The Model 38 and 638 are great.
The new Bodyguard is a strike 3 gun.
Strike 1: Placement of cylinder latch.
For someone who has never shot a Smith before,
they can learn where the new release is.
For someone who has shot Smith's forever,
muscle memory will always go to the old location, on the side.
Strike 2: To activate the laser, a right handed shooter has to reach over
the top of the gun. The hand is no longer in a shooting position
and has to be reset to fire the gun. Bad when every second counts.
Strike 3: The cylinder rotates opposite from the way all other Smith's do.
Emergency...you have time to load one bullet. Memory puts it at 1 o'clock.
Pull the trigger and the bullet is now at 4 o'clock. No bang.
Actually, there is a Strike 4 too: Other J frame grips don't fit it.
Smith reinvented the wheel and made it square.