Is this normal?

6547 Views 21 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Carrera4S, Apr 10, 2014

Redoak

Discussion Starter · Mar 24, 2014

While practicing dry firing with Snap Caps (which I highly recommend!), I noticed something - say all shots are fired, slide locked back indicating empty magazine... Here's what throws me- if I insert a magazine just pushing until it clicks, the slide stays locked back... But if I insert it then tap bottom of magazine with non-shooting hand heel firmly, slide will go forward inserting a round in chamber. Is this standard or do I need to have it looked at? I've only had the gun about a month - thunder cc 380

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

2farnorth

· #2 · Mar 24, 2014

Technically, I don't think it's supposed to do that, but mine has always acted the same way.

Pancho_Villa

· #3 · Mar 24, 2014 (Edited)

Nope, slide should stay back till the slide release is pushed down or till ya pull the slice back manually to "sling shot" it forward.

I have seen pistols that do what your say. Kinda a quick reload without the slide stope being pushed. I have had a few that did that. Your slide stop may not be making full contact with the notch in the slide release or the follower/mag spring is not making good contact with the slide stop to put enough pressure to hold it up in the slide stop notch.

If you have more than one magazine, try and see if it does it with more than one. All I have ever had is used BT380s, and most other guns. I have never had a BT380 with any mechanical problem so far. On the other autos, I tinker with them, or tweek the mags, springs, and mag feed lips, etc. They have no warranty when I get them. Your gun does. So if another mag does not solve the problem, you may want to call the warranty guys.

See less See more

Redoak

Discussion Starter · #4 · Mar 24, 2014

Thanks for the reply. I don't have an extra mag yet, I'll probably take to the gun shop and see if they have one I can try.
Not that I really mind that it automatically sends the slide forward (could come in handy, just have to be careful to keep away from trigger when loading the mag)
I bought the gun new, and used the factory mag, thus my concern

arcorob

· #5 · Mar 24, 2014

Just FYI

Mine all work like that too ! Noticed that last Saturday (only the second day shooting my .380). Shoot 7 rounds, slide locks back. Drop the mag, pop in a fresh one and snap. The slide goes forward and a chamber is loaded ready to go.

Sort of surprised me so much I pulled the slide back thinking I had to and ejected a cartridge.

I am trying to remember but I think that only happens if the safety if OFF. But now I will have to try it and see what is what...LOL

Redoak

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 25, 2014

Thanks Arcorob for your reply, you got me thinking with your comment.
I tried the same thing with both the safety on & off, still does it. I took it one step further- manually pulled back the slide and pushed slide lock as far as it goes- ejected the mag... The slapped on my heel, slide goes forward!!! So it's definitely not the mag causing it.
I ain't slapping it that hard either.

Would be curious to know if a lot of other shooters noticed this.

arcorob

· #7 · Mar 26, 2014

Blessing or curse ?

Okay, on the one hand I kind of like that it works that way, tap the mag in and she is automatically ready to go..however; from a process perspective, it is probably safest if the safety is on. Would hate to have the safety off, insert the mag, tap, BANG...probably unlikely but you better be pointed downrange..

When I did it with the safety off, not only as it ready but didn't even have to go double action...hammer was already back..hmmmm

robhic

· #8 · Mar 26, 2014

My Thunder 380 does the same thing. I think, at least in my case, it seems because the stop lever has such a small contact with the slide. At first I thought it might be a problem, too, but I've come to kinda like it!

If I push the mag in gently, the slide usually stays put. But anything more than a gentle insertion makes the slide close and chamber a round.

arcorob

· #9 · Mar 26, 2014

Is there any chance

Of that round going OFF if the safety is off ?

robhic

· #10 · Mar 26, 2014

arcorob said:
Of that round going OFF if the safety is off ?

I would say nothing is 100% (I'm the eternal pessimist

) but I think you'd be OK and no negligent discharge would occur. I, personally, am not worried about it.

snakeye

· #11 · Mar 30, 2014

Guys what is really the difference between the slide going forward when slapping a mag in compared to releasing the mag with the slide lever. They both slam forward with the same force. Does the gun fire when you release the slide in any other way than slamming a mag home? I don't have a 380 but I wouldn't mind it acting that way. Just push it in then without slamming it home if it bothers you

psds08

· #12 · Apr 3, 2014

yes mine did that
Glad it was pointing down range

Sent from my iPhone using Bersa Forum

psds08

· #13 · Apr 3, 2014 (Edited)

Yes it will go off

Sent from my iPhone using Bersa Forum
I think the safety was off and that with the light trigger single action pull is what does it
I will have to try witha safety on

arcorob

· #14 · Apr 4, 2014

Just on mine

Recently I posted about bad ammo and FTF. In that post I indicated I stripped it down completely, clean, lubed and went to the range. I only ran 6 magazine through it but in all cases, it did not repeat the slide seating forward when I popped in the mag (with the heel of my hand).

I can only "guess" that my cleaning and realignment may have solved the problem (for now) as I will be testing further.

In the meantime, all tests like that WILL be pointed downrange and safety ON just to be sure.

Carrera4S

· #15 · Apr 6, 2014

Both my Thunder 380 (7 round) and Thunder Plus (15 round) will do this. That slide slam forward action is normal on most semi-autos. It speeds up the reload process by stripping a round from the mag without the extra step of hitting the mag release. My Glock 19, Ruger SR9C and all my 1911's will do that if you slap in the fresh mag. It won't fire when this is done, it's the same action that takes place when you fire a round and you should have your finger away from the trigger anyway on a reload. If the gun does fire when the slide slams forward, that is a malfunction and it shouldn't happen. Have it checked out.

