Since I have the Bersa Thunder now and the Makarov both I felt it only a natural next step to give a comparison of the two pistols. We spent several hours at the range today comparing both. The similarities are obvious to anyone who looks at them both. They are both smallish pistols, which fire an intermediate cartridge from a fixed barrel using a blowback operation.

Comparisons are natural in looks with the Walther PP and PPK pistols; both of these have at least passing resemblances to those old designs. I don't believe I have compared two firearms in which the differences are more simply a matter of person choice and preference than these two. Usually I can find some very valid reasons why one is "better" at least for myself than the other. Such is not the case here.

I guess the best place to start is stark statistics. All measurements are eyeballed to best ability as I seem to have "loaned" out my calipers.

Makarov:
Type: Double/Single action
System of Operation: Blowback
Safety: Hammer block, slide lock, decocking
Caliber: 9x18mm (9mm Makarov) (.380 Acp versions are available and conversion is easily accomplished between the two calibers)
Capacity: 8+1 rounds (10 + 1 in the Russian double stack magazine models)
Sights: Fixed blade front, dovetailed u-notch rear, drift adjustable
Length: 6.34"
Height: 4.75" from base of grip to top of rear sight
Width at widest point: 1.1"
Construction: blued carbon steel
Weight (unloaded): 21 ozs
Barrel: 3.83" fixed (need barrel press to replace barrel or change caliber)
Magazine release: heel clip
Manufacturing Countries: Russia, East Germany, China and Bulgaria


Bersa:
Type: Double/Single action
System of Operation: Blowback
Safety: Hammer block, decocking, key lock, and magazine disconnnect
Caliber: .380 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol)
Capacity: 7+1 rounds
Sights: Fixed blade front, dovetailed u-notch rear, screw adjustable white dot
Length: 6.75"
Height: 4.25" from bottom of grip to top of rear sight
Width at widest point: 1.25"
Construction: Aluminum frame and steel slide
Weight (unloaded): 20 ozs.
Barrel: 3.5" fixed
Magazine release: push button
Manufacturing Country: Argentina

Availability: Advantage Bersa

Makarovs are not produced currently as new production arms and will likely become increasingly scarce. Therefore any Makarov bought will be either NOS (new old stock unsold pistols) or used/surplus arms. If you want a new firearm with factory warranty you will most likely want the Bersa. Availability of new and warrantied Makarovs is unknown to the author at this time. The last country to produce them for consumer sales was Bulgaria and since they are discontinued I have no knowledge of their warranty status from any distributors.


Fit/finish/Appearance: Advantage a Push

This is entirely subjective. The Bersa comes in various finishes and styles. Mine is a matte two-tone with black slide and natural aluminum frame finish. My Makarov is an East German with a very nice finish and blue job, albeit a bit holster worn. Other Makarovs come with a matte finish also. Therefore it is basically a matter of what floats your boat. I like the quality of the fit and finish of the East German over the Bersa, there is a noticeable difference in fit and finishing, but the blue finish is also not as robust one would assume.


Caliber: Advantage Makarov

The Makarov is made and sold in both .380 and 9x18 (or 9MM Makarov) calibers. The 9MM Makarov is a slightly more powerful caliber. The .380 is easier obtained in most Podunk gas stations/gun shops in rural America I have found however. I give the advantage to the Makarov because one can buy separate barrels for both calibers and interchange them using the same magazines.


Size: Push

This is an extremely deceiving comparison. Looking at the Bersa you immediately think it is smaller, and in some ways it is. The slide is thinner and shorter, and the grip is shorter. The feel however is much different. The grip of the Bersa is wider by almost .25 inches in most areas, not inconsiderable in the hand and it was noticible. Smaller hands will perhaps find it "too" hand filling. Without the Bersa's pinky extension on the magazine I would only be able to get 2 fingers on the shorter grip, the pinky would hang over. On the Makarov's longer grip the pinky is seated comfortably, which I like better.

Surprisingly the Bersa is actually the longer firearm by a surprising margin. The difference is the long beavertail, which protects the web of the hand from being bitten by the commander style hammer, as often happens on Walther styled pistols. I did notice that a couple of times when carried in my IWB holster that the long beavertail jabbed me in the side when moving certain ways. This could probably be eliminated by holster placement however, I used the same place I put the Makarov on the belt.

Overall, I like the feel and size of the Makarov better, Pat likes the Bersa better, which is why I gave it a push, again extremely subjective. The Mak is heavier by 1 ounce over the Bersa, which gives the Bersa an slight advantage in CCW carry weight.


Ergonomics: Advantage Makarov

Very close here again, but the biggest difference, and the one that made my choice, is the safety/decocker lever. On the Bersa it is activated by pressing down, and released from safe by pushing up, the Makarov is the opposite. Deactivating by pushing down is to me much more comfortable and natural, and was to most I asked at the range.

