Bad Day At The Range - Broke My Gun

When I stumbled into my '97 PT92, I spent a lot of time reading over at the Taurus forum. I specifically read up on locking blocks. Nobody over there said anything about Taurus locking blocks being the "best there is".
In fact, many of those guys are running the Beretta 3rd gen.

When I got my PT, I was missing a 92FS I used to own. For $265, I couldn't resist.

While the current PT92's still have a good rep, those Taurus forum guys like the older ones best...all forged, and no MIM. Plus, all the new ones have the rail.

I use 18rd MecGar mags in mine, and it is a shooting machine.
 
You should probably send the whole gun in to the Florida repair center...
its a fair-to-middlin chance they'll replace it with a new one,
which would lead to another decent round count :)

They might also discover additional issues...or upgrade the safeties...
and maybe toss in a spare mag ;) (always send your worst mag)

Besides, the new center needs some nifty repair cases,
OTHER than the 24/7 recall repairs, most of which are getting
straight out boughtback...
 
A+ for Taurus Customer Service

I got my Locking Block in from Taurus today. They also included a roll pin for the one I needed to remove to get the new block in. Fits good and it manually cycles fine. I will test it out at the range next week. If I have any issues I will report back.

While it was awaiting the part I took the gun totally apart and cleaned everything and installed a new spring kit.
 
I purchased a Taurus PT99 in 1988. Had it for 6 months, and with a round count of less than 500, my locking block broke. Both ears were sheared off, causing the slide, frame and barrel to lock up. It was impossible for me to get it apart. This happened while shooting Fiocchi 9mm range ammo. I never fired relaods from this gun.

It took Taurus 3 months to send my gunsmith a new locking block. The new locking block was so badly out of spec, my smith wouldn't install it. He sent it back and Taurus sent him another one, which he received in another 3 months. This one looked like crap; still had casting metal on it; but my smith got it to fit. The aluminum frame had been gouged in trying to separate the the frame from the slide/barrel - this was done by the steel bits that worked their way in there.

The "fix" to this (disclosed by Taurus/Beretta decades later) is to cut/sacrifice the barrel to get the gun apart. Anyway, the PT99 was serviceable and I traded it for a Smith and Wesson 659 (+ cash), which I still have today.

I've followed the issue regarding locking blocks breaking in Taurus's and Berettas for decades. About 10 years ago or so, Beretta came out with a beefier locking block. I don't know if it will fit in the Taurus, but if it does, I'd ditch the crappy Taurus part and have the new Beretta locking block installed.

I don't know about new Taurus Locking blocks, but the old ones were crappy cast parts; probably investment cast. I got to see them fresh (too fresh) from the factory.

Meanwhile, my Jennings J-22 (purchased about 3 years after the Taurus) is still running strong with no breakages.
 
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Tsquared said:
I got my Locking Block in from Taurus today. They also included a roll pin for the one I needed to remove to get the new block in. Fits good and it manually cycles fine. I will test it out at the range next week. If I have any issues I will report back.



While it was awaiting the part I took the gun totally apart and cleaned everything and installed a new spring kit.
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Nice! Let us know if it's up and running well again.
 
Another Crappy Taurus broke after only 34,000 rounds.

Just kidding I have one of the first Taurus 92s out of the old Beretta plant. Still running good and I quit counting around 25K rounds. I have a Beretta 92 as well. Look the same and shoot the same.

I would send in your whole pistol and let them take care of you. I've had good luck on another Taurus product.
 
Interesting. I have never fired a Taurus beretta clone or a beretta for that matter. I had no idea there was a slight flaw in the design. I have always avoided Taurus because of various things I have heard BUT if you are on a tight budget and need a gun now, they have a lifetime warranty and should be worth the money. However if I were to choose between ruger and Taurus I would probably choose ruger, although I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE magazine disconnect "safeties"
 
Tsquared said:
I have a Taurus PT92AF that I have had since I bought it new back in '88. The Locking Block on the bottom side of the barrel broke. I was at the range shooting some Blazer Brass 115 grain round nose target ammo when this occurred. I usually shoot my reloads but I have had half a box of Blazer for a couple of years and I was shooting it just to clear a spot on my shelf.

