Carrying a Bersa .380 with the safety off

[Hunter125]

I am looking pretty hard at getting either a Bersa Thunder or a Thunder CC. The one thing I'm not crazy about is the safety. None of my other guns have a manual safety and to me pushing the safety off in that direction is counter-intuitive (as opposed to a 1911). My dad has a PPK and I love shooting it, but really hate the safety. Would it be safe or wise to carry the Bersas decocked with the safety off? And if you did, what are the chances that the safety could inadvertently be engaged?

 

[rookorami]

Personally from what you have said if I were in your shoes I don't know that I would want to use it as a carry gun. If I am not used to a safety I don't think that I would remember to disengage it if I need to use it. Also if I am questioning the safety to carry it without the safety then that is another reason I wouldn't want to use it as a carry gun.

 

[splattergun]

I wouldn't force myself to carry a weapon I didn't like if it meant carrying it in an unsafe manner. 'druther find a weapon I do like.

 

[DanTheFarmer]

Many people carry the BT380 (or CC model) with a round in the chamber and the safety off. The hammer must be down. Carrying cocked and UN-locked is a very bad idea. A properly fitting holster that covers the trigger guard is also important as carrying loose with the safety off could result in something jamming in the trigger guard and pressing on the trigger, again a very bad thing.

The pistol has a long and heavy first round DA pull. With the safety off the first round acts like a revolver.

Lots of discussion on this and other Bersa related topics over at www.bersachat.com

Good luck.

Dan

 

[gbran]

I carry my Glocks with no safety and I'll bet my 5.5 lb trigger pull is less than the Bersa in DA mode.

If you otherwise like the Bersa, I say go for it.

 

[mac66]

Is the safety really a safety or is it just a decocker? Most double action autos I am familiar with simply use a decocker, point being is that you really don't need a safety when it is in double action action mode.

 

[herrwalther]

My girlfriend just got a Bersa Thunder as her carry weapon and she loves it. She has absolutely no fear carrying it with the safety off and in DA since the trigger pull is long and heavy, compared to its single action. The lever is a safety/decocker. Similar to how the Beretta 92 work.

 

[xjsnake]

Carry if safety off. It will be fine. The DA pull is a long fairly heavy stroke that requires must more pressure than a striker fired pistol.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

IF the gun has some sort of firing pin block to make it "drop-safe," it is perfectly acceptable to leave the safety off. This is what I did with S&W Third Generations, which also had slide-mounted safeties.

 

[Roadking Rider]

It's perfectly safe to carry a BT.380 with the safety off and hammer down. It has a firing pin safety that is deactivated only by pulling the trigger. If the pistol was dropped directly on the hammer while it was in the down position it still would not go off. Bersa Thunder .380 is probably one of the safest pistols on the market. It actually has a few to many safeties IMO. It is a good gun though and has quite a loyal following.

 

[spanishjames]

The Bersa's safety is both small, and not easy to engage accidentally. I wouldn't worry too much about carrying with the hammer down and safety off.

 

[toivo]

The pistol has a long and heavy first round DA pull. With the safety off the first round acts like a revolver.

Exactly. My SIGs have only decockers -- no safety. I carry them hammer-down with a round in the chamber. I have a Bersa Thunder, and I never use the safety. IMO, safeties are meant for single-action pistols. To me, they seem redundant on SA/DA pistols.

 

[MedWheeler]

As a cop, I carried first two DA/SA revolvers, which have no safeties, then moved up to a DA/SA 9mm pistol. This was also carried with the hammer at rest and the safety off (the safety on this gun, a Ruger P85, doubled as a decocker.) My backup/off-duty gun then became a Walther PPK/S, also carried the same way.

My Bersa Thunder, acquired nearly two decades after leaving the profession, is also kept that way; hammer down on a loaded chamber, and the safety off. I carried it that way for two years before switching to a lighter gun.

These are not "decocker-only" levers, as the gun will not fire if they are left down. They are indeed safety levers that double as decockers (or decocker levers that double as safeties.)

Load and insert the magazine, chamber the first round, point the gun in a safe direction, flip the decocker down to lower the hammer, flip that lever back up, holster, and head on out. Properyl holstered and handled, the safety will not inadvertently engage.

 

[Hunter125]

Thanks for all the input. I think Bersa might have another customer in the near future. For those of you with experience with the Thunders, would you go with the regular Thunder or the CC?
Does the CC fit the same holsters as the Thunder?

 

[Bill4282]

As a lefty, I rarely set the safety on. I put a round in the pipe, DECOCK THE HAMMER, holster the gun in a good safe holster and safety off. Never ever had a problem. No different than a Glock with one in the pipe.

 

[Dan-O]

I love my CC....and I don't carry it with the safety on.

 

[MICHAEL T]

Chamber a round decock and then safety off It has a firing pin block won't fire till trigger is pulled . I bought mine in 2004 and I think of the so called safety as a decocker only.

Majority of members at http://bersachat.com carry same way. We have a few that need the safety and a couple of chamber must be empty to carry. But those that live in real world carry loaded hammer down ready to fire just like a revolver.

 

[rondog]

Yep. What they said. I carry my PA-63 the same way.

 

[WardenWolf]

It's perfectly safe to carry a Bersa hammer-down, safety off, with a round chambered. The double action trigger pull can be rather nasty, though; LONG and heavy. It's arguably the worst double action pistol trigger I've fired, even compared to a Polish P-64.

 

[Rustydog42]

The Bersa has a number of safety features not ordinarily found on semi-auto pistols in this price range. It does have a firing pin safety block and a decocker. This allows the gun to be carried safely with a round in the chamber, and the hammer in the de-cocked position.

 

[breakingcontact]

Doesn't sound like the gun for you.