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01-15-2014, 10:28 PM
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Bodyguard 380/M&P bodyguard 380 question
See the info for the new M&P Bodyguard 380. No laser and M&P roll marks on the slide seem to be the only differences. If that is the case could I find/buy a new plastic part of the M&P to eliminate the laser on my Bodyguard 380? Tried to contact S&W and only answer I could get is we don't sell the frames. Thought the frame was the metal part. The "plastic" part should be just decoration. On my KelTec I can buy many different colored parts of the plastic part of the guns lower for reasonable prices and would like to know if S&W will offer something like that also.
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01-15-2014, 11:25 PM
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S&W's M&P pistols have the serial number located on one of the blackened stainless steel straps molded into the frame. It's an integral part of the frame.
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01-16-2014, 12:00 AM
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Haven't seen the actual breakdown of the M&P 380 but I'm hoping it is striker fired instead of the long hammer fired system used on the current BG380.
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01-16-2014, 12:13 AM
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S&W ad mentions 'double strike capability' so I think that would make it hammer fired.
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01-19-2014, 12:09 AM
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Still have the same question. Per Fastbolt's post above I haven't had the weapon completely apart but am quite sure the Poly part of the grip is separate from the internal metal part. I would like to believe that they are interchangeable but are they going to be available for purchase and how much? So far no additional reply from S&W.
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01-19-2014, 01:59 PM
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Dunno.
Since the Bodyguard armorer class hasn't been offered yet, and I've only had to get instructions for slide disassembly (to replace a broken firing pin in an early production gun), I've not been curious about the frame. I've been told it's more complicated than the M&P series, though.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Bodyguard's frame was more like the Walther PPS (than the M&P line), in that the serial number was on a trigger housing frame insert. If so, then yes, the plastic "chassis" would be a separate part. (The PPS is more complicated, and has more parts in its frame, than the Walther 99 series.)
Would the "new" plastic part without the laser be something that could be used with an older version of the gun? Dunno. Guess I'll wait until the armorer class.
Even if it was, however, I could see the company deciding not to offer it for sale as a "part" because it requires frame disassembly beyond basic field-stripping, and might be a "factory only" option for liability concern.
I've been told that S&W has been discussing whether to continue limiting parts sales for different firearms, or making some of them more available at some point, and perhaps offering instructions for their installation/replacement. Guess we'll see.
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01-19-2014, 08:59 PM
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Not sure I'm correct but here goes anyway. To install the Galloway short trigger parts you have to remove the body (Plastic) from the frame (steel). That requires removing the roll pins etc. Again not knowing how it is put together I'm guessing that that leaves you with a plastic housing to fit over a steel frame. If roll pin holes are in the same location I would think that the two would interchange, but as you said will S&W sell only the plastic frames. In the case of KelTek they sell different color housings so you could change the color daily if it suited you and the only thing KT wants is your money. . Just some random thoughts and possibly not correct. If anyone finds out please post it here.
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01-19-2014, 09:04 PM
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I'll try to remember to ask a couple of these questions the next time I have to call one of the reps, techs, etc.
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01-20-2014, 08:38 PM
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OK, here is the direct replu form S&W
SUBJECT: Bodyguard 380 question
"Dear Customer,
It can not be changed, sorry.
If further assistance is required please reply accordingly. "
Guess I don't understand why but that was their answer.
Last edited by donhov; 01-20-2014 at 08:43 PM.
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01-20-2014, 08:51 PM
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If you're referring to swapping the frames when you say "plastic part" then no, you wouldn't be able to do that. The serial number is stamped on the side of the frame. Different frames would have different numbers. Different guns.
Plus, having not seen many specs, there may be internal alterations.
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01-20-2014, 10:08 PM
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Again, the weapon has an internal metal frame with serial number but it is covered by an external "cover" or plastic part. The Laser is mounted in the plastic part. Again as above the weapon looks identical other than a few cosmetic items and the removal of the laser from the M&P bodyguard. With many problems with the laser it would be an easy way to remove same and slightly lighten the weapon. But as above for now it seems to be a hopeless project. After the M&P's are in the wild then maybe there will be a way to order the plastic part.
( I know it's not plastic but for ease of posting I use the term plastic to explain.)
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01-20-2014, 10:32 PM
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Just brought home today my BG. cleaning it tonight. The owners manual tells how to service the laser/batteries. Until they do offer a colored grip and your having trouble with the laser (Are maybe just don't want it) pull the batteries or remove the unit. Leaves a hole where the laser was but it would be lighter. Just a idea.
