Hi All,

I've searched this forum and not luck in finding anyone who had their MISFIRE (FTF) issue fixed by S&W.

Has anyone had their Bodyguard 380 fixed due to misfire (FTF) and/or light strike??

I've had this problem and I doubt it's the ammo. I use Remington UMC brand.

Is there is definite fix to this issue?

Thanks,
BW

I'd try out at least one other type of ammo first before jumping to the conclusion that its the firearm. Even good brands can have bad batches of ammo.

I mostly use Remington UMC though my BG and seems fine, actually seems to be more accurate than Winchester.

Agree with Matt. I have shot wwb, fed eagle, s&b, buffalo bore and corbon without any problems in my BG380. The only time I have had any misfires was with hornady critical def. Had a couple rounds take a second strike to fire. A lot of people swear by the stuff. So I would assume I had a bad box of ammo or my gun just didn't like it. Try some different ammo. I don't believe that many BG380's have an issue with misfiring. If yours does, I'm sure S&W will make it right.

No problems with FTF or any other function with mine, but I probably don't have more than 50 or so rounds through it.

The biggest problem is that the sights seem to be way off.
(And, man, those little buggers are hard to move!)

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Thanks for all the responses!

The problem I have though is the only round that misfired (FTF) were the ones i was carrying in the mags which I carried in my pocket holster. After those FTF rounds, I was able to fire the rest of the box without FTF.

That's what gets my guessing. I figured Remington UMC is a great brand. There's really not a lot of choices for .380 Auto ammo where i live. Mostly Remington UMC.

Do you think it's b/c it was in my pockets without being fired for a few weeks and maybe moisture creeped into primer or something??? I hate this problem!

How many rounds have you shot through it previously? I know the first time I went to the range I had a couple jams, but since then it has been fine.

Also, do you keep it in a holster when its in your pocket?

I sent my first 380 back to S&W for FTF. They sent it back in 2 weeks, no work order or anything stating what work was done. I still had the same problem...light primer strikes with all brands of ammo. This gun was horrible.

So....I got another one, a little newer. Still, had a few light primer strikes, mostly with Winchester ammo. Instead of sending it back to S&W, I fixed it myself. I won't publicly state what I did, but I did fix this gun. It is pretty reliable now. I havn't fired it too much, maybe 150 rounds since my fix, but no more FTF.
If you want to know what I did to fix the FTF, e mail me and I will tell you.
[email protected]

I've shot about 250-300 rounds so far. I've never had a jam though and only recently I had the misfires (FTF).

Yes, I do keep it in my pocket holster in my pocket. I use a Desantis Nemesis pocket holster. Any suggestions?

Btw, the stitching on the rim causes the BG380 to catch on it. The sights are too sharp. Just a FYI.

The definite fix for me was to ask and receive a full refund for my EABxxxx Bodyguard. I sent mine back 4 times for the FTF and FTE problems. In the meantime I bought a Ruger LCP and it has never yet, after hunnerts of rounds FTF or FTE with both factory and handloads.
I really enjoyed my Bodyguard when it went bang, but I bought the gun for reliability and that it was not.

i sent mine back twice for FTF..i still await it's return from S&W.
we'll see how it shoots once back the second time, my local gun store was happy to send it for me, due to the abundance of other guns in my collection, i'm not worried that it will be fixed this time. i too used Remington, Winchester and PAC ammo with multy light strikes.

Ive had zero issues with mine. 300 rounds of mixed thru it and runs flawlessly.

That is so damn sad to hear. I really really like this pistol for carrying but if it's not reliable to fire when needed....yeesh!

Please keep me posted! I would love to hear that S&W fixed your FTF issue. Good luck! I will be sending mine in also.

My dad & I bought two Bodyguard 380's on the same day. One averaged FTF's about 3 out of 6 rounds on almost every magazine from the very first shot. So I sent it back, I am still waiting to get it back. Sent them an email and they said that they have not received it, I tracked it myself & they had received it. I have had no response since then from them. They have had it for 12 days.
The second one(my dad's) did great on the first day, didn't miss a beat in about 24 rounds. The ammo was from the same box that mine had misfired repeatedly on. On the second time at the range with his 380, (today), it misfires as much as mine did on the first day, 12 days ago. My dad has been relying on it for concealed carry. I will be calling them tomorrow.
So, out of two Bodyguard 380's we purchased, both misfire almost more often than they actually fire. If they are not repaired, this will be my 4th and final purchase of S&W firearms.

