Should I make this trade tomorrow? Glock 26 vs S&W Bodyguard 38

J

Josh17

New member
Okay, I have a Glock 26, 9mm. The gun I was going to trade for, was a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 38 special snubnose revolver. But I'm not sure if I should or not.

here's a pic of the S&W Bodyguard 38:
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...4_750001_750051_757893_-1_757767_757751_image

So it's: GLOCK 26 SEMI AUTO 9MM VS S&W BODYGUARD 38 SPECIAL REVOLVER. I noticed the Bodyguard doesn't have a external hammer - does that make it MORE reliable, less reliable, or no different at all compared to a revolver that has a external hammer that you can cock back?

Here are is what I would use the gun for, and what I want out of it.

1. Self-defense carry. I'd probably never have to ever fire it. But in the rare case I did, I want to make sure it goes BANG and saves my life.

2. Storage. When not carrying for self-defense, it will be sitting in storage the rest of the time.

3. Which can go longer without needing cleaning/lube. As I said, I probably will never have to fire it, thus, I probably won't be cleaning it very often, since it will never be fired...

So of these two guns, the Glock 26, and the S&W Bodyguard 38 special Revolver, which of the 2 guns MOST fits the three things I listed above?
 
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I think for those 3 points the S&W wins each. Smaller and while it might take longer to clean, I would think it would need it less often
 
I actually think the Glock wins on all 3 points easily.
Carry guns get dirty pretty quick- dust, lint, loose threads, whatever. The Glock I would trust a lot more to work in this case. Carry guns need a commitment to keep clean if you're gonna trust your life with them.
Lightweight snubs are hard to shoot well, Glock wins here but both need regular practice to avoid bad habits.
I would say if you are rarely gonna shoot and it was a bedside gun by all means a good 4" 357 revolver would be better but a carry gun needs a commitment to stay proficient and keep clean, the Glock is superior for carry IMHO.
Also, the Glock is worth about $100 than the S&W.
 
If you're talking about value, the used Glock 26 is worth more than a used Bodyguard. If the Bodyguard is new, they are about even.

If you're talking about what is the better carry weapon, that's on you. I would vote for the 10+1 of 9mm vs. the 5 of .38. I also shoot autos better than revolvers. I also prefer other snubbies to the Bodyguard, but that's my opinion.

The three things you outlined are kind of strange, I don't see your ability to shoot it well, or capacity, or any "important" things there. Both guns will do all three things extremely well. There's very little that will make either gun fail to go bang. There is a lot more than the gun going bang involved with a gun saving your life. Both guns can be stored. In a self-defense weapon, how often you have to clean it should be really low on your list of priorities...
 
The revolver offers "second strike" capability...on a fresh round. Glock does not offer that incredibly important capability.

That is the reason why I choose to carry a revolver as a CCW over any Glock.
 
Quote "As I said, I probably will never have to fire it, thus, I probably won't be cleaning it very often, since it will never be fired..."

Honestly, your dilemma between two handguns is the least of your problems if you rarely -if ever- fire the weapon. Your skill and ability is far more important than the weapon in your hand.

My advice would be to change your mind about how often you will shoot the weapon. Again, if you are buying the gun for your safety and security, know that your safety and security is dependent on your personal skills and abilities, not on what weapon you have.

1st rule - have the weapon
Other 1st rule - fire it regularly to hone your skills and confirm your ability to use it well!

Keep the G26... and fire it regularly. It is a far more capable fighting gun than the Bodyguard. Then, buy the Bodyguard, if you wish, as a secondary weapon which can be fired from within your jacket/coat pocket.
 
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Much greater capacity, easier for most shooters to hit well with, and much faster and easier to reload. The G26 can also take the 15-round and 17-round mags when reloading.

For those who won't practice extensively, a snub nose revolver is very difficult to shoot well with and the G26 is easier to shoot well with.

In any event, practice and skill development is critically important - but especially so with the snubby.
 
Prepare for the flames.
ANY Smith & Wesson revolver is a better piece of machinery than ANY Glock.
Revolvers are more reliable than pistols, which are totally ammo dependent.
Take the Smith, and never look back.
 
^ Not even going to respond to that one. Prepare for the flames indeed.

Back on topic, consider this.

