I’ve found my Bersa, although it wasn’t in matte black like I originally wanted.
I bought a Bersa Thunder 380 Plus in Nickel Satin from Hinterland Outfitters for $361 (now $391).
Immediate pre-firing impressions:
- There are lots of tooling marks, scrapes and nicks, even as a new product.
- It has a stiff safety/decocker, but it might wear in (I put oil on the safety lever and it’s not so stiff anymore).
- The safety/decocker is in an awkward place. My hands aren’t large but they aren’t the smallest in the world, either, so I’m thinking this isn’t just an issue with my hands…it’s a safety/decocker placement issue.
- The rubber grips work great…shouldn’t need to be replaced, even though Plus model grip options are scarce.
- Take-down is relatively easy, but re-installing the slide is a bit difficult.
- The handgun is slim but wide at the grip.
- The rear sights don’t appear to be durable…looks like it won’t take too many slide racks when using a hard substance.
About the second bullet (Safety/decocker is in an awkward place), here are some additional notes: There’s no way in hell I’m going to be able to use the safety with my strong hand, not even with lots of training, as it’s just flat-out in the wrong position for my hands. When I read Bersa Chat posts on the issue, there are lots of people that have the same experience. It’s good that this is a DA/SA gun, otherwise that safety would be an even more serious detriment.
Range time will come shortly. Also, expect a quick video…I’ll post the link to the video when it’s ready.
UPDATE: The after-range report is here.