:: Bersa Talk ::

Hello,  I am new to this forum but not new to forums in general so I do know some forum etiquette. Yes I did search and read before posting though I could have just missed what I was looking for. ;)

To get right into it I recently purchased a Bersa Thunder 380 from my local dealer.  After doing some research on Bersa and talking to one of the guys at the shop who actually carries the 380 Plus I decided to buy a Thunder 380.  To keep this short the first 100 rounds went through the gun with no problems at all. I quickly fell in love with the gun for its accuracy and ease of operation. On another day I ran another 100 rounds through the gun but I had 2 jams. The rounds failed to chamber.  Thinking it may have been the ammo or simply break in I took the gun with me to a range with 400 rounds.  During the day at the range the gun had 8 jams. On the last box it was jamming almost every other clip.  Every time this was caused by the next round failing to chamber. In most cases the nose of the round gets pitched up and jams in the top of the camber though I did have one that stuck out the side at a 90*.  I have of course correctly cleaned the gun after each use.  While at the range I stripped and cleaned the gun and even tried different oiling and shooting techniques but the jamming still persisted. I even had another person fire the gun thinking maybe it was my style but it jammed then as well.  I have not taken the gun back to the shop yet, though I have only owned it for about three weeks.  I am just looking for what direction I should go here.  I snapped a few pics with my phone for reference while at the range. As I said before.. LOVE the gun.. hate the jamming, but I dont know what to do about it.  I can see where some of the rounds have actully nicked the inside of the chamber from jamming during operation.

 

 

Hi spdweb and welcome to Bersa Talk.

Something happened between your first 100 and the next. You might check your recoil spring and make sure its on the right way. There is a tight end and a loose end to this spring. Make sure the tight end goes on first and have the very end of coil at the loose end pointing stright up at the "12 oclock" position. If this spring is not installed right it will give ya fits! Good Luck.

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Thanks for the quick reply.  Yes I have checked and rechecked the spring and assembly of the gun.  I can't find anything wrong with it.  I have even gone over the clip looking for any defects but I can find nothing.  I am a little at a loss as to why it seems to be getting progressively worse with no signs of any damage or physical problems. The nose of the bullet pitches up and over shoots the barrel then lodges up against the top.  The first time I shot the gun the action seemed a little stiff and rightly so.. but now its getting broken in and it seems the faster and smoother the action slides the more jams occur.  I don't know if its a machining defect in the barrel causing the bullet to catch on something or what. I don't have another gun to compare it to.

Do you have another magazine to try?  Maybe you could ask the gun store where you bought it to loan you one to see if that fixes it.

If you haven't yet done so you'll want to post this in Tech Talk and wait for Royce's opinion (he's the Bersa warranty center gunsmith).  If the gunstore has a 30 day return policy you might just want to take advantage of it and exchange it for a new one and let them deal with getting it repaired/replaced.

Bronson

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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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Thunder .380
Browning HiPower
Kahr CW40
Kel-Tec P32
Ruger MK I
Ruger GP100
S&W 60

Kind of looks like it's trying to give birth  Sorry,couldn't help myself... I think you will get some good advise from our members.  Be careful with that guy with the tinfoil hat. I know I'm BAD today.

RC

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Well I posted in the tech forum. Unfortunately I just talked with the gun store and they have no exchange or return policy, the gun will have to go back to Bersa and they are even going to charge me shipping for that!  Kinda crappy service for paying $375.34 on a $250 gun huh?   I can't say I am mad at Bersa at all.. I love the gun.. and mistakes happen no matter who's at fault.. but it does need to work.  I feel I have eliminated shooting style and ammo used pretty well.  Hopefully I can get this thing figured out without too much time and money spent. The gun shop has certainly turned me off though.. I think I will be dealing with this one on my own. They said they have never had a problem with Bersa so they are automatically leaning toward I have done something to the gun.

Thanks for your replies.. if anyone has any advice I will be sure glad to take it.

Just so you know....

The pistol doesn't actually go back to Bersa.  Bersa contracts with gunsmiths here in the U.S. to cover warranty repair.  The best and the brightest are at Colorado Gun Works (avoid Gander Mountain).

If you look at the top of the Tech Talk forum there will be instructions for shipping that will allow you to avoid the overnight shipping charges.  Personally I would pitch a fit at the local shop and see if they'll ship it for you since as a dealer they can send it through the regular mail for less $$.

