Bersa Thunder .380

[xsquidgator]

The slide is supposed to "close" when you insert a full mag.

Really? I don't think it's supposed to. My T380CC does the same thing, I thought due to the very light construction of the gun. No matter how gently I try to seat the new magazine with the slide locked back, it almost always jars the slide loose and it slams into battery. I don't mind it TOO much, I guess, since there is the chamber loaded indicator I can glance at to verify it did properly take the top round out of the magazine.

I like my T380CC ok. It was my first CCW piece and I still keep it around as a backup to a backup gun. Mine's reliability is only "ok". Not due to feeding or jamming issues, which it doesn't have, but rather the light-duty (imo) construction of the fire control group. Unpredictably, if the gun's loaded and I flip the safety from "safe" to "fire", the trigger sear doesn't engage, resulting in sqeezing the trigger and nothing happens. Rapping the pistol with the non-firing hand is usually enough to fix it, but that does kind of concern me. On the occasions when I do carry it, with a chambered round, I'll decock it and then flip the safety back to fire, and make sure by feel that the trigger sear is engaged. I attribute this to light duty construction. Still not a bad little gun, though.

 

[whichfinger]

Really? I don't think it's supposed to. My T380CC does the same thing, I thought due to the very light construction of the gun. No matter how gently I try to seat the new magazine with the slide locked back, it almost always jars the slide loose and it slams into battery.

There was a discussion of this feature on the Bersa Talk forum some time ago. If you insert the mag with enthusiasm, it's made to release the slide so you don't have to rack it. If yours is doing it even with gentle seating there may be an issue. Bersas come with a lifetime warranty, and unlike some manufacturers, they actually honor it. Contact Royce at Colorado Gun Works - CGS is the authorized Bersa warranty station.

 

[USMCDK]

Is this one Spray painted??? I know that it's NOT the plastic bag cause the tag goes beyone the bags boarder.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=97629313

 

[mgregg85]

I'm trading mine but only because I got a great deal on a sig p232 and I don't need two .380s. It was a great gun but I just didn't shoot it much after I got the P232.

 

[mgregg85]

That one on gunbroker looks kinda like how mine was out of the box, covered with a light oil. It cleaned up just fine though.

 

[whichfinger]

First thing you do when you buy a Bersa is hose it off. I got mine home and stripped it to clean it up, but I think my dealer got there first, 'cause it was pretty clean. Others have said theirs were full of rust-preventive grease when they opened the box. That pic looks scary, but they clean up real nice.

 

[M47 Dragon]

Fwiw

I was visiting Arizona three or so weeks ago for the AZ State IDPA match... spent some time at the Cabela's in Glendale, AZ (suburb of Phoenix) and they had the Bersa Thunder .380 going for $209.

 

[Flopsy]

My fiance and I took mine/hers to the range yesterday and put 50 cheap WWB through it, flawless operation. BTW, it's the DLX model.

One time she slapped the new mag in, the slide closed on its own. First time I saw that happen but that's fine with me. When cleaning I did notice the grip panel is slightly loose from the grip screw loosening, but that took me about 4 seconds to fix with a flathead screwdriver.

50 more flawless rounds through, confidence in the gun goes up another notch.

 

[scott22]

I bought one for the wife. For the price tag, it is a great little pistol. However, I would not pay $300 for one if that was the going rate for them. The quality isn't that great but if kept clean it is definitely worth its $200 price tag and I would trust it to carry. I start getting malfunctions around 200 rounds without a cleaning before the Bersa starts acting up.

Flopsy - In my experience nearly every semi-automatic handgun I've ever handled will go into battery if the magazine is slapped in hard enough. I have also noticed that pointing the pistol slightly upwards tends to make this easier.

 

[papajohn]

I'm pretty fond of my Bersa .380, it can't hide like a Kel-Tek, but it's a whole lot easier to shoot well. It also has an adjustable rear sight, and when was the last time you saw one of those on a pocket gun? Mine is totally reliable as long as I keep it clean and lubed, after 100 rounds of WWB it starts getting fussy. Accuracy is as good as I can hold, and as well as I can see, which ain't so great. No soda can is safe at under 20 yards or better.

My Bersa was the gun that saved my bacon in an attempted carjacking, another pound or two of pressure on the trigger and the BG would have been breathing out that ugly hole in his forehead. When I thunked the muzzle between his eyebrows he suddenly heard his mother calling him, and had to leave on short notice.

A week later I added a Bersa "Ultra-Compact" 45ACP, and have carried it daily since. I've had offers to sell the .380, but I have a kind of sentimental attachment to it now. BTW, I paid $175 for mine, it was the first used one I'd ever seen, it looked unfired, and I pounced on it.

