Taurus PT92 Pistol Review: The Improved Beretta M9!

The Taurus PT92 is Taurus’ take on Beretta’s classic 92FS, also known as the M9. As an Army veteran, I had to try this pistol out for myself, because I spent a significant amount of time shooting the M9 in the military.

While the M9 is not my favorite pistol system by any means, I do enjoy shooting them overall. I had a good time shooting this pistol. If you’d like to learn why, continue reading for a full review of the Taurus PT92.

What is the Taurus PT92 for?

This is a pretty versatile pistol. It can be used for quite a few different things. In my opinion, it’s an excellent range gun. It shoots 9mm, so it won’t be all that expensive to shoot. It’s pretty accurate, and is easy to use. It really is just an enjoyable pistol to shoot.

However, lets not overlook the performance of 9mm as a defense round. It isn’t the most powerful round by any means, but 9mm is trusted by the military and many police forces for a reason. If you have to use deadly force, 9mm will get the job done.

For that reason alone, this is a decent defense pistol. It has a large magazine capacity, so it’s a decent option for home defense. It would be somewhat difficult to concealed carry because it is large, but it could be done. It could also be open carried. Since this pistol is based off the military M9, it also has tactical applications.

Lastly, you could probably shoot more competitively with this pistol, but it would probably take some upgrading. It’s a decently accurate pistol to begin with, but with some upgrades, it could easily be competitively shot.

Taurus PT92 Review: Breakdown

This is a full sized semiautomatic pistol that is hammer-fired. It measures 8.5 inches long, 5.5 inches tall, and weighs 34 ounces. It’s got a 5 inch barrel, and has a 17+1 magazine capacity.

The pistol is really similar to the Beretta. In all honesty, you may not be able to tell them apart. This is due to the fact that Taurus took over the exact same factory that Beretta had in Brazil. Since they’re using the same facilities and equipment, the pistols are extremely similar.

The pros of this pistol include the safety features, the grip, the durability, and the accuracy. Most of these pros will be talked about in their own specific sections of the review.

However, the pistol does have some cons. It is pretty heavy, due to the fact that it’s made of a strong alloy material. While this makes the pistol extremely durable, it also adds to the weight. Another con of the pistol is that the trigger leaves something to be desired, which is a common complaint with M9s and the Beretta version of the pistol.

Taurus PT92 Safety and Reliability

Some people feel that the Taurus PT92 is actually an improvement over the Beretta 92FS. Taurus themselves say that they made some improvements to the manufacturing and design of the pistol. In my opinion, the pistols are extremely similar, but the Taurus has one distinct advantage. The Taurus pistol has quite a few more safety features, which is always something that I love.

The first safety feature of the pistol is a loaded chamber indicator. This indicator is nothing more than a little red strip that will be exposed when a round is in the chamber. While you as a shooter should always know this information, adding in this little indicator reassures you and provides one more verification. It makes the pistol that much safer.

The next safety feature is the external thumb safety/decocker combination. This is standard with the Beretta as well, but it definitely makes the pistol safer. The external thumb safety itself adds some safety, because you must physically turn the safety off to fire the pistol. This safety is one improvement over the Beretta. In the Beretta, you flick the safety up, while on the Taurus, you flick it down. It feels much more natural to do it this way.

Adding in the decocker adds yet another safety feature. This allows you to decock the hammer, so that your initial trigger pull will be double action. This is a much longer pull, which makes it nearly impossible for you to accidentally fire the pistol.

As far as internal safeties, the pistol has a firing pin block, so it’s very safe during transport and in the event of a drop.

Lastly, this pistol has the Taurus Security System, which is very common in new Taurus pistols. The security system essentially makes it impossible to fire the pistol. It’s basically just a lock that is located on the grip of the pistol. When you use one of the included keys to engage the lock, you can’t fire the pistol, cock the hammer, or turn off the safety. This allows for very safe storage, especially if you’ve got kids.

One thing that the Taurus PT92 has in common with the Beretta 92FS is the fact that it is extremely reliable. The military wouldn’t have chosen Beretta if the pistol wasn’t extremely reliable.

The Taurus continues on this tradition. The action of the pistol is strong, and the exterior of the pistol is extremely reliable. All in all, the pistol brings up absolutely no reliability concerns, and I have no doubt that it will last for years.

Taurus PT92 Review: Comfort and Shootability

The comfortable grip of this pistol may be my absolute favorite feature. I had been so used to shooting the M9, which has a hard plastic grip, that the soft, rubber grip of the Taurus felt excellent in my hand.

The grip isn’t necessarily shaped in a specific way to fit your hand, but the angle of the pistol as a whole is great. It feels completely natural in your hand, and the rubber grips allow you to maintain a very firm hold on the pistol.

This leads directly into the shootability of the pistol. Due to the grip, you won’t have to reset much at all between shots. This allows for very accurate shooting.

However, there are a couple other features of the pistol that make for excellent shooting. For one, the size of the pistol is great. It feels natural to hold and aim, so it’s an enjoyable shooting experience to begin with.

While the weight is definitely on the heavy side, the pistol eats up all of the recoil from shooting. It has a very fast reset, and you’ll be able to get on target again really easily for follow-up shots.

The ease of use of the pistol is exceptional. Because of the fact that it has an external hammer, many people find it to be easier to use. For a new shooter, hammer fired pistols sometimes make more sense, because they can visually see the hammer striking the firing pin, which causes the pistol to fire.

Regardless, everything on the pistol is placed in a great spot, so you can easily get to it. The pistol really is very comfortable to shoot and easy to use.

Taurus PT92: Accessories and Upgrades

The first accessory that I would get for this pistol would be a quality holster. I really liked this Blackhawk holster.

If you’re looking to get more competitive with your shooting adjustable sights are imperative. This set will help you fine-tune your shooting. The stock fixed sights are more than adequate for normal shooting though.

If you want more magazines, they are pretty easy to come by.

I have been told that most Beretta 92 parts will fit this pistol, but take that with a grain of salt. It may be worth trying, because there are tons of Beretta parts out there, but like I said, this may not be accurate.

Conclusion

This is a decent quality pistol that is fun to shoot. It could fill a few different uses for you, and it’s a reliable and accurate pistol. There’s a lot to like about it, especially if you enjoy the M9 frame. Some people think that this may actually be better than the Beretta 92, despite being much less expensive.

Image Credit: hickok45