BERSA Thunder 9
Encyclopedia
Semi-automatic self-loading pistol
A semi-automatic pistol is a type of handgun which uses a single chamber and barrel, with a mechanism powered by the previous shot to load a fresh cartridge into the chamber...
manufactured by Bersa
BERSA
Bersa is an Argentine arms manufacturer located in the city of Ramos Mejia in Argentina- History :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 Ramos Mejia production plant 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...
. It is also sold under the name Firestorm or FS 9.
Development History
This handgun is an evolution of the Model 90, the first full size 9mm Luger pistol made by the Argentine company and introduced in 1989. In 1994, when the entire Bersa pistol production line was renamed "Thunder", the Model 90 was modified with better functionalities and placement of the fire control group, improved sights, better ergonomics, lighter weight and increased magazine capacity. It then became the full size offering of the Thunder model range.Design
The Thunder 9 shares little in common with the other handguns in the company's product line. While the smaller Thunders are a blow-back pistols similar to the Walther PPKWalther 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...
, the Thunder 9 is a full-size, short-recoil handgun to handle the greater pressure of the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The gun bears some resemblance 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....
pistol.
The slide and barrel are high strength steel and the frame is aluminum alloy. Available finishes are black matte, nickel, and a two-tone with a nickel finished slide and satin black frame. All the available finishing styles are non-reflective. The polymer grips are integrated "wraparound" style. The trigger is double-action for the first shot, single-action thereafter. The magazine is double stack and the slide remains open after the last round is fired. The magazine release button can be reversed for left-handed shooters and it has a "round in the chamber" indicator. It is one of the easiest, if not the easiest, semi-automatic handgun to field strip for cleaning.
The pistol features ambidextrous safety, a decocker activated by the safety lever, emphasized sights, combat trigger guard, an integrated accessory mounting groove in the frame (added after the year 2000), firing pin block; the pistol will not fire unless the trigger is squeezed all the way back protecting from accidental falling.
Calibers
The number after the name "Thunder" identify the cartridge fired. They are called the Thunder 9, Thunder 40, and Thunder 45 for the 9mm Luger, .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...
cartridges. The Thunder 9 and Thunder 45 Ultra Compact are +P rated.
Compact Versions
The Compact versions of the Bersa Thunder full size handguns were introduced at the end of the 1990s. Initially the name was "Mini Thunder" later changed to "Thunder Ultra Compact". Avalilable chamberings are 9 mm Parabellum, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. The .45 version is not available in a full size. Barrel length is reduced to 3.5 inches (3.6 for the .45 ACP caliber).The Thunder Ultra Compact features a security key to activate a security locking system located on the left side of the frame under the take down lever, in the locked position the hammer cannot be cocked, the trigger won't work in double action, the slide won't cycle and the gun cannot be disassembled. Each pistol has an individual key.
Shooting Competitions
Bersa Thunder full size pistols have won several IPSCInternational Practical Shooting Confederation
The International Practical Shooting Confederation is a shooting sport based on the concept of practical shooting. Accuracy, power and speed are all required to achieve a maximum score.-Founding and organization:...
matches and are always very competitive either with the official Team Bersa or in the hands of private shooters.
Users
- Argentina Armed Forces, Federal Police, and Buenos Aires Provincial Police all use the Thunder 9- Several other Law Enforcement agenciesLaw enforcement agencyIn 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)