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bersa 380

JOHNNY.1983

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i just bought a bersa thunder 380 dbl action semi -auto what do u guys think ? worth it or not?
 

DKB

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i have the bersa thunder 45 ultra compact and i love it....from what ive read on several forums nothing bad is said about the bersa's....its a very fine firearm, the 380 is much more popular than the 45
 

Joe Sixpack

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i dont own one my self because im not much a fan of .380.. but ya the bersa tunder .380 is a nice gun for the money.

they go for about 200 nib here and are well built, they're small enough ot make a good CC gun also.

they have a good reputation for reliablity.
 

Aran

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JOHNNY.1983 wrote:
i just bought a bersa thunder 380 dbl action semi -auto what do u guys think ? worth it or not?

I have a better question - If you're going to ask a forum about a gun, why not do it BEFORE you buy it?
 

WARCHILD

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I bought the Bersa Thunder 380 last year, primarily for my wife but I have shot it and was a little supprised with the smooth acton and light felt recoil. I loaded her up with the Corbon 90gr JHP's and shot 7 rnds in a one gallon jug of ice (frozen milk jugs). It made a pretty good mess. I think you will be pleased with it.
 

Flintlock

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Aran wrote:
I have a better question - If you're going to ask a forum about a gun, why not do it BEFORE you buy it?
:lol:

I was thinking the same thing.
 

MetalChris

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JOHNNY.1983 wrote:
whatever smartass
Welcome to the forum!

Anyhoo, I for one like my Bersa...had a few "fail to feeds" on my last range trip but that can more than likely be attributed to the crap ammo that I was firing. Other than that the gun is great.
 

jbowers24

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Oct 30, 2007
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Love my Bersa 380cc (just a bit smaller). Had one issue with a magazine safety spring when new, but other than that, no problems in 600+ rounds. Bersa's are one of the best kept secrets for a good gun ~$200-250
 

cwolfs69

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Apr 20, 2008
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churchland, Virginia, USA
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bersa thunder 380 is a nice small gun. the 380 round is very adequate for self defense. i have thunder 380 and the wife has 380cc and they both are very reliable and easy to shoot. they are not da however they are da/sa pistols with a safety/decocker. more that 500 rounds through each without any failures. easy to clean and disassemble. very nice conceal weapon. :cool:
 

expvideo

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The bersa thunder 380 is the best kept secret in the industry. It deserves a $350 price tag at least, but it comes in at around $150-$275 depending on finish and condition. I bought my fiancee one for $250 brand new, and she loves it. Very reliable, compact, fun to shoot and a nice looking gun. I have never been more pleased with a firearm. The value:price ratio is very high. You will be very happy with this gun. I don't own very many firearms, and I don't usually buy doubles, but if I saw this gun on sale I would buy it in a heartbeat. Best... 380... ever. I want to buy one for every member of my family.

So if that's not the most glowing review you've ever heard ;), visit bersatalk.com's forums. They'll all congratulate you on making the right decision as well.



And welcome to the forums, BTW.



ETA: BTW, the best accessory you can buy for this gun is the rubberized finger groove grip. I bought it here, and it dramatically improves the handling and grip of the gun.

rubberwraparoundgrips3.JPG


Also, if your hands are a little big, your pinky might push on the magazine and make it hard to shoot. Consider either the magazine without the finger extension(for a nice two finger grip instead of 3) or they make an extended 9rnd magazine that gives a larger grip. It looks like this, and is also available at the same site:

thun380_del_lg.jpg



I forgot to mention, one of the nicest things about this gun is that it is incredibly safe. It has a manual safety, a firing pin safety, half-cocked position, magazine safety and a manual lock (key included) to make the gun completely non-functional. Now, normally I'm not a big fan of safetys anyway (hello, my name is Aaron and I'm a Sig owner), but this makes this the perfect gun to give to a family member who has kids and just needs something to hide for just in case. It is the perfect gun for anyone with kids that wants something easily concealed that can be completely disabled in a matter of seconds for ultra-safe storage. The trigger pull is very crisp and the sights are very good. It has a 3-dot sight which is very clear and accurate. The blowback action makes the recoil a little sharp, but improves accuracy.

