bersa 380
 

Any opinions on this pistol? Are there better 380s I could consider? I would like a small light weight concealed carry.

Re: bersa 380
 

Kel-Tec P3AT... if that's the caliber you want. I think the ammo is pricey for the punch. Kel-Tec has a marginal reputation on quality, a great reputation on price, and a FANTASTIC reputation on warranty -- lifetime (regardless of owner) and they generally completely recondition guns when they are repaired and return them in about a week.

PS - I got rid of my Kel-Tec PF-9s because they didn't have a soft reset on the trigger. You might want to feel out the trigger on the P3AT to see if it will do a soft reset for you.

FWIW... When I carry small I carry a .22LR (CCI Velocitors). A ton cheaper than .380 ammo and it will have a similar effect in a close situation. Otherwise I don't carry smaller than 9mm.

Re: bersa 380
 

I love the bersa, have one sititng right next to me. Its a fantastic platform. Cheap, light, concealable. Not the mst accurate, but if you cant hit something at 10 feet, you need a bazooka, or a fast pair of legs.

the gun is reliable, fairly accurate, easy to clean, low maitanence, etc, etc.

Re: bersa 380
 

Walther PPK... costs a lot more... goes bang when you pull the trigger
just like the Bersa.

Re: bersa 380
 

+1 on the Bersa Thunder 380...accurate, reliable, affordable...external ballistics better than a .38 spl snubnose...both of mine would feed hot reloads all day long and shoot exactly to the point of aim.

Extra mags are more expensive than I would like...:smokin:

Re: bersa 380
 

The Bersa Thunder .380 is too large for me to carry concealed; as is the Browning BDA-380. I like the .380 round and am interested in more concealable pistols in this caliber. I have seen a Springfield Arms and a Kimber .380 that were smaller than the Bersa or Browning but they were outside my price range at the time. I ended up getting the Browning BDA-380 but found I was unable to carry concealed.

I've considered the Beretta Tomcat and Kel-Tec P32 .32 pistols but I really do like the .380 round.

Re: bersa 380
 

A Bersa .380 is a decent (questionable quality) little gun for the price.
A Kel-Tec P3AT is a touch better (decent at best quality) little gun for the price .
And the new Ruger LCP beats them both in my opinion for an extra $50. It's hard to beat Ruger for dependability.

Here's a review on the Ruger: http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger-LCP.htm

The Kel-Tec I have has been sent back twice, once for a manufacturer defect that causes the recoil spring to pop through a weak spot in the metal in the nose of the pistol, and the same gun a second time because when I got it back it was shooting 5 inches to the right at about 20 feet. To Kel-Tecs credit they "fixed" it both times. I've heard very mixed reviews on the Bersa.

I'm in the process of trading the Kel-Tec for the Ruger LCP.

Just my opinion.. and worth what you paid for it.

Re: bersa 380
 

I will be checking out that Ruger when I ride back up to TN for the 4th. May just come back home with one!

Re: bersa 380
 

I currently own (and carried for awhile) a Russian Makarov in .380.
The only thing I did was put Hogue grips on it.

I have had my eye on that little Ruger since it came out now.

To be honest, whenever I carried (also a P3at for some time too...) .380, I always felt a little undergunned. I figure, if you're gonna carry....carry as much as you can handle shooting.

And tho I'd never wanna get shot with it, .380 seems a little girly to me. :tongue_ma:

Re: bersa 380
 

That Makarov is too big for me to carry too.
I'm a little squirrelly guy. Bulges are real obvious and I can forget anything under a shirt. I can also forget carrying anything at all in the .45 realm. I have seen a few tiny 9mm pistols but they tend to absolutely jump out of my hands. I think there is a point of diminishing returns on larger calibers in smaller pistols. .380 may not be the best round for stopping an attacker but my little hands can handle it well enough to double tap rounds into a 2" grouping from 15 yards away.

