Bersa Thunder 380 with satin nickel finish
Thunder 380
Type	Handgun
Nation(s) of origin	Argentina
Era	Modern
History
Date of design	1995
Production period	1995 to Present
Service duration
Operators	Ecuadorian Air Force
War service
Variants	CC (Concealed Carry)
Number built
Specifications
Type	Handgun
Caliber	.380
Ammunition	.380 ACP
Feed system	7, 9, or 10 round single-stack magazine
Action	Blowback-operated, semi-automatic
Length	6.61" (168 mm)
Barrel length	3.54" (90 mm)
Weight	(unloaded): 20 oz. (560 g)
Rate of fire
Muzzle velocity	1050 ft/s (Cor-Bon JHP)
Effective range

Introduced in the late 1990's by Argentinian firearms manufacturer BERSA, S.A., the Thunder 380 is a small semi-automatic pistol that has enjoyed popularity due to its reputation for reliability, light weight and concealability, accuracy at short to medium range, and relatively low price. Image File history File links Bersa_380. ... A handgun is a firearm small enough to be carried and used in one hand. ... The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod, also common for handguns. ... Boxes of ammunition clog a warehouse in Baghdad Ammunition is a generic military term meaning (the assembly of) a projectile and its propellant. ... The . ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... Blowback is a system in which automatic or semi-automatic firearms operate through the energy created by combustion in the chamber and bore acting directly on the bolt face through the cartridge. ... A semi-automatic firearm requires a trigger pull for each round that is fired. ... The barrel of a gun or other firearm is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion is released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at great speed. ... The Rate of fire is the speed at which a specific firearm or artillery piece can operate. ... .357 Magnum rounds. ... A semi-automatic firearm requires a trigger pull for each round that is fired. ... A Browning 9 millimeter Hi-Power Ordnance pistol of the French Navy, 19th century, using a Percussion cap mechanism Derringers were small and easily hidden. ...

History

Preceded by the BERSA Modelo 383 SA, Modelo 383 DA, Modelo 83 and Series 95, the Thunder 380 is part of the BERSA product lineup that also involves the Thunder 22, Thunder 22-6, Thunder 32, Thunder 380 Super, Thunder 9, Mini Thunder 9, Mini Thunder 40, and Mini Thunder 45. A variant of sorts is sold by another manufacturer, Firestorm SGS of New Jersey, wherein the pistol is assembled from parts manufactured by BERSA and marketed as the 'Firestorm 380'. A further-lightened variant of the Thunder 380 called the 'Concealed Carry' model has been slated for a 2005 release by BERSA in the United States. The BERSA Thunder 9 The Thunder 9 is a semi-automatic handgun designed to fire 9mm parabellum ammunition, and is manufactured by the Argentinian firearms manufacturer BERSA. As one of the Thunder series, the Thunder 9 shares many similarities with other handguns in the same series, such as the BERSA... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Largest city Trenton Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq. ... In the United States, concealed carry is the right to carry a handgun or other weapon in public in a concealed manner. ...

Intended Market

The popular Thunder 380 is intended for general civilian use. This conceptualization might be appreciated in the context of handgun use and law in many South American countries, where the Thunder 380 is quite popular, and .380 ACP is frequently the most powerful cartridge allowed to civilians. Nevertheless, a number of military and law enforcement forces have included BERSA 380's in their tables of equipment, including the Ecuadorian Air Force. The . ...

Design Advantages

The Thunder 380 has a light aluminium alloy frame that reduces weight for easier carry, and yet the pistol still retains enough mass to help tame recoil. The blowback, fixed-barrel design theoretically aids accuracy, and it seems the vast majority of Thunder 380 users report favorably on that matter. The nearly straight-in alignment of the chamber and the topmost cartridge in the loaded magazine seems to be responsible for the pistol's reliable chambering and cycling during use. The frame features a long rearward tang over the grips, effectively protecting one's thumb-webbing from hammer-bite or slide-bite. There is an abundance of safety features built into the Thunder 380: a slide mounted manual safety -and- decocker that blocks the hammer, a magazine disconnect safety that prevents firing if a magazine is not inserted, a long |double-action (DA) first trigger pull, and an integral key-operated trigger lock. Some productions also feature an automatic firing pin block. Blowback is a system in which automatic or semi-automatic firearms operate through the energy created by combustion in the chamber and bore acting directly on the bolt face through the cartridge. ... A US Army 45 Colt. ...

Limitations

The Thunder 380 protects the hand from being 'bitten' by the movements of the hammer or the slide, but has a slide-mounted manual safety lever, which when switched to 'safe' points downwards past the slide's outline: if the user has very large hands and grips the pistol carelessly while manually cycling the slide (with the safety lever on 'safe'), the lever can slightly nick the hand. Separately, the cost of additional factory magazines is much higher than one might expect, but some third party manufacturers, such as Pro Mag Industries, have marketed alternatives (although of somewhat dubious reliability). There is, of course, this certain perception among many pistol users (particularly in the United States, the Philippines, and elsewhere) that a .380 ACP cartridge is not powerful enough to provide dependable and timely neutralization of an assailant. This notion has been disproven via multiple studies done in the late 1980's and 1990's. It has been shown that the most effective caliber for self defense is the caliber that you can comfortably carry on your person every day. With this logic in mind, the Bersa 380, as well as similar models such as the Walther PPK(s) and the Sig 232, is a logical choice for every day concealed carry.

External links

• Bersa Thunder Resource Site and Forum
• Review of the Bersa Thunder 380 at Gunblast.com
• Bersa Talk - Bersa Help site