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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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  #1  
Old 01-24-2012, 09:19 PM
srp707 srp707 is offline
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Default .38 Body Guard thoughts

Anyone own a .38 special body guard that can give me any advice. I like the weight,the fact that there's no hammer, great pocket gun, and the laser sight but does all work. Is it accurate and dependable? I have a Walther PPKS I bought in 1996 and really is not very accurate although I;ve shot less than a box of shells thru it. Thanks Tom
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Old 01-24-2012, 09:36 PM
RGMoore RGMoore is offline
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Mine had a few issues. It failed to rotate the cylinder once and failed to fire twice in the first 100 rounds. It also shot about 3 inches left at 10 yards with the irons (laser was right on).
In addition I decided that I wasn't that happy with the cylinder release (I'm sure southpaws would like it) and the laser was a little cumbersome to activate. Also there are no after market grips available.
When I sent it in for warranty repair, S&W called to say they could not repair it so I swapped for a 642CT. I like it a lot better. YMMV
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Old 01-24-2012, 09:41 PM
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I volunteer at a shooting range. The Bodyguards seem OK enough but the people with the new Ruger LCRs really like them -- and the Ruger now comes in a .357 as well. If you could compare the two you might be happier with whichever you pick.
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Old 01-24-2012, 09:44 PM
NE450No2 NE450No2 is offline
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I have owned an Airweight Bodyguard since around 1972.

I have carried it almost daily since that time.
There was a few years that I carried a LW Commander in 45 ACP in my pocket for a few years, but I have carried and shot the Bodyguard most of the time and shot it quite a bit.

I think a Bodyguard should be owned by everyone, and is ideal as a carry gun for many people as a primary CHL, and for everyone as a second gun for CHL.

I Never leave the house without mine...
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Old 01-25-2012, 12:09 PM
Criterion Criterion is offline
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It's been 2 weeks since I have sent my laser back to S&W. The hex screw that holds the laser in place actually broke having only shot about 200 rounds from my bodyguard .38. S&W did tell me that I am getting an "upgraded" insight laser because of the many complaints of it being hard to activate, I guess they re-did the activation button. S&W told me I was the FIRST complaint of the hex screw breaking causing the laser to fly off from the revolver. They are assuming a bad screw. We'll see when I get my new laser, I will do another post on the new one. I also found that if I didn't make sure the cylinder was LOCKED into place it wouldn't rotate, that happened to me twice causing it to mis-fire. Since I have been making sure it's locked into place I haven't had any problems with the cylinder not rotating. Also I haven't had any trouble nailing my target. For a snubby I don't think it's too bad. Over all I think the .38 is a great carry revolver. If anyone is in the market for the bodyguard .38, take it to a range and get to know it.
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Old 01-26-2012, 12:27 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by srp707 View Post
Anyone own a .38 special body guard that can give me any advice. I like the weight,the fact that there's no hammer, great pocket gun, and the laser sight but does all work. Is it accurate and dependable? I have a Walther PPKS I bought in 1996 and really is not very accurate although I;ve shot less than a box of shells thru it. Thanks Tom
I assume you are referring to S&W's latest J frame the BG38 Bodyguard which sports a frame mounted laser, polymer rear frame and aluminum front...

I have owned mine for about a month and after a couple of range sessions I'm very pleased with it. No problems, the sights are spot on, the gun will put 5 rounds into one ragged hole at 7 yards (unlike my early '80s model 60), the function of the gun (and laser) has been flawless, and it is the lightest handgun I own.

Here is a review after my first range session:

New BG38 Bodyguard - I Like It!!

If you want a extremely lightweight and accurate 5 shot +P 38 Special handgun, this one will do nicely!

Edmo
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airweight, bg38, bodyguard, commander, j frame, model 60, polymer, ppks, ruger, smith-wessonforum.com, snubby, walther

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