Bersa .380 slide jammed closed - advice?

[05tacoma]

After purchasing my Thunder .380, I placed a loaded magazine in the pistol and chambered a round. I then released the magazine and attempted to clear the chamber, but the slide was stuck closed. I was unable to get the slide to release, but a friend was able to get the slide released after holding the hammer back. He said it felt like the gun was just tight because it was new. After that I was able to load a magazine, chamber a round, release the magazine and clear the chambered round as expected.

So, I went off to the range a week later and was able to shoot 100 trouble free rounds. I tore the gun down per the Bersa instructions, cleaned it and put it back together, placed a loaded magazine in the pistol, chambered a round, released the magazine, and attempted to clear the chamber. The slide would not move back and appears jammed. I attempted to pull the slide back safety-on, safety-off, with hammer pulled back, etc. It will not slide back with the magazine in place either.

I'm a little baffled at this point and am wondering if any other owners have experienced this?

(With a magazine in the gun, the hammer can be pulled back and engaged. But, I'm not too sure if firing the gun would disengage the slide jam or damage the gun more than it might be already. It's just tough to get it repaired with a live round in the chamber.)

 

[MedWheeler]

I've never heard of this.. did you get it resolved yet?

 

[TripleL]

I had a similar thing happen to my CZ-82. I was ready to go see a gunsmith but decided to give it a last try. I somehow got the slide back and the 9x18 round out and it appeared to be out of round. So, with the slide off, I tried more than a few random rounds in the chamber. Each one went in, of course, but a few didn't want to come out easily. I was using 95gr Barnaul, brass-coated steel case. To me, it's a minor issue since I've never had any problems at the range. I could have caused the misshaped round when I, maybe, tapped in the full mag too hard. I imagine it could happen to a brass-cased round, too.

 

[dudester]

You may want to try posting your question over on bersatalk.com

I have never had this problem with the Bersa .380 myself. Mine has been flawless.

 

[skeptiq]

What kind of ammo are you using???