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With the Bersa Thunder 380 Plus, Argentine firm Bersa delivers a very compact, yet very capable 15+1 capacity .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol. This double-action/single-action pistol is 6.6” long, 4.9” tall, 1.35” wide and wraps neatly around a 3.5” barrel. The total weight is just 20.5 ounces. In other words, it’s great for conceal carry. This “Plus” model evolves the single-stack Bersa Thunder 380 into double-stack configuration. So it permits double-stack magazines yet barely increases the earlier model’s maximum width, height and weight.

The standard color is black, but there are several others we’ll cover further down.

The steel slide includes a front blade sight. In back is a notched-bar sight. Both are dovetailed into the slide. Also back there, the gun has tightly packed diagonal serrations and a standard hammer. The decocker mounted on the back of the slide reveals an angry red dot when the gun is ready to fire. This slide then mates to an alloy frame.

That the tapered-nose frame evokes Berettas is no coincidence. Bersa’s roots are in maintaining/evolving Berettas which it started when founded in 1958 by a trio of Italian immigrants to Argentina. Their names? Benso Bonadimani, Ercole Montini and Savino Caselli. They combined the first two letters of their names to get Bersa. They commenced operations in metro-Buenos Aires and have been there ever since. But back to the Plus.

The trigger guard is an upturned oval that points up toward the muzzle even as the back forms a shallow undercut behind the trigger. The front of the guard has a concave serrated surface that provides additional grip.

The grip is flanked by polymer grips. They are triangular checkered and fastened with two flat head screws. The usual logo one finds on grips is missing. There is also a short beavertail.

The grip’s mainspring housing has a rounded butt for grip comfort. The 15-round magazine has a flared grip front that creates a quasi-bottom finger rest and elongating the room one gets on the grip.

The Thunder 380 Plus has various finishes beyond the standard matte black. These include Cerakote Bright Nickel and Duotone. The Cerakote Bright Nickel has a satin nickel finish on the slide and frame though the grips and smaller parts are all black. The Duotone is also very compelling. It has a matte black slide, trigger and minor parts on a satin nickel colored frame.

For safety, the Thunder 380 Plus has an internal locking system, automatic firing pin safety, magazine safety, manual safety and the decocker lever. The intriguing Bersa Thunder 380 Plus is Made in Argentina.

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