S&W customer support is pathetic, it takes a minimum of two business days to get a return shipping label through their web form and then they deny receipt of the shipment and ignore my reply to their email.

I also purchased a S&W M&P 15 on the same day at Perry's Gun Shop in Wendell, NC. So far it has had no FTF or FTE. I have only shot about 30 rounds though.

This has been my experience with S&W Bodyguard 380's & S&W customer support. i HOPE IT IS NOT TYPICAL FOR THEM!

I had 1 misfire out of the 200+ rounds I put through my BG380, and I tried it again 4 times: bad round, WWB. Otherwise, mine worked great right up until I traded it away.

Imagine that BW.. another flawless 50 rounds through mine tonite.. and I mean flawless... let me go check my bag.. see what brand of ammo tonite....Independence.. shot fine, hit the target everytime. Talked with the range officers and a couple of other shooters at the S&W Shooting Range, they all said pretty much the same thing.. no problems shooting the gun, trigger is a 5 minute travel time, the laser sucks, but who cares, if they ever have to use it in SD... maybe a 5-10 ft shoot max... that's what the gun is.. that's what they bought em for... same for me.

Anymore good feedback on the other board you have this thread going? Did you sent your gun back yet? How bout the poster here that has the fix, did you email him?

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Jack C

turbo, read the other responses. there was no explained fix. user sent it back and forth a few times. I don't care for good or bad feedback. I'm looking for answers to the issue.

Now, getting back to the post. If anyone has had their BG380 fixed for misfires please post how it was resolved.

I just got mine and have shot 500 rounds with out a single problem. The trigger does take awhile to get used to though...

Here's a suggestion to try since the problem seems to be connected to pocket carried loads. Take one load of your carry ammo and seal around the edge of the primer with some blue or red loctite. Don't slop it on, just seal the union area and give it over night to cure.

Interesting. Thanks for the tip. I may try to give that a shot. I'm doing some tests now to see if it's definitely due to carrying the loads. I've been carrying one magazine in my pocket for a couple of weeks. Now, i'm going to fire them at the range and see what happens. I have a spare mag that i will load right from the box. I'm really hoping it was just one bad box of ammo. But I'm hesitant.

The definite fix for me was to ask and receive a full refund for my EABxxxx Bodyguard. I sent mine back 4 times for the FTF and FTE problems. In the meantime I bought a Ruger LCP and it has never yet, after hunnerts of rounds FTF or FTE with both factory and handloads.
I really enjoyed my Bodyguard when it went bang, but I bought the gun for reliability and that it was not.

Did the refund come from S&W or the store you purchased it from?

After 2 months of pocket carry since being shot and cleaned last, took it to the range today and it worked perfect. Used the Federal that I've carried in the gun and extra mag and some Remington fmj.

Just have to add my 2 cents worth.... I've had my Body Guard for almost a year now, approx. 500 rounds thru it, NO problems what so ever, not even 1 FTF. Factory ball ammo and lead handloads. It's a handful to shoot because of it's small size, but I have no complaints about the quality of this gun.

I'm always concerned when I read these kinds of posts...please keep your dad from carrying that. Imagine what could happen if he actually needed it in a SD situation. No matter the gun, whether a new pocket gun or 1911 or anything...a gun will never be on my hip until it has proven to me it can run at least 500 rounds of ball without a single hiccup..NOT one. Moreover, it also has to be flawless with at least, at least 200 rounds of any of my SD JHP ammo. if it has any kind of malf, it will remain in my safe until its either fixed, problem ammo weeded out, or it can make it through that many rounds reliably.

Reading that a gun is having serious issues without getting through a box of 50 rounds is serious concern and I nor any loved one would be allowed to carry that gun for protection, period. No matter my like or attachment to a design, my life and theirs is worth so much more than trying to will a gun to work. please be safe.

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God Bless Our Troops.

Replace the nemasis with a sticky holster. I had the same problem.

Recluse holster.

