In this day and age, it's really hard to find a gun that doesn't perform very well right out of the box. So there are four primary considerations in my book: 1) Reliability; 2) Accuracy; 3) Durability; and 4) Construction, which in turn includes a) weight, b) ergonomics, c) safety, d) sighting and e) disassembly/reassemly.
The Beretta 92 was the second hi-cap gun I ever wanted. The first was the S&W 59, which primarily flunked in both reliability and safety. Dropping it on the muzzle could fire it, and the gun jammed so often that users called it “the jammomatic.“ The Beretta was actually the first of the uber-reliables, and to me the ability to chuck out 16 rounds rapidly and with no malfunctions was mind-boggling. The ink wasn't even dry on the latest Skeeter-Jordan articles debating the relative merits and demerits of revolvers v. autos. Plus, the thing could be taken apart and reassembled with unbelievable ease. The ergonomics weren't the best, but they were okay, especially considering the output.
Now such things don't impress us anymore...at least as much. I've got a Sig P220 .45 And though it's a quality piece, I don't trust it or any other auto to sit in a holster cocked without a safety of some sort engaged. And the double action trigger is so stiff as to be useless in any type of a confrontation. How it got the reputation it has is beyond me. And how the design could be better than a cock and lock design, I'll never know. But after examining the model my father gave me, I know the pistol itself is of superlative quality.
One final note. Although I'm not by any stretch a TAURUS fan, I've been very impressed with the Taurus PT92. I've owned several iterations of the Beretta 92 (not the military model), and I've owned a few Taurus iterations as well. The early Tauri were very reliable, but were lacking in accuracy. And the finish was not up to Beretta's. More recently, though, things have changed. I lost some of my enthusiasm after the frame failures in the military. Later, however, both Beretta and Taurus addressed the issue in their designs. Then the stainless models came out. Not able to afford the Beretta, I picked up a Taurus stainless 92 and was impressed. Not only is it gorgeous, it's uber-reliable and accuracy has improved significantly.
So you might want to check it out. Bottom line, I don't think you can find an auto you won't find to be exceptional as far as function goes.