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01-23-2014, 05:55 PM
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AS above, I know I can remove the laser from my Bodyguard but as above it would leave a hole in the frame to collect dust etc. My laser works fine but I don't really care about it so logically I would like to remove it and replace the frame covering with one without the internal laser. Apparently I will not be able to do that due to S&W not selling just the plastic part of the frame (without serial number which is on the metal part of the frame). Therefore guess I will wait to see what shakes ut over the next few months.
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01-26-2014, 12:37 PM
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The new M&P Bodyguard is essentially the same pistol. It is double action so that hasn't changed. The biggest changes to design were the removal of the laser, a stainless steel barrel instead of that MIM abortion found on the standard BG .380, a new rollmark along with the M&P slide serrations, and the pistol will come with two magazines instead of one. The take down pins are also no longer roll pins. They look like some type of push pin.
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01-26-2014, 10:51 PM
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If I remember correctly the early pistols came with a normal steel barrel, the later ones came with the MIM barrels. If I am correct the steel barrels were stamped 380 auto on the top and BG 380 on the ejection side of the barrel. That is the barrel that came in my late BG380 serial # KAKXXXX. My wife's (now traded off) had the MIM barrel and was serial # KAR 20xx. BG380 and 380 ACP were both on the same side of the barrel not 2 places.
OK on to my original question, if one could find a M&P Bodyguard "Plastic" part of the grip would one be able to exchange it for the Bodyguard 380 grip. As above the ability to remove fully the laser withiout leaving a dust collector would be great.
Thanks for the update so far.
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01-27-2014, 06:00 PM
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Guess I got the final word from S&W, "Can not be done because parts are not available". That's what their reply was this time. Beginning to think this is a useless quest. If anyone finds out anything different please PM me and/or post same info.
Last edited by donhov; 01-27-2014 at 11:52 PM.
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01-27-2014, 06:34 PM
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DAO
Quote:
Originally Posted by WTN1271
S&W ad mentions 'double strike capability' so I think that would make it hammer fired.
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I thought that was a result of being a double action only meaning that each and every pull of the trigger will retract and drop the hammer with no racking of the slide or thumbing of the hammer required to reset the trigger. Of course the way the hammer is positioned you cannot thumb it (unless maybe you have some alien fingers that are extremely thin).
I thought striker versus hammer had only to do with how the force of the hammer is transmitted to the primer/firing pin.
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01-27-2014, 07:43 PM
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I'm no gunsmith nor do I play one on TV but I believe most striker fired guns (M&P, Glock, Xd, etc.) use the rearward movement of the slide to 'cock' or tension the striker. Some versions completely load the striker and other systems partially load the striker. The trigger is used to either complete the cocking of the striker and then release that stored energy or to simply release the energy if the system has been fully loaded by the slide's movement. In either case the slide must move rearward (by being fired or manually racking the slide) to 'cock' the striker mechanism. If you google striker vs. hammer fired you'll find lots of info and some cool animations. I'm sure it has been explained better somewhere on the forum as well.
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01-29-2014, 10:51 PM
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S&W has answered the question. Time to let it go.
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01-29-2014, 11:00 PM
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There is actually a few pretty good demo's on how a BG380 comes apart (completely) over at you tube. Even if you have no desire to tear into it, there is some good info there on what all the parts look like and how they interact.
Just search "BG380 Disassembly"
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12-10-2015, 06:24 AM
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Sorry to be late, but, OP, I have had the same question ever since M&P BG380 came out... S&W CS, I think, are playing "dumb" pretending to not understand the inquiry, and then saying something similar to "frame is not for sale" (with assumption it has serial number).
Once the M&P BG380 pics became available, I printed out for both in same scale, put two sheets together, one on top of other, and looked at a light fixture: pin holes were in the same spot, as well as take-down lever, slide stop, and safety lever. I wanted a non-laser one since (if I am not mistaken, original BG380 ads were mentioning something about customize-able grip frame)...
Because S&W are not "cooperating", I began thinking how to fill the void (after laser removal) with some sort of housing which could accept, say, fishing sinkers - to experiment with weighing the front end in attempt to fight the muzzle flip. Another option was to forget the weight, and J-B-Weld the void. Third option is to blow-torch the front and crimp/form nicely...
