Bersa Thunder 380 Jamming

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Bersa Thunder 380 Jamming

Posted: 12/10/2005 3:43:54 PM EDT

I bought one of these to have a small carry weapon. I've put about 100 rounds through it so far. Cleaned and lubed after first 60. Well, it seems to jam on the 5th, 6th, or 7th round every time.I expected that it might jam a time or two while it was being "broken in", but since it does it on almost every magazine I'm getting worried. (Shooting Winchester white box FMJ). Should I try another 100 rounds or so before I rush to judgement and call it a "jam-o-matic"??

Comments? Suggestions?

My XD-40 jammed about 3 times for the first 150 rounds and has never jammed since (~1500-1700 rounds). Neither my AK or 2 AR's have ever jammed on me. Just the Bersa, which was supposed to be the best thing under $200 since sliced bread, jams on me.

Posted: 12/10/2005 4:26:10 PM EDT

[#1]

You need to be a bit more specific about what it's doing, IMO. Is it not feeding? Not ejecting? Not extracting? Stovepiping?

I'm leaning towards a bad mag spring and/or bad mag feed lips. By all means change ammo brands & see what changes?

Be sure to run a good bit pf lube on the rails, this will keep it running smoothly as possible.

My .o2

Posted: 12/10/2005 8:03:49 PM EDT

[#2]

I don't mean any offense to this but all of he Bersa's I have seen in action (one in my CCW class) did not function well. If you are going to trust your life to a pistol, go with a more reputable pistol. Again, I don't mean this as a slam, but I would hate to see anyone depend on one of these pistols. A sub compact Glock or a small revolver would be a much better choice. Make it a range gun for plinking and move on.

Posted: 12/10/2005 8:11:42 PM EDT

[#3]

Trade it on something that will function 100%.

Whan are you guys going to figure out that cheap guns are CHEAP defence for your life. Is your life worth so little?

Posted: 12/10/2005 8:28:48 PM EDT

[#4]

A buddy has a two-tone he just bought a few months ago. It too jammed at first but after about 200 to 300 rounds it functions 100%. He also removed the magazine cut-off which annoyed him. I've shot it and am impressed with its quality and how it handles.

I still prefer my Makarov but the Bersa is not a bad choice if you don't mind having a .380.

Posted: 12/11/2005 3:42:00 AM EDT

[#5]

Yeah I bought it for its small size and rave reviews on other websites. I'm gonna keep it for plinking if nothing else, as jeeprock suggested. You guys are right, I don't want a carry weapon that isn't dead reliable (I was under the impression that these were great little guns when I bought it.). May be looking into the Sig equivalent soon.

As for what its doing specifically: It ejects fine. The next round doesn't feed. It gets stuck between the slide and barrel pointing straight up at 12 o'clock. I have afactory magazine and a promag. Is it likely that both would come new with weak springs?

ETA: I carry the XD when clothes allow room for it. The 380 was intended for when I'm wearing less clothing.

Posted: 12/11/2005 11:50:45 AM EDT

[#6]

I have one also, and used to get the SAME exact problem you do.

So long as you get a tight grip on it, you should not get any jamming at all. A weak grip will cause a FTF, as it does not give it enough support to fully rack the slide back.

Posted: 12/11/2005 12:18:50 PM EDT

[#7]

Promags are in general complete and utter crap. I don't know anything specific as why it would jam with the factory mag other than it might not be of the highest quality either.

Posted: 12/11/2005 2:38:56 PM EDT

[#8]

Thanks for the replies. Will try switching ammo and grip a little tighter. We'll see how that works.

Posted: 12/11/2005 8:30:50 PM EDT

[#9]

Run a box of Corbon 90gr through it. I have had zero problems with my Bersa.

Posted: 12/12/2005 5:17:51 PM EDT

[#10]

Eyeball the feed ramp as well. Look for roughness, bumps, pits, etc. Anything that might impede the smooth flowing of the rd feeding. If not, different ammo is a must, as is someone else shooting the gun. Also, how much oil is on the rails? A nice light coat is minimal for good operating.

Bersa's have a good rep, I've shot a half dozen or so of them w/o nary a problem. Don't give up on this gun yet, I'm betting there's a simple solution.

My .o2

Posted: 12/12/2005 6:03:29 PM EDT

[#11]

I own a Bersa .380 and have rarely experienced jams of any kind. Right around the 3rd or 4th box of ammo I ever fed (some el-cheapo, dirty ass reloads) I experienced a few FTF's that sound somewhat like what you've described, and once again when I hadn't cleaned the pistol after a few outdoor plinking sessions (it's very, very dirty and dusty where we shoot).

