I've had a lot of problems with my Bodyguard 380, so I am curious to know what ammo other owners like or dislike with their BG.

One worker at the range told me he does not like Remington and prefers only Federal or PMC.

I presume you mean for target practice. I use manly American Eagle or Winchester white box, but I have used UMC & Remington. The only thing I avoid is reloads.

For SD I carry Hornady Critical Defense, but I have a box of Gold Dots, Federal Hydra Shock, Winchester PDX1, and Sig...just in case.

Mine loves Win white box 95 grain flat point.
Extremly accurate functions perfect and I also use that load for carry!

My first experience at the range with my M&P BG380 was a complete failure.

I tried Federal Premium Personal Defense and Remington HTP and the trigger would not engage, or only partially engage for most of my shots.

When I got home and investigated, it looks like the leade (at least on mine) is too aggressive and the bullets were binding on it. I am thinking, if others are like this, would be why a lot of people are reporting light-strikes.

Here is an image showing rounds that were inserted into the chamber and wiggled. You can see where they are binding. When they are binding, it is extremely difficult to eject the unspent round (you really have to struggle). Note the Winchester did not bind (of course, I did not try that round at the range).



I also noted there is a scribe mark just inside the rifling. I find it odd that they would go through the effort to mark inside the barrel, and am wondering if that is where the leade should start or end.

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It's been awhile since I got mine but I think I remember that I initially had an issue and the gunsmith at the gun store polished the barrel and ramp. Since then I have run everything through mine and I can't remember it jamming since then. I've used Federal, Winchester, American Eagle, Remington, Fiocchi, PMC, Blazer (brass and aluminum) and some German brand. I've also used Remington JHP and Federal JHP. The brand I use for critical defense is a product of Cor-Bon called Pow'R Ball which is a JHP with the tip filled in with a plastic insert to prevent jamming. As you can see, this BG has seen its share of different brands so I would have it looked at by a gunsmith at the store you purchased it or send it back to S&W. Regards, Jim

Stick with ball in the 380,S-B,Fio and Herters which is S-B its a little more powerfull. 380HP's don't pentrate well with there light bullet's..Ball will get to the boiler room. In the E.R. room the ball never excited and the hollowpoint fails more not reaching the vital's . In the weany cal. 32acp,380 acp penatration is queen,save the Hp for 9mm which will open and get the 14" penatration standard. The 380 with good 95 gr. ball is the better stopper not the lighter 80- 85 gr.HP. And your 380 will not jam!!

Jeeps, I thought that too until I saw a Jerry Miculek (a world champion shooter) video on the Bodyguard. He compares a .380 95 grain bullet to a 90 grain Hornady hollow point (with the tip filled in with plastic to prevent jamming) shooting a two liter plastic bottle. The .95 grain doesn't do much damage but the Hornady destroys the bottle. The velocity is much faster and if my life depended on a .380, I wouldn't choose the .95 grain. I personally use the Cor-Bon Pow'r Ball which is about the same thing as the Hornady. I wouldn't tell anyone to only use the full metal jacket anymore. Watch the video and you'll probably change your opinion too. Regards, Jim

I can't find any Hornady 90 grain .355 XTP bullets for reloading. They are selling them like hotcakes loaded in their 90 grain .380 cartridges! They are all I shoot in my Db .380. To make them function properly, I had to buff the feed ramp and chamber though...something that should be done to any polymer .380 pistol, along with polishing the area of the slide that the firing pin protrudes from.

Water bottles are not perp's or bad people. Stick with ball in the weak 380.

I have had my BG for months and due to one thing are the other never had chance to take it to the range.. Until today. After buying the BG I check in with this forum most night to see what is going on with the .380. Wasn't to encouraging. So here is the report.
The .380 fired everytime. No misfires. Cycled everytime. Ammo used, 4 different types. Fired 20 rounds of each. I know its not much, but wanted to try all of it to see if they cycled.
Critical Defense, American Eagle 95gr FMJ, Aguila 95gr FMJ, Winchester SXS training load 95gr FMJ.
My wife went with me. She likes revolvers and I had gotten her a S&W M60. She fired 50rds. Had trouble hitting a 8in pie plate at about 15ft. She was hitting low. But she likes it and want some more ammo. 380 hit close to where pointed.

My BG380 is like a fat kid, it eats everything and then asks for seconds.

Being a NRA instructor and range safety officer for over 35+ years I have seen just about every caliber out there kicked down the road, even the good old 45 ACP. I just dont buy it and being able to access actual shooting specs, I must say that "little" 380 has planted many a bad guy, and a few good guys six feet under. I can tell you, with todays ammo quality out there, stay away from ball, way to much penetration and a almost 100% guarantee for a pass-through, something you DONT want. A local LEO agency has done some real in depth testing, and the 380 was included in their testing. Two rounds that really showed good results were the speer gold dot and the winchester PDX-1. The gold dot went a solid 12 inches in calibrated gel, the PDX-1 did close to 10 inches. Yes, it did not meet the FBI standards, but this is not a full size 9, 40 or 45. The PDX-1 expansion was gigantic, the gold dot not as big, but still very impressive. The test also included denim, the results were very close. Ten inches will get the bullet where it needs to be, unless you have a 60 inch chest, that bullet is going to put the hurt on someone. Also, any of the hornady XTP 90 grain loaded by several manufactures works great. I have seen some of the you tube tests, and some are very well made. But, in the end, all these numbers, penetration, etc is nonsense. The first and most important part of carry ammo is that it functions 100% in your weapon. You need to spend some cash and spend time at the range testing for guaranteed results. Note, some of the european ammo has very hard primers, that can cause you to double strike the round. Thank god the BG 380 has that ability. Remember, when you pull that trigger the bullet needs to hit the target and not pass through and hit another person. Your problems will be just beginning if that happens. Good luck and stay safe!!