Here's a review of my favorite deep-concealment SA/DA pistol.

[Captain O]

The Thunder 32: Bersa’s Best Kept Secret

I think most pocket pistols and blowback .380s would be much better guns if they were chambered in .32 ACP.

www.shootingnewsweekly.com

Please read it completely before responding. (There is a 'method to my madness'.)

 

[trader]

too small for me but could work for some - also fwiw the "Recoil" from a .380 is miniscule.

 

[Captain O]

I have two of the Bersa Thunder .380 pistols and the Bersa TPR9. I shoot them all quite well but prefer the .32 for both penetration and accuracy. (JMB was no one's fool.)

 

[Talyn]

I'll see your Thunder 32, and I'll raise you my Kahr PM9.

 

[Annihilator]

I'll see your Thunder 32, and I'll raise you my Kahr PM9.

View attachment 120270

I’ll see your Kahr PM9 and raise you with my S&W Performance Center M&P .380 EZ 2.0…..

 

[Talyn]

You can fit that into a standard pocket size?

 

[SimonRL]

I’ll see everyone’s sumpin’, sumpin’ and raise you the .380 Walther PPK/S. IYKYK.

 

[Talyn]

I had a PPK/S once for the hsitory, but was dissapointed in it & sold it off.

 

[Captain O]

The only problem I have with the PPK/ PPK/s is the pistol was originally engineered for the 7.65mm Browning. not the 9mm Kurz. This makes the little pistol prone to "slide bite". Thank you, no. The closest I'll ever get to the PPK is my slightly larger Bersa Thunder .380.

That said, I prefer to shoot the Thunder .32 as I can place my shots both rapidly (and accurately) with the Fiocchi "Blue Box" 73-grain FMJ loaded to CIP (European) power levels as John Moses Browning intended.

This is why I have larger pistols including the Walther (Manhurin) PP in .7.65 Browning.

 

[Annihilator]

You can fit that into a standard pocket size?

Actually yes, just a little tight though, depending on your pants, or this one…..

Beretta PICO which are discontinued now, it’s also has the EZ slide

 

[Captain O]

Actually yes, just a little tight though, depending on your pants, or this one…..

View attachment 120281
Beretta PICO which are discontinued now, it’s also has the EZ slide

If you don't have any problem with the rest of your, ahem, anatomy, that should work just fine.

 

[Annihilator]

If you don't have any problem with the rest of your, ahem, anatomy, that should work just fine.

The S&W isn’t really that big, only issue is the ported barrel that protrudes from the slide

 

[Captain O]

This is the reason I like the Bersa Thunder .32 is that:

1. The pistol doesn't require a compensator,
2. It can put a whole bunch of deeply penetrating rounds in a small area posthaste,
3. Practicing with the little .32 does not fatigue you.

The little .32 has been doing a great job with its original load for 127 years.

Practice makes perfect.

(Think of it as shooting a PPK with the recoil of a .22 Winchester Rimfire Magnum ammunition.)

 

[SimonRL]

The only problem I have with the PPK/ PPK/s is the pistol was originally engineered for the 7.65mm Browning. not the 9mm Kurz. This makes the little pistol prone to "slide bite". Thank you, no. The closest I'll ever get to the PPK is my slightly larger Bersa Thunder .380.

That said, I prefer to shoot the Thunder .32 as I can place my shots both rapidly (and accurately) with the Fiocchi "Blue Box" 73-grain FMJ loaded to CIP (European) power levels as John Moses Browning intended.

This is why I have larger pistols including the Walther (Manhurin) PP in .7.65 Browning.

The old one had a problem with slide bit. The newer one has a longer tang that is supposed to prevent that. That being said, I have a pretty high grip and I don’t suffer from slide bite as much as slide burn. After enough rounds the slide wears a channel in the web of my hand, but you can’t be a double 0 agent if you can’t handle a little discomfort. Now, if my martini is stirred then we have a problem.

 

[Captain O]

In Ian Flemings' (Albert Broccoli) film Dr. No, Bond was handed a Walther PP and was told that it was a PPK in 7.65 Browning.
Americans became power hungry and insisted that Bond was carrying a .380. WRONG! They shot the little pistols and learned the hard way that the originals were chambered in 7.65.

Go figure.

 

[Grayfox]

I've long believed that the .32s were vastly under rated calibers. I have no problem with it at all.

S&W/Walther PPK/S .32 acp

Now if you want real pocket guns, how about a Colt 1903 in .32?
Shown here with its cousins the Model 1908 .380 and Vest Pocket .25.

 

[Captain O]

I've long believed that the .32s were vastly under rated calibers. I have no problem with it at all.

S&W/Walther PPK/S .32 acp

Now if you want real pocket guns, how about a Colt 1903 in .32?
Shown here with its cousins the Model 1908 .380 and Vest Pocket .25.

Yep, I have at least 5 .32 Automatics.

People sell them short, forgetting the fact that they were the primary "house gun" for thousands of men and women from 1899 through the 1960's. The Walther PP was very popular, as was the Colt 1903 and Savage 1907. I have a Tanfoglio Titan II as well as others. The little Kel Tec P32 hides in my slacks pocket and stays hidden as I take the Holy Sacrament in church.

 

[Captain O]

I failed to mention that my Zastava M70 is just as accurate and comes within a hair's breadth of shooting as well as the Colt's M1903. (But that's another story.) While it may not have the aesthetics of Colt's M1903, it still shoots rings around a lot of "modern" pistols. (Take that, Beretta 70.)

Yes, the .32 ACP (7.65 Browning is better than people think. They're still capable of stopping bad people.

 

[Captain O]

Here's the Beretta 70, or "Puma".

 

[KillerFord1977]