Report: Problems with new S&W Bodyguard 380
I purhcased a S&W Bodyguard 380 on Saturday. With great enthusiasm and expectations I took it to the range on Sunday morning for a first shoot. Unfortunately that is all I got! after the first shot the trigger failed to return (trigger return spring or something else failed in the gun). With out taking the gun past the field stripping described in the manual, I have not been able to correct the problem. I will be taking it back to the dealer this morning to see what remedies are available. Obviously this was a great dissapointment. I am a long time fan of S&W revolvers (my wife and I are NRA certified instructors and shoot S&W 340PD's) and this is the first semi automatic I have purchased for self defense.

Wow; now that's what I call a raspberry
pisser. I've been looking forward to the
BG380 as well; haven't found any in my
area yet. I hope you get some satisfaction
from your dealer; if not, surely S&W will
make it right. Maybe I should hang on to my
Ruger LCP after all...

I want one also but i think ill wait 6-8 months until they get all the kinks worked out. Until then ill keep my LCP in my pocket!!

Bill

cateye:

Welcome to the board.

I try to resist the "early adopter" syndrome. In cars, computers or firearms, newly introduced products quite frequently are subject to unforseen design issues. I'd prefer that this didn't happen, but just look at the numbers. If 10,000 people have bought S&W Bodyguard .380s and spent three hours each shooting them, that's 30,000 hours of range testing, with 10,000 different grips, shooting stances and ammunition.

I'm reasonably confident that S&W will make the Bodyguard series right. In the meantime, could I recommend a nice little 3913? They worked the bugs out of that one a long time ago.

We're starting to see a few of these BG380 failure threads here and there. It's a new product, but even so, you would certainly hope to get more than one shot!

I probably was foolish and jumped on the bandwagon too soon - bought a BG380 Saturday, but did not have time to shoot it. I will be giving it a test drive Wednesday. One thing is for sure, if there is trouble, you won't sit around on pins and needles wondering if S&W will fix it (that's a given). It's just the inconvenience.

The gun is certainly an attractive little package with a lot of nice features. I particularly like that it has a good set of sights, a thumb safety, and of course the built-in laser. For my purposes, I would have preferred a magazine safety, but I guess with the safety lock, I can get by without it. I think it will be a winner: priced more attractively that the Kahr, and much better in features and ergonomics than the lower-priced competitors. Hopefully whatever bugs there may be, they will be resolved quickly.

Call S&W, they'll send you a return label and arrange to have the gun shipped back on their dime.
These 380's are starting to look like the 15-22's which were problematic from the getgo. Smith has got a handle on the issues with the 15-22 it seems.

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RIP Labworm 11/22/2019

Yep, saw threads on some other forums about BodyGuard problems, mainly trigger issues. Shouldn't be happening in today's world. I think companies are relying too much on computer design and testing rather than pumping ammo through them and see what breaks.

Old saying; "Beware of low serial numbers."

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Retired Police, Life NRA

They look like the perfect 'summer' CCW, but I'll wait until AFTER the inevitable recall...or the upgrade, or whatever.

OK, a little rant.............

All this talk about S&W making the 380 and the 15-22 right is a bunch of ****. It is unacceptable.

I have a High Point 995 9mm carbine (yeh I admit it) that has never failed me. period. It ALWAYS goes bang, ejects the spent shell and chambers a new round. ALWAYS. It's one of the early ones, perhaps 7-8 yrs old.

Now that my truck gun is better that your gun, I feel better.

Well duck I agree that there shouldn't be all these problems with the guns but, you only hear about the bad ones, not many people go out of their way to inform the world when something works as it should. That being said I'm sure your High Point works great but, if I go by all the problems I've read about on the internet then yours is in the minority. Is it really, probably not but, by your logic most of the new body guards are **** and so are most of the high points out there, I don't believe either are.

Took my Bodyguard .380 to the range for the third time and mine had a major problem. The take down lever backed out after firing about 100 rounds today and the slide, spring, guide rod, and take down lever blew off the gun. I was left holding only the lower with the mag in it. I picked up the pieces and put it all back together and the only way to keep the take down level from backing out was to put my finger next to it. If I would take my finger away it would continue to back out after firing several rounds. Called S&W and told them my story and I got the shipping label and just took it to FedEx. The CS person had heard the story before and they don't know a reason why it is happening. The way I see it is the take down lever is being moved by recoil when the slide is open and will drop all the way down and out of the gun. There does not seem to be enough tension on the take down lever on my gun as it moves easily on slide open or slide lock.

