Tried out my new Bersa .380 today

[omaharj]

     Went to the Bullet Hole  today to pop the cherry on my Matte finish Bersa. Since I have never been to an indoor range before I took my time and asked a few questions. The guys there are helpful without being condescending and  I was quickly clipping up a target. I had very little expectation of my ability to shoot accurately. I was confident I would behave in a safe manner though. I had mentally gone through 'what if' possibilities (FTF, stovepipes,squibs,jams,etc) but I needn't have worried. The Bersa performed flawlessly.
  I fired 45 rounds of Winchester 95 gr. FMJ and 25 rounds of Hornady 90gr HP/XTP FPD. They both made identical size holes (hehe) and I felt about the same recoil from each. I am curious to try other types (Buffalo Bore?) as a home defense round and opinions would be appreciated from other .380 ACP owners.
   As far as MY ability... well... I was satisfied. I shot a couple clips at 15 feet and was confident I would hit the target at 25 and went there. Aside from two shots low and to the right by about 8 inches (I would say 5 O'clock) I kept a grouping of about 5 inches.  My confidence went up a bit and I finished with some one handed shots at 15 feet. I was delighted to find I could shoot fairly quickly and keep a grouping around 3 inches. Makes me think my isosceles shooting needs some reviewing I think  the low/right shots were a result of trigger finger pressure being poorly applied.
   As I'm a bit of a newbie (with thick skin) I look forward to any guidance.   RJ

[FarmerRick]

Practice, practice, practice.


Then,  practice some more.

Dry firing is good( and free) practice too.

[unfy]

Note: I am by no means an expert.

Congratulations on your new gun!  

Assuming you're right handed ... and you typically see these low and to the right shots ... it could very well be a sign of jerking / pulling on the trigger or movement in your right shoulder.

While shoulder movement is hard to diagnose in a dry fire situation, dry firing while focusing on your front sight (where you should focus while shooting anyway), you should be able to see if your trigger technique causes any movement in the sights.  If it does, work on finding out why and fixing it.


Only do this if you follow proper hang/no-fire rules!!!

If a moderator feels this is dangerous, just delete this part

If you take a friend or someone else to the range with you, have them load a snap cap (or one of the 25 cent dummy rounds available at the counter at the BH) and then a random number of rounds in the magazine.... and then shoot until you run dry.  

When the gun picks up the snap cap from the magazine, you won't be able to tell that the magazine is empty or that it has the snap cap chambered.  Then when ya squeeze, it won't discharge, and you'll immediately notice if you're jerking the gun any while squeezing the trigger.... and prolly feel like an idiot if ya pull the trigger, the gun jerks, but no lead goes down range

When you hit the snap cap, follow standard hang / non-discharge safety rules -- keep it pointed down range for 30 seconds before clearing the weapon.

You can't be sure if it was the snap cap or a dangerous round.

If you don't have a friend with you, try to not keep track of the number of rounds ya load on top of the snap cap, or load a couple magazines with a snap cap in the bottom.

(off topic: in a revolver, leave one or two cylinders empty and gently spin the cylinder... don't be violent with it... cylinder alignment is a primary failure of revolvers).

[Ronvandyn]

Congrats on the new Bersa.

I took my new Walther PK380 out there last week and gave it a workout.  I have never owned a .380 before, but I have owned a Walther so I expected no real problems with it.  It performed flawlessly. 

I purchased the Walther because of (1) the reputation of the brand and (2) because it is larger than most .380's.  I'm a big guy, with big hands, and an LCP just disappears in them to the point that I worry about being safe with such a small weapon. 

I have never handled a Bersa, never even seen one to be honest.  How does the size of yours compare with the PK380?  They are a bit cheaper (cost wise) than the Walther and I seriously considered one before I went with the PK380.  Read a lot of reviews, did quite a bit of research, and settled on the Walther because the reviews touted the size and grip design over those of other larger .380's.

Ron

[omaharj]

Thanks for the replies. I went to practice today and while there was some improvement (Shot about 40 rounds at 50 feet with 3 minor exceptions kept the grouping near 7.5") The target at 25' is starting to look clearer to my old eyes.Shot about 30 rounds there. I'm using my peripheral vision for the rear sights and focusing on the front sight and target. I may need some instruction from someone who watches what I'm doing to spot flaws. Maybe a class. Dunno,just want to get better faster.

   Ron, I looked at the  PK380 and I think the Bersa is bigger by a hair. I too have fairly large hands and felt most mouseguns only used two fingers to hold. That little addition to the clip on the Bersa made it feel just right. I also like the ease in disassemly of the Bersa VS the Walther. To me the PK380's biggest advantage is the name (with the associated quality) and the extra round the mag holds. The Bersa operates by blowback and the Walther doesn't. I don't know which is preferred. Bersa has limited lifetime warranty. Don't know what yours has, A lot of it comes down to personal preference. If you like it you like it.  Congratulations on your new  PK380, I imagine you'll get  tens of thousands of rounds worth of enjoyment out of it.  RJ

[20nickels]

I would also like to hear more about the Buffalo Bore .380 load.  They claim near 9mm performance and stay within standard pressure.

[unfy]

I would also like to hear more about the Buffalo Bore .380 load.  They claim near 9mm performance and stay within standard pressure.

I.... honestly dunno how ya can accomplish this. The best guess I'd have would be slower burning powders so that there's more-steady pressure as the bullet travels through the barrel rather than a sharp drop off ?

[20nickels]

I'm a skeptic as well, but amazing things can be done by making custom powders for specific tasks.  Especially when they are willing to push the pressure envelope instead of staying snugly within SAAMI specs.  Just look at their .38 loads or Hornady's Superformance series.