.22-ing Around: Bersa/Firestorm .22

[jeepmor]

There are about 6 on gunbroker right now. Blued, duo-tone and one with a 6" barrel. Prices are a little high, but not bad considering how much you'll save on ammo.

Oh great, now I want one. I do like the comment on how 22s have always looked odd in pistol form. I like how this is like a normal gun and could be used for cheap CCW draw practice at the range.

 

[otomik]

save up and get a Beretta 87, in some ways I regret getting the Bersa.

-the mags are damn expensive.
-the MIM parts and overall finish feels cheap (not not horribly ugly though)
-the when you rack the slide it sounds like a zipper because of the poor finish on the barrel, I actually polished and buffed the barrel to a shine because I got sick of having a gun that looked and sounded cheap.
-the spring that came with it is overly strong, I might have to buy another spring just so I can cut coils off and get the slide to cycle regular ammo reliably. for a cheap gun, it sure is a connoisseur of rimfire ammo
-.22 rimfire often has problems in autoloaders, it's a lot to do with mag design, they try some interesting tricks to get a 10 round capacity but it doesn't always work and results in nosedrives. I could show you the problem and their solution if I get around to taking some pictures of my expensive rimfire in my expensive bersa magazines.
-chamber isn't long enough for .22 Stingers (so I use velociters instead, no biggy but I know some people really love the .22 stingers)
-pinned barrel (like a makarov) means threading the barrel to make it suppressor ready and oh so tacticool is pretty much out of the question.

it was my first pistol, I could have done much worse, but I know I'll eventually get a Beretta 87 and keep the bersa as a sentimental tacklebox gun.

 

[FMJMIKE]

I like my Firestorm FS-22 better than any Ruger 22 lr handgun I have ever owned. They just fit my hand better. They are very accurate but harder to shoot accurately due to it being a light pistol. Mine is a keeper.....

 

[Zero_DgZ]

I don't get how most of the above arguments don't also apply to the Beretta...

MIM I can live with in some cases, where MIM parts were designed from the ground up to be MIM. Come on, I drive a Saturn: I am well versed in the world of mechanical parts being made out of odd materials. (And to top it off, the P22 has a MIM slide!)

Anyway, I went to my snooty local gun store (where everything is a Glock or M&P) and asked to order a Firestorm. The guy behind the counter, unexpectedly, had nothing but glowing recommendations for it! Turns out he bought one when they were cheap on a lark a few years ago... Turned out to be so godawful that his wife bought one, and he bought one for his kid, too. Even though the only .22's they had in store were P22's... I asked him why they didn't carry the Firestorm in stock and he shrugged and said for some damn reason people don't want them. Maybe they aren't tacticool enough, I guess.

I dunno. I've heard almost nothing but good about it, anyway, so we'll see in about a week.

 

[NewShooter]

So how do you like it ZERO?
The pic above shows a nickel slide. The BT380 Duotone has a blue slide and nickel frame. strange

 

[ChipH45]

Old thread but .... regarding availablity

This seems to be a frequent problem with the Bersa Firestorm 22 - hard to find. But they can be found, at least in the western states. I went to one of the local gun stores about a year ago, checking for one, they had one under the glass and then announced a second one, "in the back", I quickly bought both ! I think for $325 each. I bought the expensive extra magazines, had to go directly to Eagle Arms (or Eagle Imports?) to get them, bought 2. Whenever I drop into that dealer I always check for a Firestorm 22 and if they ever have any again, I'll buy whatever they have. I've only put about 150 rounds through one of those I bought a year ago. Never a jam. Easy to breakdown for cleaning. I use CCI Velocitors or CCI mini-mags. I see a steady stream of Bersa .380's for private and FFL dealer sale, never a Firestorm22. I figure, good investment if it comes to that.