Bodyguard 380. Is this a new barrel design. Looks bad!!

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Col_Cotton_Hill

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I just picked up a EBU serial number BG. It has a line/ridge going down the center of the chamber on the top side. It looks horrible IMO. My first BG did not have this, neither does my Son's EAS gun. The writing is also different,,but that's no biggie. Just tells me something has changed. This line makes me feel like this is a MIM part. But surely they wouldn't do that with a barrel,,,would they. It just looks so cheesy.

So do any of you guys have this line on the top side. If so, please list your serial number prefix. Or did I maybe get a part that got a finishing step missed. Thanks.

bodyguard380021.jpg


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I think you need to give S&W a call and ask if they changed the design.
I don't think you need to worry about functionality, but it does look kinda weird on top. The side looks good though.
 
Hey come on now somebody at Smith just figured out how to save 2 minutes and 53 cents in assembly process of each Bodyguard 380 by skipping the smooth and polish the top of the chamber step and you want to complain. What's up with that.
--- Chip King ---
 
I'd contact S&W on that. It doesn't look properly finished, to me. I agree, cheesy.

If any manufacturer were likely to make and use a MIM barrel, my money is on S&W. ;)

Good luck! Regards 18DAI
 
To me it looks scratched, or - worst case scenario - cracked. I agree, contact S&W.
 
Well I talked to Smith.

Let's just say I'm not too enthused. :mad: It is in fact a new barrel design that IS MIM. :eek: He said that's the way they are going to be from now on. I asked if I could get an old barrel, even if I had to pay for it. He said they used them all up. Heck, he wouldn't even give me a new lazer screw. Said they were out of those too.

So boo hoo for me. :rolleyes: Now for a reality check. Is there anything wrong with a MIM barrel, other than looking cheezy. My first instinct is a reaction from what I've read on the net. MIM is bad. MIM is evil. Stay away. Would you guy's want a gun with a MIM barrel. I'm sure I can't, but should I try to send it back. I'm sure they'll tell me sorry Charlie. Or should I just quit crying and take it like a man. :cool:
 
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MIM is not bad. In fact in many ways it is superior to cast. MIM was used in the aerospace industry before being discovered by the shooting industry. One of the true benefits is that a part comes out of the process with the tolerances so close that a great deal of the intricate machining that would be needed if made from a block or the touchup work if it is cast are no longer needed. The part can be used as it drops and that saves the company money and time. Some of that comes back to you as a lower cost. SOME
PS If you think MIM is bad Don't ever Fly or buy a car

--- Chip King ---
 
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chipking said:
MIM is not bad. In fact in many ways it is superior to cast. MIM was used in the aerospace industry before being discovered by the shooting industry. One of the true benefits is that a part comes out of the process with the tolerances so close that a great deal of the intricate machining that would be needed if made from a block or the touchup work if it is cast are no longer needed. The part can be used as it drops and that saves the company money and time. Some of that comes back to you as a lower cost. SOME
PS If you think MIM is bad Don't ever Fly or buy a car

--- Chip King ---
Click to expand...

So basically, what you're saying is I should quit crying about. :cool:

Seriously though. Like I said, all I know is what I read other's complain about MIM being a week part. Weather or not it's true is beyond my scope of expertize. I appreciate you explanation. That make me feel better.

Doesn't plane's and car's crash all the time from faulty part's. :eek: Just messin with ya. :p

I guess I'll just keep it and wait for the firing pin to brake that Smith just told me there wasn't a problem with those that they know of. :rolleyes:
 
My 6 - 8 week old BG 380 has no such line/crack. I'd make a call to S&W.

Regards
 
It's a mold parting line. No big deal, IMHO. Not the prettiest thing, but hardly anything to get too excited about. It's not exactly a high end weapon you have there.
 
Well, Uzi bolts are made from sintered steel...

Yeah, it looks cheap. But I have an opinion on self-defense firearms.

Don't fall in love with them!

You are going to use them once, that is, to save your life or the lives of your family. Then the cops are going to take it. You might get it back, perhaps it's been disassembled and the parts tossed loosely into a box. And I've seen that happen to a LEO's 39 because in had a FTE on the last round during an exchange with a felon.

Do you care about the scratches on your snow shovel? Do you polish your electric can-opener? When was the last time you took your door-stop out for dinner?

While I do not have the casting mark like yours, I do think the fit and finish on mine is lacking. It feeds, fires and ejects with all three magazines. The factory replaced the laser. It (sort of) places all shots into center mass.

I care about it with the same pride of ownership I do a shoe horn. It functions, and that's enough.
 
