Indians For Guns

Hello guys my licence has been printed and is in my hands now , previously i had enquired about the iof .32 (black) pistol , i had made my mind to go for it . A week ago my friend told me about a bernardelli .25 pistol with his uncle , he is willing to sell it for around about 2 laks . The pistol looks in a decent condition , it comes only with a single mag and no box . I fired 3 round from the pistol and they all went bang with no jamming.

My questions -
1 - Are there any known issues with this gun
2 - Can .25 ammo be sourced easily
3 - When i fired the gun my palm rubbed against the magazine release button and the magazine came out , is there any way this can be prevented
4 - Are there any parts available for this pistol
5 - What would be its true value in todays market

Would be posting images by today evening , thanks in advance

1. Unsure, but it isn't a top class maker if that's what you mean. However, at that price it is a good buy, so long as there is nothing mechanically wrong with it.
2. Yes
3. Have a competent gunsmith replace the magazine release spring with a slightly stiffer one. That should correct the problem.
4. Not that I know of. Look up Numrich and Brownells websites and see if they have parts. Also, unless I'm mistaken this is a copy of a Baby Browning .25 pistol, so it is possible that some of those parts MAY BE usable.
5. Anything north of 2.5-3 lacs would be my guess.

Abhijeet the similarity with the Baby Browning is only in appearance. The barrel lockup, trigger and sear configuration etc are quite different. Though our friend rajaishwal hasn't posted a pic but I can guess which model he is referring to. I have handled these Bernardellis (repaired one too) and mechanically this model is a scaled down replica of the old Bernardelli 32 pistol made before World War 2. The 25 version, just like the old 32 pistol, is striker fired and the striker spring is notorious for losing tension.

The last, and the most irritating part is that the dismantling switch (you have to press it in) is at back and located just below at slide and above the palm swell (exactly where the Colt 1911's safety catch is). This switch too is powered by a tiny plunger spring which loses tension over time, especially in the 25 pistol, making the pistol unsafe to carry. Because once this switch is pressed in, the slide is free to be lifted and run forward till is comes off the pistol. That's it. This is possibly the simplest pistol I have encountered in my life. A simple design is supposed to be the best design, people say but except for the magazine spring and the recoil spring (which runs over the fixed barrel) the other springs in these Bernardellis lose tension very fast.

The 25 Bernardellis (as well as the old 32s) are the cheapest 25 pistols in the market. Even dealers find it difficult to sell these for more than 2 lakh. That's their highest price in fact while Colt 25s in original condition sell for around 4 lakh. The Baby Browning, which is a far superior weapon and has the barrel locking system similar to the Colt 25, also sells for around 3.5 to 4 depending on condition. The 25 pistol which fetches as much 4.5 in the Indian market is the Double-action-only CZ 25.

Just my two pennies. As you have rightly suggested a lot of spare parts have to be procured from the sources in mention and that too in multiples.

Hope that helps rjaiswal. I am not discouraging you but if you have the budget I suggest you look for a better pistol

Cheers

Thank you guys , sorry for the late reply was traveling for a few days . I have asked my dealer if he can rectify the magazine problem , he says he cant do it . The dealer is ready to negotiate a bit (but not to much) . Have raised a flag about the availability of the spares , he says he wont be able to help on that front and i'll have to bare the risk . Looking at all these factors I might not get it after all , what will be the use of it if something goes wrong ? Would upload the pics in a short while . Thaks for the reply and help guys .