Ok, I am seriously considering trading my Kel-Tec P11 9mm for the new Bersa COncealed Carry .380 The Bersa just fits my pocket carry style better. Now, Who has actual experience with Bersa products? Please, no "my friend had this and it was....." type stories. Only first person accounts please.
Bersa pros/cons
- Thread starter tshadow6
- Start date
This is a job for. http://bersatalk.com
1150 members and growing. Have several CC owners. Have 1 CC at present having a problem with Feeding. We have warrenty center master gun smith as regular He will fix you pistol if their is a problem.
Come join and ask were a friendly bunch
1150 members and growing. Have several CC owners. Have 1 CC at present having a problem with Feeding. We have warrenty center master gun smith as regular He will fix you pistol if their is a problem.
Come join and ask were a friendly bunch
You know, I've heard great things about the Bersas. My buddy bought one the same time I bought my first handgun. I didn't own it, but I shot it every time he shot it. It was a POS. I don't know, maybe that was the one in a thousand lemon, but it jammed almost 10% of the time (we actually did objective testing over 200 rounds) and after about a couple thousand rounds the rear sight blade flew off. It was also unpleasant to shoot, the blowback design and slim frame that makes it concealable also makes it painful on the web of the hand. For a $200 carry gun, I'd recommend a Makarov or a beat-up old S&W revolver long before a Bersa Thunder .380. I don't have any experience with any other models.
I have owned a Thunder 380 for several years now. While I will say if you are looking to just go fire off round after round the hand web will take a little beating...but that is about all of the bad info I can give you. I have never had an issue with jamming at all. The only issue I ever had was the screw on the handle cover came lose several times while at the range, but a quick tighten and it was back to the same old reliable firearm. I am not sure if its the norm or not, but from 21' groups are within 6" on mine. Not too bad for a short barrel 280 in my opinion. Besides all of the good things I have already said, if you are looking to carry, its a perfect size to conceal comfortably.
Bersa guns? I've had 2, and still have one of them. In general, I like them, but honestly speaking I have had some problems with both of them.
I had a Bersa Thunder 9 (full size) that I just recently traded off. I liked the ergos, it was nice and accurate with a decent trigger and all. But, it had this chronic problem of failures to extract, and I finally got rid of it. Too bad about those FTE's, because otherwise it was a decent gun. FWIW, the reports that I get from other T9FS owners suggest that mine was the exception to the rule, they are normally quite reliable.
I have a "standard model" duo-tone Bersa Thunder 380 which I now have right at 6000 rounds through. At first, it had some serious FTF issues, and in conjunction with a malfunction in the trigger linkage (broken e-clip that holds the linkage together, a common problem that is easily repaired) caused me to send it in for warranty service at about 2000 rounds. The gun came back fixed, and is now reliable when I use Bersa Factory Mags ONLY -- the 3rd party ProMag mags which are available for it are too weakly sprung and will cause problems, fixable (for use as range mags) by replacing the springs with Bersa springs and doing some deburring. Anyway, now that it is finally "lined out", my T380 has become my normal daily carry, I have no intentions of getting rid of it, and see no reason for me to trade it in on a higher priced "name brand" alternative like a PPK/S or a P232. Accuracy is decent, trigger is good (both SA and DA), ergos are decent.
And yes, go check out BersaTalk like MikeT suggests. We won't bite. Honest!
I had a Bersa Thunder 9 (full size) that I just recently traded off. I liked the ergos, it was nice and accurate with a decent trigger and all. But, it had this chronic problem of failures to extract, and I finally got rid of it. Too bad about those FTE's, because otherwise it was a decent gun. FWIW, the reports that I get from other T9FS owners suggest that mine was the exception to the rule, they are normally quite reliable.
I have a "standard model" duo-tone Bersa Thunder 380 which I now have right at 6000 rounds through. At first, it had some serious FTF issues, and in conjunction with a malfunction in the trigger linkage (broken e-clip that holds the linkage together, a common problem that is easily repaired) caused me to send it in for warranty service at about 2000 rounds. The gun came back fixed, and is now reliable when I use Bersa Factory Mags ONLY -- the 3rd party ProMag mags which are available for it are too weakly sprung and will cause problems, fixable (for use as range mags) by replacing the springs with Bersa springs and doing some deburring. Anyway, now that it is finally "lined out", my T380 has become my normal daily carry, I have no intentions of getting rid of it, and see no reason for me to trade it in on a higher priced "name brand" alternative like a PPK/S or a P232. Accuracy is decent, trigger is good (both SA and DA), ergos are decent.
And yes, go check out BersaTalk like MikeT suggests. We won't bite. Honest!
Jeffenwulf
New member
Bersa .380/Bersa .45
I bought a Lipsey's gold special edition .380 and .45 a couple years ago. I love the .380 and have had no problems with it at all. I've fired other Bersa .380s and spoken at length to the great guys at dominion shooting range in Richmond, VA. They had nothing but good things to say about it. The only thing I've noticed is that the grips tend to get loose and need to be tightened regularly.
The .45 hasn't worked out so well for me. I've managed to put fewer than 100 rounds through it since purchase. The gun is at Colorado Gun Works being fixed under warranty. It seems that I have a faulty disconnector which prevented the gun from firing properly. I'll probably end up selling it when it's returned. I just don't think I'd feel confident about carrying it. I haven't fired any other Thunder .45s, just that one. Every manufacturer sends out a lemon once in a while.