As for holsters, I highly recommend this:

untitled-1.jpg


I know it's a cheap holster, but I have a drawer full of expensive holsters, and seriously this is the best holster I have. It's comfortable and extremely easy to conceal. Plus, when you take the gun out (i.e., for work) you can leave the holster on and no one will notice. I absolutely love this holster, and in my opinion it is the best holster design of all time. I hate that I like it, because my Galco and my Safariland are WAY more expensive, but price tag does not always make something better for your needs.



Anyway,I hope that this helps to shed some light on your new purchase. Happy shooting.
 

cato

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Oct 29, 2006
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I've had one in .380for 7 years. It has never malfunctioned! I carry a .45 1911 daily but have enjoyed the .380 on occasion as it's weight andconcealment isof great benefitif one is in a Tux at the Opera. :cool:
 

Weak 9mm

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Jan 12, 2008
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I wouldn't mind snagging one of the 15rd double stack versions of the Bersa 380.

By the way, I suggest that everyone check out Brass Fetcher, especially those with smaller caliber guns. This website is great for getting an idea of the performance of a given round, and they often test rounds through barriers.


For instance, in the .380 section they tested a Kel-Tec P3AT with various ammo.

The WWB truncated cone penetrated 16" (776fps) when fired from 4 feet out of the P3AT. Federal's American Eagle FMJ went 18.4" (741fps). Both of these would certainly work for self defense, but of course they do maintain their approximately .355" diameter.

The round that surprised me though is Federal's 90gr .380 Hydrashok JHP. It is absolutely unbelievable in terms of performance for a .380 from what I've seen. It actually managed 12" of penetration and expanded to .476" when fired from the same Kel-Tec (This has a 2.75" barrel)!!! It's not exatly the .7" that a 9mm Luger or .45ACP can obtain, but it's absolutely awesome for a .380 IMO. I would be quite comfortable with a Bersa .380 loaded with 16 of these bad boys!

http://www.brassfetcher.com/380ACP.html
 

sjhipple

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May 31, 2007
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Concord, New Hampshire, USA
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USAF_MetalChris wrote:
Anyhoo, I for one like my Bersa...had a few "fail to feeds" on my last range trip but that can more than likely be attributed to the crap ammo that I was firing. Other than that the gun is great.

You know, I have *almost* bought this gun so many times but then, betwixt all the glowing comments, there is always at least one person talking about how the gun jams on them. I don't want a carry gun jamming.

Do you still recommendthe Bersa,Chris?
 

MetalChris

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ama-gi wrote:
USAF_MetalChris wrote:
Anyhoo, I for one like my Bersa...had a few "fail to feeds" on my last range trip but that can more than likely be attributed to the crap ammo that I was firing. Other than that the gun is great.

You know, I have *almost* bought this gun so many times but then, betwixt all the glowing comments, there is always at least one person talking about how the gun jams on them. I don't want a carry gun jamming.

Do you still recommendthe Bersa,Chris?

Yup. I took it out again a couple of weeks ago and didn't have any more problems. Apparently the issue was the crap ammo I was firing.

So yes, I would definitely recommend it to anybody thinking about getting a .380.
 

expvideo

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ama-gi wrote:
USAF_MetalChris wrote:
Anyhoo, I for one like my Bersa...had a few "fail to feeds" on my last range trip but that can more than likely be attributed to the crap ammo that I was firing. Other than that the gun is great.

You know, I have *almost* bought this gun so many times but then, betwixt all the glowing comments, there is always at least one person talking about how the gun jams on them. I don't want a carry gun jamming.

Do you still recommendthe Bersa,Chris?

Also remember that any new gun should have at least 200 rounds shot through it before it can be considered reliable. You are supposed to "break in" any new gun. In fact, as nice as Kahrs are, they put in their manual that you can't rely on them at all until they have had their 200 round break-in. Through those 200 rounds, there may be a few jams, maybe even more than a few. But after the break in, you shouldn't experience any more jamming.

For real. You have to break guns in. Many people will buy a new gun, fire one box of ammo through it, and then jump on to the internet talking about how their gun jams, and that model can't be trusted, etc. So there's a lot of bad information out there from people that don't understand that guns, like boots, have to be broken in.
 
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