Redoak

Discussion Starter · #16 · Apr 6, 2014

Agree on keeping the gun pointed down range. I am trying to be consistent in how I go through the process. I was just surprised that this happens, and only discovered it by accident. As Snakeye mentioned, it may not make much of a difference, but I do, as I want to know exactly what to expect and how the gun responds. I was actually simulating a stove pipe scenerio and practiced the tap, rack, bang procedure when I noticed this.

arcorob

· #17 · Apr 6, 2014

What to expect is the issue...

So as promised, I did further testing yesterday. I shot over 150 rounds using to mags.

The first 6 - 8 mags through, safety off or on, slam the magazine home, the slide stayed back. After the gun warmed, 3 our of 4 times, slam the mag home and it released the slide.

One may be normal but the problem is inconsistency. if you are EXPECTING it to slide forward and it doesn't you are stuck "thinking". If it does slide forward, you have to remember you do NOT have to rack the slide.

Very hard to work on swapping mags quickly if the action is either or. It needs to be one....Hmmmmm

robhic

· #18 · Apr 6, 2014

psds08 said:
Yes it will go off
[...]
I will have to try witha safety on

Firing withOUT pulling the trigger is NOT normal! If you slingshot the slide or it drops when the magazine is slapped in, the gun SHOULD NOT FIRE!

The safety keeps if from firing when you pull the trigger. Yes, it would prevent it from firing if it went into battery after a reload dropped the slide. But is should not fire normally when the slide closes without a trigger pull.

Something needs further attention (possibly a professional gunsmith) if firing upon reloading continues. It is unsafe!!!

2farnorth

· #19 · Apr 6, 2014

Did a little experimenting last night. I have 1 Bersa mag and 2 ProMag mags. All three, loaded, would consistently release the slide when bumped into place. When pushed into place easily, all stayed open. If I then bumped the base of the mag the slide would close. Empty, with the Bersa mag, the slide stayed open until I bumped the bottom the mag REAL hard. The ProMags both held it open without fail.

Then looking at the slide lock mechanism I noted that the notch in the slide is slightly angled toward the rear with the catch area being shiny and smooth. The lock itself has a pretty stiff spring trying to pull it down but the key to this "problem" is there on the lock surface. The upper corner of the lock surface shows some peaning and wear. When you combine all three factors (2 worn surfaces and heavy spring) and add shock/vibration you get unexpected release.

Normally, I don't use the slide lock as a release. I always sling shot it unless I'm doing a one handed reload drill. Even then, if I'm operating left handed, I'll use an available surface to pop the slide. But I got this gun used so I don't know what was done by previous owner. Based on the wear indicated I would assume he used it as a release....a lot.

Now if you want consistency, you are the original owner, and you see some of the same wear characteristics I would ask Bersa to repair it. Honestly, I would think a new lock and a lighter spring would fix the problem but I'm not an engineer.

See less See more

psds08

· #20 · Apr 9, 2014

What happened to me was I was trying to release a round that was jamed at the top of the chamber
The round finished going into the chamber and then automatically fired
The safety must have been off as I was in the middle of a mag
I don't remember if I had my finger on the trigger
So my insodent was somewhat different but somewhat the same as it happened when I taped the bottom of the mag

Sent from my iPad

On Apr 6, 2014, at 1:31 AM, "Bersa Firearms Forum" <[email protected]> wrote:

Dear psds08,

You are subscribed to the thread "Is this normal?" by Redoak, there have been 2 post(s) to this thread, the last poster was Redoak.
http://www.bersaforum.com/forum/f5/normal-1519/

These following posts were made to the thread:
************

http://www.bersaforum.com/forum/f5/normal-1519-post20597/#post20597
Posted by: Carrera4S
On: 04-05-2014 08:17 PM

Both my Thunder 380 (7 round) and Thunder Plus (15 round) will do this. That slide slam forward action is normal on most semi-autos. It speeds up the reload process by stripping a round from the mag without the extra step of hitting the mag release. My Glock 19, Ruger SR9C and all my 1911's will do that if you slap in the fresh mag. It won't fire when this is done, it's the same action that takes place when you fire a round and you should have your finger away from the trigger anyway on a reload. If the gun does fire when the slide slams forward, that is a malfunction and it shouldn't happen. Have it checked out.
************

http://www.bersaforum.com/forum/f5/normal-1519/index2.html#post20603
Posted by: Redoak
On: 04-05-2014 10:07 PM

Agree on keeping the gun pointed down range. I am trying to be consistent in how I go through the process. I was just surprised that this happens, and only discovered it by accident. As Snakeye mentioned, it may not make much of a difference, but I do, as I want to know exactly what to expect and how the gun responds. I was actually simulating a stove pipe scenerio and practiced the tap, rack, bang procedure when I noticed this.

All the best,
Bersa Firearms Forum

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sign up as a Supporting Member and get the following upgraded benefits! Two decals, unlimited private message space, ability to disable ads and right sidebar, larger avatar size, unlimited image attachment and knowing that you help support this great community. Click here to upgrade now: http://www.bersaforum.com/forum/payments.php

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Unsubscription information:

To unsubscribe from this thread, please visit this page:
http://www.bersaforum.com/forum/sub...id=5954&auth=e4f4128028fa29afa16008062003de0f

See less See more

1 - 20 of 22 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.