Does a Bersa T. .380 have long-term durability?

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Having read a fair bit about the quality and once tested it, can owners count on the Thunder's manufacturing dependability after 2,000-3,000 (+) rds. of use with standard factory ammo? A few random comments have been noticed which mentioned some sort of part coming loose after long-term use.

Possibly deciding on either the T. .380 or a Cz-82, but though I'm well aware of the Cz's quality etc, have no idea about the Cz-82 (9x18) or Cz 83 (.380) recoil compared to an actual Mak or my .380 PPK (it's not bad).
 
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I had a Bersa a long time ago. I did not keep it very long. It spent more time at the service center. Probably cost more shipping it than the gun.
My LGS stopped selling them as well as another brand.

There are way better guns out there. I really tried to like it,:)

JMHO. YMMV as they say.
 
I had a Bersa A few years ago and it started having failure to feeds after 200 rounds and continued to fail to feed after 3 trips back to the "factory designated repair facility" (which was a fiasco in and of itself - one time try lost my gun for about a month...) after that I sold the gun and never looked back. I liked the size, but couldn't deal with the poor reliability and repair work.

If you're looking in the small ish (but not micro) .380s, the CZ 82/83 is a good choice. Recoil is on par with a Makaov in my opinion. Another gun to look at would be the Betetta 84 which is a double stack .380 and is basically a compact Beretta 92. I've heard that people think its a great gun, but I have no direct experience.

FWIW ADCO will thread the Beretta 84 barrel if you ever want to put a suppressor on it :D
 
Bad Boy Bersa ?

Oh no ! Somebody say something good about a Bersa Thunder .380.
I just bought mine a few weeks ago, and haven't shot it yet.
I do want to know the truth though .
I like my P-64 and especially my CZ-82.:D
 
I have a Thunder 380 that I keep around for the wife. In the first hundred or so rounds it jammed up a couple times. I forget exactly which type of jam it was. Anyhow, that was a few years ago. It has been a good little gun since then.

I really like it too. I added the rubber wrap around grips from Bersa. It is a very comfortable 380 to shoot. Especially with my slightly reduced handloads.

My only complaint is that I shoulda held out and tried to find the "plus" model.
 
The CZ82 and 83 are the same gun only one part is different, the barrel. They are built stout. Easy to field strip but disassembling past that is not for the impatient or faint of heart. In addition to the 9 mak and .380 some .32's were built.

I've had an 82 for a number of years, it's been reliable and accurate and feeds any ammo. Also CZ USA is happy to work on them.

My wife has claimed the pistol.

Before choosing the 82 or 83 research ammo price differences between 9 mak and .380

These pistols are known for their excellent trigger. But there is no de-cocker. The CZ is heavy for it's size and it has a meaty grip, the result is an easy to control gun that many female shooters like shooting.
 
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I've had mine for about 15 years and have shot a couple thousand or more rounds through it. It has been more reliable than any Kimber or glock I have ever owned.
 
I have a few hundred rounds through mine (maybe 400 or so), and it was purchased used, so I have no idea how many were run through it prior to mine.

It's a great gun, amazingly-reliable with every good and crap round I've run through it. I've tried to get it to malfunction by mixing old (20+years) aluminum-cased stuff with newer stuff, HPs and FMJs, and other loads otgether in the magazines. I've tried to limp-wrist it. I've run it without lube or cleaning.

I can't get it to fail yet, though maybe 400 rounds just isn't enough..
 
I have 600-700 rounds through mine with no issues after break-in. It's been (still is) trouble free.
 
Mine has been trouble free since day one 10 years ago.

I work p/t at the LGS, we sell a lot of the Bersa line. Never had one come back
 
We had a Thunder 380 at the range as a rental gun. It went over 10K rounds before the frame cracked. Bersa replaced the frame in less than two weeks and we had a completely new gun again. Good customer service and a decent product that holds up. It does have a few quirks but none that are a deal breaker.
 
I bought a used Bersa Thunder a couple of years ago, and immediately began to have problems with the feed. I took the spring out of the magazine, stretched it a bit and reassembled the mag. All this was done at the range and took maybe five minutes. Since then, and many rounds later, I have had no problems. It shoot well main
 
A CZ is much better gun but also bigger and heavier. Only problem is they do not make them any more! You will have to find a used one.

Beretta 84 and 85 are made, but scarce and only imported once a year.
 
I have not had any problems with the two Thunders I have, but why not consider the Glock G42, it's a locked breech and has much less felt recoil than any of the blowback guns mentioned in above posts and so far my two G42's have been 100%.
 
I have somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 through my BERSA, with no issues whatsoever. I bought it used as my first gun purchase ever, I can honestly say its the best $200 I've ever spent.
 
I have a Thunder 380CC that is going to the service because the slide won't stay locked back. My wife's original Thunder 380 is a safe queen. Too heavy to carry and blowback action still gives a hearty slap even in 380. Both had FTF and FTE jams each magazine for the first 200-300 rounds.
 
I have 3 Thunders in my house hold. My 1st one is 11 years old 2nd is 3 and daughter just bought a used one. They all fire and eject like their suppose to. Had a member on my old board was over 6000 rounds when he decided needed a recoil spring . I have a lot more happy owners than complaints on my Bersachat board.

Remember majority of happy owners are never heard from. If one has trouble and post on internet . They will post every time even years after they got rid of pistol . Bersa warranty centers have really very little work . Most of the work they do I am told is fix the home smith work. . Are Bersa perfect no. But neither is Glock S&W Ruger, KelTec or Colt. If man made will be some that are bad.
 
Shot my Thunder this morning along with my Glock G42 and I have to say I always enjoy shooting the Bersa. It is very accurate and comfortable to shoot.
 
Bought the Bersa Thunder 380 initially and liked it enough that I went back and got the CC model. The concealed carry model makes a great choice for that very purpose for me. One of the few pistol I have that have yet to jam. Maybe I am just lucky. I do like the CZ pistols too. I have a full size CZ75B that also shoots anything I feed it. Good Luck!
 
Rule 3 said,

A CZ is much better gun but also bigger and heavier. Only problem is they do not make them any more! You will have to find a used one.

This, I own a lot of CZ and Bersa. good value for the money. Chance are if if I am not wearing a 1911, it is a CZ or Bersa.
 
Furncliff said:
The CZ82 and 83 are the same gun only one part is different, the barrel.

There may be some minor differences, and they are almost the identical, but I don't think the barrel is one of the differences (unless the 82 barrel was chromed internally...which was the case for many Warsaw Pact weapons.) The 82s had a rounded trigger guard, while the 83s had a straighter/hooked trigger guard. (It could be that the last 82s shared that trigger guard shape.)

The CZ-82 came only in 9x18 makarov and had a polygonal barrel. The CZ-83 also came with a polygonal barrel in 9x18, but used rifled barrels in the .32 and .380 versions.

The CZ-83 came in several different finishes, including a satin nickel plated finish, while the 82 came only in the original military finish. If you've seen an 82 with any other finish, it was probably done aftermarket.
 
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