BERSA
Encyclopedia
Bersa is an Argentine
arms manufacturer located in the city of Ramos Mejia in Argentina
The company was founded in the mid 1950s by Italian immigrants Benso Bonadimani, Ercole Montini and Savino Caselli, all of them mechanical engineers. Montini worked for Beretta
in Italy
. At the beginning they were producing parts for the now defunct Argentine
arms manufacturer Ballester Molina. Their first handgun was a modified version of a Ballester model which they called "Luan", combining the first two letters of the last names of the 2 designers of the pistol, Luce and Antonovich. The gun didn't have much commercial success and very few of them were produced; nowadays they are quite rare collector's items.
In 1959 the first 22 Long Rifle pistol was commercialized, called "Modelo 60", which later evolved in the "Modelo 62", and based on a modified Beretta
design, it sold extremely well. In 1960 the name "Bersa" was finally introduced, it is made up from the initial letters of the founder's first names. Many more successful models in increasingly more powerful calibers were produced in the following years, making Bersa well known and respected name in the firearms world. In 1989 the first full size combat pistol was introduced, the Model 90, chambered for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge.
In 1994 a new model name for the entire production line was introduced, "Thunder", followed by a number indicating the handgun caliber. However the Thunder series in reality include two totally different designs in mechanics and appearances; for cartridges up to and included the 380 ACP the handguns are compact in size (except for the Thunder 22-6 which is a 22 LR target competition pistol with a 6" barrel) and based on a blowback system, for more powerful rounds, starting with the 9x19mm Parabellum, the Thunder line is based on a locked breech and short recoil modified Browning design.
At the end of the 1990s Bersa won the contract for supplying a new standard sideram for the Argentina Armed Forces and Argentina Federal Police that were looking to replace their aging Browning Hi-Power
pistols. The Bersa Thunder 9
, an evolution of the Model 90, was chosen.
In the past Bersa also produced 22 Long Rifle caliber long guns and single and double barreled shotguns but they did not have the same commercial success of the pistols and they have been discontinued.
and the Bersa Thunder 9 pistols and the Utra Compact series of the Thunder chambered in 9mm, .40 S&W
, and .45 ACP
.
The company is well known among firearm enthusiasts for producing high quality guns at very reasonable prices and it spends very little money on advertisement. Lifetime warranty coverage is provided to the original owners. While strong and well built, nicely engineered, accurate, visually appealing and very reliable, Bersa handguns are not on par with the most prestigious brands (such as SIG
or Beretta
for example) when it comes to finishing. However, firearms made by such companies can cost as much as twice or more compared to a Bersa pistol in the same caliber and with similar features. The Argentine company is often influenced by the German firearms manufacturer Walther in the design of its handguns; the Thunder 22, 32 and 380 are basically clones of the famous Walther PP and PPK
while the Thunder 9 and 40 are somewhat similar in appearance and some mechanical aspects to the Walther P88
. For many products in the past, a similar source of technical "inspiration" was Beretta
.
The full size Thunder combat pistol is the standard sidearm of the Argentina Armed Forces (Thunder 9), Argentina Federal Police (Thunder 9), Buenos Aires Provincial Police (Thunder 9) and several other Law Enforcement agencies
(Thunder 9 & 40).
The Thunder 22 pistol chambered for the 22 Long Rifle cartridge is widely used among recreational shooters in Latin America and the Thunder 22-6, a longer and thicker barrel version of this handgun, is used in more serious competitions.
Team Bersa, equipped with Thunder 9 and Thunder 40 pistols, has won several IPSC
matches.
The Thunder 32 and 380 handguns sell very well in countries that ban the use of more powerful cartridges for civilian personal defense purposes.
The Thunder 380 is immensely popular in the US market as a small and light, easy concealable, high quality and competitively priced personal defense handgun.
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
arms manufacturer located in the city of Ramos Mejia in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
History
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. At the beginning they were producing parts for the now defunct Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
arms manufacturer Ballester Molina. Their first handgun was a modified version of a Ballester model which they called "Luan", combining the first two letters of the last names of the 2 designers of the pistol, Luce and Antonovich. The gun didn't have much commercial success and very few of them were produced; nowadays they are quite rare collector's items.
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...
design, it sold extremely well. In 1960 the name "Bersa" was finally introduced, it is made up from the initial letters of the founder's first names. Many more successful models in increasingly more powerful calibers were produced in the following years, making Bersa well known and respected name in the firearms world. In 1989 the first full size combat pistol was introduced, the Model 90, chambered for the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge.
In 1994 a new model name for the entire production line was introduced, "Thunder", followed by a number indicating the handgun caliber. However the Thunder series in reality include two totally different designs in mechanics and appearances; for cartridges up to and included the 380 ACP the handguns are compact in size (except for the Thunder 22-6 which is a 22 LR target competition pistol with a 6" barrel) and based on a blowback system, for more powerful rounds, starting with the 9x19mm Parabellum, the Thunder line is based on a locked breech and short recoil modified Browning design.
