priv8ter
Member
Well, let me start by saying that those of you who are used to Mr. Camp's range reports might be disapointed. I lack his ammo selection, chronograph, digital camera and 'Scientific Mud'. The only things I do have are a certain dry wit, and a lot of bitterness about not having his ammo selection, chronograph, digital camera and 'Scientific Mud'.
First, the two-tone Mini .45:
I like the ergonomics of this gun. The ambi-safety is just like a Colt...sweep down to fire. Placing the safety on de-cocks the gun...so no 'Cocked and Locked' which is a shame, because the DA trigger on this gun was rough. Like, worse than my SP-101 rough. Maybe time and dry-firing will take care of that. Another safety related quirk is the inability to rack the slide with the safety ON. Must take the safety off to rack the slide. Never ntoiced this on any other auto.
Now to the important stuff. I was only able to test the gun at two distances...10 yards and 25 yards. I used Blazer 230gr FMJ, PMC 230gr FMJ, and Winchester 185gr Silvertips. There were ZERO problems with the FMJ stuff. The Silvertips...well, they took some convincing to feed, on the first one. It usually took 2-3 attempts to get the first one to feed from the magazine, and then the rest of the mag worked fine. Still...not confidence inspiring.
Accuracy was satisfactory. All shooting was done free hand, and at 10 yards, most of my groups could be covered by a playing card, and were on the point of aim. At 25 yards...well, you know those HUGE playing cards they sometimes use on TV gameshows. I hesitate to even call my results at 25 yards a group. Everything was usually in a 10 x 10 inch square...usually. I am currently blaming this on my lack of experience with the Outline Sights. I think I may like three-dot sights better.
All in all, a good perfromance for a $350 dollar .45. It simply proves that this is not a target pistol. Kick was easy to control, and I thought it was more pleasent to shoot then my old H&K USPf .40. My only complaint was the hammer bite. This gun was quick to let you know if your hand got too high.
Now, to the 'Her's portion of the test:
My wife's gun is the Two-tone Firestorm .380. It differs from the Bersa Thunder .380's a bit. The sights are fixed outline rear sights instead of the adjustable 3-dots on the Bersa, and the trigger guard is shapped different, which sould make it fit bettter in Walther holsters.
Once again ,the ergonomics are nice. The safety is backwards though...it sticks straight sown when on, and you push it forward to turn it off. Not hard to do, just diffferent than the .45. The DA trigger was much nicer than the .45's also. SA trigger on both guns was consistant. The .380 slide could be racked safety on, or off. However, there is a magazine out safety on the .380 which isn't on the .45. Placeing the safety on de-cocks the gun.
The ammo used in the .380 was 95gr UMC FMJ, and some 90gr Federal Hyrashoks. Same 10 and 25 yard distances. Out of 150 of FMJ, there was one problem. The gun stovepiped once. Racking the slide back got rid of the empty, and placed the gun back into battery. There were no problems with the box of Hydrashoks. I realize 25 rounds is not much of a statistical unniverse, but I'm confrotable enough to let my wife carry them. Accuracy was about the same as the .45 at 10 yards, and better at 25 yards.
I have heard people try to say that the recoil of a blow-back .380 is worse than that of a similar size 9mm...but, it didn't feel that way t0 me, or my wife. Some gun swapping was going on at the range, as people were eager to try our new guns. I found the .45 was easier to control than a Glock 36, while the 36 was more accurate. And, my wife liked her .380 more than this other nice ladies Beretta 9000S.
All in all, I would have to rate the .380 as the better value. For approx. $250, it was nicer to use than any Sig 232 or Walther I have tried. Once again, it is not a target gun, but I have told my wife if the bad guy is 25 yards away, then LEAVE!
Hopefully, some of you folks will find this review useful.
Greg
First, the two-tone Mini .45:
I like the ergonomics of this gun. The ambi-safety is just like a Colt...sweep down to fire. Placing the safety on de-cocks the gun...so no 'Cocked and Locked' which is a shame, because the DA trigger on this gun was rough. Like, worse than my SP-101 rough. Maybe time and dry-firing will take care of that. Another safety related quirk is the inability to rack the slide with the safety ON. Must take the safety off to rack the slide. Never ntoiced this on any other auto.
Now to the important stuff. I was only able to test the gun at two distances...10 yards and 25 yards. I used Blazer 230gr FMJ, PMC 230gr FMJ, and Winchester 185gr Silvertips. There were ZERO problems with the FMJ stuff. The Silvertips...well, they took some convincing to feed, on the first one. It usually took 2-3 attempts to get the first one to feed from the magazine, and then the rest of the mag worked fine. Still...not confidence inspiring.
Accuracy was satisfactory. All shooting was done free hand, and at 10 yards, most of my groups could be covered by a playing card, and were on the point of aim. At 25 yards...well, you know those HUGE playing cards they sometimes use on TV gameshows. I hesitate to even call my results at 25 yards a group. Everything was usually in a 10 x 10 inch square...usually. I am currently blaming this on my lack of experience with the Outline Sights. I think I may like three-dot sights better.
All in all, a good perfromance for a $350 dollar .45. It simply proves that this is not a target pistol. Kick was easy to control, and I thought it was more pleasent to shoot then my old H&K USPf .40. My only complaint was the hammer bite. This gun was quick to let you know if your hand got too high.
Now, to the 'Her's portion of the test:
My wife's gun is the Two-tone Firestorm .380. It differs from the Bersa Thunder .380's a bit. The sights are fixed outline rear sights instead of the adjustable 3-dots on the Bersa, and the trigger guard is shapped different, which sould make it fit bettter in Walther holsters.
Once again ,the ergonomics are nice. The safety is backwards though...it sticks straight sown when on, and you push it forward to turn it off. Not hard to do, just diffferent than the .45. The DA trigger was much nicer than the .45's also. SA trigger on both guns was consistant. The .380 slide could be racked safety on, or off. However, there is a magazine out safety on the .380 which isn't on the .45. Placeing the safety on de-cocks the gun.
The ammo used in the .380 was 95gr UMC FMJ, and some 90gr Federal Hyrashoks. Same 10 and 25 yard distances. Out of 150 of FMJ, there was one problem. The gun stovepiped once. Racking the slide back got rid of the empty, and placed the gun back into battery. There were no problems with the box of Hydrashoks. I realize 25 rounds is not much of a statistical unniverse, but I'm confrotable enough to let my wife carry them. Accuracy was about the same as the .45 at 10 yards, and better at 25 yards.
I have heard people try to say that the recoil of a blow-back .380 is worse than that of a similar size 9mm...but, it didn't feel that way t0 me, or my wife. Some gun swapping was going on at the range, as people were eager to try our new guns. I found the .45 was easier to control than a Glock 36, while the 36 was more accurate. And, my wife liked her .380 more than this other nice ladies Beretta 9000S.
All in all, I would have to rate the .380 as the better value. For approx. $250, it was nicer to use than any Sig 232 or Walther I have tried. Once again, it is not a target gun, but I have told my wife if the bad guy is 25 yards away, then LEAVE!
Hopefully, some of you folks will find this review useful.
Greg
