Bersa surprised me

[Selfdfenz]

Went to the gunshow this weekend to look for another small (pocket) auto.
Looked at the P32 ($199), found 2 Bulgarian Maks in good but not excellent condition ($169) and several others. THe CZ is just a tab big IMO for a pocket pistol but Oh so nice.
I was just about to plunk down my $ for one of the Maks when I happened to notice a NIB Bersa 2 tone 380 for $178.

Over lunch today it digested a box of FMJ S&B and another box of Russian Brown Bear (yes, my cheapness is to-the-bone).

I must say I am shocked and happy to say that never did it miss a beat and it is accurate! Two boxes of ammo does not a carry/BUG make but I think I'm on the way. Really ejects those empties too......all the guys to the right of my got their own personal samples to keep and take home with them.

Really wanted a P3AT but that may be so in May. Till then I have a new econo toy to play with.

S-

 

[Matthew_Q]

I purchased the duo-tone Thunder 380 in December. Got a couple hundred rounds through it without a hitch. Had to dremel the grip beavertail on the flat edges, as it tended to cut the hand a little.

Accurate, reliable, light... the trigger is nice, with a little bit of play.

Should be a good reliable carry gun.


I skimped a little on ammo, too... ordered 500 rounds of russian .380 for like $60 from Ammoman.com. I also picked up a box of 50 rounds of that Silver Bear hollowpoint ammo this weekend. I'll run some of those through it when I get the chance, soon.


A lot of bang for the buck! You did good on the price... I paid $199 NIB for mine and don't regret a penny of it!


Edited to add:

You'll find the majority of comments on the Bersa .380s is that they are excellent pistols for the money. The only problems I've ever heard of were pretty much the result of shooting +p ammo through it. So, avoid +p, and it should be fine!

 

[Blackhawk]

Heard a lot of good things about the Bersa .380 lately. Except for the PPK/S being DA/SA, the Bersa seems quite similar. What's the DA trigger pull on the Bersa?

 

[Matthew_Q]

Blackhawk,

The DA trigger is a little heavy... probably 10lb or so. The SA trigger probably breaks around 4 or 5 lb. There is a little play in it, but it breaks clean and easy.

 

[Blackhawk]

Great, Matthew!

My first PPK was 20/12, and my PPK/S was quite a bit lighter but I didn't measure it.

If the Bersa is in the neighborhood of 10/4, it's definitely worth a look!

 

[gbelleh]

My Bersa .380 has been perfect after a few hundred various rounds. The DA trigger on mine is extremely smooth.

 

[MJRW]

Another fan of the Bersa here. I love mine. Smooth trigger. Reliable as can be. Pretty mild in my experience in the .380 blow back family. Accurate as the shooter. Great price. What more can you want?

 

[firestar]

I have a Bersa 23 in .22lr and I love it! The trigger is very nice on it also. It can dime sized groups at 10 yards all day long. Bersa makes a great little pistol.

My friend wanted to buy a Makarov in .380 for carry and I tried to talk him into a Bersa .380. He still hasn't decided. I guess you can't go wrong with either.

 

[gtd]

Mine is great. It was dry as a bone and somewhat stiff when purchased, but a little Break Free cured all its ills. Take special care to lube the decocking mechanism. The only complaint I've ever read was of a broken decocker, and I suspect a little oil might have prevented it. Mine was 100% accurate and reliable out of the box.

 

[Selfdfenz]

Amen

I would guess the trigger on mine to be 10/4-5.
It's a Thunder 380.
Hadn't thought to mention that it is low weight and has nicely rounded corners. I have a little suede IWB holster for my PCR and it fits like a glove.

The one pickle I have is the last round into the mag causes the fingers to take a beating.

That safety/decocker might take a while to be confident with too.
One might think the half-way in between decock and fire is a saftey position but I'm not sure it is intended to be such. I would not trust it to be a safety position.

Since it is a 7+1, I practiced with it that way and not a hiccup.

I have several, several pistols but it makes me wonder that this little inexpensive pistol that does all the right things might wind up getting to be my new "everywhere". Sudden respect for the 380 cartridge also.

How would you guys carry?
One in the chamber and decocked seems the most attractive option to me based on my "nearly no level of" experience with the pistol so far.

Thanks for all the PsOv. How much $$ are extra mags and is there an option to put more than 7 in the stack? Mine has a metal follower so trimming is not an options. Haven't even had it apart yet.
S-

 

[Matthew_Q]

Selfdfenz

Let me know about that holster you got... I'd like to get a nice IWB that fits the Bersa well, since the trigger guard is shaped differently than the PPK/S.

Magazines can be ordered from www.bersa-llama.com. I think they're $29 each. Not too cheap, but you should only need a couple extras. The ProMag magazines are cheaper, but lack the plastic finger rest extension, something I NEED for a little gun, so I had to skip those mags and go for the factory mags.

I think there is a 9 round extended magazine available that should work with it. Not sure... check it out on the website above.

As for the safety, if I were to carry it, it would be with 7 in the mag, one in the pipe, hammer down with the safety OFF. That way, it's just draw and squeeze.

Since the saftety/decocker is a little stiff, I don't want to have to futz around with it in a defensive situation.

 

[emann]

Bersa is one of those really under-rated line's of pistol's.

 

[itgoesboom]

The Bersa's really are a great deal for the money. I purchased mine back in late July, and have been carrying it since mid september. I never had a single jam and the gun was always very accurate.

So i have been very impressed with such an inexpensive pistol.

Unfortunatly, mine actually broke. I had never heard of anyone ever having one actually break on them, so i was extremely shocked when it happened. The trigger return spring snapped when i was dry firing and the trigger got stuck in the back position.

When i took the pistol into a shop to have them send it out, one of the sales people made a point of coming over and informing me that he had only seen two Bersa's need repair in the last 14 years, including mine.

Hopefully, this is just a fluke. Having my carry pistol break has shattered my confidence in it. Hopefully, i will be able to once again have confidence in the pistol.

I.G.B.

 

[Selfdfenz]

Thanks for all the input Matt Q and all.
When I cleaned the pistol last night I found out why the gun is so lite.
The frame is super lite weight.
The other amazing thing is after the first 100 rounds the frame and slide look unfired. No ware marks or scuffing. Don't know how they worked that out but seems like the only gun I've ever owned that didn't show any signs of the parts marking each other following break-in.
Did notice the grip screws were loose. Blue loc-tited them on reassembly.

I have a bunch of holsters and have acquired several for my PCR. The one that works with the Bersa is a soft suede Bianchi IWB unit with one of those black Bianchi-beltclips-from-Hades on the back. The material is so soft that the holster will lay flat and as such when I take the pistol out it does that, so its like it's not even there. The stiff leather and kydex units of course don't do that. I'll see if I can find a model number on it tonight and post it.
I found the thing on a gunshop discount table for 5$ NIB so I have no idea what retail price was.
Because I can wear it all day with the gun out, it's turned out to be a fav of mine. Bought others for my other guns. With the gun in, I just pull my shirt out a bit more than my spare tire normally requires and the whole deal is hidden. The gun does ride pretty low in relation to some other rigs I have.

Thanks,
S-