New S&W M&P 380 Bodyguard - first shots

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georgiacatweazle

New member
Bought a bodyguard june 16th in order to get a center fire cartridge as my BUG instead of my current 1954 H&R922 2 1/2" revolver, got to the range today (17th), ran half a box of tula and some american gunner hollow points through it,
didn't get any failures except one failure to go bang on tula.

one of the magazines failed to lock open twice and has a problem getting all 6 in there, when you do, magazine doesn't seat.

trigger is a bit heavy, but ok, it's right now a bit gritty, not as good as a taurus tcp.

accuracy is ok right out the box, tula was returning at 7 yards around 2 inches, and the hollow points about 2 1/2 and slightly above the sight picture.
sights are good. does it beat my 60 year old revolver for accuracy ? nope, that $100 bottom feeder gets me about 1 1/4", but wasn't expecting too right away.

i originally put a pachmyr grip sleeve but it was uncomfortable, so shot without it, gun is fine without one.

all in all, good pistol, good build quality. goes bang when expected.
 
Some little guns don't like Tula ammo. I hope your Bodyguard works out for you. Did you get the new version without the laser?
 
decent quality gun, great size. I just cannot get over that trigger, but then again, I can't get behind any DAO and be happy anymore. tula has super hard primers and lots of DAO's have light strikes with it.

good luck, happy shooting
 
I have a m&p bodyguard 380 without laser. I absolutely love the thing. I've put 500-600 rounds down it with no issues so far. The only ammo I have found it doesn't like is the Tula. It often takes 2 strikes to ignite them. Mine seems to shoot a bit low and to the left, but overall it will get the job done at the range it's intended for.
 
it's the new one without the laser. after checking the target, removing a few flyers, the groups could technically be 1" roughly. i may in a few months swap out the trigger and connector.
 
I purchased a Bodyguard after first shooting my buddies, typicallong hesvy DAO trigger pull but smooth enough tostay on target while pulling it through. The pistol is obviously designed for close operation and from 0 to seven yards it will drill one large hole in the target. I shoot only brass cased ammo in all of my weapons (except the com-bloc weapons made for steel) and have not had a malfunction of any kind in my small concealed carry pistols, most are shot and carried with ball ammunition which certainly aids in reliability. I purchased a kydex holster on Ebay (concealed concepts) for my BG, Sig P238 and Glock 42--a small IWB holster that is super light and carries the pistol securely.
 
pistol is still functioning reliably, getting inch and a half groups. got a de santis pocket tuck holster which seems to work well.
got a third mag from grabagun for less than $9 which included the shipping.
S&W shipped me out a complete rebuild kit for the faulty mag, so that's up and running. i managed to fix the old spring so i have a spare now.
 
Yea S&W customer support!

I guess I have two gun related pet peeves.

1. Searching for a holster is an exercise in futility.

2. Magazine prices are too high, as in unprintably-get-me-kicked-off-the-forum too high.

I realize $9 is a good price. I STILL think it's about $6 too high.

Just curious, did you look at the Ruger LCP before you bought the S&W?
 
Glad your Bodyguard 380 is working out for you. They are neat guns but I was unhappy with mine. The trigger was the worst I've ever felt...bad enough that I couldn't fire it accurately. I know others are happy with their Bodyguards, and I love my other M&P pistols, so mine may have been a fluke. Still, I think the punk(s) who stole mine from me did me a favor.

I replaced it with a TCP which is surprisingly accurate and natural for me to shoot, and has been very reliable. (Which may be somewhat of a fluke in itself. I have a good friend who bought a new TCP and it was unable to fire at all. Taurus did replace it with no hesitation, though.)
 
Dale, yep holsters are a bit fiddly, the desantis pockey tuck works fine for jeans pockets, the catch for the belt is a bit hard to mess with.

biner, trigger is a bit stiff, still 1 1/2 inch groups if you stage it right. i have a taurus M82 revolver and sig p250, so full-swing triggers aren't too difficult. i may buy the trigger upgrade, $90 but makes a big difference, not sure if a $260 gun that is a carry only should require the upgrade ?
 
Great little guns, used to have a Bodyguard but sold it towards a Shield, plan on picking up the non-laser one soon though. I personally don't mind the trigger since I am used to DA triggers, while it was long mine was very smooth.
 
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