Range Report 02/08/2010...with some advice needed

[Kevinf2349]

Tonight my wife and I went to Marksman Indoor Range.

I had a couple of things that I needed to do and my wife wanted to shoot at some of the new targets we acquired from (http://www.letargets.com/) (Who I thoroughly recommend for service and quality of product)

We only took 3 guns on this trip. The Glocks (G30 and G19) and the Bersa Thunder 380 cc. Additionally I took the Advantage Arms conversion kit for the G30.

The Bersa has a history for FTF and has been back to the gunsmiths once already. It looks like they tightened (or replaced) the recoil spring and that really made a huge difference....now it FTF's every other round! I put 20 through it tonight and got so frustrated with it as it FTF'd at least 6 times in that low number. The safety even switched itself on too! I think the gun is haunted! The safety actually could have been flipped during one of the many times that the gun was cleared and reloaded but I am going with my theory.

I tried a couple of different brands of ammo and two different magazines but this pistol is going to have to either be fixed or traded. I wouldn't trust my life on it, I wonder if Obama wants it?

Anyway, the frustration drove me to try the AA kit on the G30. FTF!, click, FTF, click FTE. It turns out that the kit is far more fussy about the grain of the .22s than the G19 equivelant. I kept on shooting, reloading, shooting, clearing, shooting etc until finally it ate just about every round. I stuck 100 through it but after 50 I put the original slide back so that the G30 could remember how to do it. 30 rounds of 45 later I switched back and presto! It ran fine on both 36gr and 40gr.

My wife shot 100 rounds through her G19 and of course half way through asked for the XD9...which was at home! She did fine but she still feels that she needs a one on one shooting lesson,,,,and what 'she who must be obeyed' wants, 'she who mus be obeyed' gets.

So here is my question. After 440 rounds should the Bersa be given another chance back at the gunsmith, should it be traded or should it be just persevered with (thinking the new spring may need shooting in still).

[USA1]

Kevin, That gun ain't right..You shouldn't be having that much trouble with it, new spring or not.
I've known many Bersa owners, including myself who've never had issues like you're describing.

It may be time to cut your losses and trade up to another gun.

[Bashful]

I have a couple of Bersa's myself and have had no problems from them.

Have you visited the Bersatalk forum? One of the warranty 'smiths from Colorado Gun Works monitors the Tech section and he may be able to suggest a fix.

[joe817]

totally with USA1. Something is terribly wrong with the gun. As I see it you have only 1 option.
Send it to Bersa with a lengthy letter explaining in detail the problems you are having, and tell them to fix it.
Then trade it in, without hesitation after you get it fixed...like a knee jerk reaction.

The incidences of FTF with different ammo & mags, prove that something's definitely seriously wrong with the gun.

In conceal carry you need a gun that functions properly 100% of the time without fail. Anything less than 100% reliability puts you in dire jeopardy, and not worth the risk, IMO.

[RECIT]

Was the Bersa sent back to Bersa or to a local armorer? If it has been back to Bersa once I would try them again at their cost. If it only went to a local armorer then I would definitely let Bersa take a shot at it.

[USA1]

Kevin, Does this mean you'll be posting on the.."Your worst Gun " thread ?

BTW, ..it's haunted.

[Embalmo]

A good Bersa should eat ANYTHING, there should never be a discussion of what it likes, or doesn't like. That gun needs serious work, or serious replacing. I've heard better things about the straight up Bersa Thunder .380 than the CC (which I own and love), and the difference in size is negligible; so if you need to just get rid of it, a Bersa Thunder .380 might be the answer.

Embalmo

[zbordas]

One thing you might want to check on your Bersa. One end of the recoil spring is smaller/tighter than the other. The tight end goes on the barrel. If you put it on backwards it causes FTFs. I have 3 Bersas and I have had 0 issues with them. The 380 had a few FTFs on the first 200 rounds and been problem free ever since. I had a single FTF latter but I was using alluminium ammo or might have been "shooter error". Never had any other issues and I'm using the cheapest Monarch ammo I can find (NO STEAL in the 380s).

[Embalmo]

One thing you might want to check on your Bersa. One end of the recoil spring is smaller/tighter than the other. The tight end goes on the barrel. If you put it on backwards it causes FTFs. I have 3 Bersas and I have had 0 issues with them. The 380 had a few FTFs on the first 200 rounds and been problem free ever since. I had a single FTF latter but I was using alluminium ammo or might have been "shooter error". Never had any other issues and I'm using the cheapest Monarch ammo I can find (NO STEAL in the 380s).

I did not know that-I wondered if reversing the spring would make a difference.

[thankGod]

I would definitely trade the gun. Fixin' it may not work. It may need to be exorcised

[Kevinf2349]

The recoil spring is definately on tight end first. I have turned it in for repair. They are going to shoot it first before they send it off but that is fine.

When it comes back it could find itself traded for the Taurus 709 I hate to trade a gun, but then again, what would be the point in keeping it when I can't trust it?....a paperweight maybe?

[Kevinf2349]

Here is the latest.

The Bersa is back from the smith and they cleaned, lubed and 'function tested' it and have given it a clean bill of health.

Next up is a trip to the range and blast a few through it (hopefully at least). Possibly that will be next Friday.

I will keep my fingers crossed but my expectations are somewhat low. I think it is destined to be traded soon.

[Mastodon]

Wow.
Add one more to the audience waiting to see how this next range session runs for you.

That's obviously a popular firearm. I don't own one personally, but am curious how this works out.

[USA1]

Wow.
Add one more to the audience waiting to see how this next range session runs for you.

That's obviously a popular firearm. I don't own one personally, but am curious how this works out.

I'm waiting to hear about it too.

Good luck Keven...*fingers crossed*

[mactex]

Good luck on the Bersa repair. I have a couple of Bersa 380s and both of them required gunsmithing before they would work reliably. It wouldn't have bothered me too much except that I almost spent the price of a new gun shipping those two pistols back and forth.