CarbineKid
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- Joined
- Jun 21, 2003
- Messages
- 173
I read alot of posts of people praising the Bersa line of handguns(the 380 and the thunder). How is the quality of these guns? Are they reliable and hows the fit and finish?
Hows Bersa's quality?
- Thread starter CarbineKid
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About the time you say anything good about a pistol, the manufacturers find some way to screw it up but:
a friend bought one in .22 rimfire a couple of decades ago and it was completely reliable.
When the original supply of cheap makarovs dried up, a local concern got in a bunch of Bersa .380s and found them both accurate and reliable.
Terry Murbach, noted gun industry dude, has had one for a long time and loves it.
a friend bought one in .22 rimfire a couple of decades ago and it was completely reliable.
When the original supply of cheap makarovs dried up, a local concern got in a bunch of Bersa .380s and found them both accurate and reliable.
Terry Murbach, noted gun industry dude, has had one for a long time and loves it.
MICHAEL T
Member
They are a reliable small pistol they are well made and finish is ok. Are they finished as fine as a PPK or a Sig no but they only cost 1/2 as much Come visit http://bersatalk.com Iwould rate customer satisfaction at 98% at least. The compact 9 and 40's are also getting go reviews
id give my duo-tone 380 a 7 out 10. i had a few FTF problems with winchester flat nose ammo. the rim of the case mouth would get cought on the out side of the chamber as it went in. but iv sence changed to UMC FMJ's and iv shot about 100 UMC's and iv not had any problems yet. other than the FTF problem i would have to say its a good quality gun. its light and would do well as a CCW. accuracy is ok but not as good as i expected but it will be fine out to about 15 yards. average groups are about 4 to 5 inches at about 7 yards.
RTFM
member
My wife had a Thunder .380 It was punishing on the web of her hand (mine also..) we had 3 magazines, of which 1 would constantly produce FTF's and the other 2 would feed 99% of the time.
All were factory magazines.
The gun it self worked but the reliability was not what she wanted so she traded for a GP-100.
All were factory magazines.
The gun it self worked but the reliability was not what she wanted so she traded for a GP-100.
CajunBass
Member
My wife has a Bersa Firestorm 22LR that is a good little gun. The only ammo I'd say it's 100% reliable with is CCI Mini Mags, but it shoots them like there is no tomorrow. With most other brands of ammo, it will hang up every once in a while. The fit and finish on the gun is good. Her's has the hard chrome slide and black frame. She really likes the orange 3 dot sights also. She can shoot some really tight groups with it at 7-15 yards.
Lennyjoe
Member
I have a Bersa Mini-Firestorm in .45 and its been utterly reliable to this point. No failures of any kind.
Kramer Krazy
Member
My wife and I have matching Duotone Thunder 380s that are having slide lock issues and a slight mushrooming of the metal where the decock lever rests in the slide. With about 700+ rounds through each, though, they never have had an FTF, FTE, or other issue (FMJ and HP ammo).........well, other than failure to hold the slide open on the last round, of course.
Bat Masterson
Member
I have had some problems with my Thunder .380. The magazine springs are weak in their magazines with the result being occasional failures to feed and failure of the slide to lock back on the last round. I sent the gun in for repair and the gunsmith replaced the slide stop and the slide, but he did not replace the magazine springs. I replaced the magazine springs myself with springs intended for the nine round extended magazine. Subsequently, I have not had any problems.
birddog
Member
I love my Thunder .380. I'd say the finish is VERY good, at least on my nickel model. I only had a few FTE's very early on. Once the gun went through a few hundred round break-in period, the last thousand or so have been postively flawless. I'd highly recommend it.
As for hurting your hand, I don't see it. Either does my wife, but we also both regularly shoot .357, .44 and .45, so the .380.....Just feels like a little "pop".
As for hurting your hand, I don't see it. Either does my wife, but we also both regularly shoot .357, .44 and .45, so the .380.....Just feels like a little "pop".
Lennyjoe
Member
Have you changed mag springs yet?
HogRider
Member
2 failures to feed during the first 100 rounds. Since then the gun has worked flawlessly. I think it's an excellent gun for the money - well built, good parts fitting. The gun is extremely popular and I haven't met anyone who regretted buying it.
Kramer Krazy
Member
No, but I did replace one mag follower because it was cut too deeply.
Some of the best .380 pistols ever made were the older Bersa 380's.
Look for the older ones with the woods grips and the bright finish.
The newer ones with the plastic grips and the dull finish are not the quality of the older ones but you can still find some of these that are very reliable.
Look for the older ones with the woods grips and the bright finish.
The newer ones with the plastic grips and the dull finish are not the quality of the older ones but you can still find some of these that are very reliable.
brickboy240
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- Jan 19, 2005
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- 304
Hey, as long as there are sub-200 dollar Makarovs around, theres no reason to buy a .380 caliber anything.
-Brickboy240
-Brickboy240
Ala Dan
Member in memoriam
From past experience, I have witnessed the little Bersa Thunder .380's
to be a very reliable and accurate firearm. This includes the model 383
as well as the DT model. If there is one downside, it would be that the
bluing isn't quite as nice on the newer DT's models; and may show some
sign of excessive wear if carried on a daily basis?
to be a very reliable and accurate firearm. This includes the model 383
as well as the DT model. If there is one downside, it would be that the
bluing isn't quite as nice on the newer DT's models; and may show some
sign of excessive wear if carried on a daily basis?
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