In a nutshell:

• Disassemble, package, and box up your firearm and magazines at home.  Include a letter explaining the problem and your contact info.  You may also request a video of your gun going through the test fire sequence after it has been repaired .
• Address the package to "CGW..."
• Go to UPS or FedEx and ship it as "machine parts" and purchase a level of insurance that will cover the replacement of your "machine parts" should they become lost.

This will allow you to ship it regular ground instead of overnight.  The shipping companies have a rule (it's not a law) that they only ship firearms overnight... "machine parts" have no such stipulation

Just FYI having the consumer pay the return shipping is pretty standard for most firearms manufacturers so Bersa is no better or worst than most on that part.  They do cover return shipping to you.

Good luck,

Bronson

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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
--------------------------
Thunder .380
Browning HiPower
Kahr CW40
Kel-Tec P32
Ruger MK I
Ruger GP100
S&W 60

Well thats unfortunate.. I have a gander mountain about 20 minutes from here but I can understand what your saying. I think the gun shop mentioned Gander when we were talking about the warranty.. I will avoid them for sure unless they would do an exchange.  Thanks for the tips on shipping. I'll make some calls and see what I can find out.

Take your mag apart and clean real good . This is 90% chance  a mag problem not a pistol problem.

If you had your mag apart already for cleaning might have put mag spring in backwards, or even up sidedown  .

You are useing factory mag right.    Those kind of jams are common with a pro mag.

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Bersa Thunder,
PPK/S,
1990 Colt Mustang,
380 Kel Tec
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The mag is now on its way to NJ for replacement. I am in MD so it should only be a few days turn around. While at the gun range after the first 200 rounds I pulled the gun completely apart, looked for broken or bent parts.. cleaned and assembled the gun.  I then took the mag apart and cleaned, LIGHTLY oiled and assembled it. This with another dozen eyes and head scratchers watching and giving their input. The problem still persisted, actually got a tad worse on the last box of ammo through.

I called Eagle in NJ and they were very nice.. told me to send the mag back and they will send a new one. They told me to try that and if that didn't do it to send the gun to a service center of my choice and they would reimburse me for shipping.  Very nice people.. I will gladly pay shipping to get the gun repaired.  Hopefully this will do it though.. I'll keep you posted.

 

Thanks again.

Matt

Hi Matt (spdweb.net) and welcome to BT.... I am agreeing with michael t in that it sounds like a magazine problem to me too.....I am really glad to hear that the folks at Eagle were so good to you.........they are pretty good to us here at BT also....Thanks for sharing and please let us know how it turns out...

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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing." Albert Einstein

I agree sounds like a mag. problem. Think back, did anything change between the first hundred rounds and the second hundred?

You didn't mention what type of ammo you were using, I see that they are FMJ's try something different, but keep them FMJ.

Run another hundred through it and see what happens.

RT

 

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Those pictured were Independence brand 90gr. which I know nothing about, good, bad or otherwise, other then they were relatively cheap.  My friend has ran quite a few of them through his Sigma 40 with no problems but thats comparing apples to oranges. The range was selling magtech but I started out with the Independence. When I get the new mag I will start with a box of Magtech and maybe some Remington (which I have not tried yet). I do have about 30 of the Independence brand left so I can test with that also.  I don't mind spending a dollar or two more for better ammo.. some brands are bad and always will be, but I really dread paying much higher prices for top shelf ammo to appease a picky gun that shouldn't really be picky if that turns out to be the case  :)   

Just Pick up my Bersa Thunder 380 hi cap. Have been thru 200 rounds of ball ammo. No Jams.

My Gun Broker repairman told me that eveytime you go thru a mag of ammo, pull the mag out and wipe it off on both sides of Mag. Because of  the blow back of Ammo it will sometimes collect on the Mag and will continue to build up while shooting. After shooting that day, field strip and clean and add two drops of oil on barrel and make sure rails get a part of oil also. Swab out the barrel and never use a wire brush. Anyway he has 37 years experience, so I listened and he could be right.

Beng

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beng

I also been getting alot jams, always last round of mag. I did dissasemble my mags and clean n lube before this started. m.t comment on mag springs makes me wonder now, is there an oobvious way to tell if mag springs are in wrong?

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bersa thunder 380
taurus pt/7 pro cds .45acp
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smith & wesson 22-S
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