The priorities of survival (they are in order):
1. Mindset
2. Tactics
3. Skill
4. Equipment

This all falls under #4. How much attention is being paid to 1-3?
 
OP, I find your question troubling, because no gun can really be said to be reliable without maintenance, and no shooter can be reliably effective without practice. Lint and dirt accumulates, and lubricants dry up and become gummy. You may one day need to trust your life to this mechanical device - a certain minimum of maintenance and practice are in order.
 
I asked those 3 questions for a reason. First, often times simply having a gun can scare off someone in a self-defense situation (if they aren't armed too, that is). Second, I have practiced firing and will continue, just with a different gun.

Example: If I can shoot a Glock fine, and know how to use it, does that mean if in a Self-defense situation let's say all that I had laying around was a SIG, does that mean that the SIG Gun will be useless simply because I haven't trained much with firing a SIG? If I know how to fire a Glock, then I should be able to use a SIG fine if the situation needed be. Same with a Revolver. I have fired and practiced with .38 snub-noses before, and know how to fire them and shoot well with them, so I'm not too concerned on the training part. I just wanted it for self-defense, which is a rare situation. I don't need special ops training in order to use a Handgun in SD =p

Let me rephrase my main question though

I will clean the gun probably, I dunno, maybe once every 6 months. But not every 2 weeks or every few days like some people do. I want to know, between the two guns I listed, which is more RELIABLE if cleaned only 1-2 times per year.
 
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I don't care for Glocks. But in this instance that's what I'd choose.

imho the bodyguard is not as comfortable to shoot as is the 9mm Glock. As has been said the Glock has a higher resale value than the S&W.

If it had been a S&W steel J frame I would have gone the other way.
 
+1 on Buzzcook's response.

Haven't any experience with the Bodyguard. However I have full confidence in the tried and true S&W "J" frames. My favorite pocket carry is an alloy frame S&W J frame Mod. 642. For belt carry the Glock 26 wins out. If one gun had to serve both purposes then the J frame would serve that purpose for me.
 
Back on topic, consider this.

The priorities of survival (they are in order):
1. Mindset
2. Tactics
3. Skill
4. Equipment

This all falls under #4. How much attention is being paid to 1-3?
Click to expand...

EXCELLENT! ;)

I will clean the gun probably, I dunno, maybe once every 6 months. But not every 2 weeks or every few days like some people do. I want to know, between the two guns I listed, which is more RELIABLE if cleaned only 1-2 times per year.
Click to expand...

That is pretty much what I do with my Glock. It has to have 3,000+ rounds through it before I started seeing any types of malfunctions.

Reliability is useless if you can't hit your target.

More important than anything else is get something that YOU are comfortable with and WILL shoot and train with so that you will be able to make multiple fight stopping hits against multiple targets at a reasonable range.

Practice malfunction drills as well. Anything made and operated by man can and will fail. You NEED to know how to get it back running again. Murphy happens...

Just because you can operate something, doesn't mean you can hit anything with it. I can operate my brother's M&P 9c, but I can barely keep it on paper compared to my G19.

Compared to the old S&W 640 I used to have and the 442 that my brother used to have, the M&P looks good. :o

Airweight revolvers are low capacity and require A LOT of practice to get and stay good with. It can be done, but are you willing to put in the time? It doesn't sound like you are? It kind of sounds like you want to have a "magic talisman/Holy symbol" to turn bad guys like you are a Cleric in D&D...:rolleyes:

First, often times simply having a gun can scare off someone in a self-defense situation (if they aren't armed too, that is).
Click to expand...

If this is what your are banking on, just CCW a toy pistol. It will be lighter, work just as good and you don't have to worry about cleaning it at all...
 
I just sold my S&W Airweight and replaced it with a Kahr CW9 (full grip version of the CM9).

The CW9 conceals just as easily (for me), is far more accurate (for me), carries more ammo and is easier to reload (spare mag > speed strip) and is actually enjoyable to practice with at the range. It has been reliable through the break-in period with both FMJ and HP ammo. It also shoots 9MM +p SD ammo far more comfortably than my Airweight would shoot .38 Spec +p.

If you want something more concealable than the G26, then I'd take a look at some of the reasonably priced single-stack 9mm options available in addition to the Bodyguard (and if possible, rent a Bodyguard or another Airweight J-frame and run 50 rounds through it to see if it suits you or not).
 
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