Firestorm .380? Just another PPK clone?

Redleg

New member
I saw one of these in a local shop recently and it felt really good in my hand. I'm looking for a concealed carry semi-auto and the price along with it's Walther like styling caught my eye. However, I've never heard of the name before. I checked a buyers guide and found out it's from SGS Importers in New Jersey. Anybody have any experience with these guns? The price is great so I have to wonder, will it perform?
 
PPK Clone

Redleg, I believe these are renamed Bersas. I believe they were bought out by LLama. If you could do a search I believe there have been some pretty good things said about these. I own a Bersa Md#83 and it's a great little gun. Good shooter and have had 0 problems with it. I use it for my CC gun at times.

Happy Shooting ;)




Check out The Triple F Ranch
http://pub33.ezboard.com/bfirearmsfriendsfamily
 
It is the old Bersa, I recently bought their new mini-Firestorm in 40S&W and the mag says Bersa on it. Very nice guns for the money.
 
BERSA, FIRESTORM; A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME...

I've owned seven BERSA pistols, six in 380 and one in 22LR. All have been outstanding little pistols with the 22 having no malfs to date with over 17,000 rounds through it. All of the 380's have shot to the sights and were accurate enough for smallgame hunting out past 25 yards. All are head and shoulders above the WALTHER pistols for comfort of shooting.
Their warranty is pretty good too; a round of factory ammo, NOT CORBON!, blew the slide off an early BERSA 83 I owned and they replaced it in a heartbeat[ well...maybe 3 or 4 ].
THE BERSA PISTOLS ARE THE MOST UNDERRATED LINE OF PISTOLS IMPORTED INTO THE U S OF A. TM
 
Thanks guys!

I talked to a friend (whose opinion on gun issues I value) and he too had good things to say about the Bersa/Firestorm line of guns. This, along with the opinions here (and the price!) have prompted me to take a closer look at these pistols. If I do decide to purchase one, which is likely :) I'll be sure to let everyone know about my experience.

rblack,
Would you consider the Firestorm .40 S&W a good carry gun considering size and ergonomics?
 
Redleg,

The mini-Firestorm in .40 S&W is small enough to conceal quite well. Holds 10 + 1 and the trigger action is remarkable for this price range gun. The only hitch is that it comes with 1 mag and extra mags from Firestorm are $45 bucks a pop (OUCH!). I will say that it has not had a single bobble with target or JHP ammo.
 
I own a Firestorm 380 and it has never had a single malfunction and is very accurate. I paid less than $200 for it and consider it one of my favorite guns to shoot. It is definitely worth the money!

Greg
 
Interesting. It's one of the few guns on this site that gets no bad reviews. Not bad for less than $200.

Q. Does its manual safety work the same as the PPK's? That is, does it work both as a decocker and a safety that blocks the pin from the hammer?

Q. Also, can you rack the slide to chamber a round w/the safety engaged like you can w/the PPK?

Q. Is it the same size as the PPK or is it about the size of a Sig 232?
 
rblack,
$45 bucks! Jeez. I can buy two mags for my Ruger KP90 for that kind of scratch. On the other hand, for the price of the gun I can afford to drop a little more for an extra mag I guess.

I think these guns are now topping my list of probables for my next purchase. Thanks again guys.
 
Mini-Firestorm

Got the Mini in 9mm a couple of weeks ago. Very nice little gun. Identical to my Bersa Thunder9 except, of course, it is more compact. Mags will interchange between the two. It is only slightly larger than the .380ACP models so why not just move one level up for a carry gun? (If Ohio ever passes a CCW law the Mini will be my coice for everyday carry.)

When I e-mailed SGS concerning mags, this is what I got back :
---
Subject: Re: Mini Fire Storm
Date: Mon, 13 Nov 2000 09:15:24 EST
From: FIRESTORMSGS@aol.com
To: hksigrule@wvadventures.net

Hello,

We have mags in stock. $49.95 + $3.00 S&H. 732-493-0302.

Bill

(I also inquired about the number of mags the guns are shipped with. Read the posts here in TFL concerning dealers swiping mags from guns before sales.)

Subject: Re: Mini Fire Storm
Date: Tue, 14 Nov 2000 09:32:17 EST
From: FIRESTORMSGS@aol.com
To: hksigrule@wvadventures.net

All of the FIRESTORM pistols come with one magazine. To purchase additional mags, just call me @ 732-493-0302 for price & availability. You can either remit a check or money order or you can place an order using your credit card.

Dee/Customer Service
---
Replies were pretty prompt. A good sign for customer service.

The dealer I bought the gun from quoted $35 for extra mags. Since I think I'll be buying another Mini from him this weekend I'm going to see if he'll sell me mags for that price.
 
To Terry:

Thanks. Makes me wish I had purchased one instead of the 232 to replace my PPK. The 232 is fantastic and light but I REALLY HATE not having a safety!
 
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