bersa

[any ruger]

anybody familiar with the 380 thunder anything good or bad.

 

[Booger]

Love mine. Not too small and fits my hand well. Easy to shoot and recoil is light. Most importantly rock-solid reliable. I bought mine new in 2006. The CT grips I added in 2011 cost me more that the gun did. The beaver tail is longer than the PPK's so no biting, either. Love it almost as much as my P93

 

[Three-Steps]

I have had both the 22 and .380 in the past, they performed Ok, but I moved the .380 on. As a CCW the .380 just doesn’t cut it with me. Now I carry the LC9sPro ,it is in 9mm and it is smaller and lighter than the Bersa.

 

[H Richard]

I have had a .380 for several years. It has a fine trigger, has been 100% reliable, and reasonably accurate, (what you expect for a 3" barrel carry gun). Only way I'd like it better if it was a 9mm.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Excellent guns that haven't changed much over the years. I had a Thunder for awhile, reliable and easy to shoot is an understatement. If I didn't have a Glock 42 already I would buy another one.

 

[WIL TERRY]

BERSA is the most underated line of pistols imported into the U. S. of A.

And so it goes...

 

[DeadEyeDick]

I have a Bersa 380 Thunder; a Glock 42; and a LC9sPro. I like all three but I have gone to the LC9sPro for CCW and the wife has the Glock 42.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Aww heck, I may just buy another Thunder when I spot a good deal. They are really good pistols and fun to shoot.

 

[DeadEyeDick]

I agree FergusonTO35, they are definitely a very underrated and fun gun to shoot. I've been selling off some of my pistols lately, but I still hold on the the Thunder!

 

[ncvikingfan]

They seem well built. I have not shot mine much, but have not had any problems so far. I would not hesitate to buy one.

 

[ncvikingfan]

They seem well built. I have not shot mine much, but have not had any problems so far. I would not hesitate to buy one. Oooooops. My bad. Mine is a 9 mm. I have no experience with the 380.

 

[WIL TERRY]

I went and checked my records for my BERSA 22 pistol. I've not shot it in ages but the records show it has devoured 19,265 rounds and I do know for a fact it NEVER EVER malfed a single round in that run. The pistol itself shoots to the sights and is accurate enough to pick-off blackbirds out to thirty-five yards.
None of the seven BERSA 380's I've had were any problem whatsoever. I did have a round of CCI 380 BLAZER aluminum cased ammunition chop the slide in two and blow both halves completely off the frame. The fine folks at EAGLE replaced the pistol with a brand new one. I suspect their gabfest with CCI later was most interesting and informative !!!
And so it goes...

 

[charlesappel]

If you like the traditional DA/SA style auto loader then you should like the Bersa Thunder or Firestorm 380. My Firestorm is accurate and has excellent sights. So far I have only put 100 rounds of FMJ through it, but there have been no problems. The recoil is mild - much less snappy than a Walther PP 380. It is a good gun at a reasonable price.

 

[pruger45]

Wouldn't own one!

 

[DeadEyeDick]

Your loss p-ruger. They are an excellent CCW firearm.

 

[blume357]

They always looked like a Sig Copy to me... which I have a Sig 230 and is probably the best semi-auto I have, but it is a 380 and I like some others here moved 'up' to 9mm and a LC9spro....

looks to me like the Thunder has a Safety... a safety on a double/single action semi-auto just does not seem practical to me.

 

[DA_TriggR4Ruger]

I had a p230sl years ago.

Now my primary edc is a P938 equinox.

It's smaller, lighter, has better sites, is more accurate and conceals more comfortably.

I just can't find these huge 380s practical anymore. Not with smaller, lighter, more practical models. Most guns in smaller sizes than this are now offered in the option of .380 and 9mm.

Edit to add, the capacity of the guns being equal.

 

[Cheesewhiz]

I think that this type of pistol, blowback .380 ACP operated pistols is a little piece of history. From the iconic Walther, to the down right beautiful Browning BDA or Browning 84, these guns served a purpose and it's interesting that many European police carried these type of pistols as American police carried .38 Spec, .357 Mag and even .41 Mag revolvers at the same time. I like my CZ83 quite a bit but it's not a carry gun for me, would be a good truck/car gun.

 

[Rei40c]

I am a fan of "heavier than needs to be guns". Especially all metal ones. While it's absolutely true as DA said these firearms have now been shrunk down to sizes and weights far below the bersa or Sig 230. The Kahr line of pistols come to mind right off the bat as one example but there are many others.

The charm of these I think is their shootability a gun with higher mass and a tamer caliber brings. I think this is why the Sig 230 is still to this day loved by so many although on paper it really shouldn't be if you look at it's specs. There's nothing amazing about it's capacity, caliber, or really any other aspect. But in the hand it's just magic.

 

[MountainWalker]

Very well thought out design which spent around for years. As a 380 it is somewhat underpowered. It's action is somewhat like a Sig, double action on the first shot, single action on subsequent shots. Ruger LC9 is 3 ounces lighter and chambered in 9 mm, making it more effective. But if you want one, they are a good pistol and well regarded.

