Girsan Regard Yavuz Compact - long term review.

Clobbersauras

Clobbersauras

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I've been lusting after a Beretta Centurion for a while now. They are as rare as an honest politician up here, so I decided to pick up a Girsan Regard Yavuz "Compact" to play with. Girsan is a Turkish company. Apparently their Beretta 92 clones are made on older Beretta machines and tooling. Not sure of the whole history there, but they also supply pistols to the Turkish military.

Here's the stuff it comes with:


Mags are made by Mec-Gar and are exactly the same as my Mec-Gar Beretta mags.


Quality seems quite good, considering you can pick them up brand new for $450. Machining looks as good as my Beretta.


These are "F" model clones, note the differences in the slides. Top slide is the Beretta, and yes it's dirty.


Note the older style locking block. Beretta on the left.


The inside of the Girsan was dirty from test rounds (I guess). The barrel and slide rails had some dried up yellow lube that doesn't easily come off. The gun was bone dry, but I fixed that with some G96.


Girsan barrel on the bottom. Note the yellow filth.


Girsan recoil spring and guide rod on the bottom. Unlike new Beretta's, the Girsan's internal parts are all steel. Looking at YOU Beretta. Note how short the Girsan recoil spring is. Not sure what to think of that, but I'll just shoot it and see what happens.


The finger grooves on the Girsan don't bother me. The Girsan grips are slippery though and VZ grips don't quite fit. The grip screw holes are slightly out of spec on the Girsan. Making the VZ grips fit should be fairly easy, the holes are just a few mm out.


The Girsan sights are horrid. Girsan on the right.


I fixed them as best I could with some paint...



The Beretta Centurion length guns are not that compact. I guess they are compact for a Beretta...



I replaced the mainspring with a D spring, and did Wilson's "virtual" trigger job. The Girsan's trigger pull may be slightly better than my Elite now. Hard to tell, but it's more than acceptable.

2000 round challenge starts now.
 
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I replaced the steel guide rod on my Full size Girsan with a Tungsten Carbide one (I made my self). The recoil is basically nothing now. You'll like the Girsan, very well made. I'm looking at picking up the .40s&w now that they seem to be coming in.
 
Very nice.

The original beretta patent has expired, which is likely how Girsan can make these. Taurus also makes beretta clones, called the PT92 I think. Although that has something to do with a beretta factory in Brazil being transferred to Taurus... I dunno exactly. Taurus got the tooling from Beretta Im pretty sure. Im not sure if Girsan is the same or if they just took the schematics for a beretta and got their own stuff sorted out.

This might have to be the next addition to my collection, I really like the look of the two-tone and all-white versions, or whatever they call 'em. And the price is very nice for what it is.
 
Encountered problem #1.

Did about 15 minutes of dry fire tonight and noticed the extractor pin had popped up slightly in the slide. The slide wasn't staked. I could easily push it back down with my thumb. I'll lightly stake it and keep an eye on it.
 
I'm interested in how the durability test works out as well. I don't own a semi, am in no hurry to own a semi, and when I do get one I sure don't want to break the bank.
 
I have about 500 through mine in the past month and change. No mechanical issues, it still looks brand new, except for a bit of scuffing where the external trigger bar slides. I would agree the sights need some paint and perhaps some extra brightness on the front one. Too bad it is not removable. In another thread I had mentioned the trigger weight on mine (Inox) was pretty close to the D spring version, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to order that spring or go lighter. Since I had to fill out the order at Wollf's, I just ordered the Comp spring (13#), the 16# and a few others for my other pistols. Is the D spring 18# or 16#?
 
The Girsan was originally built under license from Beretta - initially only for the Turkish Military.The Turks have some very nice plants for arms production, most were set up under an agreement with HK whereby HK provided the designs, equipment, and technical training, as well as QC oversight. The Turks are heavily invested in HK rifles, this from before they elected the current Islamic Brotherhood stooge.
 
I had the pleasure to handle one in stainless with the polished slide sides (pimp gun).
It looks very well made, and I am really tempted.
 
I like the cleaner lines compared to the Beretta in the pics, too.

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The extractor pin is capped and only comes out one way, through the top of the slide. I thought it turned out pretty well considering Beretta's usually look like this (older pic of a malfunction I had with the Elite):
 
I put 170 rounds through the gun today. 150 rounds AE 124g and 20 rounds 125g cast handloads.

0 problems.

Here were the first ten rounds out of the gun, 25 yards freestyle unsupported:


The Girsan did well. 7 yard Bill drills were fairly smooth, but I struggled with grip due to the slippery grip panels and lack of serrations on the front and back. Sights tracked really well. The paint I applied to the front sight rubbed off and I'll need to figure out a more permanent solution. Perhaps nail polish would be more robust.

All in all, it seems like a solid piece.
 
I have a pair of them, paid $450 each, blued full size and blued compact with rail, have had no issues at all with them to date
 
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