S&W Bodyguard .380...what don't I know?

O

OhioGuy

New member
In my quest to evaluate pocket guns I finally got to try a Bodyguard today. While the trigger is longer and heavier than I'd prefer, I was much more accurate with it than I'd expected. I had no trouble getting 2 shot groups quickly into a 4" circle at 7 yards when aimed. Even sloppy I could still land in a torso area.

What I liked most was probably the grip--the little grooves fit my fingers perfectly and it's now the first pocket gun I didn't have trouble holding onto between shots.

My local store is selling them at $320. From what I've researched it seems they've generally served people reliably and S&W has had good customer service.

After researching the oodles of problems people have had with Kahr and others, this seems like it may be my best option for a relatively cheap, reliable pocket gun. (More likely, IWB under a tucked shirt)

So if you've owned one, what deal-breakers DON'T I know about? Or is it a pretty solid choice? My runner up is a Beretta Pico but I found the slide lock and magazine release buttons nearly impossible to use.
 
I don't have any complaints about mine, I'm accurate out to about 15 yds with mine, don't have any problem going 200+ rounds in a session, I think I got a talon? grip sleeve so that it fit the swell of my Palm a bit better but that was it. I like the long heavy DAO trigger, and a place called Galloway precision makes kits to shorten the trigger pull.
 
My wife has the Bodyguard and she can shoot quite well with it. Better than with my Glock 26 or Kahr CM9 for some reason. I'm one who doesn't care for the trigger though. Seems like my finger wraps around so far it gets pinched. Local store had the new LCP 2 on sale so I picked up one of those for myself. Very impressed with it. Relatively comfortable to shoot, accurate, and so far 100% reliable.
 
I don't have any complaints about mine, I'm accurate out to about 15 yds with mine, don't have any problem going 200+ rounds in a session, I think I got a talon? grip sleeve so that it fit the swell of my Palm a bit better but that was it. I like the long heavy DAO trigger, and a place called Galloway precision makes kits to shorten the trigger pull.
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I'd consider a cushioned grip sleeve for it, if only for extended range practice. It was digging into the web of my hand by the 50th round. But it's not a gun I'd expect to put more than 10 rounds/month through, just to keep up my confidence with it. I have plenty of other gadgets to use at the range. If I could swing it, I'd carry a .22 target pistol around :D Deadly accurate and lots more fun.

The trigger kit looks interesting--over time I might consider getting that, although again with how little I would likely shoot it, I don't think I'd ever get around to paying the bucks to modify it. It's intended to be strictly a "My clothes don't accommodate my double-stack nine" fallback.

Thanks for the positive feedback though! I'm finding that feedback on this gun is generally pretty consistently good.
 
My wife has the Bodyguard and she can shoot quite well with it. Better than with my Glock 26 or Kahr CM9 for some reason. I'm one who doesn't care for the trigger though. Seems like my finger wraps around so far it gets pinched. Local store had the new LCP 2 on sale so I picked up one of those for myself. Very impressed with it. Relatively comfortable to shoot, accurate, and so far 100% reliable.
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I very seriously considered the LCP 2, but the "single action, no safety" thing does make me nervous (see my other thread) and at a minimum, I've historically had horrible luck when buying new products. The first-gen LCP (and Bodyguard) have been around for a very long time, have lots of support, known issues can be addressed, etc. With my luck I'm SURE I'd get the one LCP 2 that falls apart :)

I do like the trigger, though. It's like shooting the world's tiniest Glock.
 
I liked mine. My suggestion would be to save yourself some cash and buy one without the integrated laser.
 
Yes, definitely not getting the laser. I've found I do much worse with a laser sight than without one. I actually do better at close distances just getting a quick and imprecise sight picture, and at longer distances the laser jumps around too much to be usable.

I have a tendency to fixate on the red dot, and rush the shot quick before the dot moves again :)
 
I have considered buying one off and on for a number of years but I prefer to carry something else. BUT, since I reload and have everything to do the 380 and I cast, I'm considering one and would have no qualms getting one. Usually, I carry a 38 or a 9mm but am soon moving up to a 45ACP carry. However, I can easily see how a 380 pocket gun would be handy to slide in a pocket for a quick trip or walk.

Anyway, I have a friend who has one and he loves it. I have shot it and I like the way it feels and shoots. My friend is now 82 and has arthritis in his hands so he does have some difficulty in racking it but for someone with good hands, that problem wouldn't exist. His seems to eat a wide variety of ammo brands and for SD distances, he can get good shot placement.

I had a Bersa Thunder CC one time and that too, was a very good shooter and reliable - not finicky on ammo at all. There are a number of good 380 pocket guns out there but I think that the Bodyguard ranks right up there and is a reasonably priced well made little handgun.

Good luck to you!
 
The Bodyguard always felt amazing in hand and it was very easy to carry. So I did! It was the trigger that killed me. Aside from being generally terrible, it breaks too far back for my long fingers. I eventually bailed after biffing it and getting lucky in a potentially bad situation with wildlife. The training I had been putting in proved to be inadequate and it wasn't fun to begin with. What it did is teach me that the tool needs to fit the person.

*Edit - The laser control was awkwardly placed too.
 
Took the plunge

Well, I decided to take a chance with the Bodyguard. A local store was selling them at $299 and including a box of ammo, so why not.

I hope to get it out to the range this weekend and run some rounds through it. This new trigger is STIFF, dang! But nothing a little practice can't fix. I figure if I can be quick to draw and reasonably accurate at 7 yds, it's a win. It isn't going to be my target competition pistol anyways :D
 
My wife's has been accurate and reliable for both of us. It's just about the perfect pocket pistol, light, easily gripped and shoots when you pull the trigger. With 95 gr JHPs in my handloads as well as Hornady and Remington SD rounds, it's been 100% for reliability.

