I work part time in a local gun shop and have been into shooting sports and competition for roughly 40 years. I own and collect a few guns and know a little about them. I also understand ballistics pretty well.
There are those that claim anything smaller than a 9mm [some even claim that's too small] is simply not adequate for CCW and personal protection. To them I say - hogwash. .380 with the correct round is easily adequate.
My wife and I carry PPK/s Walthers with Glaser Safety Slugs. As a personal protection arm in concealed carry, I've always felt they were great. They're reliable, easy to handle, easy to control and easy to conceal. Blah, Blah, Blah.........
Now comes the Bersa Thunder 380.
We got one in some time back and I was amazed at the quality and features of this inexpensive little gun. It's lightweight and has a terrific trigger. About 8/10 pounds in DA, near 4 in SA and smooth as butter. Up until just yesterday, I hadn't shot one so I couldn't comment much on them.
Yesterday I went shooting with a buddy that had just bought two, one for himself and one for his wife. He cleaned them up and we went to the range we built behind his place and did some paper in with white box Winnies.
After about 20 rounds or so in each gun, they loosened up some and turned out to be very accurate and easy to shoot. The red dot sights are easy to see and are set properly in the gun for 25 yard and 15 yard targets. It was very easy to stay in the 9 & 10 rings on the NRA 25 Yard Slow-Fire, free handed.
I also like the slide lock on this little gun and wish it were on the PPK. Never gave it much thought on the Walthers before, thinking what's the real need on a small gun but now that I've shot a smaller gun with one - I like it. Slide lock is similar to my Colts but even with a loaded magazine in the gun, pulling the slide back locks it instead of loading the round. You must release the slide with the slide lock to chamber the round and fire.
We did a few boxes between us - probably 60 - 70 rounds in each gun. Pretty sweet for an under $300 gun.
We'd have shot more but I brought my SIG p226 357SIG and a couple others out from some exercise.
Yeah - turned out to be a great day to screw off and waste some ammo......