The Bersa squares off and put serrations on the front of the trigger guard for the offhand index finger, which fits my shooting style exactly. I liked this very much. I am not a big fan of front and backstrap serrations which the Bersa has, but Pat really liked them. All controls on both pistols are easily accessible.

Pat found the way the "backward" safety methodology on the Bersa to be better for her left handed shooting style, she could bring her thumb over the top of the slide and manipulate the safety easier on the Bersa than the Makarov.

One thing I did notice was on the Bersa was, when drawing from the nylon Iwb holster I was using; the sharper edge and wider body of the slide stop tended to catch on the edge of the holster body and sometimes caught clothing. In fact, the Bersa overall had sharper edges on things like the slide release, hammer, front and back serrations, trigger guard and other places than the Makarov. These while perhaps providing better grip, I have found on other firearms to be terrible on clothing, and skin. I have sewn numerous holes on shirts because of such sharp edges. These will have to be smoothed out soon.


Shootablity: Advantage Makarov

Both are accurate and shoot very nicely and smoothly. The fixed barrel designs give excellent accuracy from a small pistol. The biggest difference? The slight weight and size difference of the Makarov gives it less felt recoil and faster regaining of sight picture than the lighter Bersa even though it is shooting a more powerful cartridge. Even to a person who shoots a lot of magnums (myself as .44 magnum is one of my favorite cartridges), the light calibers recoil pulse difference was noticeable between the two. The Makarov has a slightly straighter grip angle than the Bersa, and the combination of the Bersas long beavertail, grip angle, wider grip, and front and rear strap serrations seems to make it feel slightly less comfortable to me personally, but Pat liked it better.


Safeties: Advantage Bersa

The only major differences here is the magazine disconnect and the child key lock. While I dislike a magazine disconnect personally, it IS an added safety which serves a valid purpose, so I give the nod to the Bersa, especially when coupled with the key lock which some will hate but could save a child.


Maintenance/repair: Advantage Makarov

The Makarov is a simpler design with fewer parts. Detail stripping is much easier on the Makarov with parts replacement easy using few tools. A Makarov cleaning tool I have found is basically the only tool needed short of replacing a barrel. Some people will find that a simple field strip for cleaning may be easier on the Bersa because of the takedown lever as opposed to the Makarovs moving trigger guard, but I find them equally easy to use.


Operation: Push

Basic operation is very similar. In fact, other than the opposite working manual safeties the only other real difference is the magazine release. The Bersa uses a push button located behind the trigger guard and the Makarov uses a heel clip release. Some will say the pushbutton is faster, and yes, it CAN BE. If one simply pushes the button and dumps the magazine, it can be faster. But, if you do not wish to damage your magazine by letting it drop onto a hard surface and tend to pull out the magazine after/while pushing the button, it is basically a push because this mimics closely how the Makarov's heel clip is operated.


Sights: Bersa

Many people say the Makarovs sights are too small, except on some of the Russian adjustable sight versions. Personally I like them and shoot well with them, once I painted them with WhiteOut. BUT, the Bersa has some very nice white dot sights, which are very easy to use and acquire a sight picture in. They are easier to adjust for windage also by the use of a screwdriver.


Intangibles: Push

This is the wholly personal preference area. Everything here is simply a matter of personal taste. The Bersa feels good, but the Mak feels better, to me. I prefer the blued smooth trigger face to the slightly rough cast trigger of the Bersa. I like the feel of the Makarovs hammer to the Bersa. I prefer the straighter grip of the Makarov to the more slanted grip of the Bersa. The added weight of the Makarov is not really noticeable on the hip, at least not during a normal day so far, but it really makes a difference in shooting.

The slight difference in width makes a bit of difference in CCW "feel". The Bersa being slightly wider feels bulkier in the belt. In fact, it feels exactly like the Makarov did before I changed from the aftermarket Pearce grip it came with, to the thinner original East German issued grip. I changed it because I wanted the thinner profile and I feel the Bersa is a move backwards in this.

The Makarov has an old world "feel". It feels heavier, looks older fashioned with its blued steel and grips, which remind one of the old Bakelite (not sure if that is what it is or not). It has a feel of that nostalgic Cold War era. And it carries one more round, unless you get the double column Russian.

The Bersa has a more modern feel with its aluminum frame, dual tone finish, plastic grips, white dot sights, squared off trigger guard, key lock, extended beavertail, and magazine disconnect.


Durability: Advantage Makarov

This is the unknown, I DO KNOW that the Makarov is a very hardy durable design, which seldom has failures if properly maintained. It has a long, very long, proven track record of military use in many countries. The Bersa is still somewhat an unknown over the long run.

I find it hard to believe that the Bersa's aluminum frame would stand up to the amount of shooting a Makarov will, but it will be durable enough for a good user and CCW pistol.


Conclusions:

It's all up to you, and what you like. In most respects they are so close it is hard to choose between them. Basically it is whatever floats your boat. I would not feel poorly armed with either. I have to admit, I like the lighter weight and slightly smaller feel of the Bersa, but not enough to give up the shootablity of the all steel Makarov.