I don't doubt that the OP was told by a S&W rep that the barrel is MIM. But I find it hard to believe that it is. Just when you think you have seen everything. ;)

Who was asking how could S&W possibly further cheapen the construction of their guns? :)

Hard to believe any designer or engineer thought a MIM gun barrel is a good idea. Harder yet to believe that the lawyers who evidently run the current company calling itself S&W think its a good idea.

I wonder what the frag pattern from a failed MIM barrel is like? Does anyone know if a MIM gun barrel will bulge like a steel barrel does? Or does it just frag like cheap pot metal? How do they guarantee there are no voids in the MIM barrel? Do they limit the ammunition pressure or use of certain types of 380 rounds in those things?

The only ones who I'm sure think this is a good idea are the bean counters. That has to save them alot of money.

Now assuming the barrel is indeed MIM what kind of functioning are you getting with that raised ridge along the top? Regards 18DAI
 
18DAI said:
I don't doubt that the OP was told by a S&W rep that the barrel is MIM. But I find it hard to believe that it is. Just when you think you have seen everything. ;)

Who was asking how could S&W possibly further cheapen the construction of their guns? :)

Hard to believe any designer or engineer thought a MIM gun barrel is a good idea. Harder yet to believe that the lawyers who evidently run the current company calling itself S&W think its a good idea.

I wonder what the frag pattern from a failed MIM barrel is like? Does anyone know if a MIM gun barrel will bulge like a steel barrel does? Or does it just frag like cheap pot metal? How do they guarantee there are no voids in the MIM barrel? Do they limit the ammunition pressure or use of certain types of 380 rounds in those things?

The only ones who I'm sure think this is a good idea are the bean counters. That has to save them alot of money.

Now assuming the barrel is indeed MIM what kind of functioning are you getting with that raised ridge along the top? Regards 18DAI
Click to expand...

I had 2 different reps tell me that all the new barrels are going to be MIM. The second guy did ask me to email him a picture and he would forward it to see if the ridge is supposed to be on there.

I posted this same topic on the other bodyguard forum. One guy replied that he has a gun built AFTER mine, and it has no such ridge.

So the first S&W rep basically said tough luck. The second rep is at least making me feel like he is really going to try and do something for me. He is supposed to give me a call back this after noon when he finds something out.

BTW. I have not fired the gun yet. But I was wondering if the ridge would rub on anything.
 
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Threads like this reinforce my decision to never buy a gun sight unseen.
 
The Tourist said:
Well, Uzi bolts are made from sintered steel...

Yeah, it looks cheap. But I have an opinion on self-defense firearms.

Don't fall in love with them!

You are going to use them once, that is, to save your life or the lives of your family. Then the cops are going to take it. You might get it back, perhaps it's been disassembled and the parts tossed loosely into a box. And I've seen that happen to a LEO's 39 because in had a FTE on the last round during an exchange with a felon.

Do you care about the scratches on your snow shovel? Do you polish your electric can-opener? When was the last time you took your door-stop out for dinner?

While I do not have the casting mark like yours, I do think the fit and finish on mine is lacking. It feeds, fires and ejects with all three magazines. The factory replaced the laser. It (sort of) places all shots into center mass.

I care about it with the same pride of ownership I do a shoe horn. It functions, and that's enough.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

If you really feel that way, then good for you. I appreciate S&W's not just because of their functionality, but also for their form. Sure a 5" Model 27-2 makes a great multipurpose gun, but it's also beautiful work of craftsmanship that will never be made again.

Do you own any S&W's? Why? Couldn't the job be done just as well and cheaper by a Taurus or a Rossi? Why carry a Benchmade or an Emerson when a little dollar store pocket knife will do? Why ever eat steak when you could live off bread and water?

We pay more for things that are supposed to be higher quality, that are supposed to be made to a higher standard, so we can expect more out of them. I don't know what to expect from present-day S&W, but I didn't think we'd start seeing MIM barrels.

You may not care how your guns are made or what they look like (though I doubt you really don't), but I like to have some nice things...why I buy S&W's and not Taurii or Kel-Tecs. Function is #1, but form sure doesn't hurt.
 
Speaking first hand, the aerospace industry does use some cast parts, typically aluminum; however these parts are generally made thicker than their plate counterparts to account for the lower fatigue margins. Also in high tolerance interfaces the cast parts require subsequent machining operations.

I would be very curious to see if the wall thickness of your barrel was increased to account for the lower properties.
 
skjos said:
I would be very curious to see if the wall thickness of your barrel was increased to account for the lower properties.
Click to expand...

If the wall thickness was increased wouldn't that mean that the slide would have to be redesigned? Thicker walls on the barrel would mean that the bushing where the barrel goes through the front of the slide would have be made larger, even if it's integral with the barrel. The slide would have to be made wider as well, I'd think.

Or am I all wet?
 
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