My Latest Acquisition: The Taurus PT92 AFS-D

[Forte S+W]

Last month, I ordered a brand new Taurus PT92 AFS-D online. I've been fond of the 92 Series of pistols beginning with the Beretta 92F, having seen it appear in numerous films in my youth, but sadly kept putting off getting one because there was always something that I needed more than a full-size, all-metal 9mm Duty Pistol, but at long last I decided it was time to treat myself by getting one, and thanks to the lower price point, Taurus helped make it just a bit easier on my wallet. That's not to say that I was settling by getting a Taurus over a Beretta, as I've always preferred the PT92's frame mounted safety/decocker. Besides, one of these days I'd like to get a nice police trade-in Beretta 96, if I could find one.

Upon picking up my PT92 from my LGS, I was absolutely stunned by the level of the fit and finish on the gun. It's nearly pristine, with a polished frame as well as slide flats, no sharp edges anywhere, a smooth double/single action trigger with a crisp break, surprisingly short reset, and very little takeup.

In fact, the only flaw that I could find was just beneath the rear sights on the inside of the hammer channel are some tiny yet messy tool marks.

[Size=700[IMG]https://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=115875&stc=1&d=1681785149[/IMG][/Size]

Other than that, it's aesthetically gorgeous. I wasn't sure that I was going to like how shiny it was when I first ordered it, (I tend to prefer a more satin finish) but it left me with a positive impression. I've never been to one of those fabled Barbecues where everyone open carries a fancy gun, but if I were to, then I wouldn't be ashamed to take this baby along with me.

I was also pleased to discover that the PT92 fits my hands extremely well. I've heard a lot of folks saying that 92 Series pistols only fit those with large hands well, but I wear medium sized gloves and the PT92 fits my hands, well...like a glove! It points naturally and the trigger reach is very close to being perfect for me as well.

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with it. Going in, I was on the fence about whether to get a Beretta 92FSR, a Girsan Regard, or a Taurus PT92, but I feel that I made the right decision. The 92FSR isn't actually made by Beretta, but rather Umarex, so if anything it's even less of a "real deal" than the Taurus PT92. The Girsan Regard is very nice, but I don't like the finger grooves, and Girsan redesigned the locking block, so it's not interchangeable with Beretta locking blocks.

 

[wild cat mccane]

Always thought the "aluminum frame stainless" Taurus models were the best looking 92 variants. Plus the better safety system. Nice!

 

[mk70ss]

Very nice. Do they make the same exact model without the rail? I would buy one in a heartbeat if so.

 

[Pahoo]

Go figure !!!

A few years back, one of my hunting buddy's and I, decided to do a side by side field evaluation. I had the Taurus and he had the Beretta. Other than the price difference the only functional difference was that the Berreta had the better trigger. He was surprisingly pleased with the Taurus performance and I traded my Taurus for a Beretta. .....

Be Safe !!!

 

[Forte S+W]

Very nice. Do they make the same exact model without the rail? I would buy one in a heartbeat if so.

Supposedly they do, but unfortunately they don't import it into the United States anymore for some reason.

In fact, Taurus offers a wide variety of the 92 Series Pistols internationally including the .40cal PT100, as well as models with a Tenifer Finish and Finger Grooves on the frame, yet only a single model remains on the US Website at this time, which is the standard matte black PT92 AF-D.

That being said, my PT92 was manufactured in December of 2022, despite being off of their website since 2020, so I dunno... At the very least, you can definitely find one on the used market.

A few years back, one of my hunting buddy's and I, decided to do a side by side field evaluation. I had the Taurus and he had the Beretta. Other than the price difference the only functional difference was that the Berreta had the better trigger. He was surprisingly pleased with the Taurus performance and I traded my Taurus for a Beretta.

Well, the Taurus PT92 shares a common lineage with the Beretta 92, being a direct descendant of the original Beretta 92 design, formerly made in a Beretta Factory using Beretta Tooling leftover from a Brazilian Military Contract which Beretta sold to Taurus once the contract had been fulfilled.
So the Taurus PT92 is basically a half-sibling to the Beretta 92.

The biggest difference between the two are which countries they're manufactured in or what states they're imported into.
Of course, Beretta generally has higher Quality Control standards, but even they can turn out a lemon or a potato every now and then, especially if what I've heard about Beretta 92s coming out of Tennessee is accurate.

 

[wild cat mccane]

I think beretta is on their third generation of the locking block and Taurus is still on one.

I think gen3 isn't compatible with the Taurus, but gen2 is.

 

[Forte S+W]

Beretta intentionally designed their Locking Blocks to be Backwards Compatible, so they'll work just as well with a PT92 as they would with a First Generation Beretta 92.

The only thing is, you have to get the complete kit, because the 3rd Gen Locking Blocks aren't compatible with previous generations Plungers/Pins.

 

[wild cat mccane]

If there was a like, i would give ya one for that clarification.

Looks great!

 

[Forte S+W]

Thanks. I did a lot of research prior to purchasing my PT92 regarding parts interchangeability because Taurus has something of a bad reputation when it comes to replacement parts and have apparently instituted some new policy in which they no longer ship out parts but require the whole gun to be shipped to them to have parts professionally replaced/installed.

Contrary to what many people online assert — including professional gunsmiths like Langdon Tactical — most parts are interchangeable because Beretta wanted to maintain backwards compatibility between generations of the 92 Series, so pretty much all the internal parts are interchangeable between the Taurus and Beretta because Taurus just didn't make many modifications to the design. Furthermore, many of the parts that aren't interchangeable are still close enough that they can still be modified to work, such as the magazines.

 

[veprdude]

Almost bought a PT100P in .40 a few years ago. Then I saw the price of mags and am glad I didn't.

 

[jetinteriorguy]

I’ve had a PT99 for a few years now and once I fixed the trigger and put thin grips on it’s a very nice companion to my CZ75 SA.

 

[44caliberkid]

I’ve had a PT-99 since the mid-80’s. I put in a Wolff spring kit and Pachmayr rubber grips (left off the front strap wraparound). It has many thousands of rounds through it as it was the only 9mm I had till the late 90’s. A lot of those were a handload of Blue Dot under a 115 JHP doing almost 1400 fps. At the indoor range it made an orange fireball the size of a basketball. It handled all that well and I finally passed it on to one of my sons, who still uses it for a night stand gun.

 

[Forte S+W]

Almost bought a PT100P in .40 a few years ago. Then I saw the price of mags and am glad I didn't.

The PT100P was only manufactured as a limited run, ergo the magazines were the sae, and unfortunately because they're thicker than ordinary PT-100 magazines, there's really nothing you can do to supplement them either.

 

[wild cat mccane]

Welcome back man. It's nice to see you again and read your great knowledge on these.

 

[Forte S+W]

Thanks.

 

[tuckerdog1]

The OP's is much nicer than mine, but here's one without the rail.

 

[Forte S+W]

Well, mine is still brand new, given some time and use it'll probably look not unlike yours.

That being said, the beauty of Stainless Steel is that it can be polished up good as new with relative ease.

 

[gnappi]

I personally like my Taurus 92 and 100 Beretta "clones" better than my genuine Beretta models. The SS finish on mine is the best I've seen and the combined safety / decocker for an old stuck in the mud 1911 user is perfect.