My BG is not locking back every time after the last round. Gun has less than 300 rounds thru it. Factory 6 round mags are clean and the nib for locking the slide open is okay. Slide stop is free to move when you put an empty mag in as you can see with the slide off.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

If the slide locks back on an empty mag when you retract it by hand, there's nothing wrong with the gun.
Failure to lock back can be caused by
riding the slide catch with a thumb
wimp ammo
wimp grip
improper cleaning/lube

__________________
Science plus Art

Thanks for the comments. One of the 2 mags is causing the issue. Mags are clean and factory S&W that came with the gun. Wife does not ride the slide lock and she says no limp wristing. This happened on 1 of the mags with live ammo and snap caps. Will test again on the next range trip.

Never had a problem with my BG before yesterday. Had the wife and daughter out for some practice, had 2 hung up empties and 2 failed to fire with good primer strikes. I 100% blame junk ammo I bought. My
my .02 worth. BTW, had a great time, here's some of their work.

Attached Images

practice.jpg (75.8 KB, 60 views)

my wife out shoots me a lot!! I blame my poor performance on age and eyesight!!!

Update. Picked up 2 new S&W mags. Went to the range tonite. Both wife and I had slide lock failure on the last round about 5 times from a box of 50 factory 95 gr FMJ. We both held firmly, did not hit slide release, and still had issues. Any other suggestions? Call S&W?

Brand new BG380. Before shooting per manual I field stripped and cleaned and lubricated according to manual directions. I put 180 rounds through it with 3 different ammo brands/types, WB, Remington, and self defense HP rounds. About half the time the slide would not lock back on last round of all type/brands. Not limp-wristing. Has anybody found a solution to this? Yes it does stay back when pulling slide back by hand. Had one FTF and no FTEs on the 180 rounds.

Sounds like the ammo is not consistently getting the slide all the way back when the gun is fired. I wonder if there is a slide spring that is just a little bit lighter/weaker.

I recall on my Model 52-2 Fiocchi ammo wasnt quite powerful enough to properly cycle that gun. It had enough "oomph" to eject the spent ammo casing but it wouldn't get the slide back far enough to pickup the next round. Sounds like the slide does eject and pickup the next round but still maybe not quite enough to get the slide to lock open. It may also wear in just enough with time that it will work properly.

Just throwing an a few thoughts out. I do not own any Smith SA handguns except the 52-2 and a 15-22.

Thanks g27racing for the reply. I was hoping the more rounds the better it would get, but it didn't. I was figuring the ammo wasn't the issue since 3 different type were used. This firearm is not rated for +P or +P+ so figured standard ammo should be sufficient. The slide is not that easy to rack, so maybe the spring is a little strong and will weaken a bit to allow a more reliable slide lock on last round. It must be on the edge since it works sometimes and sometimes not. Myself,my son-in-law and also my nephew saw this issue with a rental BG380 but we just assumed it was wear or dirty since the rentals see a lot of rounds. Now I'm wondering if it's a design issue. Wondering now if I should have spent the extra $ and gone with the SIG.

I have the 380 without the laser on it. I put hundreds of rounds through it last winter in the woods and I've never had any problem with the slide staying back on the last round. I always use PMC or Federal. I would check the spring action on the slide stop lever. Mine feels nice and loose and moves quite freely.

Thanks Vortex360 for the reply. I'll pickup a box or 2 of Federal and PMC and see if the issue reoccurs next time to the range. The ball WB and Remington UMC I shot was 95gr. Can you tell me what grain you were shooting and also approximately how many rounds have been through or how old is your BG380?
Thanks again.

FYI - I called S&W support today and they immediately issued a return shipping label. I'll post if it continues with same problem upon it's return.

I have had my S&W .380 bodyguard for about 10 months. Have had several occasions where slide does not lock back on last round. Sent it back to S&W about 8 weeks ago for diagnosis and repair. Have put about 20 magazine son ammo through it since and still have same problem about 20-25% of the time. Called S&W and they sent me springs and followers to put in my two magazines. Just got back fro the range today and had 2 out of 11 times where slide did not lock back on last round. Have used 5 types of ammo in the last 3 times at the range. I have had enough of this! As many postings as I have seen with the same issue, I find it hard to believe that all of them are user error or ammo issues.

After mine was returned from repair, I put a couple hundred rounds through it, and it only failed to lock open about 4 times, which was much improved over what it was doing when new, almost 50% of the time. Since that outing, I don't recall having the issue any more (knock on wood). Not sure if it's just finally broken in or if maybe now I'm holding my tongue right.

Same thing with mine with 600 rds thru it, plus it wouldn't feed the last round from either mag. Sent it in, now it's good with 1300 rounds thru. It's mostly a range gun and I haven't had this much fun with a handgun in years. It's a hoot to shoot! Mags had noticeably longer springs and I've got another mag on the way, S&W. I'll check that one when I get it. It's a snappy little devil.