...... kits are $50-55..... Beretta is having a 20% off sale now.

Changing out the standard safety/decocker to the "G" type is going to be my X-mas day project.

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