Bodyguard

[Antoin]

I picked up the BODYGUARD (380) at an online auction 8 months ago. It was new in the box and upon taking to the range 3 months ago for the first time I ran into a jamming problem where the slide wouldn’t seat the round (was open maybe 1/16th inch). Upon forcing the slide shut it would jam again after three rounds. Changed from Winchester ammo to Remington with the same results. I sent the weapon back to S&W for repair and received it back with a note saying gun was fixed, tested and up to specs. Went to range yesterday for first time and experienced same original problems.
I do not trust the weapon and wonder what S&W will suggest. Anyone have thoughts? Tks

[Old cop]

I had similar problems w/a Ruger LCP. It went back to Ruger three times before they replaced it w/a new gun that I sold after ensuring it worked properly, I'd lost confidence in the gun. Return the gun to S&W, their CS is good.

[Wee Hooker]

There are many things that could be causing this type of malfunction. Have you tried ; different ammo?, different magazines? different hold on gun, different shooter?
You need to try changing one thing at a time and see what, if anything, changes the behavior. I'll bet it's something simple ans solvable.
FWIW, my 380bg runs like a clock.

[Antoin]

Tried changing ammo, shooters but only had one mag. Didn't have access to another mag and figured S&W would have checked that upon return.

[Amedeus]

The most common malfunction in a FTF were the round will not seat all the way in the chamber is usually the round itself. The type of brass or steel used, and if it has any variables in the diameter that would cause extra friction when entering the chamber. Another possibility is the slide and spring itself, if it happens every time perhaps the slide needs oiled or the spring is too weak to push the round all the way in.

I had this problem in a 1911 using some really **** reload ammo, it would load the round from magazine, all but 1/10th of an inch and would just require a push from the thumb on the back of the slide to fully seat, this had nothing to do with the weapon and was entirely the cheap reload ammo, which I didn't buy, but took off a friends hands because his firearm couldn't shoot it at all (stovepipes).

When you purchase a box ammo check the bullet first. You want to find a round that has a smooth bullet and you do not want to be able to feel a lip or bump when going from the bullet to the casing. If there is a noticeable bump from the round to the case this is the usual culprit of failures in newer guns as they catch against the feed ramp and then jump causing them to enter the chamber at a weird angle and adding friction and stress to the bolt as it tries to shove the round in it.

I would also recommend reading the manual on the BG360 and seeing what grain ammo S&W recommends for it and make sure you are trying that grain to see if it works better.

[Lost Lake]

Originally Posted by Amedeus

When you purchase a box ammo check the bullet first. You want to find a round that has a smooth bullet and you do not want to be able to feel a lip or bump when going from the bullet to the casing.

No.... on rimless cartridges like the 380 you WILL find the casing is not crimped into the bullet, and you will find the casing is a larger diameter than the bullet with a noticeable lip between the two.

[Blacklab1059]

I just purchased a Bodyguard. I have not had an opportunity to fire it yet but did notice difficulty loading a single round into the chamber and getting the slide to close completely. If I cycle a round into the chamber from the mag there is no problem. I did not have this problem with an LCP that I traded for my first S&W, an M&P Compact 9.