anyone carry a bersa thunder 380? a couple questions...

[harmon rabb]

lately i've been carrying my bersa thunder 380 in my pocket of all places (i found the pockets of many of my dress slacks are large enough). before someone questions why i'd carry a 20oz gun that's only a 380, i'll answer: because i'm a good shot with it.

anyway, my question is.. what's the proper way to have the hammer? i have been decocking it (duh), then pulling the hammer slightly back into the half cocked notch (which really seems more like 1/4 cocked), without the safety on. when the hammer is fully decocked, it appears to rest on the firing pin, which to me would mean it could go off if dropped.

am i carrying it the 'right' way? (and no, i don't want to carry with the safety on). is it drop safe how i'm carrying it?

 

[jackstinson]

Use the decocker/safety lever to lower the hammer all the way down...then leave it there.
In fact, do as page #4 of the manual states:
Chamber the first round: Insert the fully loaded magazine into the pistol. Hold the firearm with one hand, and with the other grab the ribbed end and pull the slide back, then release the slide. As the safety is on, the hammer is not cocked, and pulling the trigger will not cock the hammer.
After that, just slide the safety OFF, the gun is inert until you pull the trigger.

Half-cock notches ARE NOT a safety on the Bersa.

 

[harmon rabb]

pardon my ignorance, but, this raises two questions:

1. why does that half cocked position exist then?
and
2. when fully decocked, it looks like the hammer is sitting on the firing pin. what makes this position drop safe? seems NOT drop safe to me this way.

 

[MikeBoyd]

I carry mine on half cock with safety off in a pocket holster. The advantage is with the double action, then single action is you don't have to mess with disengaging the safety, your double action pull is heavier and the hammer is off the firing pin, so if you need immediate action you can pull the trigger and the DA fires it.

Many people carry the non-decoking SA pistols cocked and locked with the safety on, for some reason, this scares the stuff out of me. I have a stong preference for DAO without safeties or DA/SA, like the Bersa and Berrettas with half cock.

I recently purchased a new Taurus .380 TCP DAO. I forget I am carrying it most of the time, it is so much lighter than the Bersa and about the same price.

Good luck and remember to practice with what you carry and the way you carry so YOU will be safe for others.

 

[harmon rabb]

MikeBoyd,

I have a LCP, which is a bit lighter than that TCP, I believe. My problem with it is that I'm a poor shot with it. The lack of real sights just kill me. I'm a much much better shot with the bersa, so I prefer to carry it.

Once I get some practice time in with my 442, I'll probably carry that some too.

 

[mactex]

Mikeboyd,

In the half cocked position, the firing pin safety on the Bersa is deactivated. Anything bumps/hits the hammer hard enough to make it fall could fire the cartridge. I follow the routine that Jackstinson described because that is how the pistol was designed to work. If I'm wrong I'm sure that someone from the Bersa Forum will be along to correct me. I know that some of them lurk here.

 

[NMGonzo]

Half Cocked.

 

[harmon rabb]

In the half cocked position, the firing pin safety on the Bersa is deactivated. Anything bumps/hits the hammer hard enough to make it fall could fire the cartridge. I follow the routine that Jackstinson described because that is how the pistol was designed to work. If I'm wrong I'm sure that someone from the Bersa Forum will be along to correct me. I know that some of them lurk here

nice to know i was, unwittingly, carrying my bersa in an unsafe manner icard:

oh wait. we don't have that smiley here. so let me paste the photo.

 

[metallic]

I carry mine with a round chambered and the hammer at half cock. My main concern has been with the hammer getting snagged and falling with enough force to drive the firing pin all the way forward. If it indeed does have a firing pin block, then I'll start carrying with the hammer down.

 

[hexidismal]

I very rarely carry my thunder .380. However, it's the smallest I'm willing to carry so I do on occasion use it as a backup gun or when I need to really deep cover a gun. Anything smaller I generally don't shoot well.

When I do carry the Bersa I've always carried it on the half cock notch, and I believe it to be quite safe. In the interest of gained knowledge though, I'll go test it when I get the chance and report back.

 

[hexidismal]

OK, Myth busted

As per my last post I went and examined the bersa safety features in detail. The results were just as I imagined, but I don't ever jump to conclusions.

I assure you the firing pin safety IS still active when the gun is in half cock. In fact, as with a large number of modern handgun designs, the firing pin safety is still active and engaged when the gun is in full cock. The safety can only be disengaged by the mechanism directly attached to the trigger. This mechanism is designed to push a post upward into the spring loaded safety on the slide internals only when the trigger is FULLY pulled to the point where the sear should disconnect thus dropping the hammer. Assuming everything is working correctly the firing pin cant go forward until that point on the trigger pull is reached.

I can easily explain how this works in greater detail if anyone is interested , but I don't have a camera right now so I'll just leave it at that.

 

[hexidismal]

The proof is in the pictures. I used my camera phone's awful camera so pardon the picture quality, but it gets the point across well enough.

 

[MedWheeler]

I don't pocket-carry mine. I carry it in an IWB-holster, which is sandwiched between my belt and pants (not enough room in pants for the gun/holster combo, and me.)
I carry it with a round chambered, the hammer at rest, and the safety off.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Hammer down safety off .It has as stated a firing pin block that requires the trigger to be pulled to fire. Their is no need to put on the little 1/4 notch as was mention at start I consider the safety just a decocker and switch to fire as soon as I drop hammer.
Majority of members on bersatalk with 380Thunders or CC carry this way .

 

[harmon rabb]

hexidismal, you rule. thank you.

 

[hexidismal]

No problem man. I'm one of those people that once I get a thought in my head, I really need to see it thoroughly though or I'll never get it out.. hehe
Also , I made that pic really late at night , and I noticed I typed a word or two incorrectly on it. Thanks for not pointing that out. I've changed the image a little so I don't look like I can't spell..

 

[DougW]

Hammer down, safety on, never in a pocket, only a holster. This is the same for both of the Thunder 380's.

 

[M&PVolk]

The Bersa .380 is a wonderful gun that will carry in a front pocket. I would, however, not advise it. Unless you clean your gun on a weekly basis (fired or not), you may find that due to general pocket debris, the little Bersa fails to go all the way into battery when chambering the second round. I would never carry a semi-auto for pocket carry, leaving that role for revolvers instead.

 

[NMGonzo]

No problem man. I'm one of those people that once I get a thought in my head, I really need to see it thoroughly though or I'll never get it out.. hehe
Also , I made that pic really late at night , and I noticed I typed a word or two incorrectly on it. Thanks for not pointing that out. I've changed the image a little so I don't look like I can't spell..

I want to have a drink of whatever you were having when you took the pics! j/k

 

[harmon rabb]

any gun i carry in a pocket is in a holster inside the pocket

that said, i've seen some linty ass LCP's that have no issue firing. my father carries his in a pocket without a holster, doesn't clean it as often as he should, and it has never had an issue with failing to go into battery from lint. (yeah, i've told him 10x over that if he wants to be lazy like that, he should have a j-frame of lcr in there instead)