I'll be keeping the .380 and looking into a new pistol to replace the .45. Just my experience, hope it helps.
-Jeff
I bought a Lipsey's gold special edition .380 and .45 a couple years ago. I love the .380 and have had no problems with it at all. I've fired other Bersa .380s and spoken at length to the great guys at dominion shooting range in Richmond, VA. They had nothing but good things to say about it. The only thing I've noticed is that the grips tend to get loose and need to be tightened regularly.
The .45 hasn't worked out so well for me. I've managed to put fewer than 100 rounds through it since purchase. The gun is at Colorado Gun Works being fixed under warranty. It seems that I have a faulty disconnector which prevented the gun from firing properly. I'll probably end up selling it when it's returned. I just don't think I'd feel confident about carrying it. I haven't fired any other Thunder .45s, just that one. Every manufacturer sends out a lemon once in a while.
I'll be keeping the .380 and looking into a new pistol to replace the .45. Just my experience, hope it helps.
-Jeff
fairview mick
New member
Bersa .380
For over a year the Bersa .380 was my primary carry. Very good, dependable and fairly accurate. No hickups. The only problem I had was when I bought 1,000 rounds of Wolf and every 2nd or 3rd shot would jam because of the coating on the shell case. It also made a terrible mess of the gun. As if someone sprayed laquer on the barrel ramp.
Mickey
For over a year the Bersa .380 was my primary carry. Very good, dependable and fairly accurate. No hickups. The only problem I had was when I bought 1,000 rounds of Wolf and every 2nd or 3rd shot would jam because of the coating on the shell case. It also made a terrible mess of the gun. As if someone sprayed laquer on the barrel ramp.
Mickey
I have three Bersas. A Thunder .380, a Model 85, and a Thunder 9 (full-size.) I haven't had any problems with any of them. The biggest pro is that they're probably the best gun you can get in their price range. The only consistant con I've seen is that spare magazines are outrageous.
Tom
Tom
Target_Shooter
New member
great shooter for up to 10 yards. Sometimes I may get happy and move over to the 15yrd range, but I get upset after the 1st 3 shots and move back to the 7-10 yard targets.
yes, mine has been great to me. Shot 3 different brand ammo and it accepted all of them. Finally today, broke down and open the gun up to give it a good ol cleaning after 200 rounds. Now its shiney. It sure is a PURTY gun.
yes, mine has been great to me. Shot 3 different brand ammo and it accepted all of them. Finally today, broke down and open the gun up to give it a good ol cleaning after 200 rounds. Now its shiney. It sure is a PURTY gun.
rugerfreak
New member
Have owned a Thunder CC .380 for about a week now---haven't shot it yet so no opinion formed yet.
Friend of mine has had an all nickel finished one for about 10 years now---he paid like $165???? for it back then and I was impressed how good a gun its been all this time----basically the reason I bought mine----and needing a smaller gun for CC.
Friend of mine has had an all nickel finished one for about 10 years now---he paid like $165???? for it back then and I was impressed how good a gun its been all this time----basically the reason I bought mine----and needing a smaller gun for CC.
OldShooter
New member
Bersa 380
I've had a Bersa 380 for a while. It is a good gun, accurate, comfortable and reliable. The only thing I could not get it to do was load Hornady hollow points. It is accurate for me at least to 50 feet (haven't tried further). It is slim and carries easily. It is pretty too, mine is duo tone like Target Shooter has pictured above.
I've had a Bersa 380 for a while. It is a good gun, accurate, comfortable and reliable. The only thing I could not get it to do was load Hornady hollow points. It is accurate for me at least to 50 feet (haven't tried further). It is slim and carries easily. It is pretty too, mine is duo tone like Target Shooter has pictured above.
Of the .380 autos that I've owned and carried, which include the Bersa Thunder, CZ 83, Beretta 85, Beretta 84, Sig P232 and the Sphinx AT380, the Bersa is my least favorite. I would rank it last in quality compared to these others. It did nothing horribly wrong, but it did nothing really well either.
At 23 oz the Bersa is the same weight as my 13 shot Beretta 84. At 17 oz the Sig 232 has a good weight differential. The Sig and the Sphinx are by far the easiest to take apart...the Bersa never was a smooth take down.
In my opinion, for a little more money you can get a discernably better firearm in the Sig or the Beretta.
At 23 oz the Bersa is the same weight as my 13 shot Beretta 84. At 17 oz the Sig 232 has a good weight differential. The Sig and the Sphinx are by far the easiest to take apart...the Bersa never was a smooth take down.
In my opinion, for a little more money you can get a discernably better firearm in the Sig or the Beretta.
OldShooter
New member
Bersa 380
Well you might get a discernably better gun for more money, but a lot more money. You can find a Bersa for little more than $200. Sigs are what $700? The Bersa is a very good value for $200.
I also carry on occasion a Browning BDA .380 and an SA XC9SC, both nice but bulkier. The Bersa conceals better. Why not a PPK?
Well you might get a discernably better gun for more money, but a lot more money. You can find a Bersa for little more than $200. Sigs are what $700? The Bersa is a very good value for $200.
I also carry on occasion a Browning BDA .380 and an SA XC9SC, both nice but bulkier. The Bersa conceals better. Why not a PPK?