.38 Revolver or Bersa 380 help

[Guest db99wj]

First, this is not a caliber debate.

My step father died a while back and had bought a Bersa 380. My elderly mother is currently using it, well has it for him defense. She has never shot it, I'm not sure if it has ever been shot. she has had a stroke in the past, 15 years ago, and her fine motor skills are restricted.

I have a Rossi .38 that I bought the day I turned 21. I've put lot of rounds downrange without issue.

My thinking, even though less capacity, the .38 would be a better fit for her, due to simplicity and less controls, and less chance to jam.

Shotgun is not in the equation at the moment.

I believe my thinking is accurate but need some thoughts an discussion on it. She is all for the simplicity of things.

Not much crime up here, but meth tweakers are known to be around.

[chances R]

I'm not sure either is a good option. Regardless of age, which can be a factor, without proper training, no one should rely on a gun for SD. As we all tend to drop off both mentally and physically, just the fact-of-life, I would much prefer she have some sort of panic alarm system available, especially for falls and other medical situations which are much more likely to occur and just as life threatening.

[hipower]

I'd vote for the Rossi 38. After my dad passed away in the early 90's, my mother carried one of his Airweight 38's for many years in her purse. I cleaned it regulary, till it started getting scratched up. Then gave her my Taurus Ultalite in place of it. She kept it in her purse until moving in with me. Thankfully never had to pull from the pursein fear, but it was always with her.

[Defender]

I really like Bersa, but in her case Id say the .38. Racking the slide on a semi auto can be a chore for some people.

[DaveTN]

I’d go with the .38 revolver, great choice if she can handle it.

But I don’t think I would give one of my parents a Rossi.

[Guest db99wj]

Let me clarify, she has shot guns her whole life, the fine motor skills of safety and slide manipulation is my concern. She is in her upper 60's. She is not feeble by any means, and her mind is very sharp. There is no issue with her physical/mental capabilities at all. It is that fine motor skill that has some limitations.

She has an alarm, windows and doors are wired.

She has the mindset that if someone breaks in, she will fire at her bedroom door, only way in, and hopefully run away, if they happen to die from their wounds, while she would prefer they do I outside due to the mess, then so be it!

Sounds like the revolver is sounding better and better, now that I have written down my thoughts.

[Guest db99wj]

Id go with the .38 revolver, great choice if she can handle it.

But I dont think I would give one of my parents a Rossi.

It's an Italian made one. That's better right?!? . If I hadn't put a bunch of rounds through it, I wouldnt be confident in it like I am!

[Will Carry]

Rossi made some nice revolvers at one time. I do not know how the new ones measure up though. Even Smith and Wesson are having some QC issues on their new revolvers. I would go with the Rossi with some low recoil 38 special ammo. Wadcutters or Cowboy loads, if recoil is a problem. I have some 38sp. Federal Low Recoil Personal Defense ammo in my snubby. I can't understand how they can call it low recoil though.

[JimmyMac483]

I agree that the revolver is a great choice for someone, like your mother, with limited dexterity.

[A.J. Holst]

The revolver with a good SD round that is comfortable for her would be my recommendation.

As a side note, what could be more fun than spending the day at range with your mom getting her use to the new handgun!

[Erik88]

I've always felt that the .38 revolver was a bad choice for women due to what most would agree is sharp recoil.(assuming it's a snub nose?) If she can't rack the slide on a semi then rack it for her and leave it loaded. My thinking is that I would rather her have more than 5 shots, if she can't rack a slide then I don't think she would be able to reload a revolver either. Add stress to the equation and it gets even harder. Maybe I'm completely wrong here but that's my opinion.

Also, I've never understood why men always give their wives a .38 snub nose because they are "more simple". I think most women are capable of operating a semi if given some instruction. Again, maybe I'm wrong, it's happened once before

[D3vo]

I am in for the revolver, but ask and answer "Does she have the strength to pull what possibly could be a 12 pound trigger?"

A friend and TGO members wife, a healthy 30 something, could not pull my wife's 642 trigger.

[chances R]

appreciate the additional info. The way it sounded I thought she had no gun experience. A very simple gun to operate is the Beretta Tomcat. Flip barrel, no slide to rack to load or unload. Minimal recoil, small and easy reload with extra mag.

[Patton]

My Father in law who was a avid sportsman and gun collector can't load his own magazines any more after a stroke, racking the slide is possible but takes 100% focus. You cant go wrong with a revolver for her.

