Bruni P38 (UK 2012 version)

A vendor in the uk has these on offer for £100 shipped. But - and it is a very big BUT - what are they like?? Anybody have one??? I've not been a fan of anything made by Bruni post mid-1990's. Materials and casting techniques are comparatively poor compared to the stuff they were producing around the mid 80s. I bought a Bruni PPK last year and it kept blowing it's slide completely off and eventually destroyed itself.

So how about the P38's reputation?? I know the older ones were pretty good, similar the 1911's, but if the Bruni 96 version 1911 is anything to go by, then I'll steer well clear of the current P38...

Not an easy question to answer mate as some work really well and others jam every 2nd round. As far as i am aware they are strong enough, i have one of the first that ever came into the country and i am still using it now (although to be honest it does not get fired that often) i have put about 200/300 rounds through it and nothing broke yet. it does jam on occasion but most B/F's you get over here do. I am told the newer models fire better and i have a newer model (which as yet i have not fired) and it looks no different than the first model. The price is good so i would say worth getting one, its a pity Bruni did not make all the B/F's like the 92 i have one its fired loads and still going does not jam and looks good. The bruni P38 is not an accurate copy and the slide does not stay back after the last round but its the only B/F P38 around.
As for the PPK they have now changed the design so i would think its a much better longer lasting B/F the old one had a pin right at the end of the frame with no metal surrounding it so after a few rounds it was always going to break. the new model does not have that pin and actually looks like a PPK (the old model really did not) so it may not be too bad now.
At the end of the day they are Brunis made to UK spec (so not strong) damn UK law and they are pretty cheap for a B/F

claymore wrote:

Not an easy question to answer mate as some work really well and others jam every 2nd round. As far as i am aware they are strong enough, i have one of the first that ever came into the country and i am still using it now (although to be honest it does not get fired that often) i have put about 200/300 rounds through it and nothing broke yet. it does jam on occasion but most B/F's you get over here do. I am told the newer models fire better and i have a newer model (which as yet i have not fired) and it looks no different than the first model. The price is good so i would say worth getting one, its a pity Bruni did not make all the B/F's like the 92 i have one its fired loads and still going does not jam and looks good. The bruni P38 is not an accurate copy and the slide does not stay back after the last round but its the only B/F P38 around.
As for the PPK they have now changed the design so i would think its a much better longer lasting B/F the old one had a pin right at the end of the frame with no metal surrounding it so after a few rounds it was always going to break. the new model does not have that pin and actually looks like a PPK (the old model really did not) so it may not be too bad now.
At the end of the day they are Brunis made to UK spec (so not strong) damn UK law and they are pretty cheap for a B/F

Hello mate - it seems we've had slightly different experiences with Bruni over the years, though generally I agree with you. Regarding the PPK, my old one I bought in the late 80's (the one that doesn't really resemble a PPK like you say) was an excellent performer and built of good quality Zamak and I only sold it around 10 years back for peanuts and it was still shooting well. The new, redesigned PPK (that properly resembles the real deal like you said) was the one I bought last year. Though the redesign has indeed bought it inline with a proper PPK (or near as damn it!), what let it down severely was the metal quality and casting - absolutely awful!! As I said in my previous post, it blew itself apart within 30 rounds. The slide cracked and damaged some of the internal trigger components in the process. Not good! I have since bought a second, but only put 3 or 4 rounds through it - my thinking being some of the components from the old one can make up spares if the current one I have fails.

I have a black nickel version Bruni Government Automatic (1911 basically) I bought in 1989 (pics on this section of the forum somewhere), that has had around 700+ rounds through it and still performing well. I doubt there are any Bruni 96 (newer, redesigned 1911) owners who have put that much through without a serious failure. I can take the jamming/stoppage issue no problem, but serious component failure after less than 100 rounds is not tolerable in my book and this is what the newer Brunis are doing. Whilst they have redesigned them to look more like the real deals, they have compromised quality by using poor quality materials imo and they are not as good as the earlier stuff.

The Bruni P38 ive had no experience with, though a friend of mine bought his at the same time I bought my old 1911, and his P38, like my 1911 is still going well after serious roundage through it 25+ years on. I'll definitely take a gamble and buy one of the newer ones at the 100 quid mark, but I am fully expecting it to fail big time after around 50 rounds, ha ha! It is also a pistol Bruni didn't feel the need to redesign (as you say), though I'd wager the metal quality in your earlier version, is better than the one in your later version.  

Regarding the Bruni 92, I did have one briefly about 20 years ago and it was a good shooter. Swapped it for an air rifle though.....doh!!!! Bruni also make a full auto version of that now too, but I would be somewhat sceptical of how long it would hold up on consistent full auto fire...

cheers,

Stuart

pity about the new PPK i thought the design would now be better. you are lucky with your old model everyone i know who had the old model it broke real quick due the metal being so thin by the pin at the end of the slide.
I have an old model bruni ppk but to scared to fire it on the what if!
I have seen the full auto bruni 92 and as you say not sure how i would hold up on full auto fire, i would like to give it a go though.

Edited duel post

claymore wrote:

pity about the new PPK i thought the design would now be better. you tare lucky with your old model everyone i know who had the old model it broke real quick due the metal being so thin by the pin at the end of the slide.
I have an old model bruni ppk but to scared to fire it on the what if!
I have seen the full auto bruni 92 and as you say not sure how i would hold up on full auto fire, i would like to give it a go though.

In terms of looks the new PPK is pretty darn good and Bruni have done a good job on that, no doubt. But the internals are not well put together if you ask me and are of poor casting imho. That said, I'll be taking my PPK out (2nd new version I bought) on Sunday and putting a few rounds through it. I'm hoping (even though I think quality is generally poor) the last one I had was basically a 'Lemon' and failed prematurely on bad luck more than anything else - though it has to be said, I know at least 3 other New PPK owners around the Web who have had similar experiences unfortunately. We shall see anyway....

I went ahead and ordered the P38 too - though they are saying 2 weeks for delivery for some odd reason!?!

used a bruni 8mm p38 for 20yrs doing ww2 re-enactment's never failed on me

philb wrote:

used a bruni 8mm p38 for  20yrs doing ww2 re-enactment's never failed on me

Yep, I don't doubt it being one of the versions built in the 80s no doubt. I hope the newer versions stand up similarly well. The design is the same, but are the quality of materials....??