Taurus PT92 vs. Girsan Regard MC: The Clone Wars
We took two Beretta 92 clones -- the long-tenured Taurus PT92 and the newer Girsan Regard MC and pitted them in a head-to-head shootout to see which came out on top.
PPT Editor. NRA & USCCA instructor. Hunter, former competitive shooter, collector (200+ firearms)
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Girsan Regard MC & Taurus PT92 AF-D: Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|
| Girsan Regard MC | -Nice fit and finish -Accepts standard Beretta mags -Affordable | -Only includes one mag -Finger grooves may not be for everyone |
| Taurus PT92 AF-D | -Frame-mounted safety -Extremely reliable -Comes with two mags | -Mag release may cause issues -Finish isn't as nice |
The Beretta 92 is, simply put, one of the most iconic pistols of all time.
Maybe you want a 92 because of its military history as the M9 pistol. Perhaps grab a pair to imagine yourself as a hard-boiled cop in a John Woo movie? Or toss one in a shoulder holster for that Die Hard John McClane drip.
Suffice to say, there is a lot of appeal in the 92 series. But we get it, money can be tight, and Berettas aren’t always the cheapest guns out there.
Knowing this, we decided to do a direct head-to-head shootout between two different Beretta 92 clones — the long-tenured Taurus PT92 and the newer Girsan Regard MC.
So, if you are in the market for a Beretta but want to save a few dollars, keep on reading to see which one comes out on top!
Table of Contents
Specs & Features
| Girsan Regard MC | Taurus PT92 AF-D | |
|---|---|---|
| Caliber | 9mm | 9mm |
| Action | DA/SA | DA/SA |
| Capacity | 18+1 | 17+1 |
| Barrel Length | 4.92" | 5" |
| Overall Length | 8.54" | 8.5" |
| Weight | 30.8 oz. | 34 oz. |
| Safety | Slide-mounted safety/decocker | Frame-mounted safety/decocker |
| Number of Magazines Included | 1 | 2 |
A Bit of History
The story of the Taurus PT92 starts way back in 1974, when the Brazilian army ordered a large number of Beretta 92 pistols. To fulfill the contract, Beretta built a factory in São Paulo, Brazil.
After the contract was completed in 1980, the factory was purchased by Brazilian firearms manufacturer Taurus. Shortly thereafter, Taurus moved all the machinery over to a new factory in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul.
There, they began producing the PT92, a slightly modified clone of the Beretta 92. The PT92 has been in constant production ever since its first production run in 1983. Taurus now also produces guns in the US in their plant in Bainbridge, Georgia.
The history of the Girsan Regard is much simpler. Girsan was founded in Giresun, Turkey, in 1993.
Soon, they began producing various firearms, primarily clones of popular guns. While the Regard has been in production for a while, it was introduced to the US market in 2019. It has seen numerous updates since its release.
Shooting the Taurus PT92 & Girsan Regard: Accuracy & Reliability Analysis
Beretta’s 92 pistols are known for being soft shooters. I’ve shot plenty of 92s/M9s and own a few variants myself, so I had a pretty good idea of what to expect going into this one.
The Good
True to the gun they mimic, both the PT92 and Regard have that pillowy recoil that one would come to expect from a Beretta 92 design.
Double and triple taps are no issue, and it is pretty easy to blow the center out of a target if you know where to hold (more on that in a minute).
I found both guns pretty easy to shoot for long strings without suffering fatigue due to the fairly low recoil and the nice, wide grip.
Despite the Taurus being billed as 4 ounces heavier than the Girsan, I felt like the Girsan had a slightly softer recoil impulse and overall smoother operation. I chalk this up to a better recoil spring and closer tolerances.
Reliability-wise, the Taurus chewed through all 500 rounds of ammo, hollow points included, with absolutely zero issues.
The Girsan could not quite capture that elusive 100% reliability, as it suffered one failure on an AAC 115gr FMJ round. I typically give a single round grace allowance if it is a normal malfunction since bad ammo is definitely a thing.
I didn’t clean either gun during testing, and I shot both to the point where they were getting too hot to comfortably rack. No mercy was shown here, and both performed admirably.
The Bad
My biggest disappointment when testing both of these guns was that neither gun shot to point of aim.
At 7 yards, the Taurus was shooting high and to the right, and the Girsan was shooting left.
I took my Beretta M9A1 compact out, and lo and behold, it was pretty much dead on. Three of essentially the same gun rules out any shooter error here.
Despite the point of aim issues, both guns grouped relatively well. I wouldn’t call them tack drivers, but they are definitely combat accurate.
Some of these issues can be resolved by drifting the rear sight, but you are pretty much stuck on elevation since both guns have front sights that are milled into the slide.
I’ve noticed a bunch of gun manufacturers lately can’t seem to regulate their iron sights. It pisses me off to no end, but it seems to be an emerging trend.
Ergonomics: Fit & Feel
Grip
It is no secret that the Beretta 92 is a bit of a chunker. Both the PT92 and Regard MC retain that wide, almost brick-like hand feel. But hey, some people dig it.
The PT92 uses a more classic Beretta 92 grip shape, while the Regard mixes things up with the addition of some finger grooves.
I am not a huge fan of finger grooves because they don’t fit everyone. However, they are pretty wide and gentle on the Regard, so they didn’t bother me too much. Girsan also offers new models that get rid of the finger grooves.
Both guns have grip panels with checkering that isn’t particularly aggressive but works okay enough. The Taurus’s grip panels feel slightly wider, while the Regards are a bit slimmer with a bit more contour to them.
Annoyingly, the PT92 panels kept coming loose. I had to tighten them on both sides on two different occasions. A dab of Loctite and a screwdriver would fix this, no problem.
