Bersa Thunder .380 ACP

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MadeinHisImage

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Hi,
I am looking to buy the Bersa Thunder 380 as a back gun and maybe CC. Is this fire pistol worth it? Has anybody had an issues with it?
 
Mine has been trouble free and a good shooter. My front sight was loose but easily fixed. Be sure the rear sight is secure with blue loctite on the adjuster screw threads.
 
I had issues with failure to feeds. It would happen approximately every other mag. The round would nose up after coming out of the magazine and be trapped almost vertically between the barrel and the breech. It would happen regardless of who was shooting as well, so it wasn't a technique/lump wristing issue.

I sent the gun back to the factory approved repair center (their version of warranty repair) twice and neither trip fixed the problem (even after replacing every part on the slide as well as the mag). The warranty repair center also lost my gun once. All in all, of the 4 months I owned the gun, 3 months were spent waiting for it to get fixed. I finally sold it with full disclosure.

There are lots of people with good Bersa stores, but after my experience I will never trust my life to one.
 
I've been looking at a few .380s as well; Bersa Thunder, Ruger LCP, and S&W Bodyguard. I'm a S&W guy with my revolvers, but the Bersa seems to be winning so far.

Wife just bought the Ruger with the better (not plastic) trigger, though, and it's pretty nice.
 
Telekinesis said:
I had issues with failure to feeds. It would happen approximately every other mag. The round would nose up after coming out of the magazine and be trapped almost vertically between the barrel and the breech. It would happen regardless of who was shooting as well, so it wasn't a technique/lump wristing issue.



I sent the gun back to the factory approved repair center (their version of warranty repair) twice and neither trip fixed the problem (even after replacing every part on the slide as well as the mag). The warranty repair center also lost my gun once. All in all, of the 4 months I owned the gun, 3 months were spent waiting for it to get fixed. I finally sold it with full disclosure.



There are lots of people with good Bersa stores, but after my experience I will never trust my life to one.
Click to expand...


It's important to break it in with ball ammo and then to find a HP round that feeds well in it. Like many small pistols, it may take a few tries to find what works. Head on over to bersachat.com if you want detailed info. You don't have to register to read.
Mine has had no feeding issues since break in--now at least 1000 rds through it.
 
I liked my Bersa Thunder 380 so much I sold it and bought the concealed carry version of the same pistol. All slicked off to make it great for carry and just as reliable. I wil get another one when the opportunity comes to keep for a second location. SO far I have been pleased.
 
It's important to break it in with ball ammo and then to find a HP round that feeds well in it. Like many small pistols, it may take a few tries to find what works. Head on over to bersachat.com if you want detailed info. You don't have to register to read.
Click to expand...

Problems started after 400 rounds of FMJ (recommended break in was 300 rounds I believe) and continued for over 150 rounds after I started trying to get it fixed (50-100 after each trip to the factory authorized warranty repair center). This was all with FMJ ammo and was not caused by a HP's cavity snagging the feed ramp. I believe I tried several types of ball ammo as well.

The gun is long since sold, so no need to go to Bersachat (though I did spend a bit of time over there while I was trying to debug the issues.
 
if the built in lock doesn't bother you I say go for it. I've owned a few bersa 380s and in my limited time with them, they all were good guns.
 
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I've owned a couple of Bersas in both standard and CC version. I like them. But, I also own a couple of Smith-made PPK/S pistols which, contrary to internet rumor, have been 100% reliable and are seemingly very well made. The PPK/S while a bit heavier is also a tad smaller, has no internal lock, is all steel, and has a steel feed ramp which I like better than the aluminum feed ramp on the Bersa. I had no problem with the two Bersas I owned and would own another but prefer the PPK/S, all things considered.

The Bersa is a very good value, though.
 
Recently I went to some of my local gun stores to look for an 380 and it seemed they all were trying to get me to buy an larger caliber pistol instead of the 380 for CC some never heard of the Bersa Thunder or could tell me little about it. I was alittle frustrated with them and that's I have come to places like this instead listening to the so-called guru's.
 
PJSprog said:
I've been looking at a few .380s as well; Bersa Thunder, Ruger LCP, and S&W Bodyguard. I'm a S&W guy with my revolvers, but the Bersa seems to be winning so far.

Wife just bought the Ruger with the better (not plastic) trigger, though, and it's pretty nice.
Click to expand...

In terms of comfort...
The larger Bersa is a sweet shooter with easily managed recoil.
I put a Hogue Handall Jr (upside down) on the BodyGuard and it nicely fits my hand.
The LCP is really just not fun to shoot, but it serves a purpose for some.


