Disabling Bersa .380 magazine disconnect?

[heypete]

Greetings all,

As I've mentioned here a few times, I recently picked up a Bersa Thunder .380 pistol...and I've had great success with it at the range. It makes a good companion to my two Glocks (G19 and G26), and is great for starting new shooters out...particularly those with smaller hands or are less familiar with guns. Several of my female friends are quite taken with it.

Unfortunately, it comes with a magazine disconnect feature, which is exceedingly annoying to me. I'm a firm believer that when the safety is on "fire" and the trigger is pulled, the gun should go "bang" if there's a round chambered, regardless of other properties of the gun (such as having a magazines). That's one of the reasons I like my Glocks -- they're simple to operate, left-hand friendly, and "oh crap" friend (i.e. no forgetting to flip a particular switch, will work without magazines, etc.).

As such, I'm looking to disable the Bersa's magazine disconnect. Does anyone here have any experience or information for such work?

Cheers!

 

[ScottsGT]

Heypete,
I wouldn't think of it! think of the legalities if one of your lady friends has an accident while shooting with you. I can hear the attorneys now in the courtroom. "the gentleman created an unsafe enviroment for the young lady to be around." Or something even worse. My slimeball attorney mind is not working now, but I think you get the drift.....

 

[heypete]

Heypete,
I wouldn't think of it! think of the legalities if one of your lady friends has an accident while shooting with you. I can hear the attorneys now in the courtroom. "the gentleman created an unsafe enviroment for the young lady to be around." Or something even worse. My slimeball attorney mind is not working now, but I think you get the drift.....

Touché.

But seriouslyl, I'm not terribly keen on the magazine disconnect and would like very much to remove it. Any recommendations?

 

[mete]

Do you have any drawing for the gun ? Just looking at the drawings I would probably tell you if it's easy or difficult. One of the reasons I disconnect the mag safeties is that I want all my guns to be the same .I've never had any use for the mag disconnect. The important safety is the one between your ears, if that doesn't work our lost !!!

 

[heypete]

Unfortunately, I lack any drawings of the gun...hence my asking here. I was hoping that someone would have a link to...[genius light comes on]

http://www.geocities.com/bersa_thunder/

That has diagrams, pictures, etc. They show how one would remove the magazine disconnect parts for cleaning, but make no mention of actually disabling the disconnect...

 

[mete]

www.bersa-llama.com has exploded view diagrams and parts lists. The mag safety and mag safety spring are #42 and 43. If you remove them it will "probably" do the trick -- your risk --if you remove them check functioning very carefully !!!!!

 

[MICHAEL T]

Come to http://bersatalk.com and use the link I have posted to horges Chapter House . He has detailed,directions with pictures of thunder take down. You can use these to figure out the answer. Myself I don't think any big deal.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I think magazine safeties promote forgetting about a live
round in the barrel: or rather, they promote neglecting to
clear the chamber after removing the magazine. In my
not so humble opinion, that makes them magazine dangers
not safeties. You insert empty magazine, with forgotten
round in chamber, you have a bad situation.

I always remove magazine then clear chamber on my
auto pistols and do not want to be encouraged to
be lazy. Besides, I work from the scenario of being in the
woods, with gun and ammo but no magazine and needing
to feed or defend myself.

HOWEVER, if the gun came with a magazine safety and
other people might expect there to be a magazine
safety, I would not disable it {period}.

 

[zen_grasshopper]

It works, just remove the mag safety (Part 42) and the spring (part 43).

I did it a couple of years ago for my boss. It worked perfectly. My boss sold it to another officer and it is still working perfectly.

More recently, another officer bought a Bersa and I removed that mag safety, works perfectly.

So two removed and no problems.

Jon

 

[P95Carry]

Be interested to hear Horge's take on this - I have just transitioned my wife to Bersa Thunder carry - and also the wife of some friends we bike with.

Training them up right now but - had given this casual thought - tho on balance drilling them properly in handling and sequences, I would tend to leave well alone.

 

[heypete]

It works, just remove the mag safety (Part 42) and the spring (part 43).

I did it a couple of years ago for my boss. It worked perfectly. My boss sold it to another officer and it is still working perfectly.

More recently, another officer bought a Bersa and I removed that mag safety, works perfectly.

So two removed and no problems.

Jon (and everyone else who answered),

Thanks for your advice. Removing the mag safety (part 42) did the trick. I left the spring in there, just because it's one less thing to lose as long as it's attached to the gun. In addition to getting the magazine disconnect bar out, I was able to see all the dirt and grit in the working mechanisms that needed to be cleaned (.380, even clean-burning CCI Blazers, throw a lot of crap around due to being a blowback design)...a little bit of CLP and some wiping later (leaving it essentially dry with only the thinnest coat of CLP, of ocurse) and it's clean as a whistle.

I also removed the firing pin and cleaned inside the firing pin channel, removing some gunk from there too...and left that bone-dry. Tricky little thing...

Without the magazine disconnect safety, the gun works just fine...no problems at all. Thank you again for all your help, it's working excellently!

 

[horge]

Sigh.... I'm too late again, but for others tuning in who might so be entertained...