Depending how much pad you are placing on the trigger on a dao pistol, you throw the shots to left or right. I would get a second opinion if I was having the problem by having someone better than me shoot my pistol (that is not hard to do in my case). With that short sight radius it's really hard to throw the sights off that much unless you see it really off center.

Mine is a EBB XXXX. When I bought it, I disassembled it, cleaned it and lightly lubed it. I put about 2 boxes of PMC FMJ thru it, no issues. At 25 ft the best I could do was 5 inches but, NO issues. I then put 2 boxes of Hornady Critical Defense thru it, NO issues. At 25 ft all shots within 3 inches. I couldn't believe how great the Hornady ammo shot.

Also I bought a Remora holster for pocket carry. They are great.

Something to watch for. The BG380 has a firing pin blocker that the trigger lifts out during the last 1/16-1/8 inch. This can be stiff enough to actually lift the slide ever so slightly...enough to change you point of aim. Take the slide off and flip it over. You should see a button looking device about an inch from the rear. Use your finger, tooth pick, or Q tip to press that device in. Feel how much resistance it has. Feel if there's any roughness. It should have a factory resistance of 5-6 lbs and be smooth. Mine was about 5 lbs and very rough/scratchy feeling.

Oh, by the way on topic, my favorite ammo, when I can find them is Ficochi (sp) but the gun shoot anything and every thing I feed it. Never a Failure to Feed, Failure to Fire, or Failure to extract/eject. I have between 400-600 rounds.

Here's what I did, but I DO NOT recommend that you do it. First I took the rear sight off. (Very very very very hard to do and requires a heavy hammer and no faint heart.) The blocker and spring are under the sight. I snipped some of the blocker spring off, stretched the spring just long enough to push the blocker back into the firing pin notch, but no more. You might need to snip it more than once. Mine ended up at about 1.5 lbs, plenty strong enough to still be completely safe. Then I polished the blocker's friction surfaces and the port in the slide. I found both a little rough on the edges. Lastly, I polished the cut-out for the blocker in the firing pin with a focus on the surface where the blocker contacts the pin. After you put it back together put a drop of high quality synthetic oil or light grease on the blocker port and let it soak in. With you Q tip, work the blocker up and down a number of times. You don't need to press on it hard, just move it in and out. It will smooth out even more as you shoot it.

My trigger is still long and hard but it's smooth from start to finish and my accuracy improved.

Hint. If you ever take the rear sight out, for any reason, (required to clean the firing pin and pin channel or to replace the firing pin) put some 500-600 grit paper of a flat surface and work the front and rear dovetail surfaces of the sight down a little, very little. Makes adjustment and future removals much easier. If you should take too much off, use some blue loctite. But you should have to tap it back in with some reasonably hard taps. I can push mine back in about 1/2 way then have to tap it in the rest of the way with my plastic mallet. It never moves under fire.

Ok hi I'm new here just want to share some info, I bought a 380 bg it was demo. Last one in store,I'm not new to guns, I reload and shoot all the time, I'm no expert but I'm very mechanically minded, my body guard stopped firing after about 200 rounds. A couple FTC mixed in those before it totally stopped completely at about 200 rounds . I'm a huge smith wesson fan, always have been. But after having recent problems with a very reputable brand rifle a couple weeks ago now this body guard I started to question all the manufacturing now a days. I was pretty disappointed to say the least, but after reading tons of posts on here and talking to very reputable gunsmiths, here's what I found: small carry guns are built so small to be so light and just what they are supposed to be what every one wants:light small pack a punch,well one of the draw backs of this gun is Dry firing is absolutely forbidden on this gun!!! The firing pin bottoms out and the hammer shocks the end of pin causing it to break at a notch . Regular guns the pin does not bottom out so dry fire is ok! I did not know this either and was dry firing it slot ,showing it around letting others erudite it too, being the display I'm sure this got tons of dry fires in store , the double action trigger is the killer, every one wants to try it, that's the culprit on the tons of broken pins, I'm very confident that when this gun comes back it will be fine cause I'll never ever allow this gun to be dry fired ever again !!! I've read on these post people actually going home with repaired gun dry firing it 400times to break it in!! Omg really? Even if I didnt think the dry fire would hurt it I would never go sit down and just wear out the parts for no reason! There is only one way to be sure gun was never dry fired , that's for the new owner to be conscious of the dry fire problem from first touch, if you think about it it's too tempting to not dry fire the thing, you get gun even if you don't try it in store you will in car or at home it's inevitable, so in closing get a new pin and never let the gun get dry fired . Keep in mind if the gun is dry fired it fatigues metal, you have damaged the metal when it will now break -no one knows. Could be next round or 200 , that's why you only know if you never do it at all from start, if your reading this you probably have had this problem, so when you get gun fixed don't dry fire and let us know how you make out ,I'll do the same. Still a smith wesson fan!!!!