[tnhawk]

If the trigger pull isn't too heavy, the revolver may be a better choice for her.

[wareagle]

FYI, My father in law, WWII Guadalcal vet w/ 40 years of Marine and Navy service, had a really rough time with slide on his Browning BDA. We had to trade for an S&W .38. Until he passed, he was tough as nails and took care of business. He just could not handle an auto, except a Garand.

[dats82]

Ask her which she would rather. Take her shooting, and see what she likes better. All this speculation does you no good. In the end, either way, it will be her decision so just cut to the chase.

By the way, for what its worth. My fiance hated the Taurus revolver that I bought with the intentions of her using, but loves the Bersa 380 that I bought with the intentions of me having another carry option. The Taurus is gone now, and the Bersa is "hers." So much for planning when dealing with a woman's mind.

Edited May 30, 2011 by dats82

[hardknox00001]

Some Bersa's, like the model 383 and model 85 are double action, so you could leave one in the tube and uncocked. If that one she has is double action, all she'd have to do is pull the trigger and it'll rack itself till the mag is empty.

[Guest db99wj]

She ultimately is going to decide which one she would rather have, she likes the simplicity of the revolver. That is what we are leaning toward. We will just have to go shoot these things so she can make her final decision, thanks for the input and comments, gave me and her something to think about.

She has the strength to pull the trigger, its the whole manipulation of the slide, slide lock, safety, that we are concerned about.

[Guest TN.Frank]

The revolver with a good trigger job would be a better gun for her then a semi-auto. Easier manual of arms, easier to check to see if it's loaded or not, much more user friendly. I would get her out and have her shoot it though so she can get a feel for it and get use to shooting it.

[JAB]

If she can't rack the slide on a semi then rack it for her and leave it loaded.

That would work fine until she squeezes off a shot at an intruder then gets a jam and lacks the fine motor skills to clear it. I have come to believe that, while it it possible that a revolver can jam, it is probable that a semiauto(at some point) will jam. Why else would folks spend so much time training to clear jams in a self-defense situation? Add in the possibility of not having the optimum grip on the pistol, etc. due to being in a stressful (to say the least) situation and "five for sure" starts looking pretty good compared to the possibility of two shots and a stovepipe for someone who physically would be unable to clear a jam.

Edited May 31, 2011 by JAB

[JC57]

Not sure if the OP is still reading this one or not, but I hope I can provide some input on the Bersa 380 vs. 38 question.

I've got a Bersa Thunder 380 and it is a completely reliable, very accurate gun that's a lot of fun to shoot. I've put several hundred rounds of Magtech and PMC FMJ and several brands of SD JHPs through it with no problems*. 7+1 capacity using the standard magazine, with an optional 9+1 (which I also have). Like any auto, it needs to be shot enough that you are comfortable that it functions with your choice of ammo, and a shooter needs to get used to the DA to SA transition for followup shots if they are not used to it.

I have owned and shot many 38 revolvers over the years, and still have a few. For all of the good things I have to say about the Bersa, if I only had one handgun to choose for home defense and the choice was between 6 rounds of 38 +P 158gr SWHP and 8 rounds of .380 95gr JHP, I'd go with the 38 every time, preferably a S&W K-frame Model 19 or 66 in 4" barrel. But if the choice was between a J-frame with 5 shots and the Bersa, then the scale would tip in favor of the Bersa. Mainly because I can't stand shooting J-frames and am just not that accurate with them.

Edit: Re-read the issues regarding your mother's stroke. The Bersa is a DA/SA and the first pull is essentially like a revolver. Its quite safe to leave the gun loaded, chambered, hammer down and the safety off. It can't go off without a relatively long trigger pull.

* only problems with the Bersa were from some Sellier and Bellot ammo which would fail to feed properly, and the same ammo (maybe a bad batch) caused problem with two different guns so I tend to suspect the ammo. Good for practicing clearing jams, though. Nothing else ever caused any issues.

Edited June 1, 2011 by JC57

[bajabuc]

She's had the BERSA for a while..let her keep it. We older folks like what we're used to.

[Guest db99wj]

She has never shot the Bersa. She has shot a .38, not this one but the one my dad carried for years. Going to get them both together and let her shoot some, see which she would prefer. She is leaning toward simplicity.

[Guest tonopah]

Go with the 38, my 74 year old mother, has shot her S & W model 10 for years.