Bersa thunder 380 opinions

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defjon

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I picked up one of these awhile ago in nickel. It's pretty nice looking I think. The hammer and trigger and safety are all finished in nickel. I think they now are black coated.

The mags hold 8 rounds so 8+1. Recoil is harsh, even lowering my grip a mag or two will bruise the web of my hand.

It has never jammed in a few hundred rounds and is very accurate so it has stuck around. I even bought some lovely wood grips from Altamont for it.

Even so it probably isn't worth much to sell but really plays no role I can think of.

Should I sell it? Anyone have any experience with bersa in 2020? Any issues?

I've owned 4 bersas over the years. My first gun ever was a bersa 380 duo tone. Owned a firestorm 22. And another duo tone 22. All sold. Bought this one just because it was cheap and local and for nostalgic reasons.

Never any issues with any of those over a fair amount of shooting.
 
Reminds me of the FEG PA 63 in 380. acp I had for a while. It was two tone black and chrome. Beautiful little gun.
But, the recoil always hurt my hand, and the trigger pull on double action was terrible. So, it had to go.
 
A two tone BT380 was my first handgun, due to some poor decisions I made at the beginning of the year I had to sell it. Never had a malfunction with it through many rounds and years of use. I still have a brace of BT22's.
 
It is a lot like a feg. The nickel is neato.

Idunno. Probably only get like 200 for it with the extra mags and fancy wood grips.
 
My wife had one for years. She did alot of traveling and always had it in her car. She would shoot with her uncles, who had S&W revolvers, and she could hold her own on the range.
I've owned the FEG PA63, the Bersa was alot easier to rack the slide and had a better trigger.
 
I've owned two Bersa .380s over the years, each was a Gem worth more than what they sold for. The recoil of a blowback .380 is ridiculously more than it should be.
 
This thread got me thinking about getting a Bersa 380. Upon a little research they seem to be good guns. Then I found out about the magazine disconnect on it. Any of the models not have that “feature “. Needless to say I am not a fan of this on guns.
 
This thread got me thinking about getting a Bersa 380. Upon a little research they seem to be good guns. Then I found out about the magazine disconnect on it. Any of the models not have that “feature “. Needless to say I am not a fan of this on guns.

I haven't looked at the guns schematic but its usually an easy thing to remove.
 
I've owned two Bersa .380s over the years, each was a Gem worth more than what they sold for. The recoil of a blowback .380 is ridiculously more than it should be.

I’m with Jerry in the opinion of the Bersa 380’s as gems. I’ve bought five and sold four of them; I’d decide I really didn’t need it, sell it, regret it, and get another usually at very good prices. I’ve ended up keeping an all steel, older Bersa 83 with wooden grips. I sold the most recent Thunder 380 a month or so ago for more that I paid - rare for me!

Which brings me to your question on thoughts about yours. If you don’t shoot it, don’t need it, and can live without it, it is now a seller’s market at least till Wednesday 11/4/20. Demand will change next Wednesday, either up or down.
 
I have the nickel plated 8+1 Bersa and the Bersa Plus (combat). They are both excellent firearms, but I will admit that I am probably going to sell the 8+1. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but the sights are tiny. And as my eyes are getting older, I notice it when aiming and firing at the range. The Bersa combat has glock style slides and you can drift the rear sight. Much more visible over the traditional 3 dot sights.

Both of them are super reliable and shoot very straight. Recoil is manageable and if you fire it regularly, it isn't an issue.

Very simple design, much cheaper than Walther's, and look just as sexy.

i say if you're eyesight is good, it's a keeper. If not, and you like the looks, reliability, and styile, look at the plus version that has Glock style sights.

CH
 
I had a Thunder 380 new from Academy about 10 years ago. Every time I took it to the range it would stovepipe on the 5th round in the mag like clockwork. Every ammo I fed it. I got rid of it.
 
I really wanted one something fierce until I was able to rent one at a local range. The thing didn't hold a good group and the safety was so loose that you could just shake the gun to flip the lever, kept engaging while I was shooting. Even after that I still kinda wanted one just because they have such good reviews and the one I rented just HAD to be a lemon. Looked into running one as a BUG in IDPA and it didn't qualify so I hung up the idea. This thread has me pining again though.
 
A Thunder 380 was my wife's first gun several years ago, and she still carries it almost daily. We both think it's a fun gun to shoot and it gets a lot of use at the range. Haven't had any problems with it at all, except a couple of misfeeds with Speer Gold Dots. Hornady Critical Defense works well in it, as well as both brass and steel FMJ, and my reloaded cast lead. I've almost bought one for myself several times, and still may if the panic ever subsides.
 
I picked up one of these awhile ago in nickel. It's pretty nice looking I think. The hammer and trigger and safety are all finished in nickel. I think they now are black coated.

The mags hold 8 rounds so 8+1. Recoil is harsh, even lowering my grip a mag or two will bruise the web of my hand.

It has never jammed in a few hundred rounds and is very accurate so it has stuck around. I even bought some lovely wood grips from Altamont for it.

Even so it probably isn't worth much to sell but really plays no role I can think of.

Should I sell it? Anyone have any experience with bersa in 2020? Any issues?

I've owned 4 bersas over the years. My first gun ever was a bersa 380 duo tone. Owned a firestorm 22. And another duo tone 22. All sold. Bought this one just because it was cheap and local and for nostalgic reasons.

Never any issues with any of those over a fair amount of shooting.

The Bersa Thunder .380 was a much maligned pistol when it came on the scene. But, it carried a price point that was cheaper than alternatives. In my opinion, it's proven itself reliable over the years. I really liked mine and carried it with confidence for several years.

I thought it much better than some .380 pistols available at the time. Decent quality, strong action, simple design, sized small enought to conceal, but large enough to hold onto and abate recoil. Really, not much to go wrong in the firing linkage. My daughter still carries it, and it remains very sound.

All this was before the micro-gun revolution. I moved over to micro-9mm which are indeed "snappy" in recoil and more difficult to handle. I think that, if you want to experience snappy in a .380, try a Ruger LCP or a Kahr CT380 or a Sig P238. Still, these recoil less than similar 9's.

I might mention here that there are some simple blowback guns available in 9mm like the Walther CCP which combines blow back with a gas piston. My other daughter has one of these. Easy to cycle by hand and pretty soft recoil for a 9mm. Trigger is a little rough but .......

I've always been under the opinion that one should not get rid of anything because as sure as you do you'll want it back.
 
Black Friday $220 sale price was right for this cool looking 380. Never had a problem. Maybe my reloads are more gentle than factory loads, so no complaint of excessive recoil. Mine is all black. No need for chrome bumper bolts or high speed floor mats. Simple gets the job done.
 
If you bought it for nostalgic reasons, then you might want to keep it. Otherwise, you might end up buying another one down the road for the same reason.
 
I was attracted to the styling and the price , but the internal lock was a deal killer for me.
 
The beavertail on it stings the hell out of my hand. I don't shoot it much because there's too many other fun handguns I own that don't hurt to shoot.
 
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