Hickok45 has done a part two to his review of the Bodyguard 380. This time he reviews the standard BG as well as one with a Galloway short trigger mod. Overall, not too good for the BG. Interestingly, there was a trade-off between light strikes and better trigger.

I have the Galloway trigger mod but haven't installed it yet. Now, I'm wandering if I should. Any light strikes are bad enough but I haven't experienced enough to concern me with the ammo I'm using. I can live with the long, hard trigger pull better than a bunch of light strikes. Any Galloway mod users have a problem with light strikes?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HazbEmiMkas

Anything short of 100% reliability in a self defense gun is not acceptable. The light strikes w/both the stock (albeit infrequent) and modified gun are enough to keep me carrying my J frame.

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LEO (Ret.)

that was interesting.....the best thing Hickock could say about both versions was..."it's a good thing they have second strike capabilities"...or words to that affect.....light strikes,stove pipes,and the general consensus he wouldn't use one at the local dump to shoot rats....it's hard to believe the same company that makes the Shield,also makes the BG:.......nuff said

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No second strike is why I dumped my LCP and went back to the old PPK.

I have the Galloway trigger bar and had to sand off all the paint to get it to reset smoothly. The extra thickness of the paint was causing it to hang up and not drop down on reset.
I had a number off by strikes and added the upgraded springs from Galloway and light strikes are way down but not completely gone, though I am using reloads so that could be a factor as well.
With the stock transfer bar I could not comfortably fire it reliably at all but with the upgrade I can. Haven't done enough testing to rule out my reloads as the cause of light strikes (or maybe I need to check my seating depth or crimp to ensure fully closed and locked slide/barrel on each round loaded.

I think I'll hold off on the mod for now. If I do the mod, I upgrade the springs. I do have the Galloway hardened firing pin also. I've been carrying my BG this summer but I may look at baggyer shirts and carry my 9c. As I mentioned in my post, I don't have many soft strikes, but maybe I've just be lucky. I probably average about one out of 50. No more and maybe less. I guess I'll start counting.

I wouldn't consider 2% failure rate (one out of 50) as acceptable in a self defense gun.

I love my stock Bodyguard, although it's finicky with some ammunition. I actually hadn't had any problems until I tried the Lehigh Defense Xtreme Penetrator. I can fire one clip without issue but get either a FTF or FTE somewhere in the subsequent clips...

"....this gun has some issues to work around..." Ya think?

I can't understand how that bodyguard made it through LAPD testing to wind up on the LAPD approved list. They still test the guns, don't they?

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7 +1 Rounds of hope & change

I mentioned that I've had soft strikes but I don't believe I've ever had one with my carry ammo (HCD). My BG has about 800 rounds through it and my guess somewhere around 150 rounds of HCD. The remainder was mostly Freedomuntions ammo and some other (can't recall brand) that I got with the pistol.

I had some FTEs with the other brand and, as I mentioned, some light strikes with FM's ammo. I've never had problems like hickok45 had and I know others have had similar experiences. S&W needs to be addressing this issue ASAP. The trigger pull issue isn't nearly the problem FTE and light strikes are.

could not have said it any better. I will stick to j frames too

I have to say I have sold lots of the origional model and besides the laser screw loosening, I have seen very little, if any issues. I summer carry one with a mix of gold dots and PDX-1s. The PDX-1s get close to 10 inches in gel and denim, the gold dots close to 14 inches with the same calibrated medium. I function fired mine 300 times with a mix of everything on the shelf.No problems were showing except for some import RWS ball with much harder primers. I trust mine 100 %. During the colder months a 9mm shield or compact 9 usually are with me. I have not tried out the new M&P bodyguard yet, I have some ordered and will get one out to our property for a going over. Your mileage may vary, put your carry weapon through a "shake-down" before you stake your life on it!! Another note, some of the aftermarket stuff is great, some is really questionable. Dont just rely on what you read on some sites, remember, if it too good to be true, it most likely doesnt work!!

So glad I never bought one despite it being an obvious hole in my S&W collection. And, man... I came awful close.

I've put hundreds of different rounds through my stock BG380 and never had a single malfunction. The primer strikes, from all the brass are nice and deep, I notice because I reload them. There's something wrong with the pin travel on these two weapons, well, at least the stock one. The modify gun clearly has a problem with the hammer travel, just not enough inertia.

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I regret the day I purchased my BG380...no light primer strikes but I have several FTF and I'm lucky if the slide locks back once every 10 mags. Its been seen back to S&W once...problem(s) not corrected. If you watch the Hickok45 videos he had several light primer strikes along with several mags that didn't lock open on last shot. My pistol has a test fire date of 6-14-2014 and I've put 200 rds thru it...with several jams using hardball and HP ammo...

Seems like a fair number of people are still having issues. I can't help but wonder if maybe this gun was misnamed...

Yesterday I installed the MagGuts high capacity kit w/metal follower that increases capacity to 7 rds in all (3) of my mags. Went to the range and shot 9 mags (63 rds). Slide locked back everything (I was amazed) also I did not have one FTF using mix of AE/HPR 95 gr hard ball and Hornady Critical Defense...gonna shoot it some more...hopefully this cures are my problems...Note: I have shot approx 250 rds thru it so far..I have yet to have a light primer strike!

This problem is still very much alive and well. I have sent my BodyGuard380 in for warranty THREE TIMES now, all for the same problem of light primer strikes.

I got the gun back from S&W (for the 3rd time now). I made it through almost 50 rounds without a problem, then had about 10 light strikes over the next 50 rounds.

Prior to shooting, I pulled the firing pin and took a bunch of digital microscope pics, and some pretty thorough dimensions, because I was sure the firing pin tip was mushrooming, breaking, or something like that. The good/bad news is that after shooting today, the firing pin shows NO signs of damage. The tip is not mushroomed, chipped or broken, and the OAL of the firing pin is exactly what it was before shooting. So why, I ask, has S&W replaced the firing pin TWO TIMES?

I really don't want to send it to S&W again. I don't think the techs actually look for the problem, and just replace a part and hope for the best. Plus, they have ignored my request for a replacement. It has gone like this:
Return #1 - Replace the firing pin
Return #2 - Replace the slide
Return #3 - (specified I didn't want the same gun back)...Replace the firing pin

All of my returns have had a detailed description of the problem, ammo types used, failure rates, etc. All I get back from them is "replaced firing pin". No explanation or other info.

I'm going to take the fix into my own hands from here on out, so where should I be looking next? There are aftermarket parts for the BG that claim to help with the light strikes. Galloway makes a firing pin and light spring kit, but they say it is to solve the problem of broken firing pins, which isn't what I have. Heavier hammer spring? Can someone who's gone through this recommend a specific supplier?

I know I'll void my Smith and Wesson Warranty, but so far that service has only cost them a small fortune in FED EX charges, and has left me without a working firearm for the past 6 months.

I was shooting PMC Bronze today, and put a hundred rounds of it through the LCP without a hitch.

There has never been a single round of steel cased ammo through the gun as has been warned off by others. WWB, HCD, PMC, CCI (aluminum). Same results across the board.