Bersa 380 cc out of the box

[none]

Just got my Bersa 388 CC back from repair which failled to function the first time used 5 different types of ammo all same result ftf fte so do you trust it after that or just chalk it up to a bad purchase and call it good?  i had plans on replacing the plastic grips on it as the factory ones are really quite flimsy, but at this point  I really can  noy justify spending money on some thing that has such a dismal record,  Nor could  i justify selling it to someone else knowing my experiences with it.  The repair person confirmed that it was malfunctioning and states he honed the feed ramp etc and it should be fine.

Edited May 31, 2014 by wcd

[maroonandwhite]

I'd run more rounds through it. Any manufacturer can have one slip through. Lots of folks carry the bersas and have good luck with them. I'd bet if it was having feed issues before that he fixed it by polish or reshaping the ramp.

[bersaguy]

The only way to know if it is fixed is go put some rounds down range with it. I have about 3 friends that have that exact gun and they shoot regularly with zero issues and love them................jmho

[none]

The only way to know if it is fixed is go put some rounds down range with it. I have about 3 friends that have that exact gun and they shoot regularly with zero issues and love them................jmho

I have some factory reload and bought a box of steel case ammo from academy last night so I guess I will test out the new range and see what happens if passes a few hundread rounds then perhaps I will see about changing the grips really like to have frim grip and just dont care for the squishy grip feeling.  But so far i have not been able to find them locally

[teecro]

I have some factory reload and bought a box of steel case ammo

 

Not saying this is your issue but right there you have posted two things  that are proven to cause issues in many many guns Bersa included...

 

Reloads even from well known shops are known to cause feeding issues and while I will shoot steel case out of some of my guns the Bersa has been proven to all but hate steel case ammo such as Tula... Buy and break your gun in on brass factory loaded FMJ ball ammo...

[bersaguy]

Buy cheap ammo and you get cheap ammo and then folks blame to gun. Any brass ammo is better than reloads and steel. I see you live in Wilson County. If you would like to meet at one of the ranges here in Gallatin I will let you have enough 380 ammo to run through your CC and I will shoot some with you. Been needing some range time anyway. .................... :up: :up:

[Westwindmike]

My Bersa Thunder 380 shoots my reloads just like it would FMJ factory. And I'm using RNL that I cast.

[bersaguy]

I have shot factory reloads out of all my Bersa 380s with good success so my guess was a flaw in the workmanship whch will happen with any gum makers from the most expensive to the cheapest one made............jmho

[wareagle]

My wife had a Bersa CC. She liked it a lot, but she sold it to her sister when she bought a Pink and Chrome Sig 238. The Bersa seemed to eat anything, Sig 238 will not eat steel case or Monarch Brass ammo,

[teecro]

My Bersa Thunder 380 shoots my reloads just like it would FMJ factory. And I'm using RNL that I cast.

 

Lot of variables here: (1) Your good at putting together reloads (2) Your good at casting (3) Your gun is well broken in with a smooth feed ramp

[none]

Not saying this is your issue but right there you have posted two things  that are proven to cause issues in many many guns Bersa included...
 
Reloads even from well known shops are known to cause feeding issues and while I will shoot steel case out of some of my guns the Bersa has been proven to all but hate steel case ammo such as Tula... Buy and break your gun in on brass factory loaded FMJ ball ammo...

Not to rude but that was kind of the point in buying the reloaded ammo and steel case stuff I figured that if it shot those well most likely it would be good to go with good quality ammo.

Thank you

[maroonandwhite]

[quote name="wcd" post="1154045" timestamp="1401578683"]Not to rude but that was kind of the point in buying the reloaded ammo and steel case stuff I figured that if it shot those well most likely it would be good to go with good quality ammo. Thank you[/quote] That's not really a good way to test reliability in my opinion unless you just want a gun that can shoot anything.

[none]

That's not really a good way to test reliability in my opinion unless you just want a gun that can shoot anything.

Please explain? Maybe I am being to analytic about it? But it just did not sit well with me when it failed right out of the box. I did a lot of research on it before making the purchase. So maybe that's where the rub came in? For me I need to know it will be reliable.

I remember when circumstances dictated a switch from 45 acp to 9mm I was hesitant but when the 92G performed flawlessly right out of the box I was lessaprehensive. That's not to say I stopped carrying my 1911 in the off hrs. I guess it all boils down to confidence.

[gun sane]

It's possible the culprit could be with the mag.  Sometimes one burr in the right spot will play hob with any kind of ammo.  Did the repair person use the mag you sent with the pistol or did he have another good Bersa .380 CC mag for testing?  You say he "honed" the feed ramp.  I pray to goodness that's he's an authorized Bersa warranty repair person because that may have screwed that part of the pooch's guarantee.  Remanufactured ammo, even steel case, might not hurt it.  I know some guys who have shot steel skins with no apparent damage.  I'm just the piano player here......these are common songs you hear on the Bersa forum at bersachat.com.  I've got a trouble-free CC and so do most others.  I hope these problems have gone away by the time you read this.

