[Tony1990]

I have a BT380cc with about 1200 rounds fired and I clean and lubricate it right away after I return from the range and that includes the Mags, all 8 of them. I have always had good luck with any and all the ammo I have used until now. While I have had only a couple of misfires, since it is my carry gun even one is too much. All the misfires have been with HPs, Hornady 380 Critical Defense ammo, I have used this ammo for a time and I am sure it is not the ammo since it works great on my BT380.
The feed ramp has always been black, that is the way it came new and I believe it is some kind of coating they put on the feed ramp to improve the feeding of bullets. After I cleaned my gun after my last range visit, the feed ramp showed a little silver and I believe the coating is coming off the feed ramp.
If anyone has a BT380cc can you tell me if the feed ramp is black or just bare metal. I am thinking of polishing the feed ramp and I am sure the rest of the coating will come off. I don't know if this is the right thing to do. It may be that I should call Bersa. Anyone ever had or heard of this type of problem with the BT380cc??

Thanks.

 

[hobbles]

Mornin Tony,
As for polishing the feed ramp, I was told on another Bersa forum to never polishing the feed ramp as it would ruin the weapon, which is BS. If it's not feeding and you send it in to an authorize gun smith, that's the first thing they do to it. My 9 UC was not feeding (one of the problems) when I first got it back in 2012. I polished mine and it's been working ever since, and I shoot a lot. Keep in mind now that a "authorize gun smith" is just that, nothing more. They work on any brand of weapon that comes through the door, and they're not all good at what they do. I work on my own weapons.

In your post you said it was misfiring and that you only had a couple of misfires, that's a different problem.
Mine started to misfire a while back because I believe I had powder build up behind the firing pin. I solved that problem this way. I use WD-40 to clean all my weapons and have for years. I do strongly recommend to use an air compressor to blow all the black and WD-40 out and off the weapon so you won't have any build up on them. (I haven't found anything that can clean black powder faster or better then WD-40) I do lightly oil them after they are clean.

 

[robhic]

Tony, I polished the ramp on my Thunder as well. Mine was already silver so there was NO coating on the feed ramp. But I polished mine with a polishing wheel, some auto polishing compound and a dremel-type tool using a LITTLE pressure for a SHORT time and can't say as I experienced any problems from my gun. You might check with Bersa to make sure about the coating but I wouldn't think a smooth, shiny surface would hurt anything.

 

[Tony1990]

Mr Hobbles, since this is my summer carry weapon I will be sending it back to Bersa for repairs just to be sure it works each and every time it is used. I have been very busy lately but tomorrow I am taking off ( all day too ) and hopefully I can reach someone from Eagle Imports Inc by phone or email. From what I understand the feed ramp is part of the barrel so I would hate to have to replace the barrel because I messed it up.

Thanks for the tip on the WD-40, i use a lot of it WD-40 in my job and at home so there is always a can or two close by.

 

[Tony1990]

Tony, I polished the ramp on my Thunder as well. Mine was already silver so there was NO coating on the feed ramp. But I polished mine with a polishing wheel, some auto polishing compound and a dremel-type tool using a LITTLE pressure for a SHORT time and can't say as I experienced any problems from my gun. You might check with Bersa to make sure about the coating but I wouldn't think a smooth, shiny surface would hurt anything.

Hi Robhic, I will sending my BT380cc back to Bersa for some repairs since it is my summer carry weapon, I would rather carry a BT380cc that works each and every time it is fired. In the winter time I carry my well used BT380 that I have no fear on it now working each and every time. There is a gun show in Fort Worth Texas this weekend and if I can find a BT380cc at the show I will sneak a peek if the feed ramp has a coating on it.

 

[Tony1990]

I just received a reply from Eagle Imports and the BT380cc feed ramp does have a coating on it.
This is what Eagle Imports emailed me.

Thank you for contacting us. The feed ramp has an anodized layer, it
should never be polished or removed. For the second question, we
recommend contacting any of our warranty center gunsmiths for
assistance, Warranty and Service Centers

View attachment 346

 

[Zak]

I could see where the slug was sticking below the feed ramp. I filed then polished the feed ramp. No problems at all. Just bought a Crimson Tide laser grip for my 380 CC. It was just recently produced for the CC model, have not tried it yet.