 

[FergusonTO35]

I'm a big fan of "underpowered" guns, such as full size revolvers chambered in .38 Special and the Bersa .380 pistols. Shot placement is king, and this sort of gun gives me the best possible chance to make that happen.

 

[mulescj8]

Your loss p-ruger. They are an excellent CCW firearm.

Have to agree, I've own numerous Bersa's and still have them. Great guns, the two down sides are 1. Finish (bluing) is not great and a little thin. 2. Limited amount of accessories available for them.

Great shooters tho, my EDC is a Bersa BP9 and all my Bersa's have lots of rounds thru them. My Thunder Pro .40 is getting close to 3000 rounds thru it and only issue I've had with any of my Bersa's is a few fail to feeds using cheap aluminum cased federal ammo. Never have had an issue with the quality brass ammo.

 

[MountainWalker]

They always looked like a Sig Copy to me... which I have a Sig 230 and is probably the best semi-auto I have, but it is a 380 and I like some others here moved 'up' to 9mm and a LC9spro....

looks to me like the Thunder has a Safety... a safety on a double/single action semi-auto just does not seem practical to me.

The lever that you see on the Bersa Thunder 380 is a decocker/safety. The key to using this little pistol is to only use the decocker and ignore the safety feature. So you are right, the safety feature is not needed since the first shot trigger pull is like a double action revolver.

 

[MountainWalker]

I'm a big fan of "underpowered" guns, such as full size revolvers chambered in .38 Special and the Bersa .380 pistols. Shot placement is king, and this sort of gun gives me the best possible chance to make that happen.

Actually, both the 380 & 38 Special are adequate with good ammunition selection. On reflection, my "underpowered" comment would more accurate if it said "adequate" instead. The double action police service revolver has a phenomenal safety record in 100 years of service. Your Bersa has that same trigger action for the first shot, which makes for an very safe pistol during gun handling. Very safe, adequate power and good shootability(shot placement) make for a pretty good combination.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Agree completely. I mostly carry the .380 in the form of a Glock 42 and Ruger LCP. Ammo of choice is quality FMJ or my own lead bullet reloads.

 

[Rei40c]

Agree completely. I mostly carry the .380 in the form of a Glock 42 and Ruger LCP. Ammo of choice is quality FMJ or my own lead bullet reloads.

I don't mean to derail the OP. But often I hear the phrase "Bullet technology has advanced to the point the .380 is a viable self defense round." But using FMJ you seem not to be taking advantage of that. Do you not trust the latest bullets to penetrate?

I'm not criticizing your ammo choice I'm just trying to learn something. I am am considering a .380 purchase soon and would like to understand your thinking on the FMJ vrs JHP issue in .380 acp.

 

[MountainWalker]

In the 70's during various jack rabbit hunting sessions, I found that the 9mm FMJ or ball ammunition to be totally ineffective in stopping these critters. Even hits in vital areas did not seem to slow them down! By contrast the 9mm Speer 125 gr. soft point I loaded was a good stopper. CCI Mini-Mag .22LR, in a rifle, was a good stopper, the 38spl with hard cast 158gr "flat point"was also a very good stopper. The recent performance upgrade of the 9mm is based on recent bullet technology in ammo choices such as Speer Gold Dot, Federal HST, and Hornady Critical Duty.

I believe the same is true(even more so) of the 380 FMJ. Recently, several ammunition/bullet upgrades have improved performance of the 380 to make it a viable defense round. Is OK if someone wants to use FMJ in 380 or 9mm, but they should realize those round nose bullets will over pentrate and are poor stoppers. Chances are that most who carry, will never need to use their gun and therefore it doesn't matter what gun/ammo they carry. I found Hornady & Speer tests interesting and could be good choices for those who wish to maximize the effectiveness of the Bersa Thunder 380. Note that the tests were made using a Bersa 380. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-H9M6cZGd18

 

[Rei40c]

Thanks for the reply MountainWalker. I looked into this myself and read a lot. What I found was not very useful with about half the folks preferring fmj for the .380 and the other half jhp. I tend to lean towards the side of the jhp for the .380 myself. All the brands of ammo you mentioned are also my top 3 favorites. HST,Gold Dot, Critical Duty. I've shot them all. From a shootability standpoint the Critical Duty's are my favorite. They will never expand as far as the Gold Dot, or HST but they are a pleasure to shoot and unless it's my imagination slightly more accurate.

I was very surprised to hear your experience with the 9mm fmj vrs rabbit. I would have thought that without question a 9mm fmj would have been more than enough, but I've never hunted rabbit so I wouldn't know.

Best regards

P.S. I had already watched that video you linked years ago. I really like tnoutdoors9's channel and have been visiting for years. It slowed down a while back when he got sick and I stopped visiting but there are some more recent videos on his channel now I see. If there's a better ammo review channel on youtube I've never seen it.

 

[Booger]

I 100% agree with MountianWalker regarding the .380 and JHPs. Another decent source regarding ballistics is at

http://www.luckygunner.com/labs/self-defense-ammo-ballistic-tests

Makes for an interesting read. I am a believer that knowledge is power and being informed enables...

 

[MountainWalker]

Saved that "Lucky Gunner" site. Their approach is logical, select a load that appears to work and test it in your pistol.