Stiff safety on Bersa .380?

[blue86buick]

I picked up my 3rd gun, 2nd pistol, and 1st centerfire gun tonight. Bersa Thunder .380 for 210 OTD. It's a neat little gun, trigger isn't bad (compared to PPK/S DA), and was cheap. Only two complaints so far...until i fire it that is.

1) The finish seems to be not quite perfect..there are a few scratches here and there, and the blueing on the checkering on top of the slide seems to scratch/come off REALLY easy.

2) The safety is REALLY stiff. I mean, it's a b**** to turn off...not a good thing to keep on when carrying in this condition. (No CCW yet, so not a big concern yet) Is this normal for the Bersa .380's? The one they had on display in the store seemed to flick off with a push of the thumb, but who knows how long it has been out. Should it get better with time?

I'll get back tomorrow night with a range report.

edit: oh yeah, any recommendations for brands/where to find cheap .380 ammo? I'll be shooting 98% ball, and don't reload (yet). any tips for this gun (like how Kel-Tec's need a "fluff and buff") ?

 

[Stephen A. Camp]

Hello. Maybe using the safety will lighten it some? I recently purchased one and had no such problems. So far, mine's run about a thousand rounds with zero malfunctions so I have not seen the need for any fine tuning. Please do post your results when you shoot the gun.

Best and good luck.

 

[MJRW]

That safety sounds oddly stiff. Perhaps drop some lubricant around the safety and flick it for awhile. Also, the finish seems to be different than the other Bersas I have seen. They have all been finished well. You may have gotten the runt (no offense, runt). You may wish to take it back to your dealer before you fire it and get one that isn't like this. Unless it is used, then consider giving the manufacturer (or is it the importer in this case) a call.

 

[blue86buick]

nah, the finish ain't bad. They had 3 of them at the store...dont' remember what the display looked like, the other one they had out had a little more rub-off on the checkering, and this one wasn't bad. So far...it's one SMALL (3/16" long, very narrow) LIGHT scratch at the front left side of the slide, and a VERY small rub off on the checkering (1/4" long, just along the edge). Technically they're scratches, but they're so small I'm not sure if I'd call them that. It's still better looking than a Hi-Point, so it's OK.

I'll try to get some pictures up...unfortunatly, I'm at work, and don't have a digicam with me.

 

[Flashpoint]

I have picked up 4-5 different NIB Bersa .380 and every one of the safeties was real stiff. I assume that they would loosen up with time, but I have yet to get a hold of one that someone had worked with. I went to get one for my primary carry, and even had most of it paid off, then changed my mind and went with a bigger (.40) caliber for my primary. I would still like to get one; I think they would make a great alternative carry gun.

 

[blue86buick]

well, the one in the display case was *quite* nice. sometimes it stuck a little, but for the most part, if i just pushed my thumb foward, i could flick it off. then again, i have no idea how long it has been on display, or if the in-house gunsmith had played with it.

i'm going to go with a larger gun too, but wanted something (w/ quality) to hold me off until I can afford a walther...$600 is a long ways away when you make what I do, and have the bills I have.

 

[Flashpoint]

blue86buick

$600 is a long ways away when you make what I do, and have the bills I have.

I hear ya. I had put mine in layway and was paying on it untill I got my permit in the mail, which gave me plenty of time to do so. I ended up with a Styre M-40. It was a little more in my price range, and a very good gun for the money. Have you looked at them? Has anyone had a chance to compare them to the P99?

 

[Selfdfenz]

Can't comment on the finish issues as mine did not have any of the sort you mention.

I thought the decocker/safety on mine was "stiff-ish" when new. Maybe a bit more than it really needed to be.

After several hundred rounds it works fine now. I couldn't ask for better given the price.

S-

 

[blue86buick]

Range report

Well, got to shoot my Bersa last night. Overall, I was pretty happy with it. It was fun to shoot, no problems in 50 rounds, and no complaints. I wasn't shooting at a target, so I have no idea what the accuracy was, but I'll get some target shooting done soon enough. I put 30 rounds of Blazer, though it, and 20 rounds of UMC. The only time it malfunctioned was due to user error...a friend of mine wasn't familiar with guns, and thought you had to rack the slide for each shot, so a round got hung up when he was ejecting a full chamber. As I said, user error.

The suprising thing though was, was when I borrowed a 9mm from someone for a bit. They had a Bryco, and were shooting Wolf, and having jams at least every 2nd mag throughout 150 rounds. I had some 9mm Blazer, and put the whole box through w/o any problems (this was after he had shot 150 rounds w/o cleaning). I'm actually considering a Bryco next just for cheap fun!