[robhic]

Took the old Thunder 380 out today to get a bunch more rounds through it so I'd feel a bit better about its reliability. I shot about 150 PPU RN FMJ ammo and around 50 Remington Golden Saber 102gr HP ammo. Had a FTFeed at least twice. It's like the round didn't even strip off and got stuck in the pre-chamber area, jamming the slide back partially.

Dropped the magazine and the unfired cartridge just dropped out. NOT GOOD!!! I'm STILL unhappy enough with this gun's reliability to not even think about using it other than at the range. Gonna give it another chance in a few weeks to see if a few more rounds make it get broken in a bit better and, hence, more reliable.

On a positive note, I also took my tiny, little Ruger LCP (Little Cute Pistol? ) and put a bunch of the PPU RN rounds, a few hard cast lead flat-nose rounds and some Remington Golden Sabers through it, too. Performed flawlessly. I originally picked this up for my grandudes to shoot but I like the little thing! And the laser just makes it more "TactiCool". In fact, at 5-7 yds I was able to zero the laser and put 3 rounds into the same hole!!! Scared myself! Granted it was fairly close and I was using a laser but 1 big hole can do wonders for one's self-confidence. I'm glad I got this pistol. Damn shame it makes the Bersa look weak ....

 

[Tony1990]

Are you sure you did not hit the target once and missed it twice. Anyway great shooting.
Your miss fires were with which magazines - Bersa or Promag.... ??
At this point I believe you tried everything to correct your problem so when are you going to send it back to Bersa for repairs.

As for your Little Cute Pistol (LCP) I know what you mean since my wife has a LC 380 because it is the only Auto that she can rack. Fires great and she loves it. As for me my BT380 and BT380CC are still going strong. The next gun I get after the prices come down will be a BT 9mm which will round out my collection since I don't like full size guns.

 

[robhic]

Are you sure you did not hit the target once and missed it twice. Anyway great shooting.
Your miss fires were with which magazines - Bersa or Promag.... ??
At this point I believe you tried everything to correct your problem so when are you going to send it back to Bersa for repairs.

Smartass! No I didn't miss twice!!! (Believe me, I checked everything to make sure I was seeing what I was seeing!) And I anticipated the magazine question, sorry I forgot to mention that it was the Bersa mags that had the failures to feed. The ProMag was great -- both the Bersa one and the Ruger LCP one, too. I am pleased with those mags and would recommend them.

I don't think I feel like sending the gun back to Bersa. It's not a major deficiency. Enough to disqualify the gun for other than range use (I didn't plan to carry it much, if any, anyway...) so I'll just keep shooting it every once in a while and carry my Glock 9mm or Taurus 357. Let the grandudes have at it (they think it's cool after I told 'em it was a copy of the PPK that James Bond used to carry. ) and just see if it straightens itself out with more use.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Tony1990]

Robhic I have a question on the Promag magazines, did you have to force the Promag magazine into the BT380 for it to fit as this Video shows??? I don't think it is your problem just wanted to know for when I get my Promags....
Thanks


Bersa Thunder 380 Magazines Prt 2 - YouTube

 

[robhic]

Robhic I have a question on the Promag magazines, did you have to force the Promag magazine into the BT380 for it to fit as this Video shows???

In all honesty, I can't say as I remember. The video said it was a "one-time deal" and I've used the Bersa mags starting about 3 weeks ago so I don't know that I remember doing any "popping" of the mags to get them seated, initially. I also don't remember noticing anything I'd call unusual or whatever with the ProMag mag. It worked well and I can't complain. A couple of things:

1, the guy said the ProMags were 7+1 mags. NO THEY'RE NOT!!! The mag is a 7 round magazine. Period! The +1 is capacity of the pistol. Duh.

2, he said it was a one-time deal to pop the mags in but he "popped" it in the second time he inserted it, also. What is it, one "pop" or more?

3, available from "Cheaper Than Dirt". They're available most places I've looked online. AND ... CTD got a reputation, recently, for upping their prices after the "dark days" fell upon us after the last election. Most folks I know are boycotting CTD for this. And since the ProMags are available elsewhere, why push one vendor?

All-in-all, this is mainly just my annoyance at the video. Nothing wrong, just a bit "sappy". I would recommend the ProMag magazines from my experience with the 2 (1 Bersa and 1 Ruger) I own. Don't remember "popping" them or not, but so what? If I did, it doesn't seem to be a big deal and the mags, nonetheless, are very good quality and at a VERY reasonable cost. GO FOR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tony1990]

I agree which is why I asked. The Academy close by said were getting some Promags in for the Bersa 380 and I will be getting a couple.
Have not been to Cheaper Than Dirt since the last half of 2012, I am on a couple of Non Bersa Web sites and I have not heard from anyone that is using CTD.

 

[qwiksdraw]

Didn't they change the name to Cheaper than Diamonds?

