Bersa M2XI 9mm Review: A Full 2011 Range Test & Breakdown

If I were to ask you to name some companies that make their own 1911s and 2011s, you might never guess who I had in mind when I asked. I was surprised myself when one of the latest entries in the  2011 market was shipped to me to take a look at. With the 2011 platform being the hottest thing going in handguns, it’s not surprising how many companies are getting in on the action, including Bersa Firearms with their M2XI pistol. It is a 5-inch 9mm 1911 double stack, also known as a 2011 handgun.

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From the factory, the M2XI (a play on Roman numerals) comes in a nice soft case that you could easily carry two handguns in, two 17-round mags made by Mecgar, and all the normal items included with any handgun. There are two options for coatings with the M2XI: a brushed stainless or black nitride finish. I asked for a brushed stainless finish to be sent to me for review. My very first impression out of the box was positive; it looked, felt, and handled like a 2011 from just about every manufacturer.  Next, I wanted to shoot it and then disassemble it and see what it had.

At the range, I shot 4 different types of ammo through the supplied magazines and also a few of my own magazines from various manufacturers. After applying some lube before shooting, the gun ran perfectly with all combos of magazines and ammo. I shot it in various drills on paper targets and plate racks, and it did great. I fired a 10-yard group off-hand using Speer Lawman 124-grain ammunition, an 18-yard group with the same ammo, and an 18-yard group with Speer 124 Gold Dot ammunition.  All of the 18-yard groups were shot from a rest to give the best accuracy possible. From the target, you can see that the gun certainly liked the Gold Dot ammo better, as it shot a really tight group, with the flyer being my fault.

I had two gripes about this gun, one was where it was sighted in, and the other I will get to a little later in this article. At 10 yards, the gun impacted a couple of inches low, and at 18 yards, the impact more than doubled below the point of aim. I prefer pumpkin on a post sight picture; some like to cover the target, which is probably what this sight system was set up for. Once I got used to the point of impact and adjusted my aim, I was easily able to hit anything that I was shooting at.

From the factory, here is what you will get when you buy your own M2XI. Starting from the top down, I’ll go through the gun and included parts. The slide is made and machined from 416 stainless steel, featuring a sight set that is dovetailed into the slide. The front sight has a wide blade and a tritium insert for low-light or no-light shooting. The rear is a fixed sight, so no height adjustment is available without changing either the front or rear sight.

The slide is factory cut for a Holosun K Series optics cut( a modified RMSc cut), which is what most shooters end up doing these days, running an optic sight.  Interestingly, the supplied dot plate sticks out a bit and gives a Beretta 92 feel for a sight picture. The slide is full length with no butler cut, also known as a unique slide. It features a tri-top cut, fairly deep and aggressive rear serrations, front serrations that go all the way through the slide, and three lines cut on the top of the slide. You will also notice the slide has a slight taper, it is not square on the sides, it is wider at the bottom, and it gets narrower at the top. The slide is a series 70 setup and also has an internal extractor and standard firing pin stop.

Inside the slide, there is a stainless steel bull barrel featuring a Wilson/Nowlin “style” ramp, which I am a big fan of. Ramped barrels are a great upgrade for most 1911 and 2011 pistols, especially in 9mm guns. Notice the word style in quotes. I am not sure why Bersa designed their ramp the way they did, but it is not a standard W/N ramp.  Note the difference in the frames and the barrels, it measures about .100 different than a standard W/N ramp. No downside in functionality, but replacing the barrel will be harder due to this difference.

Finishing off the top end is a full-length two-piece guide rod and reverse plug. The recoil spring is an 8 lb setup, which is great for all types of ammo. The recoil spring is one of the easiest changes a shooter can make to tune the gun for the feel that they prefer. Ranges on recoil springs go from 7 pounds all the way up to 20 plus for larger calibers.

The bottom half of the gun seems to be well thought out, with plenty of features that 2011 shooters want. The gun does come with an extended slide stop, which is actually somewhat unusual for most factory 1911-style guns. There is also an extended ejector for positive ejection and extraction out of the gun. The frame is also made from 416 stainless steel and is a full-length frame to match the length of the slide. STI originally made this look popular with their Edge 2011s; now it’s a look that many gun builders use and shooters prefer. On the frame is a 1913 Picatinny rail for light or laser attachments. Something else to note is the depth of the side cuts for the picatinny rail, those are deep, not leaving a lot a metal in that location.

Attached to the frame in the traditional 2011 way is a polymer grip, very similar to the polymer grips that other makers are using. The grip has a nice feel to it with finger undercuts on the trigger guard and nice stippling and texturing on the front strap. Being a polymer, it would be easy to stipple the way you wanted or send it off to a place like Extreme Shooters for custom treatment. I did not try any aftermarket grips, but I do believe a metal grip from Cheely or others would go right on this frame and gun. The grip does come with a small magwell with carry cutouts.

For controls, I already mentioned the extended slide stop, but the M2Xi does come with extended ambi thumb safeties. The thumb safeties feel good in the hand and have positive engagement with the detent. Also, the right side is slimmed down for comfort for the right-handed shooters, so it doesn’t dig into their hands when firing. The grip safety is also extended with a palm swell to ensure it’s deactivated when the gun is gripped.

The hammer is a commander-style bobbed hammer that matches well with the grip safety. Finishing off the lower half of the gun is a flat-faced trigger that has a plastic shoe. There is checkering on the face of the trigger to give the shooter a better feel. The trigger also has an overtravel screw adjustment that can be tuned in the gun. Unlike most 1911 triggers, the overtravel on this gun was properly adjusted; most manufacturers don’t bother.  Trigger pull weight came in at 2.5-2.75 pounds, also better than most. It actually is one of the better factory triggers that I have experienced. Considering pull weight, reset, and overall feel.

Overall fit and finish on the gun seems to be done well. My other gripe, probably a nitpick really, is that the gun felt a little gritty out of the box. It didn’t have that super smooth slide feel, but after adding oil and shooting the gun did get really smooth like one would expect. The slide to frame fit is a little loose, not terrible, but not that of a custom gun either. I suspect the “tightness” will vary from gun to gun. The barrel fit was tight with no vertical movement or slop.

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Overall, the Bersa M2XI stacks up compared to other 2011 handguns of similar pricing. Based on my experience with this handgun, one would expect a reliable gun that runs out of the box and has all the mainstream features 1911 owners want. One big positive for this gun is that it is made in America, and that matters to a lot of us. This gun can be the start of a build, or shoot it as is without accessorizing or modifying. Check out the M2XI from Bersa here.

MSRP: $1,479.00

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