Any one have any little ideas on how to alter their gun? Well keep it to yourself ! These guns were engineered by experts using the smarts to keep everyone safe first then performance next, if you alter your gun there is a reason smith wesson did not do that! I would feel pretty bad if my advise got someone hurt, what works for one -fine keep it to yourself- you have no idea who is reading your post and gonna start screwing with their gun then carry it around other people or let others shoot it not knowing they rigged it

Ken is it ok to use snap caps to dry fire?

The full refund came directly from Smith and Wesson.

I have 2 BG 380's, one I bought new and one I bought used. In all the rounds we've shot through then I have only had 1 FTE fully. That is with several different types of ammo both brands as well as FJM, HP, etc . . . I love the way these things work. I do however have a Sig P238 that FTF and FTE all the time no matter what the ammo. I would never carry the Sig for defense.

I had my eye on bodyguard 380 cal. to replace the beretta 21A but after reading all the problems seem like it the toss of the coin to buy one that works.
I wonder if the newer models are still having problems or did they get it right .

Ken, please keep in mind that firearms are not just "engineered" but that the legal department also has a lot of input in things like trigger pull weights and other issues for liability reasons. While inexperienced people shouldn't do un-informed gunsmithing, I think there's plenty of room for improvement on factory handguns, otherwise there wouldn't be any gunsmiths and semi-custom shops doing work on them.

As far as dry-firing goes, it's a centerfire weapon, if they're that fragile, why even own one? There are some .22 firearms that you can't dryfire, but honestly, dry-firing is such a normal part of all handgun training, it's just a huge disadvantage to not be able to practice like that.

I beleive they are just fine, most have been fine from the beginning. No doubt, it had growing pains out of the box, buit I haven't seen much in the way of complaints for a while, other than a few that semed like they wanted to have problems, if y0u know what I mean. Mine has been flawless.. I don't shoot it often, carry it occassionally, it's a keeper.

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Jack C

The Bodyguard has a hammer.

Well maybe I don't know what a striker is then.

When I pull my trigger, a large metal piece moves toward the rear of the gun and that metal piece slams forward into a firing pin which hits the primer. A short pull on the trigger makes the big metal thing move back a short way. I can pull the trigger back and stop it just before the release and easing on the trigger allows it to go back in the gun.

Each time I pull the trigger it does the same thing, without having to cycle the action.

I call it a hammer, as it looks just like the hammer on any wheel gun I have, except it doesn't have a thumb catch to pull it back manually.

So what's the difference between a striker and a hammer?

Being an engineer myself I did a little more investigation. My expertise is not in weapons or the intricacies of nomenclatures for various parts and functions, but what I see on my BG380 looks like what a hammer is to me.

Perhaps there is a misunderstanding of what a striker is compared to a hammer, but S&W lists the BG380 as a hammer fired weapon on their website.

BODYGUARD® 380
$419.00 *
*Suggested Retail, Dealer Sets Actual Pricing
SKU:109380
Model: BODYGUARD® 380
Caliber: .380 Auto
Capacity: 6+1 Rounds
Barrel Length: 2.75" / 7.0 cm
Frame Size: Compact
Action: Double Action Only (Hammer Fired)
Front Sight: Stainless Steel
Rear Sight: Drift Adjustable
Grip: Polymer
Overall Length: 5.25" / 13.3 cm
Weight: 11.85 oz / 335.9 g
Frame Material: Polymer
Material: Stainless Steel w/Melonite® Finish
Finish: Matte Black
Purpose: Personal Protection
Professional / Duty

Your thoughts?

Its hammered fired. A Glock is striker fired.