The last thing here is that reloads are not nearly as smooth on the PT92 as they are on the Regard. This boils down to the simple fact that the Regard has a nice beveled magwell, and the PT92 does not. The difference was immediately apparent when executing reloads.
Controls
This is, without a doubt, where the biggest difference between these two guns is.
Historically, Taurus has opted to use a frame-mounted safety/decocker as opposed to the traditional Beretta slide-mounted safety/decocker combo that the Girsan uses.
Slide-mounted safeties have long been a sticky topic, with many people having a strong dislike for them due to them “being in the way” or being easier to accidentally depress when racking the firearm.
I’m gonna be honest here, the frame safety has always been superior in my eyes.
Not only that, all new PT92s are AF-D models. This means they have a frame safety that also has a decocker feature. You get all of the same functionality of the Girsan/Beretta here, but in a much more convenient and out-of-the-way location.
I had no issues with accidentally engaging the safety or decocker on the Girsan; I just like the Taurus layout better here.
But what I don’t like better is the abominable mag release on the Taurus.
After firing the PT92 for the first time, I went to release the mag, and it was completely stuck. It took me about a minute or two to figure out what the hell was going on.
There is a small tab that is inset into the mag release on the PT92 that can be rotated. If this tab is rotated out of place even by a few degrees, it renders the magazine release unusable.
The issue is that this piece was rotating far too easily on this particular PT92. It was moving even under normal handling.
Once I figured out the issue, I just rotated the tab back up and it was fine.
However, the tab moved out of place at least half a dozen times or more during testing. This is absolutely not cool and unacceptable on anything other than a range gun.
The Girsan MC, my Beretta, and even my older Taurus PT92 all have solid magazine release buttons, which alleviate that issue entirely.
Trigger
Both of these guns are DA/SA pistols with what I call a combat trigger - meaning not great, not terrible.
I tossed both guns on a Dvorak TriggerScan machine and took an average across three trigger pulls to see how they performed.
Here are the results for the single-action pull:
Here are the results for the double-action pull:
The Taurus has a tiny bit of creep in single-action, whereas the Girsan does not. In double-action, the Girsan broke slightly heavier, had a longer pull, and felt like it was stacking a little more at the end of travel.
Single-action goes to the Girsan by a small margin, and double-action goes to the Taurus by an equally small margin. Both guns have extremely similar triggers overall.
Finish
Both the interior and exterior finish on the Girsan Regard look and feel higher quality to me. There are notably fewer machining marks than on the PT92, and the surface finish feels a bit smoother compared to the grainier PT92.
The Regard also feels very tight overall, and the entire operation of the gun is just a tad more slick to the touch. It doesn’t feel as good as my Beretta, but it isn’t very far behind.
Both guns held up well, though, with no undue or concerning wear on any part of either gun.
Magazines
Due to differences in the design of the magazine catch, the Taurus PT92 does not use standard Beretta 92 magazines. Taurus ships the PT92 with two 17-round mags.
The Girsan Regard is compatible with standard Beretta M9 mags. I ran a few of my OEM Beretta mags in the Regard with no issue. Girsan ships the Regard with one 18-round mag.
Price Comparison
These are the approximate prices as of the time of writing.
- Beretta 92: ~ $600-675
- Taurus PT92: ~ $450-500
- Girsan Regard MC: ~ $400-450
While both Taurus and Girsan come in under the price of an actual Beretta, the Girsan is the cheapest of the bunch, but still maintains a very nice overall level of quality.
Final Thoughts
So after all that, which one wins? That is up to you, but for me, it is the Girsan Regard MC.
The Taurus PT92 cycled 100% reliably and has the arguably superior control scheme. However, Girsan felt a bit smoother, shot closer to point of aim, did not suffer from magazine release issues, and is a bit cheaper.
If the Taurus did not have the weird mag release issue, this would have been a much tighter race for me because of how much better I like the frame-mounted controls.
But at the end of the day, both of these guns replicate the Beretta 92 shooting experience very well and are both worth considering depending on your wants and needs.
What are your thoughts on both of these guns? Do you have any experience with them? Let us know in the comments below! Looking for a review on the Beretta itself? Check out our review of the Beretta 92FS!
How We Tested the Girsan Regard and Taurus PT92
Testing for both firearms was conducted using a total of 500 rounds each. Ammo used included AAC 115 gr FMJ, Monarch 115 gr JHP, and Speer Gold Dot 124 gr +P JHP. Both guns were oiled prior to operation, but were not cleaned at all during testing.
Accuracy tests were conducted at 7, 10, 15, and 25 yards. Both guns were run through various rapid-fire drills to test for any heat-related failures.
Meet the Experts
This review was written by Pew Pew Tactical Editor Wyatt Sloan. Wyatt is an NRA-certified instructor with previous experience as a competitive shooter. He owns over 200 firearms, including a few Beretta 92-series pistols, and has 10 years of home-based FFL firearm sales under his belt. Wyatt uses his extensive experience with firearms at large to test guns for Pew Pew Tactical — evaluating them based on our standards and metrics. You can see some of his handgun knowledge in action in our 5 Best Hammer-Fired Pistols of 2024 article!
Editor-in-Chief Jacki Billings runs our experienced team of reviewers and fact-checked this article. She is a National Rifle Association Basic Pistol Instructor as well as a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, ACES: Society for Editing, and the Professional Outdoor Media Association. Jacki has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and has worked as a media professional for close to 20 years, specializing in gun media for almost 10 years. With 2,000+ articles to her name, she uses her professional journalism and editing experience to set testing protocols and editorial standards for Pew Pew Tactical. Not to mention, she personally owns several 9mm handguns.