[buddha29]

So I have a question and would appreciate any advice you guys could give me...I am looking to buy my first pistol and I can't decide between the Taurus PT92 (or its different variants) or the Beretta 92. I know the Taurus is cheaper but the Beretta is a more proven weapon. I also want this to be a conceal carry gun. Which one would you choose and why? Thanks.

 

[JPaulF]

It is not what we think that is important. It is what you think after you've fired each. Find a shop, even if you have to drive a distance, that rents guns and try what you can. To arbitrarily choose two guns and then attempt to get opinions will not be satisfactory if your opinion differs from the crowd.

Example: Half the world loves a Glock. I don't like the feel of them, at all. Had I gone solely on opinions, I'd have bought a gun I don't like.

 

[Sunwheel29]

They are both excellent guns, based on the original Beretta 92 design.

Beretta came out with the 92 design in Italy in 1977.
Later, the Brazillian Military ordered it and Beretta built a factory in Brazil to produce the gun.... Later, it was sold to Taurus who produced the guns for import into the US...
While all that was going on, the US military also got interested in the Beretta 92, but wanted some changes. So Beretta changed the thumb safety system and the base of the mag well for the 92-S series.
When they ordered the gun, Beretta built a factory in Maryland where they were built.

So they are based on a common design that is time tested and field proven. My best buddy from High School is still shooting one he bought back in the early 80s.

It's sort of a large gun for CCW purposes, but I have used one for that for years and years and years before caving in and buying a snubby.

I like the Taurus style safety system better, but I actually own Berettas.
Other than the thumb safety, probably the only major differnce will be trigger pull. Berettas tend to be a bit smoother out of the box than any of their competitors.

I think you really can't go wrong with either gun.

 

[fcfirearms]

Beretta fans will deny this but I've seen it with my own eyes. I've seen the Taurus outshoot the Beretta in service pistol matches. The Taurus made magazine does not work well in a Beretta made gun, but a Beretta functions perfectly in a Taurus. The Beretta is also sometimes picky about aftermarket magazines of any kind. You choose.

 

[Daveboone]

The Beretta is the original...and picked by the worlds largest military after one of the most gruelling trials ever concieved. It is a combat pistol, not a target pistol. I have four diff. makes of magazines, and never have had a misfeed out of any of them- as your life depends on the mag, dont buy the cheapest, buy the best you can. That said, the Beretta is a big pistol. other than under a heavy coat or for woods carry, most find it too big for true concealed carry. I have also found the safety has a nasty habit of easily getting pushed into the fire position- not something I like when carrying a chambered round.

 

[TMan]

Interesting thread.

I have not even held a Taurus 92 in my hands, but I've shot several Beretta's over the years. They are beautifully made, and function flawlessly in my experience. The ones I've shot are reasonably accurate.

As a concealed carry weapon, I have to guess you're in the 6'4" 250lb class. It's not even close to small, they are not lightweight. But if you needed to protect yourself, it would likey do the trick, if you could get it out quick enough.

 

[2Bits]

I myself would go with the Beretta, especially since it is a very proven pistol! We have had two new (Milleneum's) Taurus's last year and both were JAM A MATICS from the very first session at the pistol range, also had problems with the clips staying in the pistol when you fired the gun. Last word is BERETTA!!!

 

[ExLipscombChief]

Beretta fans will deny this but I've seen it with my own eyes. I've seen the Taurus outshoot the Beretta in service pistol matches. The Taurus made magazine does not work well in a Beretta made gun, but a Beretta functions perfectly in a Taurus. The Beretta is also sometimes picky about aftermarket magazines of any kind. You choose.

Yep, me too. I have seen the Taurus out shoot the Beretta. Several times. I like the frame mounted safety better, too. I get that from 30+ years of shooting 1911's.

 

[Combat Diver]

I've seen the Taurus outshoot the Beretta in service pistol matches.

CMP #14 (2010) Rulebook states under Table 1 pg 32 that the Taurus is NOT legal for service competition "Does not have same safety configuration
as M9". Each works and its up to the shooter to determine which he/she likes. I'll take the Beretta as I've been using in since 87' and carried in service competition (leg points toward Distungished) and used for the last decade in the sandbox.

