Bersa Thunder 380 Jams

[rdoty]

Recently purchased a Bersa Thunder 380 thinking it might be a good "under-the-mattress" or CCW gun. It's obviously not high quality and operation is less than smooth but I was surprised to experience 11 jams in only 40 rounds fired. This was with Magtech FMJ.
Any thoughts from anybody as to what I need to correct? Different ammo? Give it time? I did fire an Email to the importer (Eagle) but haven't heard back yet. My current thinking is that if I need to use it in an emergency I'd better be pretty accurate with my throwing arm!

 

[AirForceShooter]

Check the mag.
I have a Bersa and it's never jammed and it's incredibly accurate.
What kind of jams? Stove pipes, etc.?

AFS

 

[otomik]

Recently purchased a Bersa Thunder 380 thinking it might be a good "under-the-mattress" or CCW gun. It's obviously not high quality and operation is less than smooth but I was surprised to experience 11 jams in only 40 rounds fired. This was with Magtech FMJ.
Any thoughts from anybody as to what I need to correct? Different ammo? Give it time? I did fire an Email to the importer (Eagle) but haven't heard back yet. My current thinking is that if I need to use it in an emergency I'd better be pretty accurate with my throwing arm!

I think it's a high quality piece, but they do arrive with a less that ideal finish. Could you tell me something about these jams?

have you cleaned the extractor thoroughly? these guns do get pretty dirty.
have you polished the feed ramp? use 2000 grit sandpaper till it's a mirror
does pulling back the slide produce a "zipper sound" because of the rough finished barrel? use 1000 and 2000 grip sandpaper till it's a mirror (the gun will feel much smoother)
If the gun has a any problem cycling ammo I would try to lubricate and polish before I cut coils from the recoil spring.

later you can polish the trigger bar to improve the trigger pull, detail stripping is complex and I haven't the nerve to try it, yet.

 

[hksw]

...what I need to correct? Different ammo?

Try different ammo.

 

[Kramer Krazy]

My wife and I have never had a problem with ours (other than the slide lock), and we've shot Magtech and Silver Bear steel-cased hollow-points. Both guns have around 1000 rounds through each.

 

[rdoty]

I did a thorough cleaning and lube prior to firing (first attempt was 10 rounds with 2 jams). Field stripped, cleaned and fired another 30 rounds with 9 jams. All jams were feed type - no stovepipes. Most seemed like they were hanging at the top of the chamber entry although some were about 75% in but still not fully straight with bore.

 

[patrol120]

The bersa is most definitely a high quality, if not high cost, weapon. Mine has been 100% reliable with every brand of ammo Ive tried, from Siver Bear and Wolf to premium Silvertip ammo.

 

[ChuckB]

I parted with my .380 after two trips back for warranty work. It would never run dependably, and I tried several types of ammo. That's a shame, because it was comfortable, and darn accurate. My sense in reading forum posts is that if you get a good Thunder .380, it's a real honey (like most of them); if not, you're just not going to be happy with it.

Chuck

 

[otomik]

I did a thorough cleaning and lube prior to firing (first attempt was 10 rounds with 2 jams). Field stripped, cleaned and fired another 30 rounds with 9 jams. All jams were feed type - no stovepipes. Most seemed like they were hanging at the top of the chamber entry although some were about 75% in but still not fully straight with bore.

polish the feed ramp (and some of the other stuff I've discussed please), double check to make sure you're loading the magazines correctly with the back of the cartridge touching the back of the magazine. disassemble the magazines to make sure there's no problems with them and while you're there polish the inside of the feed lips. also it never hurts to try a variety of ammo.

are these OEM or Aftermarket magazines you're using? I know the factory ones can be expensive but some of the aftermarket ones aren't very good.

besides removing burrs and rough machining, polishing is the universal dry lubricant.

 

[otomik]

My sense in reading forum posts is that if you get a good Thunder .380, it's a real honey (like most of them); if not, you're just not going to be happy with it.

Chuck

to be honest I'm shocked, and I really hope there isn't a quality control issue or anything, this is the first time I've heard anything like this.

 

[Rezin]

In experimnets with the Wife's Bersa, we noticed when well oiled, it had ZERO jams. If she went 2-3 weeks between oiling/cleaning, it jammed now and then. never much tho. Maybe 10 rounds in the last 600 or so)

Same with my PPK/S. Needs to be well oiled to be happy

 

[MICHAEL T]

Make sure you use only factory mags
Feed ramp might need a little polishing.
Now make sure recoil spring is installed correct way. will cause jaming. Tight end goes on barrel. Also turn spring so open end at 12 when putting in slide.
If all else fails send in for warrenty. Eagle never answers e-mail. If you call they will say to send to warrenty center close to you.

We have warrenty gun smith on Bersa Talk name of country gunsmith. So join up and post questions over their were 435 strong as of a couple hours ago and growing daily as more and more learn people learn about the Bersa line up .

http://bersatalk.com

 

[grizz5675]

try using some flat nose winchester whitebox,making sure your not limp wristing

 

[ChuckB]

otomik: "to be honest I'm shocked, and I really hope there isn't a quality control issue or anything, this is the first time I've heard anything like this."

At the time, I was hanging out at the Bersatalk forum. Mine wasn't the only problem .380. Yes, I used OEM mags, and I polished the feed ramp. Apparently I got a lemon, but some posts on Bersatalk convinced me that I was not alone. Because of the preponderance of rave reviews, I might try again in the future.

Chuck

 

[rdoty]

I haven't tried any polishing yet. Thought I'd go the warranty route first. Haven't heard back from Eagle yet but sounds like I should call instead.
The jams did occur with the factory magazine. I did check out the BersaTalk site and a couple of others mentioned problems but nothing this severe. I do agree that what little shooting I was able to do the bullet went precisely where I aimed.....

(Later)...I checked another forum on BersaTalk and found another identical problem....multiple jams, same kind, etc. Also, several responders who indicated similar issues and several "try this, try that" suggestions. Maybe there is a quality issue here.

 

[CraigJS]

Also be careful not to limp wrist when shooting. I had a Firestorm that had to have a firm grip or else it would sometimes jam.. I really liked the gun, but the sights were too small for these old eyes..
CraigJS