Breaking in a Bersa Thunder 380 Plus

[rvenneman]

I took my Bersa 380 Plus to the range today for the first time for my first 120 rounds of FMJ break in. I had two issues out of the first 120 rounds. Before I go any further, my rounds were 100 gr Hornaby FMJ that I reloaded. I used 2.8 gr of Win231.

I had one FTE and 3 FTF. The round made its way up the feed ramp and into the chamber but the hammer did not set in the cocked position. I had to manually cock the hammer and then it fired.

Other than that, I had no other issues. I love the feel and the weight of the pistol as well as my new Thunder 9mm Pro UC I Shot 100 rounds through yesterday without an issue. I love the weight of the Bersa. The only polymer pistol is my Taurus 738tcp I carry in my pocket when I take the Frenchie for a walk.

Back to the 380 Plus, does anyone have any thoughts on why the hammer would not lock in the cocked position? I am very careful reloading with the powder weight and OAL. I am confident that I did not undercharge any loads since it did have enough blowback to chamber the load. Or should I chalk it up to the breaking in of the pistol?

Thanks for any help group.

 

[Starter52]

Your loads seem a bit light.

Try 3.0 grains of 231. This is my minimum load for .380 pistols.

3.0 grains works great in my Bersa .

 

[CZ9shooter]

I had a Bersa for a while. The standard model 380. I did not care for the snappy recoil of the straight blowback action. I decided to make some downloaded ammo. No dice. It did not like it. I had nothing but problems. Back to full power ammo and function returned, but so did the stinging recoil. Is this related to your hammer trouble? Idk.

 

[drband]

Your loads are too light for a brand new gun. Break it in with standard ammo or up your charges for a few hundred rounds. You may be able to return to 2.7gr of w231 after a good break in.
I routinely shoot my Bersa Thunder (not plus) with 2.5gr of w231 and 100gr plated bullets, so your load is possible (after break in), though it’s right around the threshold for consistent cycling. You’ll just have to find what your pistol requires—they’re all different!

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

I think drband has it right- stick with the full-power loads for a bit and see how it goes.