 

[Tony1990]

Please let me know if the Crimson laser grip works on your BT380. The wife has been talking about a laser for her BT380.
Thanks

 

[Manfredi_jimmy]

Saw the same thing on my feed ramp. You could feel a sharp edge there at the bottom of the ramp where the cartridge was getting stuck and also on the left and right edge, more so on the left. After I did a bit of sanding and using a Flitz type polish I am able to manually cycle flat nose and ball ammo without a problem. I did not take the coating off the ramp. It is true what I read from another member about taking it to a gunsmith with an FTF complaint. The first thing they do is polish the ramp. I was told "even if it does not totally solve the issue it does not hurt." I expect that the manufacturer is basically playing CYA with their information, which I understand because not all would-be gunsmiths are going to have the same mechanical ability. I have to say I am leery of sending my gun back to the manufacturer for service as I have another 380 in for repair to another manufacturer (NOT BERSA) and it has been there for 4 weeks now and no one there seems to have a clue about it. If I believe I can fix a problem myself without damaging the firearm, I will do so. Just my own opinion of course.

 

[Tony1990]

Thanks for the input, and I did get it polish by a friend that is very good with guns. I have not had any problems with it since. Several forum members had advised me not to send it away for repairs due to the time before you get it back.

Again Thanks.

 

[Manfredi_jimmy]

Just the fact that the coating is coming off the ramp from rounds going through it suggests to me that polishing the ramp is a good thing. Mine was showing the same thing with less than 100 rounds through the gun. I finally ended up taking the coating off last night. The ramp now has a mirror finish. Going to the range today with a couple kinds of ammo. Will let y'all know what the results are.

 

[Manfredi_jimmy]

Back from the range.
I just got home from the gun range and am very happy to report that after putting a mirror like shine on my feed ramp last night, the BT380cc performed flawlessly through 100 rounds of 3 different makes of ammo. Winchester WB flat nose, PMC Bronze FMJ, and even the 50 FMJ reloads I bought cheap at the range this morning. I mixed and matched the ammo in the mag and not a single burp! I figured that if anything was going to mess it up it would be the bulk reloads but it ate them up and spit them out. That gives me a total of a little over 160 rounds through it since i picked it up. I feel very confident now in it's ability as my main CCW. It fits very nicely in the right front pocket holster in my jeans. I must say that I am amazed at what a sweet shooter it is and also the accuracy was dead on! I will probably try some JHP next but for now I could not be more please with it!

 

[9UC]

With the prevailing negative thoughts picked up on other forums about the polishing, it's good to hear that you have seen a marked improvement. Give it a couple more trips to the range and keep us updated.

 

[Manfredi_jimmy]

Another 150 rounds..
I put another 150 rounds of 3 different types of ammo through my BT380cc today. This was my second session since polishing the feed ramp and the gun performed perfectly. I have polished feed ramps on 3 of my pistols using extra fine grit automotive sand paper followed by Flitz polish and have had excellent results with all. I do not use excessive pressure, just enough to smooth out any burrs and or sharp spots where a round can hang up. I do it all by hand, no Dremel. That is a total of 290 rounds through the gun and I am satisfied that it is broken in and working as well as expected.

 

[David Perkins]

I spoke to Colorado Gun works about this and other things and found Royce to be VERY friendly and informative. His comment was that the blue Thunder has an aluminum frame and the feed ramp is hard anodized. I had always heard that anodizing just colors the metal so I was curious and googled it. There IS such a thing as hard anodizing which protects the surface, so probably not good to do anything that might remove it.

 

[9UC]

Thanks David and the gunsmiths from CGW. I had heard the term hard anodized before on another Bersa forum, but had not had it explained or don't remember it in relation in relation to the ramp finish. CGW is a well know gunsmith and has been around for quite a while. I have seen his guidance on and correction of U Tube advice on a couple of other Bersa forums.

 

[Manfredi_jimmy]

I guess the one question I would pose here has to do with the fact that the rounds themselves were removing the coating little by little with less than 100 rounds through it and I'd also imagine that after x amount of rounds it would be removed anyway? The removal of the coating via normal use was leaving high and low spots in the ramp as I observed through a magnifier. I'd be interested to hear what the gunsmiths say about that fact? The bottom line is that it is your firearm. you paid for it, and you are the one who makes the decision as to what is best for it.

 

[9UC]

I well may be wrong as I am by no means trained in metallurgy (can't even spell it, had to do a spell check), but I think you will find that the anodized finish is far harder than brass casings and could be one of several reasons that steel casings are not recommended in any Bersa.

 

[Manfredi_jimmy]

Do not know. I have never used a steel casing. Always heard they are dirty??

 

[bersastud]

You remove the anodized layer then you bullets will be hitting the soft alloy frame and when that is damaged , Well no warrenty because you removed the protection . You pistol your choice . I suggest talking with the warranty smiths about this . They should be able to re anodized .