That's a bummer. I'm not a huge fan of that take down pin as it is.

I lost the right side button/cover for the laser yesterday, must have popped off while switching holsters. Other than that everything else is A-OK. Emailed S&W about getting another button, currently hole is covered with some electrical tape.

Surely S&W fired a *few* rounds through the new pistol after designing it..... Didn't these problems with the pistol shaking itself apart come up in testing?? It seems that most gun makers build these 380s to shoot one or two boxes of ammo, then be stuffed in a pocket or purse and never fired again.

after the 1st 6 rounds through mine i noticed the laser was off by almost 2' at 3yds and won't adjust using the procedure in the manual. kept shooting for 100rds without any other issues.

I found that while adjusting the laser, if it will not adjust enough in the direction you need it to, adjust it back in the opposite direction and then start over. This worked for me and my laser is now spot on.

We fired my wife's new S&W Bodyguard Sunday afternoon. After some initial drifting and readjustment the laser stayed dead-on and helped me to shoot consistent 4" groups at 50 feet (my old eyes don't work well with iron sights anymore). It's not as bright as the CT laser on her LCP, but if you keep the lens clean it works fine indoors. Unfortunately, it only comes with one magazine and spares aren't available yet. That's a dumb move by S&W...even mouse guns need spare mags. So she still carries her LCP while we wait on mags to come off backorder. Other than that it's a fun gun that didn't miss a beat during 100 rounds of break-in firing. I guess I like the thing...might even buy one myself...

Milspec

Sending mine back today. EAA35**. Take down lever...disappeared. It was approx 15 ft to the left of where I thought would be its trajectory.

Good fun hunting for part of your pistol after just talking it up. I Trust S&W will resolve and restore my satisfaction in the firearm.

Also hope there is some improvement in the trigger. Not sure if spring issue, but its got seemingly and 7+ pound trigger and the longest drag Ive ever experienced.

Didn't realize a HP 995 could slip into your front pocket.

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RIP Labworm 11/22/2019

I have a new bg 380 and shot about 100 thru it....love it...no problems....

I just got mine 2 months ago, so i guess it's the new batch. I absolutely love it! It hasn't left my pocket since. I put 300 rounds through it so far and the only weird thing I encountered was while using colt ACP ammo, it got stuck while ejecting and there were a few times that nothing fired. I was thinking it might have been the trigger problem that everyone has been complaining about, but once I tossed the colt **** and reloaded with federal ammo I was good to go and shot another 50 rounds that day and another 100 since! DO NOT BUY COLT AMMO FOR THIS GUN!!!!

I am having a gunsmith look at mine tomorrow....looking at getting a lighter spring put in....

oh. let me know how that goes

due to the gun having a manual safety. I think the trigger pull was a little overboard

After shooting the gun a little more, I decided to leave it alone...not really that hard of a trigger pull...

I purchased my 380 about 2 weeks ago. It has fired about 100 rounds so far without any failures. I used CCI blazer, some russian ammo, some reloaded hollow points, and a few Hornady Critical Defense rounds. My only complaint so far would be the difficuly with turning on the laser. I saw a fix for that on this forum, and may try it sometime. I think S&W has a winner with this 380.

Couldn't find spare mags at the on-line stores. Ordered two directly from S&W and they showed up in 5 days. Out of the box, 25 rounds WWB were flawless, 25 rounds of Fiocchi - flawless but then of the 25 rounds of Prvi PPU, six did not go bang, three of them did go on the second strike but the remaining 3 still did not fire. When reloaded and struck two more times they still did not fire. Just think, 475 more rounds of the Prvi to shoot. At seven yards, I am very happy with the grouping. Also, the 380 is much more comfortable to shoot than my old P3AT. After a few hundred break in rounds, I'll try some of my Double Taps for excitement.
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After nearly 150-200 rds the gun failed to lock open when unloaded. the range master would have field stripped but cannot pull slide back far enough to lock slide and thefore field strip this firearm. Customer service is closed Saturday but i see a return for repair in my near future. Upsetting because I really love this gun. The fact that I have a glock that has never failed and I have only owned the bodyguard one week makes me wonder if this will be a gun i can trust the safety of my family to or i will go back to Glock 19 as my CCW.

