Bersa Thunder 380 & PSS-Rex +1

[92FS]

After waiting weeks for our licenses and a week for our Fall Creek Valley Conservation Club ID's we finally got to go to the range yesterday and break-in my wife's brand new Bersa Thunder 380.

17 rounds isn't much of a "break-in" except it literally broke. The trigger ceased to function after 17 rounds down the tube. Needless to say I was quite disappointed in what I thought was a solid 380 to buy.

So I made a quick call this morning to Plainfield Shooting Supplies where we bought the gun in March and talked to Rex. After explaining the problem to him he says, "I know exactly what's wrong, bring it in and I can fix it in 10 minutes."

After work we stopped by and sure enough Rex took off the pistol grip, flipped a spring back up where it should be and all was well. I told him that I didn't think that even took him 10 minutes. Plus he showed me exactly what he was doing so if it ever happens again I can fix it myself. He said that it probably would never happen again but that sometimes the new ones don't get set exactly right at the factory.

2 bottom lines:

1. If you have a Bersa Thunder 380 and the trigger breaks after the first couple magazines it might be a quick and easy fix, if you know what to do.

2. Rex at PSS provided excellent customer service and made this customer very happy. +1 to PSS.

 

[Crystalship1]

As it should be!!!!

 

[gglass]

The Bersa Thunder disconnect spring issue is very well known, but it is also very well concealed by the Bersa community. If you bring the issue up on the Bersatalk forums you will likely have your post deleted, and they will defend their action by saying that it only affects a small number of Bersa owners.

If you have had the spring jump from the groove, then it will likely continue to happen. This is not something you want to have happen in a self defense situation. You really need to send the Bersa to an authorized gunsmith to have them replace the spring. It will only cost you shipping one way.

(Insider trick: If the spring jumps the groove again, and you hold the Bersa ghetto style it will still fire... This may help in a critical SD situation.)

This is the gunsmith that I would use:

Reynersons Reynersons Gunsmith

10044 Hooper Road
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
70818
Phone: (225) 261-4860
Fax: (225) 261-4865
Email: reynersons@gmail.com

As for Nick!

(I would not use C. Royce Honeycutt at Colorado Gun Works. His company really seems to be part of the spring cover up issue at BersaTalk forums. He really likes people to send in their guns over and over and over. Business is good for him.)


P.s. My wife and daughter love their Bersa's, but I would not let them carry their Bersa's for SD until the springs were replaced.

 

[92FS]

+rep given to gglass, thank you so much for all the info. When Rex told me on the phone he knew exactly what it was and how to fix it I wondered to myself how common this problem must be. It seems no matter how much research one does before a purchase there is always these little secrets that don't show up until after you have a specific incident occur.

 

[Sasquatchhunter]

you beat me to the ghetto style trick! A Bersa .380 was on my want list until my friend's did the same thing. He sent it back to the factory and got it back 3 DAYS LATER. I was really impressed with that.

 

[92FS]

Does anyone know if the replacement spring is a different style because of a design flaw of the original or is it with the exact same type and it is because the original was just defective?
Or was the factory installation just done poorly and the original spring is really OK?

 

[gglass]

Does anyone know if the replacement spring is a different style because of a design flaw of the original or is it with the exact same type and it is because the original was just defective?
Or was the factory installation just done poorly and the original spring is really OK?

The official story is that certain models (a range of unknown serial numbers) were assembled with poor quality springs, and that Bersa has since resolved the spring issue by switching vendors. Any springs provided today are the better quality springs.

 

[A_Tomic]

I had the same problem

I just purchased my Bersa Thunder 380 in Feb. of this year.

Lucky me went to Meijer in Three Rivers MI and they had about 10 boxes of 380 ammo. Anyway, went to the range and put a box through it and was impressed. Then went home and figured I would clean it along with my 9mm.

after I cleaned it and put it back together it felt like something was wrong with the trigger pull. So I tried to dry fire it and it did not work right. I figured I did something wrong.

Well I am kinda good with how things work. so I took it apart and figured out what had happened fairly quickly.

The spring jumps out of a groove and wedges its self up into an area that it does not have the power to lift the metal piece that slides on it. That spring happens to be under the right side grip cover.

you may want to take a closer look at the spring.... it is not a spring that needs to be replaced... it is a small alignment problem. I had to push the spring inward a little so it would retain the alignment with the groove that the end of the spring slides in.

after I did that I have run around 500 to 600 rounds through it. also had a few other people shoot it at the range. I have taken it apart and cleaned it, at least 8 or 10 times. I have not had it happen again.

I do however believe if I would not have made that small adjustment I think I may have had that problem happen again...

Just thought I would tell ya what I did.
Worked great for me.