And I'm biased toward the M&P platform -- for competition and for cc (compact/FS if OWB, and BodyGuard if pocket).
 
I would never have bought one of the Bersa's except a friend insisted I try his. Fast forward a year and my wife wanted a small easy to shoot pistol to take on camping trips. She shot my CZ82 well enough but I thought the grip was too big for her. I bought a Sig 232 and the Bersa Thunder .380 at about the same time. She selected the Bersa as hers. For under $300 with a second mag and a new ribber grip it's a lot of bang for the buck. She shoots it well, it's easy on the hands and is accurate. We have been getting a few ftf as has been described above, but the pistol has less than 200 rounds thorough it and we've been shooting Winchester flat point ammo. I have ben pleasantly surprised how user friend the Bersa is.
 
I have an older Bersa in 380, a Bodyguard, a KT P3AT and a Ruger LCP. The Bersa is the easiest to shoot and the heaviest. It is closer in size to some of the Makarov style pistols. While it fits in the pocket I really don't consider it a pocket gun because of the weight. That doesn't mean it won't work for you because I haven't been inside your pockets.
 
When I had about 100 rounds through mine, the trigger spring came loose. I had it fixed and, after about another 100 rounds, it broke again.

Apparently, this was a common issue for a while. My gunsmith assured me the second time around that it would not happen again. Many hundreds of rounds later, it is still good.

As far as comfort, weight, ergonomics, etc. It is a great little shooter. I also have an lcp and prefer the Bersa by far. I admit that I still hesitate to carry it since I had so many issues with it early on but the issues I had seem to have been resolved.
 
Mine is good with truncated cone type ammo. XTPs are best. It doesnt always like big round, almost hemi-spherical, bullets. Its kinda backwards, but works.
 
Bought one used in 2008, and carried it regularly for two years. Tried hard to get it to malfunction, even using mixed-ammo loads in the magazine (some new, some 15+ years old, JHP and FMJ together, etc.) This gun will run whatever I put in it.

I only stopped carrying it with any regularity because I found a Kel-Tec PF9 for a good price. While the KT is easier to pack (and packs a more-powerful round), it's far less pleasant to shoot than the Bersa.

As a matter of fact, I dropped the Bersa in my pocket this morning before heading to work at my no-carry job (it gets stashed away when I arrive.)
 
After trying four different Bersas, two of them 380 Thunders, and being disappointed with all of them, I've decided Bersa just doesn't turn me on. I have a lower opinion of them than many people. I want quality in a handgun, not cheapness.
 
I have a Bersa Thunder, with Crimson laser grips... its a nice gun and I carried it as my EDC everyday... Im 70 years old and not in the best of health, so I made a dicission to up my horse power and go to a 45 ACP... The problem that I have is with all the hand guns I own, from berretta, S&W, Taurus, Colt, Kimber, is that every gun I put back in the safe... it is replaced by what, for me , is a step up from the previous.. here is my Thunder .380 ACP, next to my Kimber 45 ACP... not that both guns have Crimson laser grips, and both are the same size , so I didn't even have to switch holsters. While the Bersa shoots well, and never had a feed problem or in fact any issue.. at my age and health I feel more confident in a larger caliber... I could have bought a Bersa 45... but wanted a Kimber.. the size of the Bersa is Ideal for my body type to conceal summer or winter.

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I have used a Thunder 380 for concealed carry since 2005. It has been a reliable, accurate, easy to shoot gun. I has been back to their warranty guy for trigger replacement in 2013 which fixed an occasional failure to drop the hammer before the back of the trigger contacted the grip frame when the trigger was staged slowly in double action. Another issue with mine is that it keyholes cast bullets as close as 5-7 yards so those are not a viable practice round for me. I think the throat is exceptionally long compared to my Colt Mustang that shoots various cast bullet well.
 
I have one, it's a very comfortable shooter and I've had zero feeding problems. I do have a problem where occasionally the disconnector spring disengages from the magazine safety bar. The result is no click, no bang. I did some research and some others have this problem too. I learned I can send it out to an authorized smith to have the spring retention groove milled out to hold the spring better. I haven't done this yet, as I have other carry options.
 
I think they are nice guns for the money. Like other .380s, some of them occasionally tend to dislike certain rounds. A lot of people seem to like Silvertips for smaller pocket autos that can be more temperamental with ammo, though I have not used them myself. I think any of the three will perform well as a CCW gun, and that the biggest variation is user opinion. For example, I am personally a Kahr fan and if I was buying another .380 I think it would probably be the CW380 (or possibly the Colt if I could get my hands on one).
 
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