[BigWillieLL66]

I picked up my first pistol today. A wonderful Bersa Thunder 380. In duo tone. The duo tone wasn't my first pick, but I got a deal on the gun.

The shop/range I got it from gives you a free range visit when you purchase from them. So I took them up on the offer and put 100 rounds down range along with some .22lr and .45 ACP from my friends guns.

Well when the ammo wanted to load correctly it worked perfectly. The rangemaster thinks it was the wolf ammo I was using. I picked up two boxes for cheap at the gun show over the weekend. He says he's fired several of the Thunder 380s and never had or observed a problem like that. He said of course he and the other people shooting were using better quality ammo though. I got the gun partly on his recommendation too. He said of the guns I was looking at that this was the only one he'd stake his life on.

But other than the ammo not loading the gun was a blast to shoot and I was getting pretty accurate with it once I started to get used to it. Gonna go back to the range next thursday for some more practice and with some different ammo. Got some Magtech and I'm gonna pick up some federal at the range. Also got a box of Hornady hollow points to try out.

Any thoughts or suggestions on the above issue would be greatly appreciated.

And I don't want to hear anything about should've got this or that. This is what my budget would allow. I plan on getting a Glock at a later date but wanted something fairly quickly since I'm feeling a little underprotected in the city lately.

 

[malcontent]

you're on the right track. some semi autos can be picky eaters. also make sure the slide/action is lubed well.

 

[BigWillieLL66]

First thing I did after I got back today was take it apart and clean it and then lube everything up. Now I'm just waiting on Thursday to roll around to hit the range again. Another thing I liked about the pistol before I bought it was how easy it is to disassemble for cleaning.

 

[Grinnan Barrett]

Congrats you picked it up. Good going. Trying polishing the ramp and see if that helps. SOmetimes you may need to break it in a bit. YOu don't want to get into a life or death and then go oops. Get some rounds you plan to use when carrying and try them. If the dealer has a gun smith have him polish the ramp for you. take care my friend.

 

[CornCod]

The owner of the Bersa Forum (a good site BTW) recommends that Russian ammo NOT be used in the Thunder. I have had good luck with Federal and Remington FMJ rounds

 

[ROCK6]

I bought the same Bersa in full electroless nickel...she loves it! She also qualified for her CCW with it. I like it so much I'm thinking on picking up another: Now, understand she tried the Bersa along side the Beretta Cheetah, Sig 230 (older version), Walther PPK and a Markorav (can't remember the country of origin)...she selected the Bersa without even looking at the price and just handling and shooting them side-by-side. It's a great little gun, magazines are expensive, but I buy her two new mags every Christmas (she should have eight of them this year)...just make sure to get Factory and not aftermarkets!

I've never fired Wolf in it, but I've fire some old Spanish surplus with no problem and several varieties/brands of FMC and JHP's...never hand a hiccup yet.

ROCK6

 

[BigWillieLL66]

Had the Bersa out to the range today. Fired a box of Magtech FMJs and a box of American Eagle FMJs through it, as well as two mags (7 rounds per mag) of Hornady Hollow points and Remington Golden Saber hollow points. The magtechs and the remingtons went through just fine. I had one failure to feed with the Hornady and one with the American Eagle though. Both of them happened with the crappy promag magazine that I picked up. The Hornady was the last round in the magazine and the American Eagle was the second to last round in the magazine. With the wolf's last week that's how I had the most Failures to Feed. So I think it's the magazine for the most part. Unfortunately I got duped at the gun show on that magazine.

My aim is getting better. I'm getting much more consistent. Unfortunately, it's much more consistent to just the left of the target. The rangemaster thinks it's my grip or I'm squeezing to hard on the trigger. This time at the range I mostly just wanted to make sure I wasn't having a gun problem and I wanted to work a little on my accuracy. Next time it's gonna be purely accuracy and my grip on the pistol. I did also practice a little firing double action. My accuracy was pretty close to what I was doing. Didn't really notice too much of a difference. So as the rangemaster said it might be my trigger finger causing me to go left of center. Probably won't get another range visit in for a couple of weeks though.

Overall though I love the pistol. A gentlemen in the next lane let me fire his LCP and I let him fire the bersa. He liked it. I let him have some of my left over hollow points to try in his LCP since he was having some Failure to Feed issues. It's not a bad pistol. I liked it, it'd be a good second gun or primary if circumstances don't allow a bigger primary.

Also talked to the rangemaster about his FN Five Seven. He said it's a nice pistol and it's his new primary carry. He and his friend did some ballistics testing with it and they were impressed. Too bad it's $500 more than the glock I want to get next.

 

[LaRue]

If the failures are occuring with the last or second to last round every time and its always in the same mag, then I would say its a bad mag. From the information you gave, I don't believe its the gun or you.

As far as shooting to the left, try useing a little less trigger finger. I had the same problem when I first started shooting and found out my finger was too far over the trigger. You want to only use the pad of your finger, opposite to your finger nail, no more than that.

I've heard a little about the Bersa before, sounds like a good gun. Congrats and enjoy.:

 

[New_Pollution1086]

good post, ive been wanting one of these for a while now.