I'll admit when Oldtrader3 said a striker and a hammer are not even close to the same thing and then said he was an engineer and knew what he was talking about I had to pause a bit....

But I know what I'm looking at (I think anyway) when I hold my BG and by golly I don't want to swear it's a hammer if it isn't....

I am left wondering if OT3 has a BG380. I mean if you hold one you can pretty much see the hammer right in front of you.... No disrespect sir, you made me question myself though and that is probably a good thing!

Now the M&P semi-auto's - Those are striker fired. I have no idea how they work, I haven't dug into them yet, I just pull the trigger and they go bang and I'm happy. How they cock with just a slight pull on the slide puzzles me so I'm going to go learn that right now.

No hard feelings I hope!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldtrader3 The body guard has a striker! They are not the same intent design or even complete funtion. I have owned S&W revolvers for over 50 years and am a Mechanical Engineer. I believe that I know the difference.

Clearly not. The Bodyguard 380 has a hammer and is a hammer-fired gun. The trigger retracts a sprung hammer, which upon release strikes a firing pin, the tip of which impacts the chambered cartridge's primer, firing the cartridge. Some may interchangeably use the terms "firing pin" and "striker" but this terminology does not make the gun striker-fired.


The difference between a striker-fired gun and a hammer-fired gun lies in mechanism by which energy is imparted to the firing pin to propel it into the primer.


In a hammer-fired gun, a momentum transfer from the hammer into the pin is what propels the firing pin into the primer. In a striker-fired gun, the striker is propelled forward by the energy stored in a compressed spring, which in most striker-fired guns is mostly compressed by the action of the cycling slide, with the remainder of the compression occuring by pulling the trigger. This last little bit of striker movement during the trigger pull is how S&W gets away with calling the M&P line "DAO", which stretches the bounds of credibility, I think.


The writer is wrong. The Bodyguard 380 is a hammer-fired gun. It is not striker-fired.

You bought a gun that has a history of breaking firing pins in a percentage of guns high enough to get noticed on the Internet. What is not yet clear to those of us who own a Bodyguard 380 and/or are following this issue is whether this problem is created or worsened by dry firing. Based on reports from BG 380 owners with broken pins, there may be either a tolerancing problem putting stress on the firing pin, or a timing problem with the release of the firing pin block that also stresses the pin, or both. If this is true, and the problem is not directly related to the design of the firing pin, then it is unclear that dry firing (without snap caps) would worsen the problem.

Some of us have dry-fired our BG 380's several hundred times and put hundreds of rounds through the gun with very few hiccups and certainly no broken firing pin. My opinion is that there is a tolerancing and/or timing issue in some percentage of the guns and that the rest of us have pretty reliable weapons. This is only my opinion; I have no data to support it.

Your stated purpose for this gun is home defense. I would be interested in hearing why you selected the BG 380 for that role, especially since you prize reliability (as you should) and you own several revolvers, which tend to be reknowned for their reliability. I have a BG 380 as an everyday carry gun, but I have other guns for home defense, like an M&P9. I chose the BG 380 as an EDC gun because I only pocket carry and it fits oh-so-nicely into just about any pocket. But for home defense, it isn't my first choice.

Your error is worthy of correction because people learn by reading Web forums. Given your belligerence on the matter of the BG 380's action, including a useless appeal to authority, this isn't picking fly scat out of pepper; it's calling ServPro to clean up after the sewer has discharged into the basement: unpleasant for everybody.


You came to a Web forum populated by gun enthusiasts and expected to find data and testing? And then you have the gall to pull the diploma off of the wall so that everybody here would know you're an M.E., a person who should know that a Web forum like this one is the last place to find "data and testing"? Remarkable.

Yes, this is what Web forums like this are full of: biased opinion. Maybe Lee can start a subforum for "Data and Testing Likely to Pass a Chest-Thumping M.E.'s Approval."

Also, when you say "All else is opinion" you mean all else is opinion except that the Bodyguard 380 is hammer-fired. That is a fact.

oh boy... you are good, thanks for the humor... I tend to respond in like fashion, thanks Lake for reminding me to be better and Buckeye... great response, I was gonna say that, just didn't have the patience... by the way, my BG380 really has been a fine pocket gun out of the box.. and guys I shoot with have had the same results as me, no complaints, none of them care for the laser, it's ok, it works, but no one I know trains with it on. If one is trying to use it in the daylite, forget it.. no laser works outside in the bright sun, or for that matter in any outside light. It's a night tool if at all used.

