Finger grooves. And the "name" on the left side. That's all.
Same markings on the right side...
Exact same magazines. Same markings (the FireStorm mags are stamped Bersa,) etc.
There is a difference in the styling of the grips. But, using my highly scientific viable Sears caliper, they measure the same width at the palm swell. That said, the Bersa feels fatter.
$5. The Bersa being higher. The FireStorm was $352 and the Bersa was $357.
It's kind of apples to oranges becuase of the finishes and the fact that I bought them at different shops.
The nickel is supposed to be $20 higher than a duotone, but I bought the nickel .45 at a shop I usually get better prices at.
so have you shot them? what do you think of them for the price? i got a thunder 380 that i really love. its for the wife and i was thinking of getting my self a 40 but if the bersa 45 is as good as the 380 i'll save money and get another bersa vs getting a s&w or glock for my self.
1st Post....YAY
I just walked in from firing my new Mini 9 FirestormPro. It will actually be the wife's weapon but I get to shoot it. It functioned flawlessly. It took a minute to master the double stack magazine being primarily a relic 1911 shooter (45ACP-400Corbon-38/45) The white dot sights are great. Again I've had the mil spec sights of the 1911. I was shooting at a small football squash that had been lost in the field @40'. I actually impressed my self. It was really dead..13X. The mild recoil of the 9mm and combined with the grip design and balance allowed me to basiclly be right on target after each shot. I'll hit the range and see how things go but I had to shoot it after having it for almost 2 weeks. For my part you could spend a whole lot more money and not have much improvement. It's not PLASTIC.....polymer either.($Glock$ assult is coming ..I feel it.)
I'll have to study the forums a little and learn how to give an actual performance report. 13 rounds with Remington Ball isn't much of a test. Loading dies will be here Friday.
Do yourself a favor and paint the white dot on the front sight cadmium yellow.
You will gain much better aiming control.Works like a champ on my Bersa.
With the exception of the new Firestorm 1911, all Firestorms are manufactured by Bersa. They are the same guns and all parts are interchangeable.
Some minor differences like the trigger guard and the grip, things like that but you can use the mags from one in the other. Exchange slides, grips, firing pins etc.
One is cheaper than the other, not sure why that is since they all roll out of the same factories.
Again. The new Firestorm 1911 is NOT made by Bersa.
I think the MSRP is the same for Bersa Firestorm & Bersa Thunder. But you usually will not find both in the same store & that may determine minor differences in price. At one time, Llama made a 1911 in Spain with the Firestorm name on it & there were some reliability issues with it. Some of that might have rubbed off on the Firestorms from Bersa, but not even same manufacturer. Also, the Firestorm 1911s are now made in the Phillipines by Metro Arms & have a very good reputation.
Edit: Rechecked & MSRP is NOT the same. Comparing 9mm, Thunder UC is $443 MSRP & Firestorm Mini 9mm is $425 MSRP. Sorry about the mis-information.
there are still some firestorms around that were made in Spain by LLama...these are junk & are better avoided. thery are not the same gun being made by Bersa.
as noted above, the Firestorm 1911 & the American Classic 1911s are made by MetroArms in the Philippines & are great entry level 1911 pistols.
trailbazer
i own the bersa .45 firestorm. i really like it. one thing is that it doesn't seem to like remington ammo target rounds. i have the problem that sometimes once i have shot off about 50-100 rounds, the gun will not always eject the spent round. it tries to load the next round into chamber with spent round.
is this normal for .45 or just this model. this is my first .45
my 9mm has never done this.
i don't notice this as much with PMC rounds. any suggestions?
That's a good price! The 9mm pistols are getting the reputation for being the best of the Bersas.
Well, I put it on layaway because they didn't want to give me what I wanted for my Norinco Tokarev, so I'll have it in hand in a few weeks. I'm going to put the Tok up on a Tx. forum and see if I can sell it FTF so I can get the Bersa a bit quicker-being broke suxx.