I want a .357 first though as the bersa will be my bug.

I hear the bersa is the most accurate of the ones you listed.

T

 

[Brother Buck]

Bersa makes a good pistol.
.380 pistols are notorious for being ammo sensitive.
I have a cheap Accu Tec I bought closeout at a guns store for $75 that won't eat any hollow points but has yet to fail with any round nose ammo.
I sold a Mauser HSc that would not feed for sh*t no matter what I gave it.
As you have already found after market mags are generally not worth the money.
Buy good Bersa mags(I don't know who make their mags off hand) and use the pro mag for practice where jams mean nothing.
Once it has a few hundred rounds through it you should have better luck, they do need a bit of wear in.

 

[MrEarp]

Decent pistol for the money. I've got a couple in the safe just for a rainy day

 

[skifast]

Make sure you hold the gun firmly. Even though it is a 380, the short barrel and light weight results in some recoil. Some FTFs are caused by not holding the gun formly.

 

[Maverick88]

Being a new BERSA member you are now emidiatly required to become a member of the Bersa Talk forum. Being a member means that you can get 10% off at codors flight where you can get all of your parts and accesories for up keep of your new pistol. The .380 is the baby of that site, go talk to MikeT for your discount.

Welcome to the bersa family brother, you will love your pistol(untill you see the price to buy the factory mags.... NEVER BUY PRO MAG!).

 

[Josiah922]

Here is the one misfeed that happened to me. Haven't had one since. I also will second Maverick thumbs down on the promags.

 

[mmorri1]

Bersa Thunder 380

I recently purchased the same pistol that you are mentioning. I took it to the firing range the other day and used Federal loads and never had a problem. I ran a box through it and never once had an issue. You may want to try Federals, Winchester and Remingtons. I've had great success with all three.

I picked up my first pistol today. A wonderful Bersa Thunder 380. In duo tone. The duo tone wasn't my first pick, but I got a deal on the gun.

The shop/range I got it from gives you a free range visit when you purchase from them. So I took them up on the offer and put 100 rounds down range along with some .22lr and .45 ACP from my friends guns.

Well when the ammo wanted to load correctly it worked perfectly. The rangemaster thinks it was the wolf ammo I was using. I picked up two boxes for cheap at the gun show over the weekend. He says he's fired several of the Thunder 380s and never had or observed a problem like that. He said of course he and the other people shooting were using better quality ammo though. I got the gun partly on his recommendation too. He said of the guns I was looking at that this was the only one he'd stake his life on.

But other than the ammo not loading the gun was a blast to shoot and I was getting pretty accurate with it once I started to get used to it. Gonna go back to the range next thursday for some more practice and with some different ammo. Got some Magtech and I'm gonna pick up some federal at the range. Also got a box of Hornady hollow points to try out.

Any thoughts or suggestions on the above issue would be greatly appreciated.

And I don't want to hear anything about should've got this or that. This is what my budget would allow. I plan on getting a Glock at a later date but wanted something fairly quickly since I'm feeling a little underprotected in the city lately.

 

[SkullyWV]

Looks very Walther PPKish.
Fixed barel pistols are supposed to be more accurate. YMMV
My wife has a PPK/S, it is a very good design and a great weapon.
The Bersa looks like it would be a good one.

 

[1911Glock]

I picked up a Bersa Thunder 2 years ago. The price was right and the reviews I read were excellent. I also liked the size of the weapon. I took it to the range the day of purchase and had multiple failures to feed with multiple brands of quality, well made American manufactured ammunition. I sent it back to Bersa for repairs. They promptly returned it and I have not had a single problem since. I don't know what they had to fix, but it took care of the problem. They stand behind their products, have good customer service and if there is something wrong they will make it right. I highly recommend Bersa.

 

[SouthernLiving]

I bought one for my wife this Christmas. I've had the same problem...5 or 6 rounds out of a hundred got wedged at an odd angle between the ramp and the slide.

I was using blunt tipped Federal practice ammo. I *think that had alot to do with the jams. I have not made time to go back and try the round nose FMJ's. Thanks for the reminder to do so. If you find a solution please post it.

 

[JesterTac]

Good choice. Everyone has given you the advice you need so far: Keep it well oiled, shoot it quite a bit to break it in, only use Bersa mags, hold it with a nice firm grip, and 380's are notoriously ammo sensitive.

I found that the Winchester 95Gr SXT shoots well because the bullet is a better shape for feeding. Try a box and it should work great, friends all do the same with their Thunders.



If anyone is picking up a new one, make sure you clean it first before firing it! Probably not mandatory, but they are very dirty from the factory. Seen a few (mine and friends) and I'm friends with local gunshop owner--we all have the same opinion--give her a good scrubbin.

 

[greenhorn]

One of my favorite guns that I regret selling to acquire different hardware. I had the same gun in Blued finish, it was reliable, accurtate, shot well and never had a miss feed using brass cased shells on every manufacture that I stuck in it. I would however urge you to get another clip for it. Good luck, be safe and Enjoy your new gun.