Hello All,
A new member (but old shooter) here. I just discovered the forum yesterday while searching the 'net. Thought I'd share my experience modifying what I believe to be a Model 85 magazine.
Last year, I bought a TPR 380 Plus. I love the little gun, but it only came with one magazine and finding new ones proved to be difficult for several months.
Fast forward to yesterday. I was prowling through the 50% off clearance bin at my local shooting range. I found a magazine in a ziploc bag labelled "Bersa Thunder 380 Plus." It appeared to be factory new old stock, and was only marked at $29.99. So, for $15 I bought it immediately — knowing that Thunder 380 Plus magazines fit the TPR 380 Plus.
When I got home and tried it in my gun, it didn't fit very well. A good smack on the base plate, and it clicked into position. However, I could not pull the slide back. So, I dropped the mag out, locked the slide open, and tried again. This time, I could not push the slide stop down. About this time, I started thinking this may not actually be a Thunder 380 plus magazine after all.
After searching around on the 'net, I deduced that it must be a 15-shot magazine for the Model 85. Until yesterday, I was unfamiliar with the model 85, although I'm sure I saw them in gun shops "back in the day." Comparing it to my other magazines, I saw that it did not have a cutout to allow movement of the gun's slide stop mechanism. It was also marginally shorter than the Thunder 380 Plus / TPR 380 plus magazine, resulting in the difference in fit.
So... with a drill and a round file, I cut out the notch for the slide stop. On the other side, I filed away at the upper edge of the notch for the magazine catch until the magazine clicked into place easily. Well... relatively easily, anyway.
Back to the range I went, to test it. It fed one or two rounds well enough, but soon began jamming on the second round. For some reason, the magazine also became very difficult to remove from the gun. I finally figured out that the gun's magazine safety spring was somehow dropping underneath the corresponding tab on the magazine, thus not firing & thus the difficulty in removing the magazine. I took it back home, and expanded the tab by tapping a very fine-tipped punch into the opening a little.
I went back to the range this morning, and happily, the magazine seems to work fine now. Not 100% perfect... but maybe 95. There were a few jams (3 out of 50 rounds) that may or may not be related to the magazine itself. From what I can tell, I just need to be very conscious that this magazine locks fully into place.
Of course, I realize this may all be heresy to some of the Bersa faithful. My apologies to any 85 owners who have been looking for magazines.
Photos to follow...
A new member (but old shooter) here. I just discovered the forum yesterday while searching the 'net. Thought I'd share my experience modifying what I believe to be a Model 85 magazine.
Last year, I bought a TPR 380 Plus. I love the little gun, but it only came with one magazine and finding new ones proved to be difficult for several months.
Fast forward to yesterday. I was prowling through the 50% off clearance bin at my local shooting range. I found a magazine in a ziploc bag labelled "Bersa Thunder 380 Plus." It appeared to be factory new old stock, and was only marked at $29.99. So, for $15 I bought it immediately — knowing that Thunder 380 Plus magazines fit the TPR 380 Plus.
When I got home and tried it in my gun, it didn't fit very well. A good smack on the base plate, and it clicked into position. However, I could not pull the slide back. So, I dropped the mag out, locked the slide open, and tried again. This time, I could not push the slide stop down. About this time, I started thinking this may not actually be a Thunder 380 plus magazine after all.
After searching around on the 'net, I deduced that it must be a 15-shot magazine for the Model 85. Until yesterday, I was unfamiliar with the model 85, although I'm sure I saw them in gun shops "back in the day." Comparing it to my other magazines, I saw that it did not have a cutout to allow movement of the gun's slide stop mechanism. It was also marginally shorter than the Thunder 380 Plus / TPR 380 plus magazine, resulting in the difference in fit.
So... with a drill and a round file, I cut out the notch for the slide stop. On the other side, I filed away at the upper edge of the notch for the magazine catch until the magazine clicked into place easily. Well... relatively easily, anyway.
Back to the range I went, to test it. It fed one or two rounds well enough, but soon began jamming on the second round. For some reason, the magazine also became very difficult to remove from the gun. I finally figured out that the gun's magazine safety spring was somehow dropping underneath the corresponding tab on the magazine, thus not firing & thus the difficulty in removing the magazine. I took it back home, and expanded the tab by tapping a very fine-tipped punch into the opening a little.
I went back to the range this morning, and happily, the magazine seems to work fine now. Not 100% perfect... but maybe 95. There were a few jams (3 out of 50 rounds) that may or may not be related to the magazine itself. From what I can tell, I just need to be very conscious that this magazine locks fully into place.
Of course, I realize this may all be heresy to some of the Bersa faithful. My apologies to any 85 owners who have been looking for magazines.
Photos to follow...