And yes, new Bersas are shipped with a quart of machine oil all over them. Mine took an hour to clean up. Aside from that I love them. And the .45 isn't much bigger than the .380!

PJ

 

[KevininPa]

After shooting the first mag......

......when you put the second mag in and drive it home, the slide is supposed to go forward and reload. It was designed that way for faster reloads. That was another thing I liked about the one I had. I'm just waiting for them to make one with a stainless slide and internals. For the time of year that I want to wear it, the sweat factor comes into play.

 

[JBB]

My Bersa has been flawless from day one. A great little gun for the money. It has a better trigger than some of my bigger guns.

 

[DougW]

I have had 2 Thunder .380's for over 8 years now. One is always with me. The only bad experience I have ever had was with some Wolf ammo years ago. Niether pistol has ever malfunctioned as far as I can remember. Wife and I used them about 5 years ago for our renewal CHL class, and both worked fine.

I recently was on a business trip in West Texas when my primary Glock 26 assumed room temperature. The Bersa that I keep in my truck became my primary concealed carry pistol for 2 days until I get back to the compound. Glad I had my Bersa with me. Did not feel under gunned at all.

 

[xsquidgator]

......when you put the second mag in and drive it home, the slide is supposed to go forward and reload.

In that case I guess mine is ok then. Neat little gun regardless, it's just that if possible now 9mm is as "low" as I'll go with self-defense calibers. But I like the little 380 and take it out to the range every now and then for fun, and I am glad it's there in my safe as a backup to the backup.

 

[guntotinguy]

My Bersa has been flawless from day one. A great little gun for the money. It has a better trigger than some of my bigger guns.

Mine too,have a Bersa 380 and a 380 CC...never a fail to feed and easy to clean up afterwards...I think Bersa will someday become a 'major player' in the gun market.

 

[USMCDK]

The Bersa, like all the other James Bond like pistols i.e. PPK, sound like great lil CCW type pistols. I have been looking into the, not to derail this thread, Sig P232 and I think that it just might be the next Firearm purchase that I make.

I have heard in my thread that I should go with the Bersa thunder insted of the SIG P232 cause the pull back of the slide is much easier, when in Double Action, on the bersa than on the P232. Haven't had a chance to prove this theory for the fact that I have only touched the 232 and not the Thunder. I guess when I finally get a chance to go down to the range or local fierams dealers I will definitely try them both on for size. I will also take the wife because the pistol is actually going to be for her.

I can't believe that the Bersa is only $200-$250 and the 232 is $629-$858.

Well I guess you can't please them all. *SIGH*

USMCDK

 

[saturno_v]

My Bersa Thunder 40 is my trusty CCW and nightstand piece.
Extremely reliable (I shoot with it almost every week-end at the range) and accurate.
You cannot beat it in price/quality ratio, solidly built, great trigger and all the features and more of a SIG in the same class at less than half the price...on top of that, IMHO, is the best looking full size .40 in the market.
Only real downside the cost of extra mags....but they do have stainless steel follower, rare nowdays.
A minor flaw is that the finishing is somewhat a bit uneven and bluing is not top notch.
Few things to mention about Bersa....several gun shops told me that they fly off the shelves and they constantly have to back-order them (especially the Thunder full size)...I haven't seen many in the used market..a good hint about their quality.
Guns publications reviewed Bersa products and they always got top scores.
The company does not spend literally a penny on advertisement.

I was in he market for a .40 full size and I was pretty much settled on getting a Beretta 96 or a SIG so money was not an issue. Then I run into this gem at a gun shop, great looking, unbelievable light and compact for being a full size piece and I could not believe the price ($320 + tax).
I did not buy it immediately and I researched the brand and the reviews.
After few days I went back and I bought it...the best 300+ bucks I ever spent on a gun.
Now I'm seriously considering buying the little Thunder 380 for pocket carry.

I already mentioned this, I did let try my Thunder 40 at the range to a friend of mine, a SIG lover....I had hard time to get it back and he offered to buy it...

 

[B yond]

I just had one follow me home yesterday. Picked her up from the LGS, took it across the street to the indoor range, ran one patch down the barrel and across the face, fired a 50 round ccw qualification with a perfect score and no malfunctions.

Having never fired a 380 before I was surprised with the flash, recoil, and noise. I noticed later that the web between my thumb and trigger finger was sore, which suprised me since I shoot my .45 a LOT (ruger p345) with no soreness.

Also, my Bersa's decocker doesn't decock, which might be a bonus. I'm assuming this is due to a burr somewhere in the linkage that will work itself out as the gun breaks-in. I haven't decided if I want to detail strip it to polish that out or not.

So far I'm very satisfied. I just ordered a few hundred rounds and some reloading dies so we'll see if I'm still in love after some more range time.