Edited June 1, 2014 by gun sane

[maroonandwhite]

[quote name="wcd" post="1154092" timestamp="1401586223"]Please explain? Maybe I am being to analytic about it? But it just did not sit well with me when it failed right out of the box. I did a lot of research on it before making the purchase. So maybe that's where the rub came in? For me I need to know it will be reliable. I remember when circumstances dictated a switch from 45 acp to 9mm I was hesitant but when the 92G performed flawlessly right out of the box I was lessaprehensive. That's not to say I stopped carrying my 1911 in the off hrs. I guess it all boils down to confidence.[/quote] I just mean that cheap ammo is worth what you pay for it. Not to say your wrong for wanting a gun to shoot anything. I have some that do. In my experience there are some guns that I don't expect to do that and really only a few that I do. The bersa I used to own wasn't one of them but it ran good factory brass ammo like a champ.

[none]

It's possible the culprit could be with the mag.  Sometimes one burr in the right spot will play hob with any kind of ammo.  Did the repair person use the mag you sent with the pistol or did he have another good Bersa .380 CC mag for testing?  You say he "honed" the feed ramp.  I pray to goodness that's he's an authorized Bersa warranty repair person because that may have screwed that part of the pooch's guarantee.  Remanufactured ammo, even steel case, might not hurt it.  I know some guys who have shot steel skins with no apparent damage.  I'm just the piano player here......these are common songs you hear on the Bersa forum at bersachat.com.  I've got a trouble-free CC and so do most others.  I hope these problems have gone away by the time you read this.

 

 

Oh yes  i Contacted Bersa  as the Store  purchased it from was of little to no help after the sale.  Chalk that one up to experience.  But at any rate  I shipped everything back to the Bersa Authorized service center.

 

Thanks

[teecro]

Oh yes  i Contacted Bersa  as the Store  purchased it from was of little to no help after the sale.  Chalk that one up to experience.  But at any rate  I shipped everything back to the Bersa Authorized service center.

 

Thanks

 

Well if that be the case then I'd get out to the range and see how it performs... Also know that the aftermarket mag Pro-Mag tends to suck ballz in the Bersa line up. Bersa tend to be some very good guns for their price point. They are no Beretta or Sig by any means but still a very nice gun for the money...

[bersaguy]

Please explain? Maybe I am being to analytic about it? But it just did not sit well with me when it failed right out of the box. I did a lot of research on it before making the purchase. So maybe that's where the rub came in? For me I need to know it will be reliable.

I remember when circumstances dictated a switch from 45 acp to 9mm I was hesitant but when the 92G performed flawlessly right out of the box I was lessaprehensive. That's not to say I stopped carrying my 1911 in the off hrs. I guess it all boils down to confidence.

If I bought a new Bersa and it failed to perform out of the box I would be a lot happier than if it worked out on the box at the range and failed when I needed it to work. At least you knew it was not working and could send it in for repairs before you had to depend on it...............jmho

[Jonnin]

Please explain? Maybe I am being to analytic about it? But it just did not sit well with me when it failed right out of the box. I did a lot of research on it before making the purchase. So maybe that's where the rub came in? For me I need to know it will be reliable.

I remember when circumstances dictated a switch from 45 acp to 9mm I was hesitant but when the 92G performed flawlessly right out of the box I was lessaprehensive. That's not to say I stopped carrying my 1911 in the off hrs. I guess it all boils down to confidence.

 

Steel ammo --- its not that its made of steel.  Its that its the cheapest stuff going and that means inconsistent powder charges -- a round on the weak side might not cycle the action, esp a new gun with stiff springs.   And "factory reloads" vary from excellent to rubbish -- we have no way of knowing.  Give the gun a chance with some quality ammo.  Also pay attention to failures: if it fails on the first round or two consistently,  load the mag 1/2 full and try again.  If that works 100%, your mag springs may be too new and need some exercise, or the mag may have other issues. 

 

Also, bersa deserves the chance to make it right -- give their fix a try.  A gun that needed work often gets tested better than usual before sending it back; so the odds are it worked for them in the repair center (probably not using the lowest quality ammo on the shelf though... )

 

If you want something that will shoot the worst steel ammo made every time, trade it for an old 9x18 Makarov.  Those were designed to run on nothing else.

[JC57]

I've had two Bersa Thunder 380s (the regular ones, not the CC model).  I still have one of them.  They both fed and fired any .380 ammo I tried with them reliably - round nose FMJ, flat-nose hard cast lead, JHPs, regular pressure and Buffalo Bore's "+P", including factory reloads I bought at the range.

 

The only exception was some Sellier & Bellot FMJ that I bought 4 boxes of in 2010.  I got a very consistent failure to feed on the 5th or 6th round from every mag of that stuff, with BOTH pistols..  I am chalking that up to a bad ammo batch from S&B.  I still have 25 rounds of it left.  I find it useful for practicing clearing jams. :)

 

I shot hundreds of rounds of Mag-Tech, Winchester, PMC, Buffalo Bore, Aguila, a couple of others I can't recall at the moment.  Never a hiccup.

 

I don't think they are an inherently unreliable brand, sounds like you may have gotten a bad sample.  Their repair centers should be able to fix you up.  Eagle Imports is pretty solid about standing behind their products.

Edited June 4, 2014 by JC57

[shoota40]

my 3 bersas rock feed em bout anything ! 2/ 380 n 40 !

[daddyo]

I had a Kel Tec P3AT that failed completely at the range one day. I sent it back to the factory for repair and sold it when I got it back. 

 

I won't carry a weapon I have no confidence in.