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Why so much doubt with Bersa

52K views 140 replies 77 participants last post by  FrankBrady 
#1 ·
I have been looking for a CCW .45 for some time. I have looked (and shot) the glock, colt, ruger & S/W all great guns. However, I have not been able to fine a bersa thunder 45 to rent. All the ranges have stated they don't rent because of reliability. All the research I have done there is very little negative feedback on the Bersa irregardless of cal. My question is why is there so much bad talk about the Bersa? Most of the negative statments are mad from IMO are people who think they can shoot but really dont know how. I know I will catch crap for that but it is true. And for the record I am an ex-cop, ex-military, and was on the Air Force EST teams as a sniper. So I think I know how to shoot and shoot well. Your responses are welcomed
 
#127 ·
I have owned a number of Bersa pistols, and have never had an issue with any of them. Now, will the Bersa pass the 30,000 round test? I don't know, but the ones that I had all performed well and were good looking guns too. I can't say that my Hi Point JHP, in .45 ACP looks good, but it shoots like a house on fire and is very accurate. I have just over 600 rounds thru it without any malfuntions. I run ball and HP ammo in it and it always does a good job. Some of my fellow shooters laugh at me when I get that big ugly gun out, until they see it shoot and then they shut up. (Especially when they find out how much I paid for it NIB) Don't worry what others think of your Bersa, they are not the ones who shoot it, you are so you be the judge.
 
#128 ·
New to the forum, but I have two Bersa pistols and they are number 1 in my book. My 380 thunder is absolutely wonderful. Takes all brands of ammo and just keeps on firing. I wasn't happy with my Ruger SR9c because it keeps jamming so I bought the Bersa Thunder 9mm ultra compact. Wonderful carry gun and again no jams, it justs keeps on going. Best kept secret in the gun world.
 
#129 ·
Sorry to hear your disappointment with the SR9c, mine has fired flawlessly with over 400 rounds thru it. But since you replaced it with a Bersa and are happy I'm glad for you. People who don't own a Bersa really need to understand how good a gun they are. Ruger and Bersa are both favorites for me, mine have always been dependable.
 
#130 ·
Bersas haven't been adopted (or, to the best of my knowledge, even tested) by any major military or law enforcement agency. This means that objective, easily accessible test results don't exist. Thus, their short- and long-term reliability and durability are in question.

I know that they've been tested by gun rags, but gun rag "tests" seldom expend more than a couple of hundred rounds, and tend to gloss over any failures anyway.

And I know lots of people on the internet post about their excellent Bersas. But once again, we almost invariably see opinions based on low round counts, usually just a couple hundred rounds. I think this may be partially because serious shooters who expend lots of ammo are generally attracted to guns with longer and deeper track records than Bersa can currently produce.

While Bersas may indeed be excellent, long lived, totally reliable pistols, I haven't seen anything that objectively establishes such. I can, however, easily access test results with multiple sample guns firing thousands (or tens of thousands) of rounds with Beretta, Glock, SIG, HK, and S&W, for example.

I'm not saying Bersas are bad pistols at all - I know several people who are very pleased with their Bersa .380s. But I think this is why you see "doubt" about them. When someone takes thirty randomly selected Bersas and puts 10,000 rounds through each of them, then reports mean rounds between failure, number of broken parts if any, and accuracy before and after...well, then I will start taking them seriously as service pistols (assuming they survive the test).

And I think I have a reasonable idea of how to shoot, and what good shooting looks like. :mrgreen:
Very well said. I totally agree with your observation.
 
#131 ·
Very well said. I totally agree with your observation.
You might like this (speacially the ones that have really tried a Bersa before).....1,400+ rounds on a Thunder Pro 9 MM non stop!

Part 1: GUNS: Bersa Thunder fires 1400 rounds with no jams! - Part 1 - YouTube

Part 2: GUNS: Bersa Thunder fires 1400 rounds with no jams! - Part 2 - YouTube

Is there a similar video about some of the other great brands that you are aware of? Not saying this is a complete test (not quite 10,000 rounds for sure), just curious....
 
#132 ·
Haven't found any conclusive test results but this wiki article might lend some more credibility to the Bersa brand. The Argentine military and their National Police all carry the Bersa Thunder 9 (as of the writing of the article).

Bersa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bersa also makes the fighter jets for the Argentine Air Force so they know a thing or two about metallurgy and building solid weapons systems. Add in the Beretta pedigree from one of the founders and their reputation, though not widely known, is well deserved.

Works for me.

They may be less expensive, but they're far from cheaply made.

Just my 0.02 kopeks.
 
