makarov vs. bersa for female

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My 9 x 18mm Bulgarian Mak had a couple of FTF in the first 50 rounds, but has been perfectly reliable since then, including with Hornady's excellent 95 gr. XTP load.

My friend at work bought a Bersa Thunder Concealed Carry and had nothing but problems with it- multiple types of feed/eject failures with different magazines.
 
Either pistol should serve the young lady well. (9mm Makarov ammo should be a little easier to find right now.)
 
Back in the mid-90's when I got my first gun and started teaching my wife to shoot she decided that she ought to have her own gun. She looked around for six or eight months at what was available at shows, pawn shops and the local gun shops. Her final choice, based on how it fit both her hands and her budget was a Makarov. It is one of the Baikal IJ-70's with the adjustable sights. Now she did have a little trouble with the slide at first, but not for long - it broke in and she just got used to it. It has been her carry gun ever since.

Since that time, she has looked at the Bersas and was generally impressed with them, but doesn't really have any use for them since they are so similar to her Mak. We have considered finding one of the .22 Bersas for cheap target practice, since they are so similar in size and feel to the Mak.
 
Used to own a Bersa 380...

The only thing I can say 'bad' about the Bersa is the safety had some issues. I'm not sure if this has been fixed in the new productions, but I know I was not the only one to experience this at the time.

(About manual safeties, folks have different opinions/philosophies on safeties. Me? If it's there, it better function, regardless if I'll be using it. )

What happens is sometimes the safety gets 'ridiculously' difficult to move. I was literally losing skin off my thumb, using two hands. I thought over time (and effort+skin) it would smooth up, but it didn't.

My limited $0.02....the 'safety issue' seemed to get worse when the firearm was warm/hot. I'm guessing there was heat expansion somewhere in the slide/safety area. NOTE: I didn't really have issues when the gun was cool and unfired.

I went back to the gun shop a couple times, and they ended up buying it back from me. (Unfortunately, they 'refused' to sell me another. Another story for another day.)

Good luck!!
 
Get a PA 63 and a 1000 rounds

You can get a FEG PA 63 in mint condition and a thousand rounds for $300 today (9x18 mak). It is plenty reliable, and doesn't even look half bad.
 
You can get a FEG PA 63 in mint condition and a thousand rounds for $300 today (9x18 mak).
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More like $350-$375, but that's a good point. Say 500 rounds, and you'd come in under $300.
 
The PA-63 is pretty hard on the hand. I swapped out the hammer spring (which gave it a decent DA pull) and the recoil spring (which eased up on the recoil.) The heavier recoil spring made it a bit harder to rack, though. That said, it still kicks harder than my Makarov.
 
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I'm female. I used to have both a Makarov, and a Bersa 380, so I can speak from experience.
The Makarov has sharp recoil, I hated it, all my female friends hated it. Sold.
The Bersa was much softer shooting, better fitting in the hand. Still sold it, as many 9mm pistols are about the same size, no more recoil, and a more effective round.
Of the two, round goes to the Bersa.
 
makarovnik
The makarov's recoil is pretty snappy. My wife doesn't like mine.
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My wife does NOT like the recoil on my Mak either. When we go to the range that's the one she will not touch.

Shaggy, My recommendation is the same as may here. If at all possible let her fire each and see which one she likes. While my wife hates the makarov, I worked with a gal back in my college days who LOVED them. so... to each their own.
 
I was just throwing the idea out there. The mak round does kick quite a bit in the lightweight aluminum 63, but I was just giving you a value option. I purchased one as a range toy, and it is about the only pistol that I will shoot anymore due to the ammo situation. I've shot my buddy's Bersa Thunder .380 and it is noticeably softer to shoot.

But he can't find any ammo right now :cuss:. Best of luck!!
 
Sold a bunch of Bersa .380s when I worked at a gun store. Very trouble free guns. Get what ever she is comfortable with, even a Browning Buckmark - if she hits with a .22, that's a lot better than a miss with something bigger. Let her decide - it's like buying footgear - what works for you may not work for me. :)
 
I'd go with a CZ-82 over the PA-63 personally.

Of those listed in the OP is it possible to shoot the both or exemplars of either? If not, at a minimum have her handle them both. A mak at $300 seems like a good deal and should be able to be sold enough. 9x18 ammo is definitely ore available right now in my area.

The Bersa is a very good gun though. I dont think you will find much negative about them.
 
I've had both and at the moment have 3 different Bersas. The 380 is really difficult to find at the moment, but after all the hoarders realize that they have a ton of ammo that they paid double the price they should have for it, it will come back to the shelves.

I liked both guns, but I would prefer the Bersa. It's relatively inexpensive yet a dependable and quality firearm. And my 5'1" 115 lb. wife enjoys shooting hers.

And there are some really cool grips made for the Bersas also.
http://www.designergrips.com :)
 
I'd go with a CZ-82 over the PA-63 personally.
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why? i have a cz-82 and am considering buying a pa-63 as well..

both to seem about the same size as the bursa, except you can actually find ammo for them. that's a win in my book.
 
Both are great guns. I have both and have never had a problem with either. Right now Makarov ammo is easier to find and cheaper. However racking the slide on any auto is often hard for some. What I got my mother-in-law was a four inch 38 Special. She handles it quite well. Please note that my wife carries a Bersa but does love my Mak. Hope that helps.
 
I'm not being at all snobbish when I tell you, just because she's a woman doesn't mean she needs to start with a little gun.

Smaller guns are more difficult to shoot. Smaller sight radius makes them more difficult to shoot accurately, and smeller guns have less weight, which means more felt recoil. Just because a little gun is cute doesn't mean it's appropriate for a woman. If you carry a small gun, it should be AFTER you have learned the fundamentals well and can handle one.

I would steer her towards a used J-frame or Glock.
 
i have taken two women shooting. one loved my cz-82. one hated it. the one who hated the cz-82 liked my gp100 the best... and liked shooting 357 out of it.

go figure on that one.

i love my cz-82.. but don't actually love shooting it. the way it recoils straight back instead of popping up is a little hard on the hand (but is great for quick followup shots)
 
I LOVE Bersa handguns! That being said, be careful with the newer Bersa .380
I've had 2 that had to go to Colorado Gun Works to have the trigger spring replaced. Do a search on Bersatalk. My East German Makarov has been 100% Not bashing Bersas, I have a Thunder .45 UC and Thunder .40 UC that have been nothing but reliable.
 
Have 2 CZ 82s and 2 Bersa Thunder 380s. The wife prefers by far the Bersa. It is inexpensive, accurate,reliable and she will always carry it. She did not like the slide and weigh of the CZ. So far she has put 2000 rounds through the Bersa and still loves it. I had to get a second one for myself. With the CZ 82s, they are great shooters and very reliable too. Because I hand load, ammo availabilty is not is issue for us.
 
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