Slide sticking

[eric85]

Had a slight problem today at the range and am looking for advice. The slide on my Thunder .380 stuck when trying to chamber the first round in my magazine on 2 separate occasions. I had to drop the mag and clear the gun, then start over. I WAS using the CHEAP ammo from Wally-World (Tul-Ammo, I believe...), so I'm wondering if that was the issue. It only happened twice, and both times, only when chambering the first round in a fully loaded mag. It worked great on all the other loads. The gun was very clean and well oiled on the first failure, and had only been through about 21 rounds with the second failure. Anyone else have this issue? Just the fault of the cheap ammo?

[Moodsman]

Isn't Tula steel shelled?
I've heard nothing but negatives about using steel shelled ammo in handguns, or even rifles that weren't designed around it originally. So basically unless you are shooting Soviet weapons (with lots of slop), I would stay away from it.

[mitchr]

Ditto on staying away from the steel cased ammo. What did the first round do? Hang up on the feed ramp, start into the chamber & jam?

Not usual for the Bersas, but if a new pistol is extra tight, running them wet during break-in sometimes helps.


P.S. Also, while only 21 rounds shouldn't do it, steel cased ammo usually has a waxey substance coating it & can build up in the chamber & make it difficult for rounds to chamber. A little extra care is needed to be sure the chamber is clean.

[ColoradoGunWorksGunsmith]

Eric85, if you continue to have issues with the pistol, please let us know. Perhaps we can help, and we want to make sure we do everything to help you be happy with your pistol. Let us know.
Thanks,

[eric85]

They are steel cased, and it would begin the chamber, then jam. It worked great with my Hornady's, so I guess I'm just going to have to loosen the wallet a bit and stop being so cheap Just have to buy decent ammo. Other than that, I absolutely LOVE my Bersa. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Well, almost anything....

[Americangirl01]

They are steel cased, and it would begin the chamber, then jam. It worked great with my Hornady's, so I guess I'm just going to have to loosen the wallet a bit and stop being so cheap Just have to buy decent ammo. Other than that, I absolutely LOVE my Bersa. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Well, almost anything....

Thank you for the update, eric85. Fwiw, steel cased ammo can actually damage your Thunder 380. The steel casings are harder than the anodized aluminum feed ramp and can cause damage to the feed ramp. Some steel cased ammo is also coated with lacquer which melts when it gets hot and can gum up the inside of the pistol. I will not shoot steel cased ammo in my Bersa pistols.

I would give the pistol a good cleaning and light lube before its next outing, just to be on the safe side.

[Dennis98077]

Steel caseing is good for you. Helpp build stronge bodies... Lots of iron and merrail as you all say. We Russians alway eat lots of iron, help make us stronger so we can shoot better. "Have nice day"

[Americangirl01]

Steel caseing is good for you. Helpp build stronge bodies... Lots of iron and merrail as you all say. We Russians alway eat lots of iron, help make us stronger so we can shoot better. "Have nice day"

It may be okay for you, but it is rough on your Bersa pistol.

[cdknisley]

Mr. Honeycutt,

I have a Bersa FireStorm and love the weapon. It however is causing me some problems with hanging up. By hanging up I mean it has problems with me being able to eject a round or fire. I believe it has something to do with the spring on right side of the pistol that is involved with the trigger. The first time it happened I found the back end of the spring up on the trigger slide and moved it back down. It worked for a time and now it seems that it happens after a few rounds. Once I take the grip off and move the springs back it works for a few shots and then it happens again. The front end of the spring seems to be held or molded into the plastic but the back end seems to ride on the bottom of the trigger slide. Please give me advise on how to fix this and get my favorite toy back in action. Thanks
Carl

[ColoradoGunWorksGunsmith]

Carl, the best way is to send it to us so we can perform an update on the disconnector and help prevent this from continuing to happen. It is not a consumer recommended repair. Please let us know what we can do to help.
Thanks,