450 rounds through my three week old EAH19xx Bodyguard, 0 problems.

This happened to me yesterday, too. After the pistol's initial 150 rounds, as well.

It is the retaining screw for the laser unit. It has backed out and is not allowing the front of the slide to pass it on its way to the rear. With some effort, I was able to remove the slide myself.

There is a spot where the take-down pin will still turn down even without the slide being locked to the rear. You just have to play with pulling the slide back while simultaneously putting a little pressure down on the take-down pin until it drops down. Then you can pull it out and remove the slide assembly. Dollars-to-donuts, your laser screw has become fully unscrewed like mine was.

I'm thinking some blue Loc-Tite may be in order, but I'm also reluctant to do so since the allen-head is so small and doesn't offer much purchase. Ultimately, I may just yank the laser unit, altogether. But, that would kinda defeat some of the appeal of this little gun, which I really do want to like.

In any event, keep carrying your Glock as your primary. Even in perfect working order, the Bodyguard 380 is still nothing more than a back-up gun, in my book.

Good luck.

Scott

I have had my BG for about 3 months now. Not one problem. Using the laser sight at 25" I have had groups within 2 1/2' to 3". They only complant that I have with is the pushing the laser sight button, it requires too much sure effort if you are using it as a CCW. Any suggestions?

I just bought the BG .380 (sn EAJ series) yesterday. I took it to the range today for the first time. I used Independence ammo. After the first 15 rounds I got a no fire, I did not try pulling the trigger again, just released the mag, ejected the chamber round and reloaded. It did this five times out of fifty rounds. I'll try a different ammo next time like Federal or winchester. I also did a field strip when I got home, the release lever was a pain to push down and when I went to put it back together, the slide would not return to the firing position. I finally got it after the slide pinched my palm a couple of times. Not as simple as my Glock 32, but maybe some better ammo and practice field stripping , I should have a winner.

This is my first post, and my 3rd. S&W purchase.

Purchased BG 380 today and found problem field stripping. Seems the take down would only go down to about 5 o'clock when trying to push it with my fingers. Called S&W and they said the spring was stronger than the original BG380's were because owners had complained about the lever was too loose. I used the plastic end of a screwdriver to force it to 6 o'clock and all went well. Putting lever back in was a little tough too. Maybe this SN EAJ**** BG has had this particular problem solved. Now to the range to test for shooting problems.with Winchester metal jackets and Hornaday Critical Defense hollowpoints.

I'm happy to have found this forum, you guys rock.

I purchased one at gun show 5 Mar 2011. 5 shots and that was it

What happened to it.??

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......me numma ' 1 G.I.

Fixed the same problem in about 2 minutes,,,get a coffee stirrer/straw(mine was black),snip approx. a 32nd of an inch off and slide into the rubber button and reinstall,,you may have to try a couple of different sizes to your liking of activation pressure needed...!!

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......me numma ' 1 G.I.

The super quick fix is to pull the button's out, rotate them, and put them back in. If you do it a few time's you can find the sweet spot. You may or may not have to do it again over time.

The best fix it "the Ultimate laser button fix". Do a search and you'll find plenty of info on this site.

Got my 380 this past Wed at Academy. Went out looking for some t-shirts and left with the 380 instead. Go figure. Took it out to the range for my regular shooting time on fridays with my other toys. Put approx 40 rds through it with no problem at different ranges. The laser was way off and not very visible at further ranges during daylight ....expected this anyway. Will attempt to adjust the laser next time out. Button press a little annoying but nothing more. Practiced turning it on with index finger on one side and thumb with the other. Like it a little hard so holstering will not activate it. Maybe will do the fix if needed later. Ordered a Desantis IWB for it on the cheap.I will primarily keep it in my concealment vest or pocket. Maybe will carry IWB or bellyband when I really need to go lightweight and very low profile. The trigger pull is long and difficult to catch the link quickly which for me is a tactical must! Will be taking it down for some cleaning today. For me this gun is what it is.....a backup gun! but will rely primarily on my Glock 26 or 19 for primary defense. Great little product looking past some of the quirks.

