Quote:
Originally Posted by Magnum1b
It seems to me also that if there is a problem with firing pin breakage that maybe, perhaps, it's due to the spring pressure being excessive.
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Based on several threads on this forum about BG 380 firing pin fractures, the following seems to be true:
(1) While the rate of BG 380 pin breakage is higher than other S&W firearms, it does not seem to be an inevitability.
(2) The firing pin breakage issue does not seem to be relegated to a particular range of serial numbers. Rather, it seems to have happened/be happening across all serial numbers.
(3) Some gun have broken multiple pins.
(4) Inspection of multiple BG 380's with broken firing pins show that they all break in the same place: near the firing pin block.
2nd bodyguard 380 broken firing pin DONT DRYFIRE GeorgiaShooter has an excellent description in post #8.
The present working theory is one of a tolerancing problem. If this is true, then either a particular gun is prone to breaking pins, or it isn't, with the possibility that wear could lead to more broken pins. This can also explain why some guns have broken more than one pin. S&W may simply replace the pin without addressing the underlying issue.
In any case, there seems to be no evidence that the firing pin breakages are due to spring strength. I've got several hundred rounds through mine and dry fired it quite a bit, and so far, no broken pin. (Fingers still crossed.)
The BG 380 has a long, heavy trigger. No doubt about it. I don't understand the anger at S&W, however, since they freely advertise the trigger's weight, and most customers can actually handle a gun (or even shoot a copy) before they buy one.
Personally, I like the heavy trigger precisely because it makes the gun harder to fire. This is my primary carry gun (I only pocket carry) and the heavy trigger means it's difficult to have a negligent discharge due to something/somebody inadvertently pulling the trigger. This should never happen, of course, since the gun is never in my pocket outside of its holster, but I'll take every layer of safety I can get. (That said, I don't use the external safety on the BG 380. It's pointless on a DAO gun, and it is *extremely* difficult to actuate.)