The Taurus PT92 is a double action/single action, double-stack-magazine fed, short recoil-operated, semi-automatic 9mm pistol manufactured by Taurus in the Beretta factory in São Paulo, Brazil.
History In 1974, the Brazilian army issued a large contract for the Beretta 92, for which Beretta set up a factory in São Paulo, Brazil. After the contract's expiration, this factory was sold to Brazilian gunmaker Forjas Taurus in 1980.
Shortly thereafter, Taurus closed down the factory and transferred the original Beretta tooling to its factory in Porto Alegre, using it to make its own pistol; a copy of the original Beretta 92 design, no longer being produced in Brazil.
Taurus was able to directly adopt Beretta's design without the need for a license or royalty payments, as the patents for the design had expired since.
Design
Like the Beretta, the Taurus PT92 utilizes the open-slide design where the upper portion of the slide is cut away exposing much of the barrel itself.
The model has also undergone many revisions in design since it was originally produced in the early 1980s.
Despite that, the PT92 still retains many of the design elements from the original Beretta 92, such as the shape of the trigger.
Recent models More recently (as of 2005), Taurus has begun manufacturing the PT92 with a thicker trigger guard hook and built-in accessory rails on the frame, a feature found on the newer Beretta M9A1, a military upgrade of the Beretta 92 from which the PT92 is derived.
Taurus also started equipping 17-round magazines for the PT92 to match that of the Glock 17.
Variants Taurus has created PT92 variants which include the PT99, which has an adjustable rear sight and a taller front sight, the compact PT92C, and the PT100 and PT101, which are .40 S&W versions of the PT92 and PT99, respectively.
Current
Name Calibre Magazine size Notes PT58 .380 ACP 19+1 Compact model PT59 Full-size model PT92AF 9mm Parabellum 17+1 Blued finish, lightweight alloy frame, polished stainless steel slide, decocker, frame-mounted accessory rail, five-inch barrel, hardwood grips, three-dot fixed sights (A = ambidextrous safety lever; F = firing pin lock.) PT917C 17+1, 19+1 Compact version with four-inch barrel, blued finish, alloy frame, three-dot fixed sights PT100 .40 S&W 10+1, 11+1 3-dot fixed sights
Discontinued
Name Calibre Magazine size Notes PT57 .32 ACP 12+1 Described as a "small brother" to the PT92 PT92 9mm Parabellum 10+1, 15+1, 17+1 Blued finish, hardwood or black plastic grips, three-dot fixed sights PT92AFS 17+1 Lightweight alloy frame, polished stainless steel slide, decocker, frame-mounted accessory rail, five-inch barrel, hardwood grips, three-dot fixed sights PT92SS 10+1, 15+1, 17+1 Stainless steel finish, checkered black rubber grip panels, three-dot fixed sights PT92C 12+1 Compact model with four-inch barrel, hardwood or black plastic grips, three-dot fixed sights PT917CS 17+1, 19+1 Compact version with four-inch barrel, blued finish, alloy frame, three-dot fixed sights PT101 .40 S&W 10+1, 11+1 With an adjustable rear sight; compatible with PT100 magazines
Users
PT92, PT917 Buenos Aires Provincial Police
Brazilian Army Designated as the M975 in the military Military Police National Public Security Force
Carabineros de Chile
PT92AFD, PT92AFD-M Peruvian Army Special Forces
Former users
Paraguayan Army National Police of Paraguay
PT92C Israeli Civilian Police of Jerusalem District
Non-state users Provisional IRA
References
External links Official United States site Unsung Best Buy: A Critical Look at the Taurus PT-92 PT917C;