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380Pistol help

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Wolfy

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Jan 16, 2003
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Location
Peoples Republic of NJ
Bought a Keltec 3AT on Wed took it out Thur out of a 100 rounds could not get it to fire more than TWO!!!!! roumds in a row without a jam.

WW box 95gr FMJ (but the bullet looked truncated) gun was giving light primer strikes.
Silver Bear 92gr FMJ would not extract the gun was literaly a single shot would have to eject mag and rack slide a case would eject (I don't know why the case would eject when racking the slide manually but not in the normal course of cycling?).

Federal was suffering from stovepipes, failure to eject and light primer strikes (YEA A HATRICK):fire: .

I hate this gun and am bringing it back today.

What I need to know is will I get the same results from a Bersa 380?

What models of the Bersa 380 are available?

And who makes the closest size wise to a Keltec?
 
My brother, Spot77 here on THR, has a Bera Thunder .380 and from my experiences with it I only have two words for it.....accurate and reliable. Fine little gun for right around $200.00......may have to pick up one for myself.:D
 
Let me assure you, your Enjoyment of owning a Bersa .380 will be just as intense as your hatred of what you have now:D

I have two, between them over the past year and a half I have fired almost 2,000 rnds with 0 failures of any kind. You can get nickle plated, matte black, or a black slide with silver frame. They even offer a model with a gloss black finish called the Deluxe.

Very accurate, very reliable, very comfortable to shoot, very classy looking, very nice trigger, very easy to field strip, very good warranty, and very affordable (none of them cost more than $250).

Yes, Wolfy, go buy one, you will be VERY glad you did!
 
Have a friend who also loves his Bersa. Has had 0 problems with it so far.
 
Bought my Bersa 380 in 1995. Lots and lots of rounds through it. Everything from expensive defense rounds to the evil Wolf stuff.

Zero problems.

Too bad about the KelTec. I've heard that the P3-AT is kind of hit and miss with stuff like that. Have a Sub2k and love it although I have had my share of FTF's with it.

Everyone who has ever shot the Bersa says the same thing: "Hey, I need to get one of these. You say it was $200?"

jpthegeek
 
I know that the P-32 usually had feed problems and sending it back to the factory was just part of the process. That is what I did with mine a few years ago and it hasn't had a problem. They just do a feed ramp buff and polish.
 
I have a Keltec .380 and have had zero problems. You could always send it back there cust. service is excellent. I also have a Bersa .380 and love the gun very accurate and no problems.. Good luck with what ever you choose.
 
Light strikes with the P-3AT are usually from not letting the trigger move all the way forward. The hammer is only half cocked when fired and requires a full trigger pull to fire each round.

If you apply a light coat of a good wheel bearing grease to the slide rails, hammer interface and barrel lug you may find a much-improved P-3AT. The addition of finger extension (NAA or Beras) to your extra magazine will also add much enjoyment during the break-in period.

Yes, many P-3AT dislike Wolf ammo. Sellier & Bellot is reasonable priced practice ammo and My P-3ATs love it. Sorry you and your P-3AT are having problems. If you have time see;
http://www.ktog.org/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?forumid=11
http://1bad69.com/keltec
http://www.ktog.org/tecwerks.htm
http://www.goldenloki.com/guns/keltec/care2.htm
 
p3at vs. bersa

wolfy, sorry to hear of your problems. i have a p3at and as luck would have it, no problems. did give the ramp a high polish and light rail smoothing prior to first time out. no problems. another fellow at the range had a bersa and we exchanged guns. no surprise, we both prefered our own. he liked the lighter perceived recoil of his bersa and i preferred the size and concealability of my k-t. the bersa i'll admit was easier to shoot but in my pocket heavy and bulky. regardless they are both nice little pistols and a good buy in my estimation.:)
 
my dealer said he will ship it back to Keltec. I figure since it won't cost me anything I will geve them a chance to make it right.

Now I wonder how long it will take till I get it back?
 
KelTec P3AT

I have a KelTec P3AT and have about 750 flawless rounds through it. I carry it in my front pants pocket everyday. I would give KelTec at least one chance at making yours right.

As far as the Bersa 380 goes, I don't own one and have never even fired one. So I can't comment on them from experience, however I have never read anything bad about them. It sounds like Bersa 380s are great guns for the money.

Good luck with your KelTec.
 
No experience with the Kel-Tec so I can't help there. But I have nothing but praise for my Bersa. No problems of any kind and would recommend it to anyone.
 
Over 500 rounds through my Bersa Thunder 380, most of them 95 gr Magtechs and my early 100 gr reloads, and not one jam or feed problem!
 
I would save the time and give the pistol a fluff and buff job myself. Then give it some quality lube.
Some have complained of not gripping the little pistol tightly and having problems with it. They are not the easiest pistols to shoot being so small and light. A larger pistol like a Bersa will be easier to shoot.
 
I know I am not limp wristing because the problems seem to be ammo partiular. Also the problems don't seem to be limp wristing related (failure to extract and light primer strikes).

I have seen the phrase "fluff and buff" used but do not know what it means. But the pistol is already on it's way back to Keltec so a fluff and buff is there problem.
 
I have two Bersa Thunders and Two Kel-Tec P-3ATs and think they are both very good pistols, but they are for two different purposes.

I would not think of trying to carry a Bersa in my pocket, but the little and very light P-3AT just disappears in my pocket!

My P-3ATs absolutely are not reliable with Russian ammo, but are completely trouble free with Gold Dots that are my carry round and I practice with PMC fmj and they are 100% trouble free as are most other US made ammo in my P-3ATs and Bersas.

My Nickel Bersa has even more problems with Russian ammo then My P-3ATs do! But my Bersa Thunder DLX will shoot anything and never flynch!

The point is every pistol is different.

You will probably not have any problems with the P-3AT when you get it back from Kel-Tec, but I would recommend you stay away from the Russian steele cased ammo.

For all kinds of good information about fixing problems with your P-3AT yourself, go to
YZGUY's website. Most of the information on the P32 at YZ's website works for the P-3AT too.
profile_1.jpg
 
I have a Keltec .380 and have had zero problems with mine, over 800 rds so far.

Polish the feed ramp and give the slides a good coat of oil/grease.
 
As an earlier response said, I also thought I had light primer strikes with my P-32 until I realized I had to let the trigger go all the way forward... I was used to a more Glocky type trigger that only had a short reset.
 
How does giving it a fluff and buff prevent stuck cases in the chamber?

I got a real lemon and all the tweaking on my end will not fix the problems.

Why should we have to be the ones to tweak them to make them function properly shouldn't that be QC job?
 
Why should we have to be the ones to tweak them to make them function properly shouldn't that be QC job?
Click to expand...
To some degree yes the factory should be doing that before it leaves, but then the price would reflect that and you wouldn't find them for the low price that they sell for now.
 
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