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Jack C

it's all good like this, mines an EAMxxxx, built soon after yours and I have somewhere in the 300 rd range on it. I'll never shoot too much more, I'm comfy enough with the gun, it's proven itself to me for it's intended use. I will probably shoot 50 rounds through it every couple months just to remember how it shoots as I only carry it maybe a few times a month. I usually carry my M&P's or one of my scandium 1911's daily and usually my M&P45 with nite sites and a TRL under the rail.. for home duty.. I'm thinking the new HD rifle\shotgun is gonna be my new .458 Socom AR with some of them frang.... ammo... that ought to stop a train in it's tracks..

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Jack C

There is no evidence that "someone value engineered the reliability out of it." For that you'd need to know the rate and the cause of the failures, and you've been complaining that neither is known.

There seem to be five failures in the Bodyguard 380 that appear repeatedly in Internet stories:

(1) Ineffective laser buttons. Failure mode is probably that the nub on the backside of the button either too short, or not stiff enough, or both. S&W has revised the button design. This is not a reliability problem, in my opinion.

(2) Laser assembly screw backs out. Failure mode is obviously that the screw turns counterclockwise due to vibration. I am unaware of any fix issued by S&W. I advise including a laser assembly screw inspection in routine maintenance, including using the wrench that came with the gun to check that the screw is tight. Do not overtighten the screw. Some owners have stripped threads trying to make the screw very tight.

Since the screw blocks the motion of the slide, this is a reliabity problem. (This has happened once to my BG 380. Guess who now checks the screw?)

(3) Takedown lever ejection. Failure mode is that the takedown lever grooves escape their retainers and the pin flies off during slide cycling. The slide often winds up separated from the frame and a considerable distance downrange. S&W revised the takedown lever design. It no longer ejects itself during firing, but it is *ridiculously* difficult to actuate until it's been cycled quite a bit, at which point finger force is sufficient to rotate the lever. This was a reliability problem.

(4) Light primer strikes. Failure mode unknown. I personally think it's related to firing pin fractures, but I have no evidence to support this. This is a reliability problem.

(5) Broken firing pins. The failure mode is obvious: the hammer strikes the land on the back of the pin and it fractures just forward of the land, near the firing pin block. However, the cause of the failure has not been positively identified, at least not outside of the hallowed halls of S&W. Stories hint at two causes, which may be separate or work together:

(a) The firing pin block, which is supposed to retract fully as the trigger is pulled, is either not completely retracting, or it is retracting late. This could be due to the tolerancing stack, an assembly issue, or a timing issue. But nobody seems to know.

(b) The firing pin appears to have sharp edges due to machining. These could act as stress risers during the hammer strike. These could also exacerbate stresses introduced to the pin when the hammer strikes it if the block is not fully retracted. Again, nobody seems to know for sure.

As far as I know, S&W has not revised the firing pin design. Obviously, a broken firing pin is a reliability issue.

The following thread has some interesting speculation about the firing pin fractures: 2nd bodyguard 380 broken firing pin DONT DRYFIRE

What's the bottom line here? Reliability is a machine-specific assessment, with statistical analysis aiding in determining the likelihood of failure in an individual gun that has not yet had a failure. Since this is true of all guns, then the standard advice applies: shoot your gun with the ammunition you intend to carry until you are sure it is reliable. Don't rely upon the gun for defense until you've done this. For the BG 380, if it's going to fail, you want to know sooner than later, and in the comfort of your home instead of during the heat of a self-defense situation, so I'd dry fire it liberally. If you get through several hundred dry fires (or more) and fire several hundred round through it (of any ammo brand) and it works well, then that individual gun can be deemed "reliable" and you can decide how/if you wish to use it.

The advice to dry fire the BG 380 early and often is counter to what so many have been saying in this and other threads. The prohibition against dry firing is good advice *only* if it is clear that dry firing is what breaks the firing pin. However, this is not clear and anecdotal evidence suggests that the pin can and does break during live fire, and after descriptions of where the pin in breaking, I'm skeptical that dry firing is more likely to break the pin than live fire.

