Bersa Thunder used to be $150 now cost $300+

What can you get in .380 in a new pistol that costs less?

When I checked online, I see that the Bersa in .380 starts at $250. Hi Point is cheaper, Kel Tec costs the same, Ruger and Taurus are a bit more, and Walther, CZ, Kahr, Sig Sauer are quite a bit more. I don't own a Bersa, or anything else in .380, but if it costs $250 and it works as well as Jeff Quinn says it did in Gunblast then it is at least a good value. http://www.gunblast.com/Bersa_Thunder380.htm

All guns cost more compared to 7 years ago (some A LOT more...) so the value is still all there...

Here in WA, however, you can still buy everywhere a Thunder 380 for $250-280...I never seen it at $300 so far...

You cannot even touch the small pocketable plastic Ruger LCP 380 for $300...the least expensive I ever seen it is at $320.

In the full size segment, or almost full size, here in Western WA, the closest to the Bersa Thunder 9 or 40 is the Stoeger Cougar for $399 which is not better finished than the Bersas nor seems particularly better built (and less features).

Maybe some Taurus model can get even closer but the construction quality and fit, in some cases, is visibly worse than Bersa....you can probably buy some piece of tupperware for the same price ...I saw Sigma as little as $299 but I would never buy one over a Bersa...

Even the EAA Witness full size are over $450 nowdays.

No CZ or Ruger full size for less than $500...

Rellascout..are you thinking about buying one???!!

I would rather have a Bersa than a Sig P232, CZ83, or Smith and Wesson PPK/S for the money, cartridge and the size. They're still around $250 around here.

I would rather have a Colt Mustang, CZ82, Sig P238 (what I carry daily), and a Mak for the money, cartridge, size, and dependability over a Bersa.

...if it works as well as Jeff Quinn says it did in Gunblast ...

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I'm told everything gets a good review by Jeff Quinn.

Until the ammo situation clears up, I'd wouldn't consider a .380. Even then, consider how much shooting you plan to do and what the total cost will be. Sometimes you can pay for your next gun in short order, if you select an economical caliber for the first gun.

Also FWIW, I have the Thunder, a 642, and an M&Pc 9mm. The .380 is strictly a plinker. I carry the other two.

The .380 is strictly a plinker. I carry the other two.

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I totally agree

Nowdays with the rather large selection of sub-compacts and downright pocketable 9 mm (or even 40), the 380 cal, as SD proposition, doesn't really make sense anymore unless you are extremely recoil shy.

More cost and substantial less powes compared to the 9 X 19 NATO.

It remains a pleasant to shoot plinking tool when you want something more noisy and less "boring" than a 22 or an acceptable SD compromise for very light framed individuals.

Dude, let it drop.

All pistols may not have doubled, but most have gone up $150 - $200, and the Bersa has done the same. The CZ-75 is no longer a $300 pistol, but a $450 (sometimes more) pistol.

We clearly understand you don't like Bersa. Great, I don't blame you. Me, I don't care for them personally, but I can accept that they are decent - not the best but decent - pistols. I'd get a Mak first, certainly a CZ-82 or 83 for the same price (or less). But come on, Iago seemed less driven.


Jousting windmills is an exercise in futility.

Ash

Gunblast should have NO credibility. They don't for me.

http://www.gunblast.com/ExtremeShock.htm

Well you can answer the VALUE question yourself ............. if you would have kept the Bersa and sold it today you would have DOUBLED your money !!! Not bad in any game.

I own one ( bersa thunder .380 ) and it will stay bullet for bullet with any Walther PPK.........as a matter of fact the person who sold me the Thunder did it so he could buy a Walther PPK ............at double the money !!!

He is sorry today for that move, when we shoot at the Range (smile).

You either get a good one or not ............if you get one like mine ......... it just shoots every time the trigger is pulled - no fuss or muss. 500 rds and counting ......... Trigger in DA is not that bad and was the main reason I decided to buy this Bersa used. It eats anything I feed it, mostly Aluminum Blazer ammo ( all I could afford at the time ).

JF.

So a CZ-75 grip is too big but the P01 is not?

Ash

I am asking in a round about way is "value" the number one reason people buy this gun and does the label of "value" still apply?

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In one word: Yes

Reasons??? Reliability, accuracy, ergonomics, decent trigger, Lifetime Warranty with no question to ask and excellent Customr Service and the best priced all metal subcompact 380 in the market...it is enough for you??

All guns went up in prices, period.

If you do not like Bersas for other reasons it's perfectly ok but do not try to convince us they are junk because they are not...repeating something over and over doesn't make it true.

Countless number of happy Bersa owners cannot be wrong and you and some other are the only ones right...it doesn't add up.

You got your ideas a bit confused when you compare a used 38 snubnose revolver to a brand new small semi auto, apples and oranges....and good luck finding a used quality snubnose for $300 in excellent conditions around here nowdays...where do you live??

Then you compared a tupperware striker fired pistol like the Sigma (which had a lot of issues for some owners) to a full metal DA/SA one like the Thunder full size and you tell me that the Sigma is a better value proposition?? hmm....apples and oranges again and you better do more reading around about the "Glockma" issues...

For being someone that dislike Bersas you seem a bit obsessed with them....

A new CZ for $300??? ahahahahahaahahahah ....where, when?? actually I want to cry...

The way the circus in Washington is devaluing the dollar as fast as they can, Bersa Thunders might be $500 by Christmas. Glad I bought mine when I did at $225, and I have a 2 gallon bucket full of polished brass, a whole buncha boolits, primers and powder too.

FWIW, the Bersa has been reviewed more recently that 2002. Jeff Quinn did another review of the Bersa in December 2007. http://www.gunblast.com/Bersa_Thunder380-2.htm
Dan Smith reviewed it in June 2007. http://www.genitron.com/REV-Bersa-380/Bersa-380.html
And Phil W. Johnston reviewed it: http://www.handgunsmag.com/featured_handguns/bersa_thunder/ Can't tell the date on this last review, but he says the Bersa .380 is $248, so I don't think it was before 2002.

Like I said before, I don't own a Bersa. I've seen them at the local gun store, and the guys behind the counter told they keep selling out and ordering more, so someone must think they are a good value. Personally, I think that Bersa makes an inexpensive pistol that works, so people buy it.

Today I came home with a BT380CC, $269 + tax. They also have a BT380 for $259.