I had my first introduction to Bersa today, and when I asked them about what was new for 2013 they pointed me to the BP9cc. This 3.3″ barreled pistol was announced a few months ago, so the only thing “new” is that they are now shipping. More information about the BP9cc is here on their site.

One feature that struck me as odd was the active-safety in the form of a screw on the back side of the slide.

The safety key fits into the small hex screw on the slide. There are the expected “F” and “S” positions.

My initial reaction was confusion and wondered why anyone would want a tool to manipulate the safety? The answer they provided is let’s say you come home and you take your carry pistol off your person but you don’t want to unload it. If you have kids in the house and want to put it on a stand or drawer then you can engage the safety with the key. Not sure if that’s a feature I would want on my carry pistol, but perhaps it’s one you would?

www.Bersa.com.

Chris Cheng is History Channel’s Top Shot Season 4 champion. A self-taught amateur turned pro through his Top Shot win, Cheng very much still considers himself an amateur who parachuted into this new career. He shares his thoughts and experiences from the perspective of a newbie to the shooting community. www.TopShotChris.com.