Recoil level of Bersa Thunder 380?

[bannockburn]

tark

[It depends on the weight of the gun for starters. And the grip angle in relation to the bore. An Astra 300 in .32 ACP has quite a snappy recoil. The same gun in 380 can be uncomfortable to some.

And a larger version of the Astra 300 (namely the Astra 600 in 9mm. Parabellum) can be positively downright brutal to some one's hand!

 

[tark]

I hear you!! I have a 600 and a 400. Neither one is much fun to shoot.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I was looking at a myriad of 380 gun reviews recently and while a lot are positive at least one reviewer went further and asked people all throughout the industry their opinions. He found the responses mixed with the LGS people stating the Bursa was the most sent back for warranty work out of all the 380s they sold.

The one I found that I would buy is the Tisas Fatih 380 which is a Berretta 83/84 Cheetah clone.

It's slightly larger than the Bursa but also much better made and about $100 more.

View attachment 1148959

That's frickin' beautiful!

 

[kje54]

That's frickin' beautiful!

I just ordered a used Baby Rock (really good price) and I've wanted one for quit a while so I'll have to save up for a few to six plus months to buy the Fatih.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

The Walther CCP comes in .380 and 9mm.

3.54" barrel and overall length of 6.41" compared to the Bersa's 3.5" barrel and 6.6" overall length.

Walther is 19.4 oz for the .380 (20 oz for the 9mm) compared to Bersa's 20 oz.

I have the CCP-M2 in 9mm and it's a very easy racking gun and VERY nice to shoot recoil-wise due to its Soft-Coil gas technology.

It was a smidge over $400 when I bought mine, so you'll pay a bit more for it than the Bersa Thunder.

 

[kje54]

I just received an email for a Tisas Fatih on sale for $366.14........ Of course........ Dangnabbit!!!

https://www.familyfirearms.com/product/sds-f380b-fatih-b380-380acp-12rd

 

[defjon]

Subjective but ill give you thus.

In 2004 a bersa thunder was my first every pistol. Not the first I ever shot, but first I bought for myself center fire.

It's a blow back 380 with an aluminum frame.

I shot a hi power in 40 for years before getting it. It reminds me a bit of that. Its less recoil than an airweight 38. But I think it's snappy.

A couple boxes are fine and I'll love it for teaching recoil management in a way a full size 9mm locked breach would not.

It's nothing terrible. To me, it is snappy. A lot of snap for not a lot of power...

But looks pretty good and will scratch that ppk bond itch and probably be more reliable doing it. It was my only gun for a long time and I felt well heeled. 102 grain golden sabers. 9 round mags.

I like the slide release of the bersa. It's like an updated ppk. I like the take down lever. I like the lock back feature. It has adjustable white dot sites.

 

[American_Fusilier]

I found the Bersa Thunder 380 to be painful to shoot. I only ever shot a few mags at a time. I ended up not owning it very long and sold it to fund a different purchase. Your mileage may vary...

 

[CoalCrackerAl]

I just ordered a used Baby Rock (really good price) and I've wanted one for quit a while so I'll have to save up for a few to six plus months to buy the Fatih.

If your baby rock has a heavy trigger pull. Let me know. I'll show you how to adjust it. Mine had a 8lb pull. I have it at 4 lbs now. I asked RIA why the heavy trigger. Liability reasons they told me. They used to come factory with a normal 1911 pull.

 

[Zendude]

I had a Thunder 380 cc for a while. I found it uncomfortable mostly. It wasn’t exactly recoil or a push, in the same way as a 45. It was more of a sting in the frame, which seemed to result from the slide slapping the frame when it cycled.

 

[Bcwitt]

Bersa thunder is a decent gun, once you remove the stupid magazine safety.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

FELT recoil is both objective and subjective.

And no two hands are just alike, not even my left and right. The fact I have shot pistols similar to the Bersa in size and power (Walther PP, Makarov, Grendel P10) with no problem doesn't mean someone else's hand will fit their grip the same way.

 

[jstert]

i got a bersa thunder about a dozen years ago. it was perfectly ok…for awhile. as i shot it more it beat up (recoil) and bloodied (slide bite) my hand to the point that i avoided it. a rubber grip sleeve and dremeling the beavertail didn’t help much. the safety lever sheared off one day while shooting outdoors (a known problem per internet). i repaired it then happily sold it off. a keltec p32 replaced it as a ccw.

i certainly wouldn’t get a bersa thunder as a 380acp range toy. it isn’t fun to shoot alot. my only 380acp pistol now is a s&w shield ez, which is a slightly bigger, not perfect, but way better pistol than the bersa thunder.

 

[zaitcev]

I'm going to say, this was obviously going to produce the same results as the numerous discussions on the recoil of Beretta 84. We've been to this tango before. In fact, I experienced it first hand. Depending on any number of circumstances, it can be between pleasant and unbearable.

I've not shot the Bersa, but I learned that gripping the Beretta lower helped a lot with the comfort. Modern shooters are taught to grip as high as possible, and with a good reason. But that habit plays against you when shooting these old designs (Bersa is relatively new but copies concepts from 1930s).