I found a vendor at a gun show last weekend selling Bersa Thunder pistols in .22 LR and .380 the other day for $265.
I have a couple Walther PP pistols in .32 ACP and and a few Manurhin and Ranger made PPK/s pistols in .380, as well as a Walther PP in .22 LR (the British issued L66A1 version, 1 of 3200 made, of which 1500 were imported into the US by Interarms).
I also have one of the Walther Umarex PPK/S .22 LRs, and frankly it shoots really well, better than my PP in .22LR.
Then I have several FEG made PP series clones in .32 ACP and .380 ACP.
But I’ve never owned or even shot a Bersa pistol, even though it has a lot in common with the PP series.
I bought the Thunder in .22LR mostly to have a .22LR pistol that wasn’t collectible and at $265 it’s dirt cheap as new pistols go.
However I also bought the Thunder in .380 just to see how it compares to my other PP’esque .380s.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Thunder .22LR. I put over 200 rounds of high velocity ammo through it including Aquila Super Extra in both solid and hollow point form as well as Winchester’s current 40 gr HP promo ammo. I had only one failure, and that was a stove pipe with the Winchester ammo that was probably just a lower than normal velocity round.
CCI standard velocity was a different story as it lacked the recoil to fully cycle the slide.
None the less it is far more reliable than my PP in .22LR and equal to my PPK/S .22LR and Beretta 71. Part of the excellent reliability is due to a very good magazine design, very similar to what Walther Umarex did with the magazine on the PPK/S .22 LR, with a very good feed angle and a wide enough stack that the rims can stagger themselves in the magazine and eliminate any curve in the stack.
It’s not as accurate as my PP or PPK/S, but is in the same ball park as my Beretta with palm of the hand sized 10 shot groups at 15 yards. It’s a few finger widths to the right, but the rear sight is windage adjustable so I’ll fix that before the next range session.
Both pistols have a much better trigger pull than any of my PP series pistols. The PP, PPK and PPK/S are all based on state of the art 1929 trigger geometry and there just isn’t anything you can do to give them a light DA trigger pull. That’s one of the obvious differences with the Bersa Thunder. The DA trigger is much more usable and while the SA trigger has some take up, it’s not bad.
The .22LR and .380 are very similar but there was one notable difference in the front sight. On the .380 it’s a dove tail front sight and on the .22LR it’s staked. The only QA issue on either pistol was the front sight on the .22LR is slightly loose and rocks back and forth a bit. That probably accounts for some of the vertical stringing in the 15 yard group.
The .380 had similar accuracy, again not on par with a Walther PP or PPK/S, but very serviceable. Both pistols would keep all shots on an 8” plate at 25 yards, and 15 yard groups were palm sized - more than adequate for a self defense pistol where shots will almost always be 7 yards or less.
The .380 was relentlessly reliable with FMJ ammo (I’ll try some hollow points soon). However, when it came to recoil it had a distinctly sharp feel in the web of my hand. 50 rounds were enough for a single range session, while a PP or PPK/S can comfortably be shot for 100 rounds in a session.
The FMJ loads I fired were full power 100 gr practice loads that produce the same recoil as my .380 self defense loads. The Bersa might be slightly under sprung for these full power loads, but there is no evidence of battering of the frame.
None the less it was 100 percent reliable and the cases ejected consistently at 3 o’clock.
——
I will say these are aluminum alloy frame pistols and unlike some of the tactical Tupperware out there, alloy and steel frame pistols generally like to be run wet. The Bersa proved to be no exception. Both got a thorough cleaning before first use and a liberal lube of the slide and frame rails. Run them dry and your reliability mileage will probably vary.
All in all, both of them impressed me as excellent bang for the buck pistols.
I have a couple Walther PP pistols in .32 ACP and and a few Manurhin and Ranger made PPK/s pistols in .380, as well as a Walther PP in .22 LR (the British issued L66A1 version, 1 of 3200 made, of which 1500 were imported into the US by Interarms).
I also have one of the Walther Umarex PPK/S .22 LRs, and frankly it shoots really well, better than my PP in .22LR.
Then I have several FEG made PP series clones in .32 ACP and .380 ACP.
But I’ve never owned or even shot a Bersa pistol, even though it has a lot in common with the PP series.
I bought the Thunder in .22LR mostly to have a .22LR pistol that wasn’t collectible and at $265 it’s dirt cheap as new pistols go.
However I also bought the Thunder in .380 just to see how it compares to my other PP’esque .380s.
I was pleasantly surprised by the Thunder .22LR. I put over 200 rounds of high velocity ammo through it including Aquila Super Extra in both solid and hollow point form as well as Winchester’s current 40 gr HP promo ammo. I had only one failure, and that was a stove pipe with the Winchester ammo that was probably just a lower than normal velocity round.
CCI standard velocity was a different story as it lacked the recoil to fully cycle the slide.
None the less it is far more reliable than my PP in .22LR and equal to my PPK/S .22LR and Beretta 71. Part of the excellent reliability is due to a very good magazine design, very similar to what Walther Umarex did with the magazine on the PPK/S .22 LR, with a very good feed angle and a wide enough stack that the rims can stagger themselves in the magazine and eliminate any curve in the stack.
It’s not as accurate as my PP or PPK/S, but is in the same ball park as my Beretta with palm of the hand sized 10 shot groups at 15 yards. It’s a few finger widths to the right, but the rear sight is windage adjustable so I’ll fix that before the next range session.
Both pistols have a much better trigger pull than any of my PP series pistols. The PP, PPK and PPK/S are all based on state of the art 1929 trigger geometry and there just isn’t anything you can do to give them a light DA trigger pull. That’s one of the obvious differences with the Bersa Thunder. The DA trigger is much more usable and while the SA trigger has some take up, it’s not bad.
The .22LR and .380 are very similar but there was one notable difference in the front sight. On the .380 it’s a dove tail front sight and on the .22LR it’s staked. The only QA issue on either pistol was the front sight on the .22LR is slightly loose and rocks back and forth a bit. That probably accounts for some of the vertical stringing in the 15 yard group.
The .380 had similar accuracy, again not on par with a Walther PP or PPK/S, but very serviceable. Both pistols would keep all shots on an 8” plate at 25 yards, and 15 yard groups were palm sized - more than adequate for a self defense pistol where shots will almost always be 7 yards or less.
The .380 was relentlessly reliable with FMJ ammo (I’ll try some hollow points soon). However, when it came to recoil it had a distinctly sharp feel in the web of my hand. 50 rounds were enough for a single range session, while a PP or PPK/S can comfortably be shot for 100 rounds in a session.
The FMJ loads I fired were full power 100 gr practice loads that produce the same recoil as my .380 self defense loads. The Bersa might be slightly under sprung for these full power loads, but there is no evidence of battering of the frame.
None the less it was 100 percent reliable and the cases ejected consistently at 3 o’clock.
——
I will say these are aluminum alloy frame pistols and unlike some of the tactical Tupperware out there, alloy and steel frame pistols generally like to be run wet. The Bersa proved to be no exception. Both got a thorough cleaning before first use and a liberal lube of the slide and frame rails. Run them dry and your reliability mileage will probably vary.
All in all, both of them impressed me as excellent bang for the buck pistols.
