Bersa - Yes? No?

[Yoshi]

OP
With all the other more well known/established brands what made you choose Bersa? I don't think price should be the number one priority in a self defense gun. I would buy a used name brand gun if money was an issue.


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I had a specific set of features I was looking for in a compact .45. I wanted:

• DA/SA
• Safety or decocker

I know the Sig P220 is an option, but wanted to see if there was anything else available and Bersa was the only other one I could find.

 

[John from MD]

OP, DA/SA is slowly being replaced by striker fired pistols for a reason. It is hard to master the change in grip position and trigger pull in a DA/SA platform. Additionally, single action is not a good mode to be in when the Adrenalin starts flowing. The striker fired pistols make for consistent, safe trigger pulls every time.

I would suggest you consider other options like maybe the S&W M&P line. They are one of the most discounted pistols (if money is an issue), can change caliber by changing the barrel and mag and have loads of aftermarket support in parts.

 

[Blaster229]

OP, DA/SA is slowly being replaced by striker fired pistols for a reason. It is hard to master the change in grip position and trigger pull in a DA/SA platform. Additionally, single action is not a good mode to be in when the Adrenalin starts flowing. The striker fired pistols make for consistent, safe trigger pulls every time.

Moot point in a self defense shoot. You will not notice the difference between sa or da.
Watch that bank guard video.
Do you think sa was a concern when he was trying to pump rounds into the threat? There was no "hand transition" either.

Finger off the trigger, gun pointed at someone, sa will not accidentally go off before a da would. An accidental trigger press under the stress, that three pound difference (whatever the pound difference)will make no difference.
No one pulls a trigger slowly while still deciding to shoot someone. Then let's out the trigger when they decide not to shoot.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Striker fired is dominating the market because all the mfgs are copying the Glock, and most depts want to have the same thing that neighboring agencies use, or the regionally dominate Dept has, and similar to the previous 125yrs , large segments of the public want " just like the Police use " .

In actuality DA/SA is perfecly viable for service and defensive use, and even has some administrative handling positives.

The dreaded DA to SA transition is overblown,* so long as the DA pull doesn't suck * . Early designs contemporary with the P38 were "challenging" at best. But by the Wondernine era , most pistols aimed at the LE market had usable triggers.

My current prefered carry 9mm and .45acp both happen to be DA/SA .

 

[Yoshi]

OP, DA/SA is slowly being replaced by striker fired pistols for a reason. It is hard to master the change in grip position and trigger pull in a DA/SA platform. Additionally, single action is not a good mode to be in when the Adrenalin starts flowing. The striker fired pistols make for consistent, safe trigger pulls every time.

I would suggest you consider other options like maybe the S&W M&P line. They are one of the most discounted pistols (if money is an issue), can change caliber by changing the barrel and mag and have loads of aftermarket support in parts.

I prefer DA/SA pistols and most of mine are in that configuration. I do have strikers, but prefer the hammer.

Not tracking on your comment about "grip position". It doesn't require a differnt grip for DA vs. SA.

 

[John from MD]

Moot point in a self defense shoot. You will not notice the difference between sa or da.
Watch that bank guard video.
Do you think sa was a concern when he was trying to pump rounds into the threat? There was no "hand transition" either.

Finger off the trigger, gun pointed at someone, sa will not accidentally go off before a da would. An accidental trigger press under the stress, that three pound difference (whatever the pound difference)will make no difference.
No one pulls a trigger slowly while still deciding to shoot someone. Then let's out the trigger when they decide not to shoot.

I don't know that you can compare what a trained person on the job does versus an everyday person who practices standing up shooting at a piece of cardboard does.

You make good points but you are looking at it from a trained LEO position. Even the bank guard has to do recurrent training even if only once a year. Most average gun owners have never taken formal training at all and many don't know to index their trigger fingers someplace other than on the trigger.

 

[Biggfoot44]

Y'all were busy while I was typing.

A P38 involves shifting to reach DA, modern designs are negligible for vast majority of hand sizes. And for fingers inadvertently placed in vicinity of trigger under stress, the DA/SA is MORE forgiving than striker fired.

 

[AKbythebay]

I have the Bersa Thunder compact 9mm and it's been a great gun. Never had any issues with it and it feels great in the hand. I would buy from them again based on my experience.

 

[plinkerton]

No. Bersa is junk IME.

I worked on a shit ton of them.

I don't have a repair log in front of me but at least a hundred or more of them over 13 years of being a gunsmith.

Do you recall what issues you see? Do they have multiple issues or do you see them come in with the same problems over and over?

 

[knastera]

Another advantage of traditional double action over SAO is that if you have a misfire, you can try squeezing the trigger a second time. I've had it happen.


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[clandestine]

Do you recall what issues you see? Do they have multiple issues or do you see them come in with the same problems over and over?

Yes Sir. I listed them in post #40.

 

[RoadDawg]

Personal preference from years of LE training...

PICK ONE AND STICK WITH IT!

Single Action
or
Double Action
or
Glock Safe Action (striker under pre-tension).

What ever you choose... I believe that EVERY pull of the trigger from start to finish, should be exactly the same pull. DA on the first shot followed by SA for the rest is an inconsistent pull of the trigger justified by idealism only.

Again... JMHO...

"Train the way you defend... Defend the way you train."

Someone will disagree... meh... I'm over it already.

 

[VickiC]

Bersa Model 83 .380 I Inherited. Sweet!

I recently acquired an old Bersa. Was amazed when I took it to the range! Flawless. AND, once I found the sweet spot, I could not miss. Ripped a 1-1/2" hole in that target.

The only thing was the take down was a little tricky. Had some trouble getting it to close back up.

I loved it.