How are Bersa pistols?

[Tackleberry41]

Never owned one, but not really heard anything bad about them. Place near me had a Bersa Thunder pro compact in 40. Used but in really good shape, new I see Buds listing them at $400, this one is used for $299. A big issue I saw was the dang magazines, their $50 a pop which seems a bit much for a budget gun, SIG mags were cheaper.

[hoosierlogger]

I have a bersa Thunder 9 the 15+1 version. Mags for those are $50 as well. I found that a beretta 92 mag to be the exact same dimensions. All that was required was alittle dremel work on the mag to cut a new catch on it. The 40 maybe the same.

i also own a thunder 380. Both work and performs flawlessly. I'd buy another if I were in the market for a pistol and one came up.

[MUSTANG]

I have a .380 Bersa that was used when I bought it from an Army Captain back in the late 1980's. It has been a good quality pistol that has held up quite well over the years. Makes for a nice light weight/compact carry pistol when the 1911's are too big for the carry conditions.

There is a Group out there with a forum specifically for Bersa's: http://www.bersapistolforum.com/

[bedbugbilly]

I bought a used Bersa 380 CC a few years ago with the intent of alternating it with my revolver for CCW. It was a very good pistol but I dumped it as the previous owner had done a "trigger job" on it. After the first shot in DA it of course went to SA and the trigger pull was waaaaay too light for a carry pistol. I took it back to the LGS and they took it back with no problems. I am set up to reload .380 but don't have one currently. I'd have no problems buying another one and most that I know who have them, like them. Magazines? I really never looked in to what they cost as the one I had came with two of them that the previous owner had.

I was sorry to find out that mine had been tampered with by the previous owner as I liked the size of it and it seemed to shoot well "accuracy wise". When I tried it out though, with the tampered with trigger I ended up with several unintentional "double shots" as the trigger pull in SA was so light. That's probably why the original owner dumped it after he bubba'd it.

[opos]

Several years ago there was a real rash of "disconnect springs" coming loose which rendered the pistol unable to fire and turned it into a club. Not a good thing for a self defense weapon...I had a "duo tone" (think they are all pretty much the same in the .380...just different finish) and it popped the disconnect spring and the pistol had to go in for repairs...took a few weeks to get it done...I had also noticed a great deal of wear on the rails and was told that it was normal...never was comfortable with a pistol with a few hundred rounds having that much wear...the final thing was the ones that were nickel finish would have the finish peel (not all the time but enough times to make folks upset) if you used any ammonia containing cleaning solvent.

I am a big fan of CZ pistols and also in the smaller calibers I really like the military surplus Bulgarian or Russian Makarov pistols in .380 or 9mm Makarov (9x18)...they are bullet proof (no pun meant) and about the same size as a .380 Bersa and the cost is low...the CZ 83 is the smaller of the CZ pistols and like the Makarov is all steel...durable and very accurate.

155284picture is the Bulgarian Makarov in 9x18 Makarov caliber.

I'd not buy another Bersa .380..I've heard the 9mm is a decent pistol but never had one or held one. The magazines were very pricey and folks that tried after market magazines had very sketchy results with them...I think the factory OEM magazines for the .380 were around $40 which is a bunch for an 8 round magazine.

[ebner glocken]

I have a coupe of bersas one thunderer .380 the other the .22 of the same thing. The .380 seems to feed about anything and has given me zero issues while the .22 took some getting used to. After trying MANY different types of .22 ammo that ranged greatly in price it jammed on every bit of it until out of disgust I tried some of the worst ammo imho I had on hand. Believe it or not the thing feeds "remington golden bullet" w/o a hitch. I should have saved myself alot of time and frustration and just looked on youtube before the experiment. At the end of the day I would not have any issues recommending a bersa.

Ebner

[Ed_Shot]

+1 for the Bersa Thunder .380. A quality firearm and outstanding shooter.

[Tackleberry41]

I have a 92 mag I ended up with when I got out of the marines, did some dremmel work and it worked in my browning HP. So be easy enough to see if it worked or not. Still not sure why Bersa thinks their mags are worth that much, it would definitely impact sales, economy pistols are not economy if they simply jam you on the mags. $25-30 I can understand but SIG mags were not $50.

