[Jcordell]

Originally Posted by MT2008

Ah, OK, my old one actually had the flared trigger guard, but also the heel release. I think it was around 1985 that Taurus started making the PT92 and PT99 with the mag release on the trigger guard, so I figure that my pistol was made just before that time. My Grandfather, like your Dad, also purchased the gun from a friend, so I never knew when his friend bought it. My grandfather got it sometime in the early-90s, and it became mine in 2006 - then I sold it just 18 months later. And I regretted that decision so much that I had to get another.

The Beretta and Taurus will never be my favorite firearms (and I own one of each), in part because they're so gigantic and heavy for 9mm pistols that were originally designed for 15-shot mags, but I do think they're well-made, reliable, and fun to shoot. Not that I've ever been a serviceman, but I do wish the military had adopted an M9 which had a frame-mounted safety like the Taurus. It's the one thing that the Brazilians really nailed, and it should have been a no-brainer for the M9 program.

I carried the Beretta for awhile in the Army, but it was on my equipment belt ,which was part of the old load bearing system (suspenders), so the bulk of the pistol wasn't as much an issue as it can be with my leather patrol belt. I don't even own a holster for the Beretta. It's strictly a range gun, but I like it.