A little history on the Taurus PT92 Pistol
Taurus entered into the pistol business almost by chance. In 1974, Beretta won a major pistol contract for the Brazilian military. Part of the contract stipulated that Beretta manufacture the pistols in Brazil and employ Brazilian labor. Accordingly, Beretta constructed a large plant in San Paulo and when the contract expired in 1980, Beretta sold the entire facility to Taurus, including all technical data, tooling and machinery.
In one fell swoop, Taurus was in the pistol business. While the Beretta factory continued to manufacture Beretta-type pistols under the Taurus name, the Brazilian company set out to redesign the pistols for improved performance and ergonomics. The result was the Taurus PT 92 series.
At first glance, the Taurus PT 92 and PT 99 appear to be simple Beretta 92 clones, but while similar, the Pt's are functionally different than the Beretta product. Beretta 92 and Taurus PT 92 parts will not interchange, not even magazines.
While the Beretta 92 series pistols are excellent handguns, they lack several features that many pistol users find attractive. The most significant change undertaken by Taurus engineers was redesigning the fire control mechanism and moving the selector switch from the slide down to the pistol's frame, where most shooters feel it belongs.
The ambidextrous Taurus selector switch is right next to the shooter's thumb and can be accessed without changing one's grip on the pistol. The uppermost position is "safe," while the first notch down is "fire." Pressing the selector switch down beyond the "fire" position safely drops the hammer.
This ingenious design not only makes the Taurus PT 92 more ergonomically friendly, but enables the gun to be carried in the classic cocked-and-locked Condition One. This is widely accepted as the fastest carry mode for getting a pistol into action and also eliminates the need to transition from a double- to single-action grip after the first shot. Most shooters also prefer the wider grip grooves on the Taurus slide over the thin ones of the Beretta.
So while Beretta is Beretta, Taurus is Taurus. Not clones or wannabe's, but their own design and company.
I own both, and the Taurus is better. I'll have to see about the new Beretta 92A1 Maybe just an old dog with a new trick.
leasantry:
