Disturbing failure in a Bersa FireStorm 22

[chardin]

I can't imagine why you'd judge a company based on a .22. If BERSA's aren't your thing fine and well, but most folks consider .22's in general to be more likely to have issues than centerfire handguns.

I can't speak for him, but for me that answer would be simple: Because some companies make .22 pistols that work well.

My Beretta 21 digests every .22 LR round I've ever put in it. Promotional ammo that burns powder made of rat crap, high-velocity hollow points, standard solids, match ammo, anything.

My friend's Ruger Mark II does the same. It just works.

Another friend's Walther PPK/S in .22 LR (the gun this Bersa wants to be) just works as long as you stick to high-velocity ammunition. Mine didn't even function with that.

Sometimes I wonder if we gun hobbyists are enabling an abusive relationship with manufacturers. None of us want the heavy hand of the Federal government to come down on us more than it has, so we accept dubious functionality, horribly unsafe gun designs (I'm look at you, Remington), bad customer service, all of it.

I miss Phil Engeldrum. He knew how to hit back at that junk, and I think he helped make the world better.

If you're looking to get rid of it, I might be interested in taking on the project.

Does that offer extend to me as well? I've not heard back from John, but depending on what he says, I might be willing to let you take delivery of the thing.

 

[ttarp]

The BERSA .22's have a reputation for being finicky, their .380's and 9mm's don't, and I knew a fellow that had some serious issues with a Beretta Neos, but that wouldn't turn me away from buying a 92. ymmv.

I have a Browning 1911-22 that eats anything, while my BT-22 takes only minimags or golden bullets in a fully loaded mag. Down load it to five rounds and the BERSA eats anything too. I think as far as non target type .22's goes its fairly well made, but at least in mine there are some spring weight and or mag issues.

Does that offer extend to me as well? I've not heard back from John, but depending on what he says, I might be willing to let you take delivery of the thing.

Depending on how much its worth to you in the event you want to dispose of it, sure. Of course I very well might be unable to figure it out and end up just sending it to Wolfgang.

Hopefully it all works out for you though.

 

[Ibmikey]

Ttarp, I guess your comments are directed at me so...I am in no way condemning the company as a whole on this pistol and the reason i mentioned lousy performance with a .22 is because the OP based his opening comments on the same Thunderer .22 lr. As far as the project to make this pistol function both my buddy and i expended our efforts as did ( dont really know what went on there) the repair depot. This pistol just makes the shooter wonder why such a good looking piece of machinery does not function very well.
In all fairness after the return from repair it does work a bit better and sometimes will now get through a full mag but that is not the norm. It is in the safe not causing any specific person to have acellerated heart rate at this time and i should think that someday the answer to reliability will be found. So your offer is understood and refused with a smile

 

[chardin]

The BERSA .22's have a reputation for being finicky, their .380's and 9mm's don't, and I knew a fellow that had some serious issues with a Beretta Neos, but that wouldn't turn me away from buying a 92. ymmv.

That's a decent point. I don't have a large body of data to draw upon, and the plural of "anecdote" is not "information". I am disappointed in this specific pistol.

Depending on how much its worth to you in the event you want to dispose of it, sure. Of course I very well might be unable to figure it out and end up just sending it to Wolfgang.

Hopefully it all works out for you though.

If I send it you, it will not be for money, but rather that the gun might have an appreciative home. I wouldn't charge you in such an instance. This pistol may be a wayward pet, but it's my pet, and I do not sell those.

 

[Elkins45]

Are you willing to spend another $77 to send it to someone?

The buyback option sounds good to me.

 

[chardin]

Are you willing to spend another $77 to send it to someone?

The buyback option sounds good to me.

I believe a holder of a federal firearms license can send a gun to another holder of a federal firearms license at a much lower cost via the United States Postal System.

 

[Elkins45]

Yeah, so if you decide to give it away don't let him ship it back to you first.

 

[chardin]

Yeah, so if you decide to give it away don't let him ship it back to you first.

Concur, Doctor.

 

[ttarp]

It is in the safe not causing any specific person to have acellerated heart rate at this time and i should think that someday the answer to reliability will be found. So your offer is understood and refused with a smile

Best of luck to you, I hope one day you can fire it without an unhealthy increase in blood pressure.

 

[Ibmikey]

The BERSA .22's have a reputation for being finicky, their .380's and 9mm's don't, and I knew a fellow that had some serious issues with a Beretta Neos, but that wouldn't turn me away from buying a 92. ymmv.

I have a Browning 1911-22 that eats anything, while my BT-22 takes only minimags or golden bullets in a fully loaded mag. Down load it to five rounds and the BERSA eats anything too. I think as far as non target type .22's goes its fairly well made, but at least in mine there are some spring weight and or mag issues.



Depending on how much its worth to you in the event you want to dispose of it, sure. Of course I very well might be unable to figure it out and end up just sending it to Wolfgang.

Hopefully it all works out for you though.

Hello everyone!
I do not know how or why i managed to post this quote....my shinning computer skills at work again....sorry ibmikey

 

[chardin]

Update:

John called! He's waiting for Bersa to send him a slide. This may fix the automatic safety cam issue and will almost certainly fix the extractor pin issue. I worried that this was also to make up for my past neglect, but apparently not; it's a design issue.

 

[danez71]

That sounds promising.

Keep on keeping us informed, please.

 

[ttarp]

Cool, let us know.

 

[chardin]

I got the gun back. (Decided to risk the $77.)

It has a new slide, probably to deal with the extractor issue. It does not have the automatic safety cam, which would have required a frame replacement. The hammer will still drop when the slide is out of battery.

I'll test it at the range today and see if it has FTF issues that make me leery of that hammer issue.

 

[chardin]

It works fine!

I had only CCI standard velocity ammunition available to me. I'd thought I could buy high-velocity hollow points at Walmart on the way to the range, but apparently I thought wrong. They don't carry any .22LR at all, and the range only carries the one CCI load.

I figured I'd get some malfs, and I did, but all but one of them were due to short travel on the slide and the chamber was empty in each case. No kabooms!

The one exception was a failure to ignite, and the firing pin mark looked good and strong to me. I'm calling that one an ammunition failure.

Sorry, ttarp, but I'm keeping it. And I'm going to order some appropriate ammo posthaste. (Seriously, what the hell?)

 

[ttarp]

No apology needed, glad its working good enough for you to hang on to. Seems like .22 is still in shortage in certain areas.

 

[danez71]

Thanks for the update.

 

[chardin]

A blog post with photos:

http://thequietneighbor.blogspot.com/2017/02/bersa-firestorm-22-returns-to-fold.html