Bersa Firearms

[The Blade]

My wife just acquired one of those Bersa .380s.  Her daddy gave it to her, and she promptly brought it home and set it on my reloading bench.  Bless her heart!  (I think.)  He bought it for about $188.  I fussed at him for not buying at least 2 for that price.

Has anybody had any experience with this brand of firearm?  It seems like a solid piece, well put together, but I just don't know anything about it.  The little bitty cartridges don't seem like they would be very effective, either.  James Bond ort to carry a .45 ACP.

What do you know about Bersa?

Thanks.

The Blade

[Mikey]

Blade:  there have been a number of discussions about these handguns in the carry gun forum, you should check them out.  But the Bersa is a well built and very functional pistol.  it is solid and reliable.  Those who have them appreciate their reliability, as you will when both you and your wife learns that you can count on them to function as they should.

Don't you worry yourself about the ability of the 380 to do its job.  Just let your wife train for a double tap and that 380 will get her out of trouble.  Let her also train for multiple targets.  Also, let her get to the point where she can skip cans with it.  Once she can do that (about 2 boxes of ammo), she will be a mugger's nightmare.  

My suggestion for ammo is the Sellier and Bellot (S&B) - very inexpensive and brand new manufacture.  Some of the Russian stuff is so dirty if locks up my Beretta 70S after a few magazines but the S&B stuff is nice and clean.  If you reload, don't try to hot-rod the 380 - it isn't worth it.  Just about the best load that ever came along for that caliber is the fmj 95 grain bullet.  You can make some bullets go a bit faster but you may find the recoil and report not worth the effort.  The last time I reloaded 380s was just to use up some old cast round nose bullets I had around.

Hope this helps.  Mikey.

[The Blade]

Thanks, Mikey.

I suspected that the gun would be functional, it seems to be quite tight in its tolerances.  The trigger feels a bit mushy, but in a self defense situation, it won't matter.  For that matter, I don't even notice the trigger pull on even my creepiest gun when shooting at game...I'm sure it would be even less of a factor in a self defense situation.  I hope to never have to find out, of course.

I do load, but probably will not for the 380.  I DO hate to buy ammo, though.  Thanks for the input.

The Blade

[RJ]

Hey gang I have the model# 644 in .22 I like the way it feels in my hand and it functions pretty well. I am going to try some CCI mini mags in it to see if the extra whomp makes the ejection hang up problem go away.Jim

[KING]

Most of the BERSA models are good guns..i have had one of thier little .22 for many years and it still shoots good.....there have been some feeding problems that I have run into but that was attributed to the mags...good luck and have fun..... :-)

[Ravenwolf]

:wink: I bought an older Bersa 383 .380 which is almost identical to the current models.  It is extremely reliabel and accurate.  I originally obtained it for my wife but liked it so much I had to buy her a new Bersa.  So far both have digested all ammo tried (S&B, Wolf, Winchester, Remington, Corbon) without a hitch and both are carried loaded with the Corbon loads.  These two guns are 3 - 4" guns at 25 yards and, at least for my wife and I, transition well going from DA to SA.  The SA on both seem to be very nice.  Now if someone would make some aftermarket grips for them so we could gussy them (hers anyway) up.  Good shooting.....RW

[RJ]

I am now using the CCI mini mag ammo in the bersa .22 functions without a hitch with both clips. Jim

[teeball]

Blade,

     I have had several Bersas over the years and have not had trouble with any of them. The .380 is a scaled down 9mm, but I'm sure that it will work well as a personal defence gun. In the Bersa, it will have light to moderate recoil and enough power to stop or at least slow an attacker down enough to shoot again. I hope you or your wife never have to find this out first hand.
   By the way, James Bond carried a .32.

[The Blade]

teeball,

Really?  A .32?  I always thought it was the .380.  There's a whole lot of James Bond fans that know all the tidbits of trivia about all the movies, and they all seem to have web pages.

I enjoy the movies, but I guess I'm not into James Bond as much as the fans that post web sites.

I took my wife out last night to shoot the Bersa .380, and she loved it.  She preferrs it to the 5 shot .38 special that she usually carries, but she's just not familiar enough yet with all of the operations of the semi auto.  That's nothing a little practice won't cure, though.

I've shot the gun quite a bit now, and I'm impressed with it's function, reliability, and the quality of its manufacture.  I've TRIED to make it jam, but I've been unsuccessful to date.  That little semi auto is one of the best deals out there at $199 or so.

The Blade

[jhm]

I believe I read somewhere where the original handgun was a 25 acp I may be wrong but it woundnt be the first time.   JIM

[RWH24]

 My wife tried the Sig 232 and the Walther PPK/s. ( I am a certified Sig Armourer too) and the Bersa Thunder 380. She bought the Bersa, WHY? Because it fit her hand, the trigger was smoother and she controlled it better. She hits what she aims at. I shot it and I will probably buy me one. I carry a Sig 239 9mm. We had the money for any of the above, should have bought 2 then! :-)
Randy

[Mikey]

jhm and teeball:  Bond first carried a Beretta 25 auto but was required to turn that in for a heavier caliber - the .32 auto which was used in a Walther PPK.  I'm not certain if there was ever a mention of that pistol chambered in the 380 for Bond in any of the Ian Fleming books.  Hollywood however has managed to include just about every new handgun that has come along in some of the more recent movies.  There  I have seen the larger Walther 9mm, Makarovs, Tokarevs and a few others.  

However, I do not doubt that Bond would have been well served if he had been issued a Bersa in the 380 caliber.  Just my 2 cents worth.  This is Mikey.