Bersa Thunder .380

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Jeff Dodson

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Anybody have ane, Are they good, are they bad. Whats up with them. I am looking at buying one for my wife but I surely dont want to buy a piece of S--T. If Ruger made a >380 small frame, I would not have to ask this question as you know what I would be buying her. Anyway, Tall me what yall think of them.
 
My Bersa has worked perfect for me. I purchased it from Academy for $218.00, blued, with rubber grips/finger grooves. I also bought 3 Promags from Academy for it @ 15.95 a pop. I was a lil skeptical about the mags at 1st (ProMag has a bit of a bad rep) but after using them they work fine. I think I have put about 300-400 rounds with mine and not a single problem. It is very accurate out to 10-15 yards and for the price I love it. Its the ONLY pistol I own that my wife will fire. It breaks down easy, easy to clean, and it very concealable.
 
I can get this one for $200.00 with a nylon holster and an extra mag. It is a friend of mines and he has not shot it much. He is a gun collector and has two of them and decided to sell one when I told him I was looking for one. There is no marks, scratches, scuffs anything, in fact it looks brand new.
 
Att: Jeff

Grab it, while you can. The Bersa Thunder .380's are one of the best kept
secret's in the firearms trade. 'Bout this time of the year, I can't keep
enough supply on hand too meet the demand for these fine little guns.
Heck, I even own one myself.
 
sounds like a good deal jeff, I'd go for it!:) Give us a range report once you get a chance to fire it.
 
Great question and very timely as I just bought one this weekend at the Saxet Gun Show. DuoTone I bought was $199 new in the box - ranged from 197-228 depending on dealer. No nickel versions anywhere in sight. Lots of blued versions (even some used) at higher prices than I paid. I had been regreting not grabbing one when Academy had the duotones at that $199 price. Now the Academys don't even carry the duotones around here and they went up to $218 for the blued version as mentioned above. Academy also jumped from $148 to $169 on the Maverick 88 shotguns.

Have not had chance to fire the Bersa yet, but I really like the feel and the look. $200 with holster and extra mag is a good deal.
 
Mine has been outstanding, but I don't carry it because I can much more easily carry and shoot the same round from my P-3AT.
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bersa_3at.jpg
 
Great pistols! Wife and I carry the Thunder (for the past 7 years) and used them to requalify the last time for CHL. 100% reliable, never a FTF or FTE.
 
Jeff wrote:
Anybody have ane, Are they good, are they bad. Whats up with them. I am looking at buying one for my wife but...

Good shooting pistols. Perhaps a bit larger than it needs to be for a 380, but then again, I'm sure its mass soaks up some of the recoil. I wouldn't exactly call it a pocket pistol, but it's not that big.

Do check the decocker. Some of them are on the stiff side. If you need the strength of King Kong to move it, you might want to pass. One other thing you might want to know. If you slam a full mag into the gun, it may (will probably) go into battery. It's supposedly designed to do that, but it freaked me out the first time it happened. I have one that will load the round if you load it hard enough, but my other one does not. Yes, I am a fan of the pistol. If one is good, two is better. Always good to have a spare on hand in case your primary goes down.

edison
 
I have very mixed feelings about the Bersa .380. I bought one late last year because I realized that my XD-40 was just too big for daily carry. Size-wise, it was perfect. I had no qualms about the size of the bullet either. The gun had a snappy recoil, but handgun recoil doesn't seem to bother me much.

But the stupid thing kept spitting burning gunpowder onto my wrist!!! :what: Let's just say that puts a real crimp in your range time. :scrutiny:

I **want** to like that gun. Lots and lots of other people I 'talked' to online said they never had any such problem. Some did, however, although they suggested just wearing long sleeves. In Texas, in the summer??? Maybe not. :neener:

So I traded it for a S&W m37 with no lock (made for a foreign order last year, and I happened on one of them). I actually shot the Bersa a little more accurately than I do the snubbie (slightly longer barrel may have something to do with it, IDK) but it was just too miserable to shoot with the burning stuff.

If your wife wants a Bersa (she does want this gun, right? she's looking for it with you and shopping with you and trying the guns in her own hand, right????) she might want to read through BersaTalk, maybe rent one if possible. But unfortunately, this little "spitting" problem seems to be related to a specific gun, not just all Bersas, so I don't know how you can have a guarantee it won't happen.

I have to admit, I occasionally think "I ought to get another one and see if it's better". For $200 it's such a great buy if it DOES work for you, you can't hardly complain. And they're easy to clean.

Good luck to your wife as she picks her first gun!

Springmom
 
I HAD one, but had to sell it. It was a great little shooter. Hopefully, when I find another job, I can get another one. I like them a lot.
 
I had one but sold it. Just could never like that pistol, and I'm a .380 guy. Most folks like them, usually with the caviat: "for the price". In the same weight class, size and caliber I prefer the Sig P232 or the Beretta 84/85. Not that the Bersa is a bad gun...just not as good as Sig or Beretta...but then again; "for the money...??"
 
My husband ( Kramer Krazy) and I got matching duo tone ones NIB (consecutive serial #s awww how cute!):p for $200.00 each at a gun show a couple of years ago. So far both have turned out to be nice little guns.
One other thing you might want to know. If you slam a full mag into the gun, it may (will probably) go into battery. It's supposedly designed to do that, but it freaked me out the first time it happened.
Click to expand...
That freaked me out also. But as far as the actual functioning aspect of the gun, they have been quite nice. Especially for the money.:D
 
My father and a buddy each have one and I've shot both. One is great and the other is almost worthless.

My dad has the older and larger stainless or nickel one and it's great. Runs great, shoots great.

My buddy has the new concealed carry model and you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn with it. It doesn't have sights, just the groove down the slide. I watched him shoot almost a full box at a target from 7 yards and not hit squat. It shoots almost 12 inches low at 7 yards, which is simply unbelievable and pathetic. I advised him to send it back.

They can be a PITA to disassemble if you're not used to them, that's for sure.
 
Bersa .380

Have owned one for almost a year. Not a single problem. Eats everything I feed it. Sorry. Forgot to indicate Thunder .380 not CC.
 
springmom, I had a problem with .380 Wolf ammo spitting so bad that I gave away 3 boxes. Never had an issue with any other ammo. Mainly use S&B, PMC, and Fiocci. Nary an issue with powder spitting.
 
Yeah, Wolf ammo does NOT feed well in my Bersa either.

BTW, my family has used THREE Bersa Thunder .380's - all flawless.

1. My brother bought one years ago...eventually sold it when he was hard up for money
2. Meantime, *I* bought mine, and it's still with me. :cool:
3. Brother got to missing his, no way was I parting with MINE, so when things got better money wise he bought ANOTHER one! :D
 
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