CCW Handgun for Partner

[Gray Peterson]

My partner and I went to the local gun store, and we were scoping out several handguns. At least we settled on a Kel-Tec P11, but as we felt it we felt the design was a little iffy for the cost.

This being said, this firearm is for concealed carry.

As a result, my partner got interested in the following guns:

The Bersa .380ACP Thunder. It cost $199

The Ruger P95. Black was $309, the Two-Tone was $350

The Kel-Tec P11 (The original gun, was $229)

The Taurus Millennium Pro 9MM

My personal preferences were for the Taurus and the Ruger. He didn't like the P11 either. However, he seems to like the Bersa a lot, though personally myself, between the Bersa and the Taurus, I prefer the Taurus.

The reason why he believes the Bersa is better is due to a comment one of the gun store employees made about the Taurus Millennium's being crappy firearms that broke during firing.

Now most of us know that gun store employees tend to have opinions that are not exactly representatives of the facts.

Now doing more research I determined that the first generation Taurus Millenniums were crappy, but the Pro generation fixed those problems.

Yet Bersa keeps sticking in his mind due to "reliability issues".

The Ruger is less weight than the P94 that he formerly had. Definitely better for concealed carry in terms of weight, but not size.

Does Bersa have any show stopper defects or issues that can be documented?

Is there any issues with the Taurus Millennium Pros that should be made aware of?

Thanks.

 

[ruger270man]

Dont know much about the Taurus, but the Bersa Thunder .380 has received great reviews from what I read so far.

I was actually thinking of getting one myself, but I'm going with a Makarov instead.

 

[Ala Dan]

By Lonnie Wilson:

"Now most of us know that gun store employees tend to have opinions that are not exactly representatives of the facts".

Thank you very much Sir, for forming that opinion of gun store employees
as I am one myself.

Now, back to your questions. Of the firearms you mentioned, both the
Bersa Thunder DT .380, and the Ruger have well documented positive
track records. As to the Bersa, the price is attractive to most buyers.
From our store, the one and only issue that has come up one fell'a
brought his NIB Bersa Thunder DT .380 back in stating "Hell, I can't
hit the broad side of a barn with this damn thing". Was it the firearm,
or shooter related? I honestly do not know, but we allowed him a trade
which in turn netted him another of your choices, a Kel-Tec P-11 9m/m.
So far, the gentleman has not returned and we keep selling Bersa's as
fast as we can get 'em; while sales of the Kel-Tec P-11 dwindle.

Ruger's OTOH, speak for themselves as sales continue to be brisk for
all models. But, with the Ruger you increase size and weight. If that
isn't a problem, then the Ruger might be the way too go? While not very
pretty to look at, Ruger's are stone cold reliable, and built "tank tough".


Of the firearms mentioned, I own a Bersa Thunder DT .380, and the
thing's that I like 'bout it are: it has the same operating system as
the Walther .380's; but features a slide lock lever, something that I
wish S&W would do too the Walther line. Also, it does come with
tiny adjustable sights, double-action w/exposed hammer (very
important to me), magazine safety, and its realitively easy to
field strip. However, I DO NOT care for the lawyer lock; but I
guess that's something I will have too live with, thanks to the
attorney generals of NJ and Mass. And, for $199 you
can't go wrong~

 

[71Commander]

I had a Bersa and regret selling it. There was nothing wrong with it. It worked every time I pulled the trigger. I sold it to finiance a Colt Gov't .380. Wish I still had the Bersa also. Gotta get another one. Only drawback is the mag capacity, but the mag are so small, you can carry two or three.

Now. The P11. So light that they are a to shoot. You will know when you touched one off. Maybe as a back-up, but not as a primary carry gun.

Don't know much about the other two. Never had one.

Have you considered a Browning BDA? 13 +1 .380 in a nice small package. About the size of a bersa. CDNN has them for 369.00. IMO a great deal.

Here's one.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=35272282

 

[Ala Dan]

Hey my ole' friend Tenn Tucker is right; as the Browning BDA is
a most excellent choice. Slightly larger (and a tad bit heavier) than a
Bersa, but a darn good gun. CDNN's price of $369 is one great
steal~

 

[Rich K]

I have a Bersa 380,and I have absolutely no complaints about it.It goes bang every time I pull the trigger,and no failures to feed.Gret little gun.Just my 2 cents.

 

[hnm201]

The only problem with the Taurus Milleniums is their long and very gritty trigger. A friend has one and his really smoothed out after about 2K rounds but I still don't like it much. I am used to Glock triggers, Taurus revolver triggers and stock 1911 triggers and the Taurus Millenium trigger is just not something I want to use to defend myself or even practice at the range.

I have experience with all of the firearms mentioned. I had some very bad experiences with five different keltec pistols (2 P11s, 2 p3ats and p32). Some people love them but I don't have time to debug pistols and send them back to the factory multiple times. Of the pistols mentioned I would heartily recommend the Bersa or the Ruger. The bersa would be easy to carry and it is well made and reliable. However, it's a .380, which is less powerful than the 9mm and more expensive to practice with. If you could carry the Ruger, I'd say go for it. You may actually find the Ruger easier to shoot than the Bersa in terms of ergonomics and recoil. I think that that Ruger autos are one of the more under-appreciated platforms out there. Yes, they are inelegant, but they are very affordable and reliable.

 

[MR.G]

For concealed carry I prefer the P-11. It is small enough for front pocket carry, and shoots 9mm +P. I often carry one with a twelve round factory magazine, and a fifteen round S&W 59 series magazine for a backup. Not my first choice for a range gun, but a lot of firepower in a small light package.

 

[JamisJockey]

I have the Taurus Millenium in .45. I'm very happy with it! For concealed carry, its a terrific firearm. I'd bet the 9mm is a little more fun to shoot, my .45 kicks pretty sharply. Highly recommended!

 

[Double Maduro]

Lonnie,

With the models you and your partner have in mind, go to a range and rent one of each. Run a box of shells through each and then have him buy the one that he shoots best.

That's the only way to get the right gun for him.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

DM

 

[Hypnogator]

Once upon a time, Taurus had some problems with their polymer formula, so they did have a number of weapons with frame cracks. That problem has been fixed. If you get a Millennium Pro, you shouldn't have any problems with frame cracking. They also fixed the trigger pull on the Pro models. It's no target trigger, but it's orders of magnitude better than the older models.