Bersa Thunder .380 Opinions?

[jj1962hemi]

My bro has had two, both used for CC and he loves them. He and I disagreed on reliability. They cycle ammo fine, but his first one suffered internal damage at about 2,000 rounds and was deemed not worth repairing by my brother. He may not have been aware of the warranty. He bought another one and is happy with it. My feedback to him was that it's common to get 10,000 to 50,000 rounds out of many higher-quality autos and that I thought a 2,000 rebuild/tune-up was early. I just put this out there because you asked.

I own, and have owned, a fair amount of firearms that I probably never put 2,000 rounds through. I'd be more paranoid about a CCW than a range gun when it came to reliability. That said, I own and have owned several Tauri with good luck, as well as a few less expensive guns that I was unhappy with. I would carry most of my Tauri if it came down to it. In your place, I read up on quality issues with the Bersa you're looking at and make sure you keep up on maintenance, if that's an issue (e.g. if they recommend a new recoil spring every X rounds, etc.).

 

[Gator 23]

Good point Bushmaster....if you reload, the ammo cost "con" is eliminated. That's good food for thought, making this little .380 even more tasty .

 

[Dr_B]

They're good guns. Reliable, easy to strip and clean. They feed the Hornady Critical Defense ammo without problems.

 

[rondog]

I like mine, glad I bought it.

 

[Samari Jack]

Love mine too. Nice to have a small gun that is not striker fired. There are no sharp edges to catch on clothes. The hammer is blended in nicely. I too have only put 500-600 rounds through it but don't remember a single malfunction. Buying the proper mag necesitates a match game with the pistol. I bought one that as suppose to work but is useless.

Bring your gun in to match one up.

 

[PabloJ]

The gun is same size as PPKS therefore large for .380 by current standards. I bought LCP for $215 and while it demands much from the shooter I would take it over Bersa any day. I see no point in using JHPs in .380 either.

 

[Lawdawg45]

A rare exception where the copy (Bersa) is as good as the original (Walther). Both are heavy guns though if you plan to pocket carry.

LD

 

[DAdams]

I have had one for about 7 years and have about 700 reliable rounds through it. Not one problem. You need to keep the grip and rear sight screws tight since they tend to loosen.

I have put many different munitions through mine. 102 Golden Sabre tends to keyhole so I pretty much stick with SGD or Hydra-Shok.

Soft shooter and very accurate.

As far as carry, it was too heavy for me in the pocket (BT 380), but I do carry it around in a man bag with a couple extra magazines when I travel as a backup to my pocket carry.




This is how I did at 10 yards with the first two magazines.

 

[rferizano]

You get what you pay for in this world and some times you get more than you expect. The Bersa Thunder is one of those cases where you get more!. Get one before they raise the prices. One of the best Walther PPK clones to have ever been made.

 

[opsman]

I purcased one for my daughter to carry, she loves it. Bersa is not advertised and I think that helps with the price. I would put it up against any other .380 on the market out of the box. Sure there are some customs out there but a hole in the bad guy is a hole in the bad guy whether it costs 400 or 1,000. I am seriously considering getting one for my wife and myself.

 

[almherdfan]

The Bersa Thunder .380 is a fantastic pistol, escpecially for the price. It's very comfortable to shoot, reliable, and accurate. It is just a bit big for pocket carry, but still doable.