:: Bersa Talk ::

Hello folks. I've owned my bersa thunder 380 for about two months now and have had a problem with failure to feeds. I've used different ammo from white box winchester from walmart to hornady xtp. any ideas on why this happens and what could be done. Appreciate any advice, thanks davo67.

Lots of different things to start ruling out.

1) How many rounds through it total now?
2) Is the recoil spring on right? (tight end down barrel toward breech, loose end to muzzle)
3) Is it consistently the same round in the mag? (ie: last or 2nd to last)
4) Has the magazine been cleaned inside thoroughly?
5) Are you an experienced auto shooter or is this new to you?

There are a good many other things, but the most common issues will be covered in that list.
The Thunder.380 tends to need 200 to 300 rounds to settle in. Beyond 300, start looking for other issues. Having the recoil spring on backwards can make it a jam-o-matic. A weak mag spring can cause the last couple of rounds to not strip correctly from the mag. A dirty magazine, or one that still has some of the shipping goo in it can cause issues. Finally, the T380 is a blowback operated pistol. This design is more susceptible to "limpwristing" than a locked breech model. If your wrist is not held firm and the pistol is allowed to flip up excessively it robs momentum from the slide that is needed to cycle it correctly. Note that having a solid grip does not necessarily prevent limpwristing, your whole forearm ideally stay on the same plane as the barrel , requiring a locked wrist.
Odds are one or more of these things will get it running right. If not the Bersa warrant gunsmith is a member here too and can delve deeper into it.

And welcome to BT.

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If all you're goin' on is my confession, forget it, I'm simply not credible. - Dale

Welcome to Bersa Talk.

What he said. Also, check out this message from Royce, the warranty gunsmith in the Tech Talk Forum: http://bersatalk.com/forums/thread/67862.aspx

Hope this helps.

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p-t-max

I'm no expert, I'm just, well---opinionated!

http://blog648.blogspot.com/

parrothead_madness:

Lots of different things to start ruling out.

1) How many rounds through it total now?
2) Is the recoil spring on right? (tight end down barrel toward breech, loose end to muzzle)
3) Is it consistently the same round in the mag? (ie: last or 2nd to last)
4) Has the magazine been cleaned inside thoroughly?
5) Are you an experienced auto shooter or is this new to you?

There are a good many other things, but the most common issues will be covered in that list.
The Thunder.380 tends to need 200 to 300 rounds to settle in. Beyond 300, start looking for other issues. Having the recoil spring on backwards can make it a jam-o-matic. A weak mag spring can cause the last couple of rounds to not strip correctly from the mag. A dirty magazine, or one that still has some of the shipping goo in it can cause issues. Finally, the T380 is a blowback operated pistol. This design is more susceptible to "limpwristing" than a locked breech model. If your wrist is not held firm and the pistol is allowed to flip up excessively it robs momentum from the slide that is needed to cycle it correctly. Note that having a solid grip does not necessarily prevent limpwristing, your whole forearm ideally stay on the same plane as the barrel , requiring a locked wrist.
Odds are one or more of these things will get it running right. If not the Bersa warrant gunsmith is a member here too and can delve deeper into it.

And welcome to BT.

Hello Parrothead_madness and p-t max. First of all I thank you both for the time taken in helping me with my dilemma. well as for the amount of rounds fired it's been between 400 and 500 hundred rounds.  There is consistent order of of failure to feeds. And as for the proper placement of the spring i was not aware of that. Prior to responding to you folks today i took my gun apart and tried to find the right end to place first and to be honest the difference between both ends is nominal. and as for the cleaning of the magazine i have no clue as how to break down the magazine, maybe you could point me in the right dirrection.  Once again I really appreciate your time and efforts. Davo 67.

The difference in the ends of the spring are minimal, but important. Roll it on a table and you can tell which end is smaller.

I don't have a .380 mag in front of me, but there should be a small hole in the bottom. There is a release in there, push it in just a little with a q-tip or something and slide the bottom off.
Be careful here, there is a "boing factor", don't let the spring launch parts. Particularly at your eyebones, can't shoot blind you know. Make note of how the spring engages the follower (the part that pushes up on the rounds), then clean everything up really well in there.
Put it back together dry to check for any burrs or catches. Use a wooden dowel or something of that nature to avoid damage and making any burrs we are trying to get rid of. As you stroke the follower through its travel, feel for any binding or rough spots and make note of where they are.
If it's nice and smooth, LIGHTLY oil the follower and you're good to go at least for that part. If not, report back and we'll get you through the next step to get it smooth.

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If all you're goin' on is my confession, forget it, I'm simply not credible. - Dale

Hi Davo67,

With the spring on the barrel and the slide off, point the muzzle at the ground.  If the spring slides off it's on the wrong way, if it stays on it's on the correct way... easy as pie.  For ease of re-assembly you'll want to have the cut end of spring at the muzzle to be in the 12:00 position.  This doesn't seem to matter for the FTF problems but can save you some frustration when putting your pistol back together.

Good luck,

Bronson

p.s. The correct spring position, magazine cleaning, and ammo selection has pretty much taken care of my BT380 jamming problems.

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"Each new generation born is in effect an invasion of civilization by little barbarians, who must be civilized before it is too late." T. Sowell.
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Bersa Thunder .380
Browning HiPower
Kahr CW40
Kel-Tec P-32
Ruger Mark I
Ruger GP100