 

[Tony1990]

Didn't they change the name to Cheaper than Diamonds?

I don't think they changed their name but maybe if we keep referring to them as Cheaper than Diamonds they will get the hint.

 

[robhic]

I'm still not happy and still shaking my head on this one. Had a few today so went and took the Bersa out for some exercise. Had other stuff to do but I managed to get 50 rounds of MagTech RNFMJ ammo down range. I just shot the gun quickly, no aiming or nothin' to see how long it would cycle without choking. Got one mag (all are 7 rd mags) out no problemo. Second shot 5 and jammed, round stuck between breech face and slide on top of magazine with one round left. Dropped mag, round dropped out magazine hole in grip.

Reloaded the errant round and shot the same way. 5, then one jammed on top of magazine with one round left. SAME ROUND, SAME POSITION -- #6! Put it as first round in another mag and it fed and fired. All this in the Bersa mags and not the ProMag one. So it shouldn't be the magazine. It might be just a bad bullet but that still doesn't instill any confidence in me! I've never had a gun have a "bad bullet" in 22, 380, 38, 357, 9, 45. They might not fire or might not feed or whatever, but never has the same bullet jammed the same way twice within 5 minutes in different magazines.

This is a bit nuts and I'm not giving up, but I am seriously stumped with this situation.

 

[Tony1990]

I'm still not happy and still shaking my head on this one. Had a few today so went and took the Bersa out for some exercise. Had other stuff to do but I managed to get 50 rounds of MagTech RNFMJ ammo down range. I just shot the gun quickly, no aiming or nothin' to see how long it would cycle without choking. Got one mag (all are 7 rd mags) out no problemo. Second shot 5 and jammed, round stuck between breech face and slide on top of magazine with one round left. Dropped mag, round dropped out magazine hole in grip.

Reloaded the errant round and shot the same way. 5, then one jammed on top of magazine with one round left. SAME ROUND, SAME POSITION -- #6! Put it as first round in another mag and it fed and fired. All this in the Bersa mags and not the ProMag one. So it shouldn't be the magazine. It might be just a bad bullet but that still doesn't instill any confidence in me! I've never had a gun have a "bad bullet" in 22, 380, 38, 357, 9, 45. They might not fire or might not feed or whatever, but never has the same bullet jammed the same way twice within 5 minutes in different magazines.

This is a bit nuts and I'm not giving up, but I am seriously stumped with this situation.

At this point I would send it in for repairs, no sense losing any of your hair over this. Bersa has a very good warranty and no reason to miss out on your range time.

Good luck.

 

[robhic]

At this point I would send it in for repairs, no sense losing any of your hair over this. Bersa has a very good warranty and no reason to miss out on your range time.

I'm a procrastinator! The gun seems to work well, so do the mags (OEM and ProMag). I had a problem with 2 mags, one bullet and the rest were fine. I'm allowing myself to think it was that single bullet that was a problem. I am also lazy and don't feel like going thru the hassle of shipping the firearm back and all. It's not like it's my only gun. Today I'm carrying my Glock G19 because of the 15 rd capacity. In case I run into any Zimmerman protesters starting a day early ....

 

[qwiksdraw]

.... In case I run into any Zimmerman protesters starting a day early ....

I'm hoping you meant in case you were attacked by a mob of protesters. Wouldn't want you to get in trouble saying the wrong thing.

 

[robhic]

I'm hoping you meant in case you were attacked by a mob of protesters. Wouldn't want you to get in trouble saying the wrong thing.

Attacked. (Get) run into. Both the same. Look! They're coming right at me!!! STOP, Cretins! Oh well ..... I tried.

 

[Geeman]

I am having the same problem. I just purchase a .380 thunder. 1 bersa mag and 2 promags. Every fifth cartridge jams. I then need to drop the mag and open the slide so the cartridge falls out. I'm going to try it one more time before I contact Bersa.

 

[Geeman]

The problem was with Bersa mag and Promag... took all the mag's apart and cleaned and lightly oil them. Went to the range put 200 rounds thru my Bersa thunder .380 with out any problems.

 

[robhic]

The problem was with Bersa mag and Promag... took all the mag's apart and cleaned and lightly oil them. Went to the range put 200 rounds thru my Bersa thunder .380 with out any problems.

Ooooo! That is exactly what mine did. About every 5th round would end up atop the mag between the slide and breech face and I'd have to drop the mag, the errant round would fall out and I'd reload. I appreciate the report. Now I'll have a little (3 mags) project for this weekend. Thanks for the info!

One thing: I think I would wipe the oil out of the mags to keep it from collecting debris and sticking. I use Eezox dry lube which dries, well, DRY! I lube my Glock mags with it by wiping, letting it dry and wiping again. Then reassemble so all is essentially dry inside but slick. No powder residue or dirt will stick.