CD

 

[fcfirearms]

ooops, my bad

maybe not "official" service pistol matches. actually, I've seen this in law enforcement competition matches where the officers must use their service arms. my bad.... I didn't distinguish between "military" and law enforcement.

P.S. In NC there are a lot of small, sometimes single officer, police departments where the officers are required to provide their own "service weapons". Consequently a lot of these young officers choose to carry a Taurus or Ruger because of the price.

 

[Combat Diver]

fcfirearms,

No problem, seems I made an assumption also. I do know what you are refering to in small PDs. When I worked as a Robin Sage instructor at Camp MacKall, NC every 6 wks I had to go back out in my area and do local law enforcement coordination (local, county & state) every class to let them know we would be conducting unconventional warefare exercise in the area.

CD

 

[Rangeguy]

I really don't care which gun buy..!! Both are very well made weapons and probably other than feel and ergomonics...there isn't dimes worth of different between them. I 'm with Paul...Do your homework and test fire both of them....THEN, you decide which one you enjoy shooting and which one feels good in your hands based on your intended usage.....!!!!!!! Now, if you are intending to use either for CCW...you need to be looking at a compact version of each... Full sized Berettas or Taurus's are a tad big for Concealed Carry.... Good Luck..!!

 

[cole k]

<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><title></title><meta name="GENERATOR" content="OpenOffice.org 3.2 (Win32)"><style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } --> </style> If I were you, I would go some place were I could rent a Taurus PT92 and a Beretta 92 and shot both to see how you like each one.
I have used a Taurus PT92 and a Beretta 92, and I didn't like either one. They large for conceal carry and they just don't feel right in my hands.
I guess that by the time the 92 design came to the US, I was to old and set in my ways. I never saw the need for the double stack nines.
I own a several 1911's and a Browning Hi-Power.

 

[buddha29]

I have shot both and I really can't tell a difference. I do like the frame mounted safety on the Taurus better than the slide safety of the Beretta. I am going to take the chance on the Taurus, simply because it fits my budget better. Thanks for the advice.

 

[digisol]

For me the word Taurus brings back the memory of a stainless .357 smith copy I had picked up cheap, two of the lands were machined badly, one with a land edges was machined with a square section removed the entire length of the barrel, another had a chamfer all along the land at about 40 deg, add a forcing cone machined on one side only it was a POS.

Had to take the dealer to court to get back my cash.

These things are hard to forget when the name Taurus is mentioned.

Yes I have seen many good reveiws of the Taurus / 92-FS copy to the point where it's an improvement over the very Expensive Beretta, still I would need to own one for a good while before making any personal reveiw, until then the Beretta gets the prize..

And with copies in mind I had 2 CZ pistols a 75 and an 85 combat and have seen similar excellent reveiws and also personal comments from someone who had one of the cheap Norinco 9mm CZ copy, and that its a very good gun, problem is there are lots of good guns.

Of course my favourite go to gun was a modded up stainless .45 Colt Gold Cup National Match and the vast amount of 1911 copies I see in the market is scary, problem is that once having owned the Colt, or the original of any gun, all others no matter how good are just copies, its hard to buy a copy.

 

[budd]

I have had a Berretta 92 for several years and I recently aquired a Taurus 99 that I inharited from my Dad. I have shot both alot here recently and compared them to each other and as a standard against my very accurrate Browning 9 mm. The Berretta has a better feel in my hand than the Taurus. I prefere the Taurus location of the safety lever, it just seems to me to be easier and quicker to operate and more natural for me. The Browning beat both the Berretta and the Taurus in the accuracy department, and surprisingly the Taurus repeatedly out shot the Berretta at 25 ft and 50 ft. Both shot equilly well at 10 ft. Both pistols are well made and well finished, perhaps not as well as my Browning but they are still good and reliable pistols of the service pistol type. The Taurus appears to be better machined and put together than some Smith & Wesson 9mm pistols that I have looked at over the years.

Taurus and the Berretta are both really too large for concelled carry, but both will be great home defence and open carry in the field.

Budd