If you own a Bodyguard .380 and have experienced no issues with the trigger then consider yourself fortunate. As with many first model year products, there are bugs to work out.
I recently purchased a Bodyguard .380 and was eager to test it out. To my dismay, upon firing the first round through the pistol, I knew something was wrong with the trigger. My bodyguard had at least 15 pounds of resistance on the trigger as it had to pulled back against the rear of the trigger guard to fire! 6 rounds out of 50 the pistol failed to discharge at all. I, evidently am not alone in experiencing this as one can search google "S&W bodyguard trigger pull problem" and find many hits.
My bodyguard .380 is on it's way back to S&W to have the problem fixed. Hopefully I receive it back and can share how wonderful it is! I will keep every one posted on my situation.
Hoping for the best!
Matthew G.

It's time S&W stood up and recalled all .380 bodyguards. There are serious trigger issues with the first run models. I purchased one at Cabela's recently and so disappointed when I fired my first round through it! The trigger was literally against the the rear of the trigger guard before the pistol fired, that's 3/4 of and inch and probably 15 pounds of resistance! Try doing a google search on S&W bodyguard trigger pull issues! Many hits will pop up!
Come on S&W! You have been a great gun manufacturer for over 100 years. Make your long time customers happy!
Sure, first models are prone to have bugs, but that does not dismiss the attitude of the customer service rep I spoke to on the phone about my trigger issue today! What a jerk! Recall this gun before some one is killed from it's faulty trigger!
Matthew G.
p.s. the casings upon discharge usually fly straight up, so, if you wear a large brimmed hat you can catch most of them as long as you hold your head level!!!!

Erm, the trigger is designed to break right at the back. That's normal. Not sure about your ejection issue.

For what it's worth, my EAE BG380 hasn't been perfect. Just had to send back the laser module because of this... Yep, not sealed laser. And no, it's not on the outside.

S&W should get it back this Friday, so we'll see what they do. Hopefully they just replace the laser...

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I've got the same problem. In fact, I can see white spots (pretty sizeable ones) on the inside of the lense cover of the laser when the laser is turned off.

Sorry William, My BG.380 has trigger issues! I'm glad you purchased one that didn't.

William, My dad and myself fired fifty rounds through my bg.380 and on six occasions the gun didn't discharge. Actually once when I was shooting, the gun discharge three seconds or so after the trigger had been pulled back fully.
This is not right right nor is it safe.
A gun this light should not have a trigger action so hard to manage. I'm confident S&W will fix the problem as I am finding out I am certainly not the only one who has experienced this after reading many posts on many blogs such as this which address the trigger issue in EAA and EAH serial # .380s.

matthe g, I really cannot understand what you're even saying. I've put over 200 rounds through my BG380 with not a single failure to fire or failure to eject. How can your gun be discharging three seconds AFTER the trigger has been pulled back fully? That makes no sense unless perhaps your ammo sucks and didn't fire immediately when the primer was struck?

Have you tried different ammo?

Also, I disagree that "a gun this light" shouldn't have such a trigger. It's a pocket pistol, so you do not want a 1911-style trigger, unless you're fond of unintentional discharging of a firearm.

Send it back to S&W. They'll give you a prepaid label if you call them.

When I talked to them about sending me some new button's, they acted like they would send me a new laser. Might want to call and ask. Then you wouldn't have to send the gun in.

I didn't send my whole gun in, but they wanted my laser back first before they'd send me a new one. So just my laser is on its way back to MA.

Man, I was hoping to find that all the bugs have been worked out of the BG380 by now... Now I'm not so sure what CCW to get. I'll take a look at the RUGER LCP's again I guess.

I've put a little over 50 rounds thru my BG 380 with no problems except one. I hit the mag. release while shooting and the mag slipped down around a 1/4th of an inch giving it a fail to load. I think the mag feels very loose in the grip. I'm thinking of making a thin rubber spacer for the mag to take up the gap between the mag and the base of the grip. I like the little gun and it really shoots accurately for such a short barrel but wish I would have purchased a .38 revolver instead. I let the idea of a laser sway my choice.