I just bought that exact model from the new Gander Mountain on the southside of Indy. My wife and I both have the Bersa 380 and couldnt be happier with so I thought I would give the Thunder 9 a whirl.
Picked it up for $379 + tax, wiped most of the oil off the exterior and took it to the local range. Shot 150 rounds of WWB through it and 50 rounds of the Winchester HP. No failures whatsoever. Pushing the safety up was a little stiff at first but after 5 or 6 times this went away and switching it to safe was a smooth.
The accuracy blew me away. It may be simply that I am used to shooting a 380 and a S&W 908, both having 3.5 inch barrels, and that the 4.3 inch barrel just gave me more range. But at 21 feet, I was hitting the same hole over and over. I went as far as the range allowed, 45 feet, and was shooting +- 2 to 3 inches from dead center....one or two out of every five shots flew off 3 or 4 inches but that was my error, shaking, flinch, bad finger position etc. and I knew it the second I pulled the trigger. I am typically not a good shot and still somewhat new to shooting, haunted by flinches and pulls, so this accuracy surprised me.
The action on this gun is very sweet. The double action first shot is lighter and smoother than my S&W 908 and I dont seem to pull the first shot as much. Pulling back the hammer for a single action first shot is my only complaint really. I guess I am just used to the size of the 380 and/or I have smaller sized hands. But when holding the gun and trying to pull back the hammer with my thumb, it is a bit of a stretch. Not a bad thing, just something I will have to get used to.
The magazine drops free when you hit the release and slides back in with a nice snap. Loading the magazine was a bitch at first, was pretty stiff. By the third or fourth magazine load, the stiffness was gone and loading 17 rounds into the mag was not unpleasant.
Another thing that surprised me was that I can carry this IWB with relative ease. I did not anticipate this whatsoever and expected this to be no more than a range gun.
However, when I got home, I was curious to see if it would fit in my Don Hume that I use for the SW 908. Surprise, PERFECT FIT! This is the Don Hume H715M 36-1 which is advertised for use with the Glock 27. I bought it for my S&W 908 and use it regularly.
Anyway, the Bersa 9 fit perfectly and it fit IWB just behind my right hip and felt exactly the same as my 908. I am used to thinking of 4+ inch handguns with thick slides like a Springfield XD-9 I used to have (and that was not comfortable IWB for a guy that is 5'9 155 lbs). Not so with the Thunder 9. From the manual safety forward, the gun is relatively thin and is not uncomfortable IWB, even while driving. The grip is certainly thick but that is above the waistline and is pretty snug against the back. However, since the holster is for 3.5 inch barrels, the barrel of the Thunder 9 sticks out the end a little over half an inch...not enough to worry about.
If anyone has any other questions about this gun, let me know. I plan to shoot it some more this weeked.
Here is a picture of the Thunder 9. Still has a lil excess oil on it but a nice looking piece of metal if you ask me
