How Rare Is My Dads Taurus?

[Good Ol' Boy]

He has a PT99 (Beretta copy) he bought new in the 80's-90's that I've examined quite close.

Now I'm not talking "rare" in the valuable sense, but in the sense it just seems to be different from most other specimens.

Pretty much all of these types of similar models have a decocking feature, so you have safety on, safety off and decock.

My dads has no decocking option. Meaning, if you want to carry it DA/SA you have to manually lower the hammer. However you could also opt to carry SA cocked and locked.

Anyone else have any experience with this type of model?

 

[1KPerDay]

The first Beretta 92s were like that. Not sure how rare it is but it sounds like a good pistol. Where is the magazine release button?

 

[wcwhitey]

He has a PT99 (Beretta copy) he bought new in the 80's-90's that I've examined quite close.

Now I'm not talking "rare" in the valuable sense, but in the sense it just seems to be different from most other specimens.

Pretty much all of these types of similar models have a decocking feature, so you have safety on, safety off and decock.

My dads has no decocking option. Meaning, if you want to carry it DA/SA you have to manually lower the hammer. However you could also opt to carry SA cocked and locked.

Anyone else have any experience with this type of model?

Had the same gun, bought in 88. Good reliable copy of the original Barretta 92. It was a quality gun, enjoy

 

[Riomouse911]

The frame-mounted safety was a selling point for some buyers of the Taurus 9mm... as was the price point.

They were fairly popular for a bit so they’re not really rare, but they are certainly not as commonly encountered as the Beretta 92 series.

Stay safe.

 

[silicosys4]

I have one just like that, no decocking capability.
In fact, every pt99 i've ever seen his been that way, I don't recall ever seeing a pt99 with decocking, even though I know they exist and have heard they are actually more common than the non decocking models
Based on that, I wouldn't call them rare.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

Had the same gun, bought in 88. Good reliable copy of the original Barretta 92. It was a quality gun, enjoy

Ditto. I second that. Wish I had never sold it. I hunted high and low for a replacement before finally giving up. I don't think the new ones are as good.

The frame-mounted safety was a selling point for some buyers of the Taurus 9mm... as was the price point.

Absolutely. The 92FS/M9 safety/decocker, while functional, requires a bit more training and isn't as intuitive nor as ergonomic as the Taurus version.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

By the way, @Good Ol' Boy , if you find difficulty finding Taurus mags, you can modify a Beretta mag by using Dremel tool to cut the proper mag catch slot in the Beretta mag. (Or so I've read; I've not actually tried as I no longer have the gun, and when I did have the gun, I had a bunch of Taurus mags for it.)

 

[wcwhitey]

I have one just like that, no decocking capability.
In fact, every pt99 i've ever seen his been that way, I don't recall ever seeing a pt99 with decocking, even though I know they exist and have heard they are actually more common than the non decocking models
Based on that, I wouldn't call them rare.

Pretty sure they were all frame mounted. Was the way around the patent

 

[Steve C]

Taurus redesigned their frame mounted safety on their PT92 and 96 series Beretta Clones to give it a hammer drop safety option in the 90's. I bought my Pt92 before this feature was offered in the late 80's. Being a handgun designed for military use they are of good quality and I have had good reliability and performance equal to the Beretta 92. They have similar issues as the Beretta with their locking block. The locking Block on my Taurus broke after many thousands of rounds and over 20 years of shooting. Replaced the block with a new one ordered from Taurus and the gun was back in action.

The Taurus 92/96 series handguns are not rare. They where produced by the Brazilians for their military on tooling obtained from Beretta under license and after the contract was over Taurus bought the tooling and the right to make the pistols for civilian sale under their name.

 

[silicosys4]

Pretty sure they were all frame mounted. Was the way around the patent

As I understand it,
Taurus purchased all machining, tooling, licensing, and domestic production capability from Beretta once Beretta left Brazil after completing their military contract with Brazil. As such all changes to Beretta's design was not obligatory by Taurus as a means to avoid patent disputes, since they owned the rights to produce the pistol as designed by Beretta. The changes Taurus made were as voluntary improvements to Beretta's original design

 

[WestKentucky]

I have one just like that, no decocking capability.
In fact, every pt99 i've ever seen his been that way, I don't recall ever seeing a pt99 with decocking, even though I know they exist and have heard they are actually more common than the non decocking models
Based on that, I wouldn't call them rare.

I have had 4. 3 had decockers. The current one I have does not. It’s the best looking and probably 2nd best shooting of the pile.

