A new pistol came through my shop the other day, a Turkish copy of the Beretta 92, called the Girsan Yuvaz 16 with a price tag of $550. As I’ve learned, the firearm is the official sidearm of the Turkish Police and Military. Having never heard of this firearm up until that day, I decided to take it down and compare it side by side with the Beretta original, both firearms are full size models, with tac-rail.
Ergonomics:
The main difference between the Girsan and the Beretta is the grip.
Simply, the Girsan has machined finger grooves on the front side of the grip while the Beretta has vertical slots. Overall the Girsan feels nicer and really fills the hand in a pleasing way. I passed the firearm to people with both smaller and larger hands, and have almost always received positive comments on the grip. My one complaint is that the grip does get a little slippery when your hands get wet or sweaty, a little grip tape would go a long way here if this becomes a serious issue, but to put it plainly, firing 9mm loads out of an all metal gun doesn’t produce very intense recoil.
Side by side grips of the Girsan (left) and the Beretta (right)
Fit and Finish:
I was quite impressed with the fit and finish of the Girsan, the finish is quite comparable to the Beretta. The slide and all the controls were nice and tight, just as you’d expect from a brand new firearm. There were no scratches on the barrel itself after firing and the pistol looks as new on my counter right now.
Mechanical:
This is where I found the big differences between the Girsan and the Beretta; I found the trigger pull on the Girsan to be smooth and lighter than the Beretta. Additionally, the single action pull on the Beretta felt as though it had a slight burr on the Sear or Hammer notch. While it would likely wear away over time or with a little polish, it still felt as though it were there. I was, unfortunately, not able to fully disassemble the Beretta and inspect it more closely.
Additionally, I was surprised to find that the Beretta 92 came with a plastic full length recoil guide rod, while the Girsan came with a full length steel guide rod. I’d note that the Steel guide rod of the Girsan is hollow on the inside, allowing you to add weight. Both firearms feature the same style of loaded chamber indicator, Disassembly is the same on both. Both firearms feature a safety which also serves as a decocking device, a spring loaded firing pin, 3dot sights, and a DA/SA trigger. The Beretta does feature a chamfered firing pin hole that the Girsan does not, giving it (theoretically) more reliability as brass shavings cannot interfere with the operation of the firing pin.
Recoil guide rod of a Girsan 9mm Compact at the shop (left) and a Beretta 92 (right)
Firing:
The Girsan was smooth and accurate throughout my shoot. I produced groups an inch in diameter at 12 yards. Considering it was my first time shooting a 92 style pistol, I’d say I was quite impressed. It was a rather wet day at the range, and I fired the Girsan both with and without gloves and had no issues with the finger grooved grip. I found that the trigger reset on the Girsan is a little long for my taste, but is acceptable within today’s market. I was happy to see that I was still getting X-ring shots in DA out to 10 yards. As far as DA goes, the front sight is much easier to keep on target through the 10lb pull with a strong high isosceles grip, Switching to Weaver; I found that that accuracy was lost. Naturally, Individual results may vary.
Conclusion:
Cost notwithstanding, I would not hesitate to recommend the Girsan over the Beretta. That recommendation only becomes stronger when you factor in cost, and consider that the Girsan is ~$300 cheaper than its Beretta counterpart. The recoil is quite low, allowing very fast follow up shots. The pistol is simple to disassemble and maintain. I would not hesitate to recommend this firearm to new or experienced shooters looking for an inexpensive alternative to a classic firearm.
