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Taurus PT92/99 Magazines vs Beretta Model 92 magazines

16K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  68c15 
#1 ·
Even though the Taurus PT92/99 was made on Beretta equipment left behind by Beretta when Beretta fulfilled a military contract in Brazil many decades ago, Taurus saw fit to not allow their PT92/99 to accept Beretta magazines. I've had my PT99 for over 25 years and only just recently thought to buy a spare magazine.

It came about because my son, who now has the gun, left the original magazine at home on our last shooting trip and brought along a second empty mag never used in the gun. Not only was it too long but it would not latch into the gun. I think it is an extra capacity Beretta magazine (too long) but I'll have to investigate it. The range master loaned us a real Beretta magazine and it too would not latch into the gun.

When I went to buy a mag I was told by the salesman that the mags were not interchangeable as the Taurus has a larger latch part than the Beretta and you have to use Taurus specific mags. Beretta mags can be modified to fit, I am told, but I ordered a MecGar Taurus PT92/99 magazine from Midway.

You learn something new every day, it seems.

LDBennett
 
#2 ·
I ran into this problem years ago. I bought some Beretta magazines for my Taurus thinking they would work too. They would work if I held the magazine release in while I inserted the magazine. It fed ok but I would NOT recommend doing this. Just use the correct magazine for your particular weapon.
 
#3 ·
I think you have a great gun and I'm very impressed with the Taurus PT-92.It feels great in the hand and was very tempted to buy one myself.The only thing I didn't like was the magazines that came with the gun,they seemed kind of thin and cheaply made.Mec-Gar makes rock solid magazines,probably the best in the world.That would solve that problem at least for me,I think you know what I'm talking about.But you have a beautiful gun,I bet it's a great shooter just like the Beretta-92.
Did you get the stainless model.I thought they looked great but some people don't like anything but the blued look in guns.
 
#4 ·
I have the "longer" magazine that may be an 18 round extra capacity Beretta magazine. When I get the new Taurus magazine I'll compare the slots for the magazine catch and use my mill to enlarge it (if possible). I probably picked it up at a gun show years and years ago(??). It has no markings on it but appears to be of reasonable quality. I have nothing to loose trying to make it fit if it is indeed a Beretta magazine. Interestingly it fits into the mag cavity of my CZ97 but loosely so it probably is not for a CZ. It appears to be for 9mm as my son loaded it up with 9mm at the range to only find that it would not lock into the Taurus PT99. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

As an aside the gun is my son's home defense gun so I don't have it at hand or I'd do the "long" magazine modification immediately.

What is amazing is that I never bought another magazine for it besides the "long" one which obviously was never used. The PT99 was my only semi-auto for years and got used every week at an indoor shooting range. How did I manage with only one magazine???? Today I have many, many semi-autos and not one of them is limited to only one magazine. I guess you live and learn.

They were not even thinking about making a stainless version when I bought my PT99 (ADJUSTABLE SIGHTS Version) in 1987.

LDBennett
 
#5 ·
Got the official MecGar Taurus 10 round magazine. It fits the gun correctly and appears to load the two dummies I have made up.

When I compare the "long" incorrect magazine to the MecGar magazine the "long" magazine is not too long but is the same exact length as the new MecGar mag. The ouside dimension are about the same. But the hole in the body for the magazine catch is not in the right place. I have to do some investigation to see why the "long" magazine does not insert all the way into the gun. It may be it is not even for a Beretta 92 let alone the Taurus. If I can be assured that it will fully seat then I'll mill a slot in the body of the mag for the Taurus magazine catch. More to come.

LDBennett
 
#6 ·
OK modification complete. The reason the magazine was "long"was because there was no cut in its lips for the slide hold open on the last shot feature. The lips were bumping into the tit on the back side of the lever, stopping the magazines from seating in the frame by about 1/4 inch. Relieving the left hand lip for that feature allows the magazine to go to the top of the well. But now the cutout for the mag release button is 1/4 inch too low. Making that cut in the body both sides (for ambidextrous mag button capability) allows the mag to fully seat and lock in. But the mag is a bit tight in the well and does not want to fall out which is no problem for target shooting. A nudge on the base plate breaks it loose and it falls out of the mag well. The follower has no shelf to operate the hold open feature so the last round will not result in the slide locking back. Again no problem for target shooting.

Why go to all this trouble to make this magazine work? Firstly, it is the challenge. Secondly it is a high capacity magazine that you are unable to get in California and this is one that is grandfathered because of its age (at least until the stupid liberal CA Legislature makes it illegal in which case they will have to come and get it as I'll not deliver it to them).

Sorry to bore anyone who visits this post. I just felt compelled to point out that Beretta 92 mags and Taurus PT92/99 mags are not the same. As an after thought I thought I would include what it took to get it to the operational state for a Taurus. It may actually be meaningless as I have no idea what the magazine was originally for but it was probably bought as a Beretta 92 magazine but I can not be sure as it was bought a very long time ago.

I am only left to shoot the gun to prove the mag works. It feeds dummies so I do not expect any problem.

LDBennett
 
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