At the end of the 1990s Bersa won the contract for supplying a new standard sideram for the Argentina Armed Forces and Argentina Federal Police that were looking to replace their aging Browning Hi-Power
Browning Hi-Power
The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, 9 mm semi-automatic handgun. It is based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at Fabrique Nationale of Herstal, Belgium. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized...
pistols. The Bersa Thunder 9
BERSA Thunder 9
The Thunder 9 is a full size semi-automatic handgun manufactured by Bersa at the Ramos Mejia production plant in Argentina. It is also sold under the name Firestorm or FS 9.-Development History:...
, an evolution of the Model 90, was chosen.
In the past Bersa also produced 22 Long Rifle caliber long guns and single and double barreled shotguns but they did not have the same commercial success of the pistols and they have been discontinued.
Overview
Bersa is currently one of the largest privately owned corporations in Argentina. It produces, among many handguns, the very popular Bersa Thunder 380BERSA Thunder 380
Introduced in the late 1990s by Argentine firearms manufacturer Bersa, S.A., the Thunder 380 is a lightweight, relatively small semi-automatic pistol chambered in the popular .380 ACP caliber.-Development:...
and the Bersa Thunder 9 pistols and the Utra Compact series of the Thunder chambered in 9mm, .40 S&W
.40 S&W
The .40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge developed jointly by major American firearms manufacturers Winchester and Smith & Wesson. The .40 S&W was developed from the ground up as a law enforcement cartridge designed to duplicate performance of the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge which could...
, and .45 ACP
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP , also known as the .45 Auto by C.I.P., is a cartridge designed by John Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic .45 pistol and eventually the M1911 pistol adopted by the United States Army in 1911.-Design and history:The U.S...
.
The company is well known among firearm enthusiasts for producing high quality guns at very reasonable prices and it spends very little money on advertisement. Lifetime warranty coverage is provided to the original owners. While strong and well built, nicely engineered, accurate, visually appealing and very reliable, Bersa handguns are not on par with the most prestigious brands (such as SIG
Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft
Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft , or SIG, is the former name of SIG Holding AG, a Swiss company that has been active in various businesses during its more than 150 years of operation. Since the year 2000 the Society has undergone strategic refocus, concentrating on its core compentence in...
or Beretta
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...
for example) when it comes to finishing. However, firearms made by such companies can cost as much as twice or more compared to a Bersa pistol in the same caliber and with similar features. The Argentine company is often influenced by the German firearms manufacturer Walther in the design of its handguns; the Thunder 22, 32 and 380 are basically clones of the famous Walther PP and PPK
Walther PPK
The Walther PP series pistols are blowback-operated semi-automatic pistols.They feature an exposed hammer, a double-action trigger mechanism, a single-column magazine, and a fixed barrel which also acts as the guide rod for the recoil spring...
while the Thunder 9 and 40 are somewhat similar in appearance and some mechanical aspects to the Walther P88
Walther P88
The Walther P88 was a semiautomatic pistol developed by the Walther company of Germany in 1988, hence the model name P88. Its main feature was a high-capacity double-stacked magazine designed for military and law enforcement use....
. For many products in the past, a similar source of technical "inspiration" was Beretta
Beretta
Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta is an Italian firearms manufacturer. Their firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and military purposes. It is also known for manufacturing shooting clothes and accessories. Beretta is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the...
.
The full size Thunder combat pistol is the standard sidearm of the Argentina Armed Forces (Thunder 9), Argentina Federal Police (Thunder 9), Buenos Aires Provincial Police (Thunder 9) and several other Law Enforcement agencies
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
(Thunder 9 & 40).
Team Bersa, equipped with Thunder 9 and Thunder 40 pistols, has won several IPSC
IPSC
IPSC may refer to:* Induced pluripotent stem cell, a type of pluripotent stem cell* International Practical Shooting Confederation, a shooting sport based on the concept of practical shooting...
matches.
The Thunder 32 and 380 handguns sell very well in countries that ban the use of more powerful cartridges for civilian personal defense purposes.
The Thunder 380 is immensely popular in the US market as a small and light, easy concealable, high quality and competitively priced personal defense handgun.
Handguns
- Bersa 83Bersa 83The Bersa 83 is a double-action pistol chambered for 9x17mm Browning Short , and is manufactured by Bersa in Argentina. It is a very popular pistol because it is compact, accurate, reliable, inexpensive, and an excellent choice for self-defense and concealed carry...
- Bersa Thunder 22
- Bersa Thunder 22-6
- Bersa Thunder 32
- Bersa Thunder 380BERSA Thunder 380Introduced in the late 1990s by Argentine firearms manufacturer Bersa, S.A., the Thunder 380 is a lightweight, relatively small semi-automatic pistol chambered in the popular .380 ACP caliber.-Development:...
- Bersa Thunder 380 Concealed Carry
- Bersa Thunder 9BERSA Thunder 9The Thunder 9 is a full size semi-automatic handgun manufactured by Bersa at the Ramos Mejia production plant in Argentina. It is also sold under the name Firestorm or FS 9.-Development History:...
- Bersa Thunder 40
- Bersa Thunder 9 Ultra Compact
- Bersa Thunder 40 Ultra Compact
- Bersa Thunder 45 Ultra Compact