My experience, the Bersa is a great little gun for around $200. It performs just as well as any other blowback gun I've used as long as its maintained well. Don't give up on her just yet.

Posted: 12/13/2005 9:48:52 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Eyeball the feed ramp as well. Look for roughness, bumps, pits, etc. Anything that might impede the smooth flowing of the rd feeding. If not, different ammo is a must, as is someone else shooting the gun. Also, how much oil is on the rails? A nice light coat is minimal for good operating.

Bersa's have a good rep, I've shot a half dozen or so of them w/o nary a problem. Don't give up on this gun yet, I'm betting there's a simple solution.

My .o2

I have noticed my feed ramp does have some small bumps, what would be the best way to fix that?

Posted: 12/13/2005 4:20:06 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:

I have noticed my feed ramp does have some small bumps, what would be the best way to fix that?

Define "small" bumps? Head of a pin? Looks like a moon crater? Off-road tire tread? What??????

Small polishing can be done by hand, using very very fine grit polishing material. I've leave it to others to say what to use. What I wouldn't do is use a Dremel tool & take off about 1/2" or so off the ramp with excess polishing.

You don't talk much about your ammo, what are you using? What have you tried different??????

Posted: 12/13/2005 5:01:28 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
Quoted:

I have noticed my feed ramp does have some small bumps, what would be the best way to fix that?

Define "small" bumps? Head of a pin? Looks like a moon crater? Off-road tire tread? What??????

Small polishing can be done by hand, using very very fine grit polishing material. I've leave it to others to say what to use. What I wouldn't do is use a Dremel tool & take off about 1/2" or so off the ramp with excess polishing.

You don't talk much about your ammo, what are you using? What have you tried different??????

Remington gold sabre as carry ammo, winchester, umc. Shot a lot of Olympic through it when I first bought the pistol because it is all the range that is close to me has, and you have to buy ammo there and it's where I took my ccw course.

They look more like scratches, they go left and right and start from the beginning of the feed rump all the way up to the top, but only straight down the middle and about an 1/8th of an inch wide.. Closer to the top it's a bit deeper, but not much,

Posted: 12/13/2005 5:19:05 PM EDT

[#15]

HTH guys: www.chuckhawks.com/bersa_380.htm

Posted: 12/23/2005 2:07:38 PM EDT

[#16]

Went to the range today, shot 200 rounds of the Winchester value packs. It consistently jammed every last round with both a factory mag and aftermarket, for a little while it did not jam then it started jamming again.

When I came home I polished the feed ramp but I dunno how much it is going to do, I suspect it will still do it.

This really worries me as it is my primary carry weapon, and I do not have another pistol or the money to get one. I had not had this happen before I thought I had worked all the jamming issues out. I tried different styles of grip, and so did the other two shooters with me.

Almost ready to trade it in on a xd9 subcompact.....

Posted: 12/23/2005 2:56:17 PM EDT

[#17]

It isn't the value pack of WWB is it? Picked up a few box's of it and don't have the power it normally does. And with a loose grip will jam up and ftf.

Posted: 12/23/2005 3:07:00 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
It isn't the value pack of WWB is it? Picked up a few box's of it and don't have the power it normally does. And with a loose grip will jam up and ftf.

that is the value pack, but this happens with all kinds of ammo. I've been very grip conscious lately, and put the firmest grip on there as possible, and instructed the other two shooters to do so also.

Posted: 12/23/2005 5:02:20 PM EDT

[#19]

With the last round, does it not feed, not extract, what exactly??????????????

The last rd has the weakest point in the mag springs cycle. Since all the other rds would feed & shoot ok, I'm leaning towards the mag springs.

A new Mec-Gar mag for $20 or so & I bet it runs fine.

Posted: 12/23/2005 5:10:16 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
With the last round, does it not feed, not extract, what exactly??????????????

The last rd has the weakest point in the mag springs cycle. Since all the other rds would feed & shoot ok, I'm leaning towards the mag springs.

A new Mec-Gar mag for $20 or so & I bet it runs fine.

It does not feed, it ejects fine, the slide goes forward to chamber the next round and the nose of the bullet locks up by the ejection port.

Both mags were bought in July, one was the factory and the other is a pro-mag I think, can't seem to find a name on it actually, gun show special pretty much.

ETA Mec-Gar does not make Bersa magazines.

Posted: 12/23/2005 5:21:01 PM EDT

[#21]

I'm still leaning towards the mags. Pro mags are not considered too worthy of a mag brand by most folks. I didn't know Mec-Gar didn't do a Bersa gun mag.

Try CDNN web site for mag options, I think it'll be a good gun with a good mag, IMO

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Bersa Thunder 380 Jamming

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