[rintinglen]

The Bersa 380's are excellent pistols in my experience. I don't currently own one, but have fired 3 over the years. All have worked fine with factory loads. If I could find one used for cheap I'd take a chance on it.

[FergusonTO35]

I've had a couple, excellent guns for the price. I found the Pro Mags feed and lock in place perfectly, they just don't always lock the slide back when empty which I don't really care about. If anything just use OEM mags for carry and Pro Mags for practice. My local shop sells OEM mags for $30.00 which is acceptable. I wouldn't mind having a Thunder .380 someday although my Glock 42 has sure spoiled me.

[Tackleberry41]

The 380 mags are more reasonably priced. I would have to ask how many mags come with the gun, might have been why someone traded it. I like to have at min 4 mags for a gun, the pro series mags are $50 anywhere you look to buy them. Its only $299, but 2 or 3 mags and your at a price point where you could get a more expensive gun with cheaper mags. Its a Bersa mags really shouldn't cost that much. I paid $44 for a higher cap factory FN mag the other day.

[Shooter6br]

Have one with the spring problem. The spring "pops" off the trigger bar. The gun becomes a paper weight

[hoosierlogger]

I bought a used Bersa 380 CC a few years ago with the intent of alternating it with my revolver for CCW. It was a very good pistol but I dumped it as the previous owner had done a "trigger job" on it. After the first shot in DA it of course went to SA and the trigger pull was waaaaay too light for a carry pistol. I took it back to the LGS and they took it back with no problems. I am set up to reload .380 but don't have one currently. I'd have no problems buying another one and most that I know who have them, like them. Magazines? I really never looked in to what they cost as the one I had came with two of them that the previous owner had.

I was sorry to find out that mine had been tampered with by the previous owner as I liked the size of it and it seemed to shoot well "accuracy wise". When I tried it out though, with the tampered with trigger I ended up with several unintentional "double shots" as the trigger pull in SA was so light. That's probably why the original owner dumped it after he bubba'd it.
The double action on the first shot is due to the grip screw being too tight. I found this out when I took mine to the gunsmith to see what was wrong with it. That was on the thunder 380

[A pause for the COZ]

I dont have experience with all their offering but I have the .380. I use it exclusively as a range gun.
Not because I dont think it is reliable enough.

I carry a LCP as a .380 pocket rocket. For my other options I figured if I was going up in size I needed to go up in caliber. Since there is no extra trade off.

As a range gun though. Its perfect I have no complaints. So a 40 for $299??? Looks fine to me.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d66/Kelly2215/100_9712_zpsiychdaeb.jpg

[jcren]

I have a thunder 380 and love it. Well throated, it will eat anything including the lee 105 swc with no problems. Easy to work on, accurate and redundant safeties.

[Whiterabbit]

Seems like the only ppk clone I can find locally (bersa made, in general). I wondered about their quality as well.

[Maximumbob54]

Another Thunder lover. If the larger guns are as well made then I would think they are good guns. The mag disconnect junk is a youtube video away from being removed. Any part that ever breaks is easy to replace. I've got thousands of round through mine now and the rails aren't showing any excess wear on my duotone model. I have yet to find one with a bad trigger but a couple of them have been better than others. I want the new combat model pretty bad but not enough to have a duplicate of my existing gun.

But since this has nothing to do with Thunders, I would say snap up that gun and if you don't like it then you can always get your money back out of it.

[gtgeorge]

I have a few but none include the .380 although I have shot many of them. The UC45 was my carry for many years with thousands of rounds through it. The best forum for them is actually www.bersachat.com (http://www.bersachat.com) if you really want to learn more about them.

[tbx-4]

I had a Bersa .22 back +30 years ago... Worked flawlessly. In the early '90s bought two of the Thunder .380. Both worked flawlessly too.

Wish I still had the .22 though.

[Tackleberry41]

So I guess the only issue would be magazines. It has 3 is good deal, but 2 not so much, adding another $100 to the price tag.