Last edited by byxlaw; 12-10-2015 at 06:32 AM.
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12-10-2015, 08:12 AM
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The frame is the frame-plastic is molded around metal. The unit is not separable. You cannot remove a metal chasis from the plastic and put it into another piece of plastic like some other pistols around because that is not the way this gun is made. That is what S&W is trying to tell you. If you want an M&P without the laser you will have to buy another gun. It ain't that difficult to understand. I didn't want the BG380 with the laser-that's why I waited. ANd I was rewarded with a nice M&P380.
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12-13-2015, 12:41 AM
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CAJUNLAWYER, I've a few remarks to make...
First, there is no need to be a bully. If grip frame and trigger housing were inseparable, and this "fact" was explicitly mentioned (or even hinted to), there would be no problem understanding. But, the reason S&W not even hinted to this is because... see Second below
Second, what I do not understand now is why you take a great length to explain something which is not true. My close examination of an M&P BG380 proved the trigger housing IS removable from the polymer grip frame by driving two pins out, just like on the original BG380. I have found a video (on a different subject) where the guy shows, among other things, how it is done - look at the vid starting at about 7:05
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=MGviBwX0pOY
Last edited by byxlaw; 12-13-2015 at 02:22 AM.
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12-21-2018, 04:49 PM
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I took out the 380 BG again yesterday to the range and again it embarrassed me it didn't even hit the target. I floated the sites around trying to find the answer and never did. Emptied magazine cleared weapon and put it back in the lock box. I have no idea what this thing is doing. Back in October I was firing out in the woods at old dead tree with target stapled and did same thing later when clearing area found holes down at root base of tree. Note was not more than 10 feet away when firing. Got any ideas?
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12-21-2018, 05:01 PM
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Resurrected older thread.
I never did get around to attending the M&P Bodyguard 380 armorer class (only the Shield class), so I haven't become familiar with the inner workings other than the slide.
Quote:
Originally Posted by oldhilltoper
I took out the 380 BG again yesterday to the range and again it embarrassed me it didn't even hit the target. I floated the sites around trying to find the answer and never did. Emptied magazine cleared weapon and put it back in the lock box. I have no idea what this thing is doing. Back in October I was firing out in the woods at old dead tree with target stapled and did same thing later when clearing area found holes down at root base of tree. Note was not more than 10 feet away when firing. Got any ideas?
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If it were me, the first thing I'd do is slip you a magazine with a dummy round in it, and watch whether you're anticipating the brisk snap of the recoil for the itty bitty .380 plastic pistol. Especially if your hits are all ending up down and off to either side.
The long trigger DA pull, combined with how the little gun fits in your hand, might be coming together to create a "last moment" deflection of the muzzle as you finish the trigger press. Small guns which fit a little awkwardly in someone's hand can sometimes lend themselves to that sort of shooter-induced flinch.
Easiest way to check for this is creating an unexpected "click" instead of a bang (dummy round), so the shooter can feel for themselves what happens to their gun when they aren't being distracted by the muzzle blast and recoil impulse.
Not everyone's hands can easily accommodate and acclimate their grip & trigger technique to the ultra small and thin plastic guns. Kind of the nature of the little beasts, in a way.
let someone else shoot the gun? Hopefully someone who has some more time behind the trigger of the smaller guns?
If it's the gun, then the factory can check it out. If it's you? Then you either figure out how to acclimate yourself to the requirements of the thin little .380, or maybe pick something else for your needs that fits you better. Dunno.
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05-31-2020, 12:00 AM
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S$W Bodyguard .380 frame and slide seperation question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by donhov
Not sure I'm correct but here goes anyway. To install the Galloway short trigger parts you have to remove the body (Plastic) from the frame (steel). That requires removing the roll pins etc. Again not knowing how it is put together I'm guessing that that leaves you with a plastic housing to fit over a steel frame. If roll pin holes are in the same location I would think that the two would interchange, but as you said will S&W sell only the plastic frames. In the case of KelTek they sell different color housings so you could change the color daily if it suited you and the only thing KT wants is your money. . Just some random thoughts and possibly not correct. If anyone finds out please post it here.
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Yes the frame and slide are separated by removing both roll pins with a small
drift ad hammer.
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11-08-2020, 12:48 AM
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I saw a frame for sale on Gunbroker for $20 IIRC it was grey..
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11-16-2020, 09:15 PM
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