Picked up an M&P Bodyguard

M

marine6680

New member
It was on sale, safety free version.

The example in the case had a decently smooth trigger on it. Well worn in from constant handling.

Mine was decent out of the box, but I smoothed up the trigger bar, and that made it better. A little dry firing should have it pretty nicely smoothed out.


The only issue I have with it so far, is that it had a plastic/polymer mag catch for a metal body mag. I haven't heard any complaints, other than insertions of the mag can be stiff.

Galloway made a replacement mag catch at one point, but they seem to have discontinued it. Even if it isn't a necessary replacement, it was cheap, but it's not available anymore.


I plan on getting to the range tomorrow to put a few boxes of ammo through it, and at least one box of carry ammo while I am there.

I will report back then.
 
Curious what you paid. PSA has had them on sale for 299 for a few weeks. It's my next purchase but not right now as I have a Sig P250 coming in this week.
 
Nice! Have you shot the full size M&P? I'd be curious to see what your comparison thoughts are. Obviously you can't directly compare the two since they are made for a different purpose and different size. But, I hated the full frame but love my Shield, never had the pleasure of shooting a Bodyguard though.

Good price too! After the range let us know how it groups!
 
Got to put some rounds down range today.

It groups well, the trigger isn't hard to get used to. The fiance was a little sporadic with hits at first, but she tightened up after a couple mags.


Recoil is on par with a Shield... smaller pistol, but weaker cartridge make for similar feeling recoil. Its brisk, but easily manageable for someone who is familiar with pistol shooting. The texture on the grip is a bit more aggressive than the other M&P line, so that probably helps.



I noticed the hammer seems to lean to the right and it looks like it drags on the slide a bit... Is that normal for this pistol? others feel free to chime in.



Only put 75rds through it today... but feeding was 100%. Not surprising as I was using FMJ and that ARX ammo.

I keep seeing positive testing results for the ARX ammo in 380 micros. The design feeds reliably and it penetrates deep enough while other ammo may not. Plus it has a lower recoil impulse than standard ammo.

Too bad the first half of the box had light strike issues for about 40% of the rounds. A second pull set them off though. It cleared up for the last few magazines (five rounds loaded in each during testing)

Going to put another box or two through it, see if the gun is wearing in and the light strikes on the ARX are gone now. If so, I will use that ammo for carry. Well the fiance will, when she gets her permit. This pistol is mostly for her, but I will carry it on occasion... situation dependent. Or we may get a second. She has a Shield for carry as well.

My main carry will be my M&P9c.


As far as comparison to the full size... they are worlds apart. My full size in 9mm handles recoil like a dream. This tiny pocket rocket of a pistol lets you know its there. But its manageable as I said... just don't expect the fastest split times.
 
Thats a great price on a bodyguard. I wonder if they are dropping the price due to rugers recent price drop? Either way better for us:D I love these pocket pistols.
 
The offset hammer seems to be a common problem, but without any ready solution. It is blamed for light strikes after the gun has fired about 50rds or so. Fouling from firing is blamed for increasing friction.

I polished the side of the hammer to lower any friction if it drags on the slide. Also it seems that this is a gun that will need cleaned a bit more often. I clean carry pistols before they are put back into rotation after a range trip, so no big deal. It just limits how many rounds I can put through it when practicing.


Going to test the ARX ammo fresh and see if it works.


I can live with the pistol if it is reliable for at least 50rds before fouling causes occasional light strikes, as two magazines is only 12rds. With the purpose of the pistol, me or the fiancé are unlikely to have more than that should we need to use it.

I suspect that as parts wear in, and with the polishing, that it should improve over its initial performance.


So while I am a little disappointed in the fact it needs cleaned every 50-100rds for reliable function of primer ignition, it's not a death sentence to the pistol. So long as it does not begin to have issues sooner than that, it's a livable limitation.
 
On a separate but related note...

I have inadvertently become a S&W man... At least where my self defense situation is concerned. As all my current carry arms are from the M&P line. (The bodyguard is the laser and safety free version if I didn't mention it, so it's M&P)
 
I just sold mine last week for half of what I paid for it, but I am glad it is gone. I absolutely hated it and don't miss it a bit. I tried for two years to warm up to it and convince myself it was a good gun for me. The worst thing about it was the light primer strikes. No matter what brand of ammo I used, I could not get consistent ignition. Yes, probably should have sent it in, but never did because of others that I have read online that had the same problem and sent them back to S&W only to have them returned w/o being fixed because the problem would not be duplicated. Probably only 60% of the time would it fire on first pull. It was a good thing that it I had a chance to pull the trigger a second and third time, in some cases, to get the round to go off. It does have a long, heavy trigger, I got use to the breaking point eventually. I also had the one with the laser (only one available at the time of purchase) which is just a selling point, in my opinion, and has no useful purpose as it would not stay sighted in. One of the on/off buttons stopped working within a week after I got it too.

Pocket guns are inherently difficult to shoot accurately, because of the really short barrel, without lots of practice. I did not practice enough with that gun, because it was not a fun gun to shoot, so I never really got good at hitting my targets precisely with this gun. I probably only mastered 8" groups at 12 yards.

The only thing I really liked about it was the size and I could make it fit my hand OK for being so small. I liked it over the Ruger LCP because of the last round slide open and slide lever. It is probably a fine BUG or when deep concealment is necessary, but for a first line firearm, I would never recommend.

I hope you have a better specimen than what mine was.
 
Some love the pistol, some do not.


I think these little pistols are difficult beasts to nail down a good balance of size, performance, weight, and cost... Some do it better than others.

I can't imagine that the BG has overly many issues over all, or S&W would have introduced changes or dropped the model. Maybe I'm wrong... But they seem cognizant of how important reputation is, and that even well known and respected brands can quickly loose it in this business.
 
I'm in the "dislike" camp on these BG's. Never could adjust to the trigger pull. I've been using the stainless steel LCP (2nd Gen) and loving it. Not a single issue.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top