Two American Classics, Two Warranty Issues

[mitchr]

I'm really trying to be optomistic about the new American Classics because of past reputation, but it's getting hard to do. I bought an A.C. Government Model & with less that 200 rounds the front sight came out. It happened while at the range & I couldn't find it. Sent it into CGW, but they told me they had the sights on order and didn't know when they'd have them. Had someone else's pistol there for the same thing. Mine has been there for just over two weeks. Then, I bought an A.C. Commander & with less than 200 rounds, it locked up in battery & I couldn't fire it nor rack the slide to eject the live round. I was ready to give up on clearing it & wondering what to do next. As I went to lay it down & think about it a while, it fired! It had acted as if the grip safety was not depressed, despite my efforts to insure that it was. When I relaxed my grip, it worked! Royce recommended I send it into him also.
So two pistols & both in for warranty! In addition to that, the Commander had at least one & mostly two 'failures to feed' on just about every mag load for the 178 rounds before it locked up on me! Maybe my trouble free experience with five Bersas has spoiled me??

[BersaSales]

mitchr - wow! I am so sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your American Classic pistols. we are importers of quality guns, and take these types of things very seriously and work quickly to get them resolved. The American Classic line has been known for its very good quality, fit, and finish since its inception, and a couple of issues have come up in the last few months - two of which you have mentioned here. The first being the failure to feed. What has happened is we got a batch of magazines that fit just the slightest bit low in the magazine well, causing the failure to feed. The easy fix is to replace the magazine with a Chip McCormick and it will work perfectly. The second issue, while still rare, has come up a few times - the sight coming out. this has been addressed with the factory. The last issue is the one that concerns me the most. I forwarded you post to the factory to see what they could tell me. In the meantime, please send your pistols to one of our warranty centers of your choice (they can all be found on the main sight under the warranty tab). We will fix them and replace the magazines quickly at no charge and get them right back to you. Also, if you could reply to this with your email address, I would like to get in touch with you privately to send you some other stuff to make up for your troubles. Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. We want you to know that this is something we at Eagle Imports work very hard to avoid, and correct when the issues do occur. Thanks for your support, it is valued! Have a great day - BersaSales

[mitchr]

Thank you for your concern. PM sent with email address.

[Pond Scum]

I would like to get in touch with you privately to send you some other stuff to make up for your troubles.

Don't bother sending mitchr any goodies. Just put them up for Karma so we can all participate in his good fortune ..... no, his GREAT fortune at being able to purchase 2 new American Classics!

-Pondy

PS I may need to get an American Classic or 2 just to keep up with the community!

[R.Ph. 380]

You can send mitchr's AC's back to me, I'll see that they get a good break-in before sending them along.......hehehe

[mitchr]

Too late to both Pond Scum & .PH.380! Already got the nice goodies from Eagle Imports & Royce has repaired & returned the A.C. Commander in total 10 days which includes 4 days in UPS's hands!! So there!!

Now, just need to get to the range & re-start the break-in of my A.C. Commander.

[Rollin Thunder]

mitch, sorry to hear about the A.C.'s I heard about the sight on B.C. The A.D. concerns the heck out of me. I'm glad you're o.k. Did this happen in the house?

[mitchr]

mitch, sorry to hear about the A.C.'s I heard about the sight on B.C. The A.D. concerns the heck out of me. I'm glad you're o.k. Did this happen in the house?

No, was at the range. Partly my fault as I didn't take my finger off the trigger before starting to lay it down (lightest trigger I've seen on a new pistol). However, I did follow the rule about always pointing in a safe direction so the round went down range! What was wierd was that I'd been gripping the h*** out of it, thinking the grip safety wasn't working, & it fired when I relaxed my grip & recoil almost took it out of my hand! I was the only one at the range.

[mitchr]

Received the A.C. Commander back from CGW. Just took 10 days which includes 4 days transit time! Got it to the range this morming & looks like Royce fixed it! A total of 125 rounds 230 gr., 17 of which was JHP Winchesters. It failed to go all the way into battery about 5 times, but bumping the bottom of the mag fixed that each time. Had one feed jam which required that I drop the mag to clear it. Using the OEM mag & two Kimber mags. I have some Chip McCormick mags ordered & should remedy those issues. Could also be result of being a little tight. I'll clean it & lube it with Finish Line & when the new mags come in give it another run. I'm confident everything is okay with it.

[OysterMan]

I know you're glad to have it back Mitch. Hopefully it's just having some fleeting re-birthing pains.

[mitchr]

On 2nd range trip since CGW, still having some feed issues, but only one that I'd consider serious. Last round in the mag failed to feed. Dropped the mag, cleared the pistol & reloaded the round in the mag. When I tried to sling-shot it into the chamber, it jammed half-way into the chamber & I had a hard time getting it back out. I found that a small section of the case peeled back & this is what made it so tight in the chamber. I had examined the round before I reloaded it, but may have overlooked a burr, or whatever, from the first jam. I don't know. Anyway, this is with 3 new mags I ordered, but they got the order messed up & sent Colt mags rather than the Chip mags I ordered. Had failure to feed last round on all of them, as well as the A.C. OEM & Kimber mags. Went through 100 rds. Federal FMJ 230 gr. All told, had 7 fail to feed last round, including the one that resulted in the case peeling back. I plan on trying again next week & may load mags one short next time to see if that makes a difference. I'll also try to find something other than Federal & WWB to run through it. Michael T. thinks it might be the slide stop, so I am taking my Kimber along & swap them out if I have trouble again. Keep your fingers crossed guys.

[mitchr]

Finally got it done! After adjusting the extractor, Wolff 18# recoil spring, Chip McCormick magazines & about 300 rd. FMJ & 100 rd. JHP since above post in July, last two trips to the range went without a hitch & my A.C. Commander is deemed fit to carry! I'd never have done it with out a lot of help & advice from Michael T. & the other folks at Bersa Chat. Having more than one cause for the problems did make it more difficult, but a very good experience for me. I can't wait to get my next Ameican Classic, the Hard Chromed Commander. :smile:

[BersaSales]

Glad to hear your guns are running smooth mitchr! Hopefully, a few of these issues have been cleared up for current and future shipments from Metro. I am so glad we have this forum as a resource to find out what is going on out there in the "real world!"