Re: bersa 380
 

How the Bersa 380 compare to a glock 26???

T

Re: bersa 380
 

No comparision, considering the G26 handles the hottest +P+ 9mm rounds they make. Pimped out, it's about 2X the price too....

Re: bersa 380
 

The Kel-Tec .380 has a stout little kick, and that's with WWB ammo, it has a very stout kick with Cor-Bon and other "defensive" rounds. I guess it's just because the pistol is so small and light.

As the Ruger LCP is more or less a (better-made?) clone of the Kel-Tec, I imagine the kick is probably as stout.

My Dad had a hard time holding on to it.. of course, he's a broken down old coal-miner.

Just FYI.

Re: bersa 380
 

Pluss that baby can hold a 33 round clip like it s big brother the G17.

Iintend to get a whole family of glocks for the tuffness and the abilty to switch mags between mutiple guns...They are absolute bad@$$e$.


Thanks for the feedback back Cal

T

Re: bersa 380
 

The Bersa Thunder is a great buy for the $, IMO. Kel-Tec, I've never handled one, but I've heard about the quality issues. I've been a fan of the .380 auto since I was a teenager. I really want to check out the Ruger LCP!

Re: bersa 380
 

http://anthonybove.com/Browning%20BDA.jpg
The Browning BDA-380 is prettier than all the others. :D

Re: bersa 380
 

thanks for all the replies. will check out the options suggested.

Re: bersa 380
 

go buy a ruger for the money , great gun , have three diff models all great shooter

Re: bersa 380
 

Good friend of mine has one.

Its a flat little rascal and he carries the Concealed carry model in his front pocket.

Its built better than its price.

5000 rounds is about what a decent 500-750 pistol shoots with out problems according to the Gun shop/range owner where I sometimes shoot. He thinks they are better than the price range of +- $320 and a value.

I've shot a couple of clips of his concealed carry Bersa and they will hit where you aim.

OK by me.

E-A

I should note when he got a couple extra dollars he went to a Mini Glock in the 40SW because he met a 400LB angry Minority and felt he didn't have enough Gun if he had to pull it.

E-A

Re: bersa 380
 

I agree with the Walther but why a .380? Better than a knife I suppose. Looks at Rugers new 380. They're very small and full of quality according to G&A.

Re: bersa 380
 

I bought my wife a Bersa Thunder .380 and its a fine little pistol. I would definitely recommend it

Re: bersa 380
 

WTH?! Plenty of people arm themselves and successfully defend themselves with .22 pistols. A .380 is a fair sight more powerful than a .22. You're damn right it is better than knife. I don't care how big a caliber your sending out the barrel, if you can't hit what your shooting at what good does a bigger bullet do? Smaller folks with smaller hands and less places to conceal need smaller, more controllable guns.

Sure, I can make 2" groupings from 20 yards with a big honking .45 revolver with 6" barrel. Too bad I can't do anything less than strap the thing to my hip and come off like The Joker with his 25" barrel in Batman when I try to draw it.

My .380 holds 14 rounds and I can spit all of them out in under 5 seconds with every one hitting the target square. Why exactly, do I need a bigger round with less capacity?

Re: bersa 380
 

This guy rules.

Re: bersa 380
 

Re: bersa 380
 

I think the best bang for the buck in a smallish pistol these days is the CZ82 in 9x18 Makarov. I picked one up a few months ago for about $225.00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%8CZ_vz._82

Re: bersa 380
 

My personal CCW is either Glock 26 or Glock 19 (depending on situation), and my truck gun is the Hi-Point C9. Of course both brands have their .380 counterparts that should serve well.

The Glock:

Good Points:

Light weight and durable
Common brand
Very comfortable feel

Bad Points:

Expensive (relatively speaking - generally about $600)

Hi-Point

Good Points:

Inexpensive (about $100)
Lifetime Warranty
Blowback design
Durable

Bad Points:

Top Heavy
Clunky