Girsan Regard

Some American companies farm work out to Mexico. In Europe some machine work is farmed out to Turkey. While many European companies have an excellent reputation I sometimes wonder if they will come to regret having Turkey produce a less expensive line of Italian-designed firearms under the Stoeger line. This has given the Turks quite a bit of useful experience! The Benelli shotguns and Beretta pistols marked Stoeger work just fine, they simply are often less nicely finished.

I have lost track of the number of Turkish pistols and shotguns I have examined; they are workmanlike designs and some have been as well finished as any firearm. The new Browning High Power clone produced in Turkey is not only nicely finished, certain parts known to give trouble in the High Power in long term use have been beefed up.

I am not saying your High Power needed improvement— please hold the angry letters—but in long, hard military use every firearm has a certain weakness, if breaking at 30,000 rounds can be considered a weakness. The High Power has seen. hard use in Africa and the Middle East. So has the Beretta 92, which has been given a special treatment by Girsan in their Regard pistol. Unfortunately, many among the new generation of gun owners do not quite understand quality.

They don’t understand precision, clearance, tolerances, and specifications and are purchasing largely on hand fit, feel, and bling. Surprisingly but fortunately, this is turning out well for most. As an example, I had a pistol recently land on my work bench that brought back memories from along learning curve. The first time I fitted a custom barrel to the 1911 pistol the handgun was a Llama. The Llama is nothing special. Most were of soft steel. I have never

. seen one I would trust my life to. It turns out that someone has brought the Llama back as are-branded Rock Island/Armscor handgun. These are much better quality than any original Llama. My friend wished to compete in IPSC but was on a strict budget. We worked up the Llama and he learned a lot about shooting. In a similar situation, the Girsan Regard pistol on my bench was owned by a young man that had purchased it because he thought it looked like the Wilson Combat Beretta he had seen in Gun Tests magazine.

He could not afford the real thing and the Girsan Regard had that look. Would it accept Wilson Combat parts? A custom barrel? I did not snort or discourage this young man. I would learn myself and some good experiences with Turkish guns made me curious and respectful. The Girsan isn’t an exact Beretta 92 clone but is based on the Beretta 92A1, having a light rail and dovetailed sights front and rear. The main departure from the Beretta of controls and ergonomics.

The pistol features front strap finger grooves; they feel okay and the pistol handles well. You will not be using certain aftermarket grips that cover the front strap but other Beretta 92 grips interchange. This fourth generation Regard model features an odd set of grips being made of G-10 (a high-pressure fiberglass laminate) with a clear slot cut to allow viewing the magazine. The magazine has a corresponding slot for viewing cartridges. At first it seems odd but doesn’t appear to have any drawbacks.

The magazine release is an enlarged paddle type that works well and seems positive in operation. The safety is a standard Beretta 92 type and the take down procedure is straight forward Beretta. The take down lever is tilted or angled a bit compared to the Beretta but works fine. The sights seem to be standard 92A1 dovetail. The ambidextrous safety is slightly different from the Beretta but works as well. The hammer is the new Elite II type used on some Beretta pistols.

Overall the pistol seems a hardy rendition of the Beretta with the addition of forward cocking serrations on the slide to enhance combat ability. As aside note, the owner wished to own a Beretta Centurion type pistol so the work was farmed out to a machine shop to have the barrel shortened flush with the slide and recrowned. It turned out well. For other modifications, the owner was curious concerning the adaptability of Beretta parts, and by extension, Wilson Combat parts,

They are well done. The safety is fine as issued but may be changed out for Wilson Combat parts. to the pistol. As mentioned previously, the subject of grips wasn’t an issue and I changed the grips out for a set of high grade presentation Beretta 92 grips on hand without any problem. I slipped out the magazine release and dropped in a standard Beretta 92 part and that magazine release fit well. No fitting was needed for the safety lever. I went so far as to change the firing pin without any difficulty.

Trigger parts and springs are the same. There is some assumption here, however, as the pistol is designated the Regard Gen 4 and I can not comment on any of the other generations. A largely cosmetic difference is the grip strap serrations are different than the Beretta. The rear strap treatment and the finger groove grip seem to be an attempt to make a difference in handling the wide grip of the Beretta 92 type.

The slide stop/ slide lock works in the same manner as the Beretta and interchanges with the Beretta but looks slightly different. I had on hand a spring kit from Wolff Gunsprings (Gun- Springs.com, for the Beretta and this also worked well enough. It seems elementary after checking the more complicated parts but Beretta magazines also lock in and function. I would have been surprised if they had not. Concerning parts, one difference is the Girsan locking wedge.

The oscillating wedge first appeared, to the best of my knowledge, in the Mauser Broomhandle pistol and was later used in the Walther P38 9mm pistol. The locking wedge rides near the front of the slide with the Walther design. When the double action first shot Walther P38 was adopted into the Beretta 92 the pistol was given a single recoil spring rather than the dual springs of the P38 while the open top slide was retained. The pistol uses an oscillating wedge, however, the wedge is moved to the rear of the barrel.

These wedges occasionally break but not often in civilian use. Beretta changed the wedge design some years ago and the present version is longer lived. Just the same, with a life generally held to be 20,000 rounds this part is robust, however, it simply must be replaced occasionally. The Girsan locking wedge is both more rounded; upon close examination shows it has been modified to an extent. This will not or should not have an effect with changing the barrel as the locking wedge may be removed from the barrel.

If the new locking wedge is an improvement, and it appears to be, the Girsan is a great pistol and a legitimate choice for those preferring the Beretta 92 system. As for parts interchangeability, then, save for the locking wedge the Girsan is compatible with the Beretta 92. Firing tests have been encouraging without any type of malfunctions, although the tests have been limited. Accuracy seems on a level with the standard Beretta 92.

When the Girsan comes into your shop for modification and upgrade you may order Wilson Combat parts with confidence. You may replace parts with Beretta parts without difficult with the one exception noted. AG