Taurus Brings Back the 917 Compact

A more compact version of the company's classic PT-92 series 9mm, the 917C long ago faded away from the Taurus catalog but is now back and better than ever.

As a quick history lesson, Taurus has been around since 1939 but only got its start in semi-auto pistols back in 1980 when it acquired the old Beretta concern in Brazil. The Sao Paulo factory, set up the decade prior to crank out domestic variants of the Beretta Model 92 as the M975 for the Brazilian military and police, was fundamentally a turnkey affair, and in no time Taurus was making the PT-92 (fixed sights) and PT-99 (adjustable sights) pistols, which were very close clones but at a fraction of the cost.

They began appearing in ads in American gun magazines as early as 1982 – which means the U.S. has known about these guns for over 40 years.

early 1980s Taurus Pt-92 and PT-99 ads — Ironically, the PT-99 in the early 1980s was billed as better than the Beretta 92S, as at the time, the Brazilian gun had a more squared-off "combat" trigger guard and adjustable rear sights rather than the Italian 9mm's oval guard and fixed sights.

As an effort to provide a more carry-friendly variant akin to the Beretta 92 Centurion variants, Taurus introduced the 17+1 shot medium-framed Model 917C (with the "C" for "Compact"), the CS (Compact Stainless) and the 917C Plus (with an extended 19+1 shot mag), with the last one ending production in 2010. They all shared a 4-inch barrel, which was an inch shorter than the standard PT-92/99 and could share magazines.

The old-school Taurus 917CS Plus. Note the bright stainless finish and extended 19+1 shot mag. These guns have been out of production for more than a decade.

Meet the new 917C

With some improvements to the legacy design, Taurus is now making the 917C once again. Now with an 18+1 round flush-fit capacity, improved grips, and a full-length M1913 Picatinny accessory rail on the dust cover, the 917C is billed as a perfect CCW option for users who prefer a double-action/single-action hammer-fired semi-auto pistol.

The new Taurus 917 C — Using an aluminum frame and alloy steel slide, the weight of the new Taurus 917C is 33.5 ounces. Overall length is 7.9 inches.

The Taurus 917 C — Surface controls include a manual safety and decocker.

Taurus 917 C compared to the Taurus PT-92 AF-D — Compared to the PT-92 AF-D, Taurus's current production full-sized PT-92 model, the new 917C is a little shorter in overall length as well as a tad lighter. The magazines are interchangeable between the two, as they have the same grip length/height.

"I actually had one of the original 917C pistols all those years ago, and I regret selling it," said Caleb Giddings, General Manager of Marketing for Taurus USA. "I’m a huge fan of traditional double-action semi-autos like the Taurus 92, so bringing back the 917C makes a ton of sense to me. I can’t wait to put some serious rounds downrange out of this."

The new Taurus 917C is shipping now, with an MSRP set at $599.

Meet the new 917C

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