 

[WestKentucky]

As I understand it,
Taurus purchased all machining, tooling, licensing, and domestic production capability from Beretta once Beretta left Brazil after completing their military contract with Brazil. As such all changes to Beretta's design was not obligatory by Taurus as a means to avoid patent disputes, since they owned the rights to produce the pistol as designed by Beretta. The changes Taurus made were as voluntary improvements to Beretta's original design

Correct. The version I heard was a bit more colorful on Beretta leaving Brazil and the factory being sold for a fraction of its value to a Brazilian firm with ties to the gooberment.

 

[stevebla]

I have one and it is a good reliable pistol.

 

[GRIZ22]

Not exactly rare. I have a PT99AF in satin nickle bought new in1988. Same at yours but with adjustable sights. I carried it as a duty weapon for about 6 years. The only malfunctions I can think of were ammo related. The only problem I ever had with the gun was rear sight leaf broke. Sent it back to Taurus and got it back in 2 weeks.

I easily have 20,000 rounds through it over the 30 plus years I've had it. It's still running strong on the parts it left the factory with except the rear sight.

 

[D.B. Cooper]

I have a PT99AF in satin nickle bought new in1988. Same at yours but with adjustable sights.

As I understood it, all of the PT99 guns were adjustable sights. That was the difference between them and the PT92, which was fixed sight, like the M9/92FS.

Sent it back to Taurus and got it back in 2 weeks.

WOW!!! Now that's a story about a miracle right there.

 

[Tallball]

I'm pretty sure I bought my PT99 NiB in 1989... maybe early 90.

Mine has the decock feature.

 

[Good Ol' Boy]

The first Beretta 92s were like that. Not sure how rare it is but it sounds like a good pistol. Where is the magazine release button?

Mag release is thumb oriented the same as a 1911 or Glock.

It is a nice pistol. Based off the two times I've shot it it's pretty darn accurate but seemed to be a bit snappier than my G17. Thats quite ironic considering its all metal and a fair bit heavier. The trigger in SA is pretty sweet and not terrible in DA.

My pops has a few sweet handguns but honestly next to his Smith 27 this is the one I like the most.

 

[GRIZ22]

As I understood it, all of the PT99 guns were adjustable sights. That was the difference between them and the PT92, which was fixed sight, like the M9/92FS.

WOW!!! Now that's a story about a miracle right there.

I sent my 669 back to Taurus after a bazillion rounds of 357. The rear sight came off (after a lot of years). My fault IMO. 2 week turnaround.

Plenty of Taurus haters out there. I've seen many more problems from S&W and OMG, a new Python that was a POS from the factory.

I've no issues trusting my life to the Taurus handguns I have.

 

[Miami_JBT]

OP, your Taurus isn't rare, but it isn't going to be as common anymore either. The PT92 is the fixed sight model and the PT99 is the adjustable sight model. Taurus ceased producing the PT99 in the late 1990s.

Since 2005, the PT92 has come with a light. The older guns rivaled the quality found in a Beretta. Those guns ceased being made in 1997. So as time marches on, more and more current production PT92s will be made and the older ones will be lost to attrition. Guns simply worn out, guns destroyed due to lack of care, fire, confiscated by LE and crushed, etc.





I just snagged a 2nd generation PT92AF made in 1994. The 2nd Gen guns had the decocker added. The 1st Gen guns were just the safety.

In 1974, Beretta was contracted by the Brazilian armed forces to produce the Model 92 for them to replace the 1911 .45 Autos they were getting from IMBEL.



Beretta built a factory, installed tooling, hired and trained locals, etc.... In 1980, the contract was completed and Beretta sold everything to Forjas Taurus S/A. They bought the factory, plans, rights to produce, employees, etc. They then went right along making the same gun under their branding.

When Beretta upgraded the Model 92 to the what became the 92SB (as introduced to the XM9 Pistol Trials), Taurus did a similar upgrade. Both independently moved the magazine catch to the current location. But they did it in different ways. Hence why original Model 92 mags work for either gun since they used the heel release, but when the change happened, that combability ended.

Anyways, a 1980s and early to mid 1990s production Taurus is a quality piece. Everything was machined still. It was in 1997 that Taurus started cutting production costs and used lower quality parts. Beretta did similar, they replaced a number of parts with plastic, but what's funny is Beretta now sells the original machined metal parts as an "upgrade kit". Taurus just said screw it and went with MIM and plastic.

My photos aren't the best quality, but the quality in my 1994 production PT92AF rival my Beretta 92FS. Everything is machined, no plastic, no MIM.

 

[gnappi]

I'm a Beretta guy... have been for many years, I also own top notch Taurus 92's and 100's. Their safety / decocker should have been copied by Beretta ESPECIALLY in the 92X performance.

While yours is not "rare" they are unusual and there are Taurus owners that would not mind having it.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I also had a nickeled one(non decocker) around 88-89ish----was a good gun but I was convinced I needed a Colt 1911--so off it went