Bersa Thunder .380 barrel swap

[akolleth]

A friend made me an offer I can't refuse. He had a squib round in his Bersa Thunder .380 and bulged out his barrel pretty bad, so he is offering to sell me the gun for $50. There is no other damage to the gun besides the ruined barrel.

Given it's a blowback design, if I just swap out the bulged barrel for a new one will I have to deal with headspace issues? Is this a gunsmith only type action, or will I be able to do it myself?

(BTW I am fairly competant mechanically, and feel condfident working on firearms having built several AK based rifles myself)

 

[BBBBill]

You must always check headspace to verify that it is correct. The barrel looks to be $28 from Bersa. The schematic indicates that it is very similar to the Walther PP/PPK series. Those barrels are pressed and pinned in place. The ones that I've rebarreld were a real pain and there was a real risk of destroying the frame without proper tooling and support. All that said, for the price, I would go for it. Just use common sense. If it is beyond your skill level, see expert help.

 

[treemaker]

I just had the barrel replaced in my Thunder at Altmans. Oops
Barrel was about $65 total was $185 with shipping.
The problem is the barrel has to be removed from the breech end so the bulge
has to be removed or it may damage the aluminum frame.
$185 + $50= $235. You can buy a new one from Bud's for $246.
Do it yourself ??? Maybe. Just remember the barrel presses out the back, if you try to press the bulge thru the frame you will probably have a new barrel with no frame to put it in.