[MUSTANG]

Look at this link here on Cast Boolits:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?294154-HP-9mm-Mold-Bersa-380-mag-Vintage-Redding-Scale

Someone has a .380 Bersa Mag for $15.00.

[Bazoo]

I have had some experience with the bersa thunder 380. The wife has one, bought it almost new. It has been a good gun. It wont work with wolf steel cased ammo. But has worked without issue with all the brass cased ammo we've tried.

My friend loaned us a well used thunder 380 before we got our own. The slide on that one would not stay locked open due to the slide notch and the slide stop stop both being worn. The notch was rounded out, and I cut it back just a smidge with a file, solving the problem. But it couldnt be done anymore else it wouldnt allow a loaded magazine to seat. It appears that the gun will not hold up to extensive use.

[FergusonTO35]

I shoukd add that I had a Thunder .32 and .380, no experience with any of the others. That Thunder .32 was a sweet pistol, still wondering whatever possessed me to sell it.

[John Boy]

+1 for the Bersa Thunder .380. A quality firearm and outstanding shooter.
Plus 2 for the 380. Also for the Thunder Pro 9mm ... Shoot Pb bullets out of both and have no issues of not to chamber or eject
The Bersa's IMO are under rated for their quality plus they have the design of a Walther PPK which I'm a fan of

[Powder Burn]

I have a Thunder 380 as well as a Walther PPK/s. IMO the Bersa has better sites, a tad lighter due to alloy frame, doesn't bite my hand, and has a life time warranty to the original purchaser. I've had a few FTF on the Bersa for the 1st 100 rds or so, but it now shoots and feeds very well. The Bersa will eat anything I feed it. I used the Bersa to qualify for CC due to the improved sites but I will never part with the all steel PPK/s. It's just too purdy and fits my hand perfectly.

[sparky45]

+1 for the Bersa Thunder .380. A quality firearm and outstanding shooter.

I'll second that, I love my Bersa Thunder. Way better than the LCP. I did get my wife a G42 which is also a great CC gun.

[GabbyM]

Does CZ even make there 380acp anymore?
Seams we are getting down to nothing but plastic pistols.

[Tackleberry41]

Im gonna go look at it today. If they will take modified 92 mags, then they might take browning HP mags, I modded a 92 mag and it works in my HP. I have the 40 cal mags out of mt FNS, see if they fit.

[rond]

I have a Thunder 9 and 40, 2 380s and a .22. They all work great with no problems.

[Powder Burn]

Here's a 7 round mag for $35 at Midway

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/3028636312/bersa-magazine-bersa-thunder-380-380-acp-7-round-with-finger-rest-steel

[Tackleberry41]

That is a 380 mag, their common and cheap. Its the newer model pro series that are expensive.

And now I know why the gun got traded, it only has the one mag. Whoever owned it lost the spare, and found out what they cost. So its not that great a deal anymore.

I did try some other mags, the ones from my new FNS won't even go in. An old Beretta 92 mag I ended up with when I got out of the marines goes in, locking slots in wrong spot but easy enough to fix, 17rd mag sticks out a bit. My browning HP mag fits and locks, looks like it would feed, there's a bit extra notch on the body on the factory mag for the slide lock, easy enough to fix, 13 rd factory doesn't stick out to much. Maybe shell out for another factory and mod some 40 cal HP mags.

[Mike Kerr]

We had an older model 383? in .380 which I found 100% reliable, but it got passed on to a nephew who reported problems with feeding. The newer Thunder models in 380 are sort of "spotty" in performance according to people at my local range but they must be pretty good because people keep buying them over and over.

[Paul_R]

I think the Thunder .380 is the most under rated pistol in it's class, especially for the price. I like mine so much I bought two and gave one to my daughter!

[tim338]

My wife has a .380 concealed carry model and it shoots great. Sights are regulated spot on and it has never jammed in over 500 rounds.

[dave_g]

Have one with the spring problem. The spring "pops" off the trigger bar. The gun becomes a paper weight

I had this problem. I ordered a new "disconnector" and that solved it. The groove that the spring sits in is cut much deeper in the new one.

https://bersa.eagleimportsinc.com/bersa/shop/bersa-parts/disconnector