This is the first issue I have had with this weapon as it has given me excellent service over the years. I used to keep a round count but when my son started shooting it I lost count around 28K in 2008. I have no clue how many rounds my son shot through it for 4 years but I have put another 4500 rounds since he stopped shooting it. My guess would be in the high 30's.

When I fired the gun it discharged the bullet but the slide did not move and I could not rack the slide to clear it. I dropped the mag and I was able to open the take down key and remove the slide. The barrel was jammed in the slide with the broken ear off of the Locking Block jamming the mechanism. I was able to get the small piece out and the barrel assemble was able to be removed. Upon inspection it appears the Locking Block is the only part that is damaged. The brass that came out looked like it was supposed to: the primer was not flattened or cratered and there were no tell-tell bulges on the spent casing. I only fired 6 shots of 9mm and I just got the brass out of the tumbler and they all look the same. I went on to shoot 8 mags of 45GAP to make sure the range time wasn't a total loss.

I contacted Taurus Customer Care Call Center and was informed I needed to send the part to them and they would replace it or I could send the entire gun and they could go through it and check everything. I am sending the broken Locking Block back to them tomorrow.
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Holy smokes that's some miles you put on her! I have a PT99, which from what I understand is an updated version of the 92 and that thing is great! Super accurate, no issues whatsoever. Thought my count was high for it (12-15k est.) but after seeing some of you with double that I guess I'm just breaking in the barrel now!

P71pilot said:
Interesting. I have never fired a Taurus beretta clone or a beretta for that matter. I had no idea there was a slight flaw in the design. I have always avoided Taurus because of various things I have heard BUT if you are on a tight budget and need a gun now, they have a lifetime warranty and should be worth the money. However if I were to choose between ruger and Taurus I would probably choose ruger, although I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE magazine disconnect "safeties"
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Also hi point is a good budget gun with lifetime warranty. They can take some abuse and be very reliable.
Crappiest ergos in the world and uglier than world hunger...but 160ish for a brand new .45 ACP makes up for the homely features.
 
sandmansans said:
I have a PT99, which from what I understand is an updated version of the 92
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No updates, a PT99 is the same as a PT92 except for adjustable sights.

I had a PT99 bought new in the early 1990's. I didn't shoot it much, the adjustable rear sight broke and fell off after about 5 years, probably about 2,000 rounds. Taurus said send the slide and they replaced the sight. Took about 2 weeks.

About 5 years and probably another 2,000 rounds later the rear sight broke and fell off again. Sent Taurus the gun with a request that they replace the adjustable sights with a fixed-sight PT92 slide. They did, took about 2 weeks.

About 5 years and another couple of thousand rounds and the locking block broke. Taurus sent a new locking block, took about 2 weeks. Gun worked fine with the new block.

I sold the gun shortly after that, and it was stolen from the guy I sold it to about a year later.
 
45_auto said:
No updates, a PT99 is the same as a PT92 except for adjustable sights.

I had a PT99 bought new in the early 1990's. I didn't shoot it much, the adjustable rear sight broke and fell off after about 5 years, probably about 2,000 rounds. Taurus said send the slide and they replaced the sight. Took about 2 weeks.

About 5 years and probably another 2,000 rounds later the rear sight broke and fell off again. Sent Taurus the gun with a request that they replace the adjustable sights with a fixed-sight PT92 slide. They did, took about 2 weeks.

About 5 years and another couple of thousand rounds and the locking block broke. Taurus sent a new locking block, took about 2 weeks. Gun worked fine with the new block.

I sold the gun shortly after that, and it was stolen from the guy I sold it to about a year later.
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Thanks for the information, now I know the difference between the two.

That gun sure had a string of bad luck attached to it! Luckily no issues with mune, except the normal stuff (magazine spring being weak over time.
 
Taurus service has been cyclical over the years. About 10 years ago my PT92 love locking block broke (7000 rounds, mostly +P) and Taurus simply sent me two new locking blocks when I asked, after I gave them serial number.

A few years later, the hammer started showing some cracks. They wanted the entire gun sent to them and wanted me to pay shipping. I decided I did not want to be at any gun company's mercy like that so I bought Glocks, AR's etc. that I can work on myself.

I loved the gun but I got away from it when I realized the Glock was almost a full pound lighter and about 30% smaller. For less money.
 
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