#133 ·
A major issue in California is that Bersa did not spend the time or money required to "register" anything but the 380's for the California qualified hand gun list...that means that no dealer can sell any new Bersa in California and no one can ship a bersa (new or used) other than one of the 380's that is on the list (all the 380's are not on the list). Lots of folks feel if Bersa doesn't think their guns can pass the California "drop and safety test" that they don't want to own them. There are some 9's and 45's that have been around in the state and can be sold private party to private party but no dealer can sell them and again no one like dealer or private party can ship them into the state....That coupled with the disconnect spring hassles on the earlier 380's (don't know if they ever fixed it) and no local warranty repair shops (the best and I think the closest was in Fort Collins, Colorado) were, again, red flags. I had 2 of the duo tone 380's and sold both of them because I was into bigger calibers....they didn't bring near what I'd paid for them.
 
#134 ·
I own many pistols-1911's-Bersa's-Taurus-Ruger's
I can say without a doubt that my Bersa's are the MOST reliable of them all 110%. I have never had a malfunction of any kind with them.mechanical or ammo.
Bersa Thunder 9-Bersa Thunder 380-Bersa Thunder 40UC Pro
I should have said that my Ruger's are 200% reliable, but they are Revolvers.
My 1911's are next in line 99.99%
My 1911's and Bersa's are my daily carry pistols.Your life depends on them working
 
#135 ·
As mentioned on other post, I've got one Bersa built Firestorm 22lr, Two BT380s and the 9UC which is now my primary carry. Like any gun, you can get one with problems. On new guns, the lifetime warranty covers the issues, and I've seldom heard a case where a used one could not be repaired, but there are a few around. I feel comfortable enough with the brand that one of my 380s and the FS22lr were purchased used. For the overall volume of sales, I don't blame them for not dealing with California on other than the 380 sales. I don't remember which company(s) it was, but this is not the first time I've heard that a smaller company had decided not to deal with the overboard regulations for which California is noted. My only complaint is that the finish is not the best on the Bersas, but I've not had a single mechanical problem with any of the four. The only problem I've ever had with the BT380s is a "me" problem. I have a grip problem due to some carpal tunnel and little finger neuropathy nerve damage and have had a half a dozen "limp wrist" failures to chamber over the six years on the two 380s I have. When I shoot the 380s for defense shooting, I use both hands and have not had the problem from this position.
 
#136 ·
1. cost $$$$$ When you buy a handgun based on $$$...your just asking for problems
2. Hard on the hands after 60+ rounds .. That would be enough to cool me from buying
3. Field stripping is a challenge...That would be enough to cool me from buying

.extra mags are HARD to find....That would be another BIG negative for me
Why is field stripping hard? I can field strip my 380-40-9 in about as much time as it took to type this.
 
#138 ·
I just bought a Thunder .380 as a CC handgun and love it. So much so that I'm researching their .45 UC as my next purchase instead of a 1911.

That said, in regards to the Argentinian police and military carrying Bersa sidearms, you have to remember that (1) by buying Bersa's they're keeping Argentinians employed, (2) it's a matter of self-sufficiency (much like the US military buying weapons made in the US), (3) it's a matter of national pride, and (4) these decisions are usually more political than proven performance. On the other hand, if they were garbage, either some Bersa executives would be doing time in the worst kind of S American hellhole prison or they'd be swapping them out with FN or Beretta products.

But I don't think that's the case. I've been pretty impressed with the quality of mine, after being a little leery of the low price. I DID lose the screw that holds the rear sight in place the first day at the range, but Bersa promptly sent a replacement from NJ to MI and I got it within 3 days - over Christmas. I've run about 150 rounds through it so far w/o issue. It's a solid shooter - and deadly accurate at 7 yds right out of the box - and even my gun-oriented in-laws seemed surprised by the quality when they handled it. I don't think you can find a better value out there. And it feels good not to pay for a name.
 
#140 ·
Just to keep this information on a relatively current page (although others have posted this in the nearly five years this thread has been running), Bersa Thunders are the standard side arm of the Argentine military and police. They are design clones of the Walther P88, one of the best engineered pistols every made IMHO. One of the reasons for the low price is the exchange rate--which is working very much in favor of the dollar at this point. Finally, I suspect that at least some of the "doubt" about Bersa reliability is generated by competitors who are vulnerable on the price point vs. quality metric (present company excluded, of course). I've personally put thousands of rounds through a Bersa Thunder 9UC and a Bersa Thunder 45 UC with zero problems. No FTF. No FTE. No problems. Nada. None.
 
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