Bersa believer

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WVfishguy

New member
I've touted Bersa before, but kept quiet about them lately. Here's why:

I own and shoot a Bersa Thunder 40, full size. Large grips fit me well, SA and DA trigger pull is great. And it's all metal, which I like. Sort of reminds me of a CZ on steroids.

BUT - recently I had several instances of the slide locking back with a round still in the mag. Happened several times during one session, with four different mags. :(

I was using Winchester White Box from Wallyworld. This usually works in all my other .40s.

I wanted to test the gun one more time before sending it back to Bersa for their lifetime warranty.

So, today, I took the Bersa to the range with five different brands of ammo, Winchester white box, flea market handloads, bulk lead SWC, Sellier & Bellot SWC, and hollow points (maybe Remington - can't remember the brand).

Fully expected the gun to malfunction.

Shot about a 150 rounds, but could not get the thing to malfunction. Wife got mad when I said, "We're not leaving until this thing stops working!"
She said, "Then we'll be here all night!"

I now believe it was just a ammo problem all along. I bet I got a bad batch of ammo which caused the problem. Also, Bersas have a long break-in period.

Anyway, I fully trust my Bersa .40 once again. :D

It's also very accurate - not quite as accurate as my new XDm or my Walther P99, but also not nearly as expensive.

Honestly, if I had realized this Bersa was going to turn out to be such a good gun, I probably would not own as many .40s as I do.

BTW - the Sellier & Bellot ammo was the best ammo I shot today - clean and accurate. The wife shot .38 Sellier & Bellot, and it was equally good. really great stuff.
 
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Pinky Carruthers

New member
Glad to hear your pistol is running correctly again. I have two Bersas and two Firestorms, great guns at a great price.

My Fullsize 9mm has the best trigger of all my DA/SA pistols. Over 5K through it and still going strong.
 
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Keltyke

Moderator
Glad you like it. My Bersa Thunder .380 has been totally reliable so far. It's a sweet-shooting, accurate gun.
 
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Playboypenguin

Moderator
I am curious as to what the problem with the ammo could be that would cause the slide to lock back when there were still rounds in the mag and chamber.
 
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Dwight55

New member
Playboypenguin wrote: "I am curious as to what the problem with the ammo could be that would cause the slide to lock back when there were still rounds in the mag and chamber."

Going back and reading his post, . . . it is Winchester White Box ammo from Wally world, . . . that should be your first clue;).

He probably bought it on the second Tuesday of the month, . . . while the moon was in it's second phase from the house Scorpio ;) .

That coupled with a bit of low powder (those are the ones sold on the second Tuesdays) caused the thingamajigger to interface with the whatchamacallit and react with the duflatche to lock the slide back :rolleyes: .

Honestly, . . . it just isn't that complicated :D .

May God bless,
Dwight
 
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Majic

New member
Some folks have found that their grip causes them to bump the slide lock on recoil and lock the slide back.
 
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WVfishguy

New member
I am curious as to what the problem with the ammo could be that would cause the slide to lock back when there were still rounds in the mag and chamber.
Click to expand...

Me too.

If you have any other suggestions, I'd be glad to hear it - why do you think I posted this in the first place? :confused:

Some folks have found that their grip causes them to bump the slide lock on recoil and lock the slide back.
Click to expand...

That's the first thing I thought of, so I was careful about my grip. But that was not the problem.

I've been trying to get on the Bersa website to talk to their tech guy, but (of course) it's been offline all weekend. :(
 
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Dan K. Evans

New member
What about the Bursa .45ACP?

There is lots of talk about the Bersa .380, its accuracy, dependability, size, price, etc. I am considering the .45 for the same reasons but never hear comments about it. Its a great price for a .45. Any comments? Thanks.
 
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Tortuga12

New member
Thought I heard somewhere....

That the full sized Thunder pistols are direct knock-offs of the Walther P88. Confirm/deny?
 
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WVfishguy

New member
From what I've seen from a assembled and disassembled P88, the Bersa looks like a knock-off to me.

The .380 Bersa looks much like a Walther PPK
 
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tatso7

New member
I have a Bersa minifirestorm 9mm for 8 years now and never have a single misfire using different ammo brand. Two weeks ago at the range using the "winchester white box'' of loose packaged 9mm 115 grains fmj rounds from wally world, I noticed I was shooting consistently about 2'' lower left from the center of the target at ten yards. I then switch to Black Hills brand and it hit the bullseye all the time. The gun did not malfunction after using all 100 winchester rounds but I will never buy this ammo again.
 
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DGlock

New member
Ok, of the Bersa's/Firestorm's, I've been associated with,,,myself,brother-in-law,and another friend,,we all have had mechanical issues,,,all with the 380 acp....to sum it up,,,,3 guns,3 break downs,,,and with mine it's been numerous,,springs,e-clips,,,and once had to send in back because it wouldn't fire in DA,,,,,,,,,,it's a 200.00 gun:rolleyes:,,if it's all you have,,fine,myself I like a Glock or a Sig for reliability,,,,thanks,
 
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amprecon

New member
Sounds like your slide release lever spring is weak or not installed correctly and with stout enough recoil I could see it jumping up enough to catch the cut-out in the slide.
 
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cold dead hands

Moderator
Maybe it was just your day to question your gun....

I have had guns that i trust my life to fail in the strangest ways, only to have fixed themselves.

Gremlins...I guess....

Who knows...

Continue to trust it as long as you really feel you can truly trust it.

I trust my Thunder .40 EVERY DAY.

I have faith.
 
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