Accuracy is good, and considering the small grip, it's been wonderful. From 10 yds, sub-2" groups are no problem. Both of us, handle it well and rely on the DA trigger, foregoing the safety that S&W has installed. We both find it hard to manipulate at any speed.

The laser, while impossible to use at any speed, is useful for training in trigger control, and will tell you what you are actually doing as you make your shot. We've used it to fine tune how we make the shot. BTW, it's also a great way to entertain guests as our Labrador races around the room following it.

Finally, I don't personally have much respect for any .380 round in a SD situation, but sure beats having nothing whatsoever. Our hope is that displaying the gun, will deter, when the alternative is no gun at all. Wish it were made in 9mm and retain its small size and usable ergonomics.

HTH's Rod
 
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I don't have much bad to say about this gun, outside of one fact. It has a very light primer strike. I have owned 2 in the past and they were both the same. I would probably get an average of one round per magazine that would not fire on the first strike. Occasionally, 3 or more trigger pulls would be required. The one redeeming quality of this gun though, is that it does have second (or third or fourth) strike capability to remedy this unfortunate fact.

Saying that though, I have not tried every .380 brand of ammo available. I have probably not even tried 1/4 available, so your brand experiences might be different. I really don't think it is ammo failure though.

Realize that it is a "pocket" gun and the limitations that come in most all firearms that size. It has many positives compared to other small semi-autos though.
 
and at longer distances the laser jumps around too much to be usable.
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The laser image doesn't "jump around" anymore than your hand does holding a pistol with "regular" sights. But the sight movement is more apparent and this can be disconcerting to some shooters. For others, it's a good lesson in reality and can help correct poor shooting habits and technique.
 
Some of the early runs had reliability issues, failure to extract and would hang up. I had a similar issue with mine, they seem to like hot ammo.

I agree they are more accurate than one would think.

All this said, I still think the smith 442/642 is a better gun. I prefer hot 38 to 380, no reliability issues, more accurate, and still easy to carry in the pocket. If you have to own a modern semi auto 380, I think the bodyguard is the best of the bunch.

YMMV

-Freq
 
You will not go wrong with the Bodyguard for a pocket or CC pistol. Mine just gobbles ammo without a miss, would feel perfectly comfortable carrying it but then the Shield is not much bigger and 9mm to boot.
 
I own one and like it a lot, but with a big caveat: it took half a dozen trips back to S&W between three different pistols to get a reliable one. In the process, I became a bit of an expert on what makes these things tick.

These were all recently manufactured guns.

I had a few incidents of FTFeed, a few FT lock back on empty mag, but mostly a chronic FTFire problem. They would FTFire about one out of 20 shots with some ammo, a little less on other ammo. Any FTFire is unacceptable on a SD gun, even with second-strike ability.

The FTFire was the most troublesome of the issues. This is a common problem with this gun. The other issues were easy for S&W to fix.

I also spent a lot of time discussing the workings of the gun with the S&W service guy, and learned that these guns are ultimately fixable, but it might take a trip or two back to the factory, and it's not a matter of one particular flaw that needs tweaking.

I discussed this saga in depth on the S&W forum, where other guys had the same issue.

I persisted with solving the troublesome aspects of this gun because I figured it would ultimately be worth it. There is no other gun like the BG. I owned an LCP before it, and really liked it. It was 100% reliable, and a bit lighter than the BG. But I wanted a manual safety, and I like the second strike, slide lockback, and that it can handle +p.

People complain about the trigger. I couldn't care less. This is a close range emergency gun. I have fired hundreds of rounds through the BG, and am fine with the trigger, and actually like it being a bit heavy.

Good luck with yours. Test the heck out of it. Winchester white box was the ammo that gave it the most trouble. If it will shoot 100 rounds of that without a FTFire, it will handle anything. (Can't speak to cheap import/steel case, though.)

Let me know if you have any questions.

David
 
BTW, it's also a great way to entertain guests as our Labrador races around the room following it.
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You're using a gun-mounted laser to entertain the dog?

Am I the only person to feel nervous about this? Whatever happened to "Never point the gun at something you don't want to shoot."?

I hope there were not any kids learning gun-handling discipline from you.

Bart Noir
 
My BG (no laser) worked fine and the safety was a bit redundant since the trigger was so hard to pull. In fact, that was why I replaced it with the LCP Custom (red trigger version) since that trigger was so much better.

And now that has been replaced with the LCP 2. The Custom had sights that were too large and snagged in the pocket. The LCP 2 might have a little better trigger than the Custom but I'm not sure. The slide lock feature and the less snaggy sights were the reason I bought the LCP 2.

But I was carrying the BG every day until I wandered off into Ruger territory. The BG was reliable and accurate enough.

Bart Noir
 
The laser, while impossible to use at any speed, is useful for training in trigger control, and will tell you what you are actually doing as you make your shot. We've used it to fine tune how we make the shot. BTW, it's also a great way to entertain guests as our Labrador races around the room following it.
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My earlier "awkward" might be an understatement for the laser control. Can anyone here activate it at any kind of defensive speed? Other than leaving it on just in case you need it, or threats that come with enough notice to stop and turn it on, trigger control training is the real value. The joke is that they included it as a trigger-control training module because you'll so drastically need it with this gun! :eek:

As per the other thing, I'll assume that you're joking. Seriously, don't do that.
 
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