Bersa Thunder 9

[.38Catt]

I have the Thunder .380. Great gun. Shoots where I point it at 25 feet, reliable, fun. What about its big brother? Looking for real experience with either the full size or the compact 9mm from Bersa. I've been to Bersa talk, but let's hear from The Firing Line!

Thanks.

[WVfishguy]

I pretty much guarantee a lot of gunshop commandos will trash Bersas on this forum. They usually won't own a Bersa, or never have shot one. But they'll call them a POS anyway.

Many people think anything that is inexpensive is not worth having.

I've posted my experiences on bersatalk, so I won't repeat them here.

[WVfishguy]

The lack of replies to this post does not surprise me. You NEVER see a Bersa ad in any of the gun mags. Even in the "Handgun Roundup/Annual" issues you will see the Bersa 380, but seldom/never the other calibers. Bersa (and Firestorm) are the gun world's best kept secret.

[hksigwalther]

I had purchased one in the early '90's before the ban and it had functioned fine. better than the Walther P88 it was patterned after. (The P88 I have has on some occassions choked on wide mouthed hollowpoints due mainlly to the gun's very tight tolerances, IMO. The Thunder9 being a little looser feeds abit better.) Generally, when able to, I try to get more than one sample of products I really like just in case the first one craps out. I had purchased another Thunder9 a couple of years ago when they came back to the US after the ban. The Minis are also good, although my Firestorm (Bersa) Mini45 does occassionaly bite me. No problems with the Mini9s. (The Minis being compact Thunders.)

[Jay1958]

I have a Bersa UC9 that was my primary carry pistol until I went to the Ruger SR9. The Bersa UC9 is still #2 in my carry rotation. I also have a Bersa T380CC that I carry when I need something smaller and lighter. I can carry the CC model in a pocket holster in my front pocket (note that this is the T380CC model, the standard Bersa Thunder 380 is a little large for pocket carry).

I have full confidence in both my Bersas. Neither one has ever jammed or had any cycling problems.

Bersas are not the best handguns made, nor the least expensive, but they are one of, if not the best, handguns you can buy for the money. I have full confidence in mine for SD.

[Pinky Carruthers]

Buy the Bersa 9mm, I have three now after being very impressed with the first one I bought. I have Bersa Ultracompact 9, a Fullsize 9 and a Firestorm Mini-9 (made by Bersa).
All three have been completely reliable (I shot 1K through the Fullsize without any cleaning). My Firestorm Mini-9 is my daily carry.
An excellent pistol at an excellent price.

[sparkyguy]

I just sold mine two weeks ago. Only one jam out of about 500rnds. Not sure of the cause, it was WWB ammo from wallyworld. Accuracy was good, nothing spectacular..then again the sights were very small. I think what turned me off to it was the plastic guide rod. It started to look like a chewed up pencil on the end so I sold before I developed a problem. Not the best choice for range toy, but a good truck gun or something to go to if you are short on cash.

[mamboreta]

I shoot mi best friend´s Bersa Thunder 9 every weekend, when he borrows mi P226. It´s not the greatest gun in the world (that´s mi P226, OF COURSE;)) but it only jammed once, with a poorly made reload, and fires very tight groups with no problem. The plastic sights are the only thing I cannot like about them.

Here, in Argentina, the Bersas are the most common 9ers (along with the Browning HP) and becoming stronger as time goes by. Get one and you will find out that they are as good as any of those guns that are two times more $$$$$$.

They´re nice to the eye too, BTW. Put the blame on Walther...

[kristop64089]

I have posted a video on Bersa talk of a guy shooting IPSC with a full size 9.

i found the high bore axis on it to cause quite a bit of muzzle flip accuracy was great at 10yards, holding very tight groups.

the biggest gripe i have with bersa, is lack of resale. I was able to trade mind away, plus cash. But, it took an act of god. I will buy bersa again, but this time it will be a mini thunder 9. They seem to have a stronger market.

[.38Catt]

Great feed back. I'm looking for my next purchase. The bersa 9 and .45 are in the running.

.38Catt

[WVfishguy]

sparkyguy:
"I think what turned me off to it was the plastic guide rod."

My Bersa Thunder .40 has a steel guide rod. I can't imagine a Bersa with a plastic guide rod. :confused:

Are you sure it was not an aftermarket guide rod? Did you buy it new or used?

[Jay1958]

My Bersa UC9 was purchased NIB and it has a steel guide rod.

Never heard of a plastic guide rod on a Bersa...? not saying there aren't any, just haven't heard of them...

[WVfishguy]

The techs/smiths on Bersatalk never heard of plastic guide rods either.

Another thing - not to rag on sparkyguy, but, he wrote, "the sights were very small."

I don't know what that means. All the Bersas and Firestorms I've seen had standard size sights. My Thunder 40's sights are actually larger and easier to use than those on the SIG I fired yesterday.

[sparkyguy]

I don't know what to tell you WVfishguy, the guide rod was gnarled up on the end, looking like a chewed on pencil. It felt plasticky, looked like plastic(black) and after only a few hundred rounds I felt it shouldn't of looked like that no matter what the composition.
As far as me saying the sights were small, YES, on that gun, the sights seemed smallish when I brought up to target..as in short in stature, hard to get quick visual on..FOR ME. I never slandered the gun in anyway, just stated the issues I had. So, like other semis that I either grew tired of, lost interest, what have you..I sold it. Now, would you GTF off my back??

[luckynvegas]

I own both the Thunder 380 and the UC9 and am very happy with both. The UC is very compact, holds 13 rounds and is my daily carry since last summer. Very comfortable, accurate and reliable.

[ir3e971]

I have a Bersa 9mm full size.

I initially experienced some failure to fully chamber a round. This was fixed by rounding out a rough edge on the extractor, and since has fired with 100% reliability through probably a thousand rounds.

I also foolishly cracked my grips. (my fault, should read disassembly instructions prior to disassembly) Their warranty sent me new ones, as well as new springs for no cost, and no questions asked. They have an excellent warranty.

Mine has a plastic guide rod. I am not saying all do, I think mine is an older one. However, I am not imagining it, it is plastic as can be. It has not been a problem.

Since fixing the initial teething problems, this has been a reliable pistol that shoots well.

Hope that helps.

Let me know if you have any more questions.