Selected Handgun Detail

Manufacturer
	Bersa SA More Info

About the Gun

The Bersa Model 85 is a compact all-steel DA/SA blowback pistol in .380 Auto with a widened grip frame that accepts a double-stack magazine. It uses an external hammer, a slide-mounted safety/decock lever, walnut grips, and low-profile fixed sights. The grip is thicker and the pistol is heavier than the single-stack Model 83 on which it is based.

Production

Production ran from 1986 through 1994.

Market value

MSRP at production was around $300–$350. Current used market value for examples in good to very good condition ranges $200–$350.

Cartridge Specifications
Cartridge:	.380 Automatic
Alias:	9mm Browning Short
More Info

Analysis

The Model 85 was the high-capacity counterpart to the single-stack Model 83, introduced in the mid-to-late 1980s by widening the grip and magazine well to accept a double-stack .380 Auto magazine. It retained the all-steel DA/SA blowback layout, slide-mounted decocker, and internal slide-catch arrangement of the Model 83 while offering substantially more capacity. Production ran alongside the Model 83 and the related Model 86 into the mid-1990s. The Model 85 was aimed at civilian defensive and export markets that wanted more rounds in a compact steel-frame .380 Auto; the 1994 U.S. magazine-capacity limits later reduced its appeal in that market. It was succeeded by the lighter alloy-frame Series 95 and then the Thunder 380. Surviving examples appear on the used market as heavier, higher-capacity alternatives to the single-stack Model 83.