As already indicated.... follow the 'Further Disassembly' instructions for un-
installing the magazine disconnect safety ---both the strap and the spring.
Reassemble the pistol WITHOUT reinstalling the strap and spring. Here's a
rehash of what's on my site:


Get some eye protectioon on.
After field stripping the slide off and removing the right grip panel,
use a flathead screwdriver to push off the e-clip and washer that holds the
disconnector in place. The image is composed to give an unobstructed view of what's going on,
but you need to keep a finger on the e-clip as you try to get it out, or it will proingggg!!! off
into oblivion.


After dislodging the disconnector spring's wire end from the groove in the disconnector's
underside, lift the disconnector out and away from the frame. Because of pressure, courtesy of the trigger spring, the disconnector won't just come out wthout some urging, but anyway...


Using small flathead screwdriver again, bow or compress the magazine disconnect safety
spring, until you can ease the C-shaped spring from its recess in the frame.
Slide the magazine disconnect safety (strap) down the grip a quarter inch
and lift it out.

Reassemble the pistol WITHOUT the magazine disconnect safety and its C-shaped spring.


This lightens the trigger-pull marginally.


HOWEVER (TM)

1. Doing that eliminates a useful feature for particularly-intimate social situations.
If, somehow, and God forbid, you are in IMMEDIATE, grappling danger of losing your pistol
to a BG, just eject the mag ---the BG can't shoot anyone with your gun at that point,
though he will have a somewhat pointy (if lightweight) bashing implement.

2. It also hastens wear on the slide from pressure-contact with the disconnector's upward 'nub',
as there is now little other than the slide itself, to take up the angst of the spring-powered
disconnector.


---oooo---

---horge---



PS: Hey Chris, how's your Bersa holding up? ...your Roar-boar?

 

[P95Carry]

PS: Hey Chris, how's your Bersa holding up? ...your Roar-boar?

Hey old friend - thought you'd find the thread eventually - thx for contribution.

My Bersa is holding up fine - in fact last week or so has been very ''Bersa oriented''! I have transitioned wife to that (guess it's hers now!) because it does much better for her than the old snub. I also took wife of friends to gun shop last Friday to buy one for herself. Just suits her very well.

Both have now had range time on them and doing good - tho more practice needed soon.

The ''Roar-boar'' haha - that's good too - sees only occasional ''maintainance'' shooting these days - and is just ''there'' as BUG or very occasionally primary.

Hope all well with you and yours.

 

[ChickenHawk]

1. Doing that eliminates a useful feature for particularly-intimate social situations.
If, somehow, and God forbid, you are in IMMEDIATE, grappling danger of losing your pistol
to a BG, just eject the mag ---the BG can't shoot anyone with your gun at that point,
though he will have a somewhat pointy (if lightweight) bashing implement.

Hi horge!!! How are you doing?

Not to argue too much with your excellent priniciples which might save your attacker's life. But, if you had the opportunity to drop the magazine before being snatched by a guy who wants to grab your gun; wouldn't you be better off pulling the trigger? It just seems to me that if you felt the need to draw in the first place, and now he's close enough to want to snatch your gun, you are in some serious trouble aren't you?

Be safe my friend,
ChickenHawk

 

[P95Carry]

Hey chicken - making your monthly visit LOL

Indeed I agree with your mention there - a shot would be preferred to a mag drop

 

[ChickenHawk]

Hey chicken - making your monthly visit LOL

Indeed I agree with your mention there - a shot would be preferred to a mag drop

Monthly? If they ever start sifting through the server logs around here my job might be in trouble!!

Go ahead and pick on me though. I can take it!!

Best regards,
ChickenHawk

 

[P95Carry]

Haha - ya know I am funnin 'ya

 

[horge]

The best to you and yours, Chris and Ken!


Hey Ken,
Perhaps you're presuming just one attacker? One that is grappling with you frontally?
That is to say: that at the moment you're about to be relieved of your weapon, your firearm's
muzzle is actually pointing at the assailant?

If there's just one, and in front of the muzzle, then sure:
help the animal meet his Recommended Deadly Allowance of lead.
But things don't always set themselves up that conveniently, believe me.

Easy to be aiming at one BG, and then get blindsided by another.
BTDT, and I'm mercifully-blessed to be alive, thank the Lord.

Dangerous animals often hunt in packs, folks. Twos, threes, or bigger groups.
More and more and more of these animals seem to be moving into 'safe' parts these days.
Stay sharp, and God bless all of you and your loved ones.



horgey porgey

 

[ChickenHawk]

horge, you never cease to amaze me!

Regards,
ChickenHawk (Ken)

 

[horge]

horge, you never cease to amaze me!

Argh. My wife sometimes says that exact same thing
...usually right after I've messed something up very badly.

 

[c_yeager]

tagged

IMHO anyone who is knowledgable enough about guns to even know what a magazine safety is, most likely is also astute enough not to blow their head off without one. Magazine safeties are made for idiots that dont know how to unload their weapons AND dont know that pointing them at people and pulling the trigger is a bad idea. Personally, I hate having to insert a magazine into my Bersa in order to dry-fire with it, its pointless.