S&W BODYGUARD model 10062 38 Spec. +P

D

Doc Holliday 1950

New member
I'd like the Forum's thoughts on the S&W Bodyguard 38 special +P for my wife vs. Rugers LCR 38 Special +P. She's concerned most by the trigger action. I
Favor the Ruger personally.
Doc
 
Last edited:
I am not a woman but I did buy one for my wife with the Insight laser. She didn't care much for it so I let her pick out what she wanted and the BG-38 is now mine. I cannot recommend the Insight laser by how well this one worked hopefully the Crimson Trace is better. I replaced the grip with a Hogue Tamer grip and it is a completely different pistol to shoot. My wife says she likes the way it looks and feels now, go figure. It has been my EDC for almost a year and so far it has been good but again I don't use the laser.

Hope this helps.
James
 
Doc Holliday 1950 said:
I'd like the Forum's thoughts on the S&W Bodyguard 38 special +P for my wife.
Comes with internal Crimson Trace integrated laser and Bud's has it for $363.00. Has anyone bought or fired one, prefer an answer from a woman?
Click to expand...
My wife has the same exact gun. With the standard grips on the gun just about every load shot was more recoil than she could deal with. As these were all standard pressure loadings, I can only imagine what the recoil of any +P load would be.

I subsequently installed a set of Hogue® Tamer™ Grips on the gun and this made all the difference in the world for her. She is now able to shoot it with several standard pressure loads of 90-130grs quite well. She has selected the 38 Special 110 gr FTX® Critical Defense® as her carry load.This load shoots EXACTLY TO POA with the iron sights or laser out to 25 yds.

Do your wife a favor and put a set of the above grips on the gun. These will soak up the recoil far, far, far better than the factory grips. While you are free to test and shoot any 38 Special ammunition, we would recommend the above standard pressure Hornady® round.
 
I just couldn't get around to liking this gun. My wife handled one at a gun show. She said it was ugly and she didn't like how it felt in her hand. If you are looking for a small, light revolver in .38 special +p, at least check out the LCR. It really is an amazing little gun. The stock grip is extremely comfortable and the double-action trigger is better than most of my full-size revolvers.

The basic LCR's MSRP is similar and you can probably find one in the same ballpark as this Bodyguard. You can get an LCR with a Crimson Trace laser, but that boosts the cost significantly. I also don't know how much you'd trade off in grip comfort, since the Crimson Traces aren't as cushy. Is the laser an important factor for you?

BTW, the LCR in .38 special is a little bit smaller and more concealable than the ones in .357. You will see people recommending them in .357 for increased stopping power but unless you (or your wife) have actually tried it, wait until you have. It has been my personal experience that .357 magnum in any small non-steel snubby is way too much. Even .38 special +p can be a handful in such guns, though the LCR handles it better than most of its competition IMO.
 
Bodyguard vs. LCR

It seems from the posts and private posts that the Ruger LCR is the favorite.
Since I have Ruger and my wife really likes that trigger action, I'm going to go with the LCR for her. Anyone else have an opinion on the LCR please speak up.
Thanks All,
Doc
 
I have bought several guns for my wife over the years, but Air weight hammerless is the only one she liked. She has a weak wrist and cannot handle the +P loads. I normally carry a 629 PD, but got a Body Guard for my self for when I wanted something eaiser to hide.
 
Thanks again for the posts and private messages. Like I said before, this is why I joined the particular Forum. Nobody trashes the novices(like me) and everyone has incredible information that they are willing to share.
Respectfully,
Doc
 
+P rated?

IMHO only,though the CT equipped LCR 38+P is,I doubt 5% of the users of this 13oz.gun are so rated! :D
 
Skeets wrote:

IMHO only,though the CT equipped LCR 38+P is,I doubt 5% of the users of this 13oz.gun are so rated!
Click to expand...

I don't know when the first light-weight alloy snub hit the market, but I think this statement has been true since that day. Yeah, there's probably a guy out there that can whistle Dixie while wiping a bird's butt in flight with a scandium .357. You might know that guy. Someone here might be that guy. I know I'm not. So I throw caution to the wind and load my alloy guns with--gasp--standard pressure! :eek:
 
My wife went in by herself to a gunstore that has a female sales person and looked at bunches of of little revolvers. She noticed that as she is getting older it is harder to pull back the slide on her S&W 469 she bought back in the 80s. Anyway she picked a the little S&W Bodygaurd with the LASER. She is happy so I am happy. I have shot it and a couple shooty buddies also. Not a bad little revolver. I have not tried it with 38 Special +P type rounds.
 
When I first was looking for a snub . . I looked at both the Bodyguard and the LCR. My hands are smaller . . . i.e. not like "hams" . . . and for me, the LCR fit and felt better. . . so I went with a 357 LCR so I had the option of 38s or 357. Mine carried well and shot well - had a great trigger. The Bodyguard is a good revolver as well though. She really needs to lay them side by side at a LGS, handle them and see how they "fit and feel" in HER hands . . . after all, it's for her. Other things to test are how easily she can work and release the cylinder latch, etc. My cylinder latch on the LCR was a little "sticky" - for want of a better word, when I first got it. I carried it for a c couple of years and then traded it off for a like new S & W Model 36 snub. Personally, I like the Model 36 J frame better and it easily carries on the belt for me . . but that's me. And, the Model 36 is a DA that has a hammer which can snag if purse carried, etc.

I really don't think she would be disappointed with either. I know that this is the wheelmen section but if she has any inkling towards a semi-auto, she might want to check out a S & W 9mm Shield as well.
 
BG-38

IF you folks are all talking about the BG-38, then new aluminum revolver with OUT a hand type system to turn the cylinder, then I had one with plenty of troubles.

I bought it new and shot a few hundred or so rounds out of it. It got loose enough to misfire. So I sent it back.

After another few hundred rounds it got loose again so I traded it for a 637 which I love.

This is why it would not last in my opinion. The cylinder is kept in place by the part that rotates the cylinder. There is only a little part resting on the aluminum frame of the revolver, so it pushes into the aluminum every shot.

Here are some pictures.

The Star or what ever its called is here
DSCN4220-XL.jpg


and it sits here. The drive thing is spring loaded. You can see where the cylinder pushed the aluminum back.

DSCN4217-XL.jpg
 
Lasers on a self defense snubby are a gimmick and a useless toy.

If you are involved in a self defense situation you will not use the laser as it will be an up close 5 feet or less situation. Practice shooting from a close retention position.

If you are much farther away it is faster to use the front sight than it is to look for the little dot on the target.


That Cylinder management system looks familiar to me, I believe I had a cap gun with the same arrangement back in 1971.

JMHO YMMV
 
Last edited:
Master Blaster wrote:

Lasers on a self defense snubby are a gimmick and a useless toy.

If you are involved in a self defense situation you will not use the laser as it will be an up close 5 feet or less situation. Practice shooting from a close retention position.

If you are much farther away it is faster to use the front sight than it is to look for the little dot on the target.
Click to expand...

You raise some solid points here. At bad-breath distance, it probably doesn't help. If you need to fiddle with a switch and it isn't especially easy to operate, adding that step to the process can be a very bad thing. However, that doesn't mean lasers are totally useless.

There is something to be said about fast target acquisition in low light with an easy or intuitively activated laser and proper training. Speaking of training, you have to admit that lasers can offer a lot when it comes to trigger training, especially with the heavy DA pulls on some of the smaller self-defense guns. While controversial and potentially less good than the similar "seeing a gun" or "hearing a slide rack", I've heard the case made that seeing the laser could be worth something. Whatever the case, there is at least some value here and we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top