The Bersa Thunder .380

[Lambo]

I just purchased 1 last week, talked to a buddy today that had 1 about 10 years ago. He claims the Hammer broke in half on him while in use at the Range. It wasn't abused in anyway and rarely discharged. Is this an ongoing problem with these, perhaps he caught a lemon?

[knight0334]

He got a lemon.

The Thunder 380 series has a long reputation for being reliable and failure free. If you do a google/yahoo search for reviews and such you will see.

[edstephan]

I just got my wife a new Stainless Bersa 380 Thunder .380
Very nice firearm and perfect size for her to CC.
I know several people that have them with no problems
Ed

[colagrrl]

No, that's not an on going problem with the Thunder .380, so it must have been a lemon. In fact, that's the first time I've ever heard of it. Bersa handguns have a lifetime warranty, so they should've either fixed it for him or replaced the gun.

I like Bersa's, I currently own 3: a Thunder .380, a Thunder Concealed Carry .380 and an Ultra Compact 9mm. I just placed an order today for the newest version of Concealed Carry .380 as well, so soon I'll own 4

There's a message board for Bersa handgun enthusiasts, called Bersa Talk. It's a good board with nice people and tons of information on anything and everything Bersa.

[LorDiego01]

Bersas ROCK!

I have a .308 and a 9mm on my wish-list. I currently own an old Model .85, that's a blast to shoot. Very accurate too.

You won't be disappointed.

[TaurusGuy]

I have a Firestorm Mini 9 which is done by Bersa. An excellent gun. Accurate, seems to be reliable, small enough to carry...I've put over 500 rounds through it now and haven't had a problem yet.

Yes, I know it's not the .380 Thunder but I thought I would chime in.

[mak47]

I own 2 Bersa Thunder .380's and I've been thrilled with them. They're accurate, sturdy, and handle recoil better than other straight-blowback pistols I have.

One of them even took a tumble down my basement steps, landing hard on the concrete floor. It had a round in the chamber (safety was on), didn't fire (thank god) and aside from a few marks from the paint on the stairs there was no damage to any internals.

I know that may seem weird but it's accidents like that that give me confidence in a carry pistol as well. I certainly wouldn't do it on purpose, but after they happen I can't help but feel like I'm carrying a safe weapon.

I can't imagine that there is any history of hammers breaking on bersas. Between myself and several friends we've put at least 10,000 rounds through a dozen of them and have never even had a FTF.

[coalman]

bought a thunder 380 for my wife 4 years ago , shot everything from fed hydra shocks to cheap wolf ammo at the range thru it. no problems . good little gun if used what it was intended for. not a long range target arm but a very good little self defense weapon. she would still be carrying it today except she shot my 45 and have to have something bigger now. now she carries a smith simgma 40. but 380 thunder still in safe with a loaded mag just in case. for the money and safety features very good weapon to have

[JeannieBmine]

The Bursa was one of the guns I was considering prior to my purchase of my XD9 Subcompact. It is a nice gun that was highly recommended. Unfortunately I went with the XD9. Perhaps some day I will still get it.

[mbmcleo]

I just got back from the range with a nice divot out of my forehead. I was shooting a Bersa Thunder .380 and after shooting a round the hammer snapped off and hit me square in the forehead. I was bleeding pretty bad but luckily I didn't require stitches. If anyone has doubts that a Bersa hammer can break, I have the forehead gouge to prove it. I am now a major advocate of protective eyewear - two inches down and to the right or left and certainly would have lost my eye.