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Need a recomendation of this gun. Lady that just went through CHL class ask me about it. She will carry 24-7 I am sure. Talk to me about weight as well as reliability. Size for purse carry. Reliability issues if not kept meticulously clean? She can, within reason, afford what ever she decides she wants. She has shot my wifes Sig. 232 & really likes it. You might compare the 2 if you want. Thanks.

I do not own one of these pistols, but I have shot them on several occasions. I never had a malfunction with the weapon. I do not have any experience shooting them when they are not freshly cleaned. I enjoyed the little pistol, but think your student might be better suited with a 9mm...I know that the ballistics with the right ammo is almost the same, but for the recoil from the Bersa, I would recommend a larger caliber. Just my opinion.

Thanks jbirds, opinions is what I want. I know the reputation seems to be that they are one of the best for the price. What about weight for purse carry. I seem to remember that they are a little heavy???

From a guy who works at a gun range, I would not buy a Bersa for protection. My experience shows they are hit and miss with reliability, with more misses than hits.

The Sig, or even the new Walther, would be better choices in .380. But you can get an actual 9mm from Kahr that is smaller than all of those, extremely reliable and packs the punch of a 9mm over a .380.

A J frame S&W revolver would also be ideal.

I would not recommend the Bersa 380 for purse carry. Too heavy, and I have not been impressed with reliability among my students who have tried to qualify with them. If you really want a 380, go with a Keltec. Still not lots of fun to shoot, but doesn't weigh as much.

Personally, I carry a Glock 19 in my purse, but I wouldn't be opposed to a Baby Glock either. And, as txinvestigator said, don't rule out a small frame revolver.

What it all comes down to is, you have to go with what works for you and what you feel comfortable with.

My wife quailifed with a Bersa 380 and even after the class she continued to shoot it without any problems and carried it in her purse daily. Eventually she decided that she was not comfortable with a semi-auto, she ended up with a LadySmith 38 that she carries on a daily basis.

longtooth wrote:Thanks jbirds, opinions is what I want. I know the reputation seems to be that they are one of the best for the price. What about weight for purse carry. I seem to remember that they are a little heavy???

As you say "for the price" they seem to enjoy a fairly good reputation. A good friend of mine bought one for his wife. It probably has about 400 rounds through it. I shot it on several occasions, and was impressed with the accuracy...but little else.

It didn't jam when I shot it, but did so.. numerous times when his wife shot it, suggesting she was "limp wristing". The plastic floor plate on one of the magazines had the entire corner chip off and fall away when she was shooting over the top of a 55 gal. drum when it contacted the surface. It didn't drop the "guts" out of the magazine, but just a little more damage...and it would have.

It did have quite a bit of heft to it, to be so small, but thats probably a good thing, something around 25 oz. loaded.

I'm not a big fan of magazine safeties either... (won't fire with mag. removed).

IMO, you can do better than .380 for a "primary" gun. I'd go with 9mm, there are other pistols not much larger/heavier than the Bersa.

Check out the CZ-P01

http://www.genitron.com/REV-CZ-P01/CZ-P01-7.html

I bought one for my wife, but she was not comfortable with the small grips and I sold it. I never had any failures to feed, however, she had a few jams (limp-wristing I'm sure as she has FTE's on other guns that I don't have any problem with).

My complaints with the gun are:

1. The safety was VERY hard to work at first. Once I oiled it and clicked it on and off many, many times, it was acceptable.

2. The trigger is not the smoothest and would need some work to be good.

3. The screw on the grips comes loose after 100 rounds or so. Loc-tite is needed to prevent this.

All in all, it's a nice gun for the price and I don't know anything else as good in it's price range. However, I personally wouldn't be comfortable trusting my wife's life to it.

This is my general opinion also. Flint you remember the lady at the class you attended. She really has the strength problems. Size & recoil are issues. That precludes the light revolvers. She seems determined to carry a semi.

I have the Bersa Model 83, in .380. It predates the Thunder .380, and is a little heavier overall, but it's comfortable to shoot. And it's not too bad to carry, as long as I don't overload my purse with other things as well.

Personally, though, when I carry a .380 I prefer my Pony PocketLite. It kicks a little more, but if I ever have to use it in an emergency I doubt I'd be paying a whole lot of attention to recoil. Plus I can carry it as "draw and shoot" without having to worry about whether I remembered to thumb the safety or not. (And it's one of the few I can actually conceal on myself, instead of in my purse - it fits in the "Knife Pal" holster made by Pager Pal)

Another alternative if she wants something "Bersa-sized" is a Makarov. My Bulgarian Mak is the pistol I qualified with, and is very comfortabe to handle, with the right grips. Extremely reliable. And the 9x18 ammo isn't as difficult to find as some dealers try to pretend it is. There are also Maks chambered specifically for the .380 if preferred.

longtooth wrote:This is my general opinion also. Flint you remember the lady at the class you attended. She really has the strength problems. Size & recoil are issues. That precludes the light revolvers. She seems determined to carry a semi.

How would strength problems preclude a revolver? And if she really has strength problems, can she work the slide on a semi-auto?

If she likes sem-autos and is determined to carry one, she could get a Beretta .380 with the tip up Barrel.

strength problem was that she could not stand the recoil of the light revolvers. She can rack a slide on some a time or two. Past that it gives her problems. In training & practice I did it for her. For carry she can manage it to load & ready. Biggest thing I think is that she wants to be as much like my Mother as she can. She thinks Mom does everything right including shoot. Mom does shoot good for 75 too.

longtooth wrote:strength problem was that she could not stand the recoil of the light revolvers. She can rack a slide on some a time or two. Past that it gives her problems. In training & practice I did it for her. For carry she can manage it to load & ready. Biggest thing I think is that she wants to be as much like my Mother as she can. She thinks Mom does everything right including shoot. Mom does shoot good for 75 too.

gotcha.

longtooth wrote:This is my general opinion also. Flint you remember the lady at the class you attended. She really has the strength problems. Size & recoil are issues. That precludes the light revolvers. She seems determined to carry a semi.

Yes, I remember her quite well, mostly for her friendly smile and great attitude. She seemed quite enthusiastic about getting her CHL.

She shot very well (with a SA), and I see no problem with her going that route. I would recommend she try to stay with a pistol in the 20-25 oz. range (for weight). It needs to be 100% reliable with the ammo she will be using. Even if someone else has to "break it in" and test the "carry ammo", make sure it will run for her when she needs it.

Whatever she settles on, a trigger pull between 4-6 lbs. will be about right for her as long as the grip configuration is comfortable for her AND it allows her to get the "distal joint" (first joint) of her trigger finger on the trigger, not the pad of the finger. This will help greatly with her hand strength issues.

Limit her shooting to 20 rounds per session at 3-5 yards, and I'll wager she's gonna do great!

Please send her (and her husband) my regards, and I hope that some day we will all have the opportunity to get together to visit and shoot some.

Flint.

If she's really set on a semi-auto, then maybe have her try a Kahr PM or MK 9. Although, these little guys do have some fairly strong recoil springs and it might be an issue for her to work the slide. But certainly worth a look at. Recoil might be an issue as well. Too bad shes not into wheelguns. The J frame might be perfect for her. A S&W 642 with shrouded hammer maybe? I got my wife a 637 and she can shoot that little thing better than I can. Though I have no experience with the Bersa, I've certainly heard mixed reviews on it.