Some say "I was taught never to dry fire a gun" as a way to say "All who dry fire guns take unnecessary risks." To be frank, I find such advice thoughtless because it uses a taught lesson to avoid the simple and easy learning/reasoning required to know the right answer about dry firing on a model-by-model basis.

The M&P9 provides an excellent example. Once you learn how the gun operates, you realize that the only difference between dry firing and live firing is the presence of the primer. Naturally, there is energy transferred from the pin to the primer, and the pin may hit an internall stop during dry firing that it never hits when a primer is present. This means, then, that the question about dry-fire risk is one of the gun's design relative to the pin striking its internal stop. S&W says it is safe to dry fire the gun, and the Web is full of people telling stories of dry-firing the gun thousands upon thousand of times. I have dry fired mine at least several hundred times and I will continue the practice because I am convinced there is zero risk dry firing the gun.

Any .22 provides another good example. I never dry fire a .22 because it uses rimfire cartridges and the pin can strike the barrel. This can dent the barrel and dull the pin. As with the M&P9, this is obvious once one possesses a tiny bit of knowledge about the gun's operation.

S&W says you can dry fire your BG 380. I've dry fired mine quite a bit (though less often than my M&P9) because I find the practice useful and because so far, reason says that dry firing the gun is not the direct cause of breaking the pins. Besides, if mine is going to break, *I want to know in my man cave instead of when I really need the gun." And, if it is prone to breaking, I want Smith and Wesson to see another example of a problem that they may choose to act upon. Do I think there is zero risk associated with dry firing the BG 380, as I do with the M&P9? No, because there are people reporting firing pins broken during dry firing. However, as of right now, I think the risk is small since reliability is applied to each individual machine, and mine has been very good.

I won't say anything. But as an Army man you KNOW what a clip is.

My BG380 is an EAL model. I haven't been keeping count but a good guestimate would be that I have dry fired it 400 times and put 300 rounds through it. I have had zero issues with it. My biggest complaint is the difficulty in removing the takedown pin. I have only used the laser for plinking and it was very accurate at 20 feet from the factory. I can put bullets through the same hole at that distance. The laser makes shooting quite easy because the trigger control is so simple to watch just by following the laser.

Has anyone ever seEn the movie, " ERASER".. IT'S REAL!!

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Jack C

Bought my BG380 (EATXXXX) 9/5/11 (it was test fired @ S&W 8/24/11). @ range today fired 102 rds 50 American Eagle, 50 WWB, 2 Hornady Critical Defense. NO issues at all. Have been watching the broken firing pin issue on this as well as the BG380 forum. I have dry fired < 5 times and with snap cap < 50 times if that. I've had one FTF with Siberian Ammo (fired on second pull) and several stove pipes on last round in the magazine. I later found I had reinstalled the magazine spring backwards. No issues what so ever. Even laser buttons are great out of box.
I do carry it frequently, and with the firing pin issues, do not really trust it. I have an after market pinkie extension that allows all my fingers on the grip. Feels good to shoot. It's not a range gun but I do practice now & again (480 rds total).
I sort of hoped it would break today, although I do not know what I would substitute for it, as it has all features I like and it is very safe to carry (IMO). Hornady Critical Defense is the most accurate ammo I've shot in it, but cost limits too much of that.

I'm keeping it for now, and will follow the firing pin issues.

I have had my Bodyguard 380 since they first came out. I have put somewhere around 300 rounds through it with no failures of any type and that is using many types of ammo including HP's of several brands.

This past week I did get my first problem after a long time of daily carry. I put two mags through the gun when on the third mag after my second shot the take down pin came out and the slide went forward. This is a first and to top it off I could not find the take down pin due to being in a grassy area.
After 45 min of search I gave up and went to my house and called Customer Service at S&W. I am happy to report that my call was taken in a good way and the young man said this had happend to some of the early models of the Bodyguard 380. He offered a new take down pin at no cost to me. I was happy to accept. It came and the gun is fine and I completed my practice with a box of Remington put through it.
I carry this Bodyguard daily. I depend on it as a back up. I will still carry it daily.
Hillbilly Dan
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