gr8AmericanBash
Member
The .380 will probably be popular, if you could find the ammo for it.
The 38 is .... just, well.... I thought the LCR was ugly when it came out last year.
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Link
Later we were shown the first iterations of a gun to be out in May or so from Smith and Wesson. One was the Bodyguard 38 and the other was the Bodyguard 380. The 38, as one might expect, was a five shot revolver in .38 Special.
This is not grand dad's j-frame. This is a new gun, the biggest leap in S&W's DA revolver history. Taking a look at it, it appears to be a revolver with a couple of protuberances. Simply, it's a sub-two-inch .38 Special, rated for +P ammo. It's a hammer-fired double action only revolver. It weighs around 14 ounces, is around 1.4" thick, has a stainless steel barrel liner and a stainless steel cylinder - the latter is dark PVD coated.
The frame is a one-piece aluminum alloy upper with a steel-reinforced polymer lower frame.
The new gun has a one-piece rubber stock, a notch in the top-strap rear sight and a pinned black front blade.
Still not excited? Well there's not a single part of the new gun currently in use in any S&W handgun. The cylinder latch thumb-piece is no longer where it was. It's atop the frame accessible to either hand - an ambidextrous cylinder release.
An Insight Technologies laser is a part of the gun. With a top mounted switch, the laser has a constant beam, a pulse laser. The third press of the switch turns it off. With constant beam, the laser, powered by 2 Energizer 357 batteries, has a run time of 3 hours.
The S&W Bodyguard 380 is a compact double action only 6-shot .380 Auto. Measured at ¾" thick, the little gun is hammer fired, has a second-strike capability and an Insight laser aimer installed inside the dustcover.
We fired both these guns at American Shooters indoor range. The Bodyguard 38 has a smooth trigger, correctly noted as "better than a typical J" by a tenured S&W representative. Using first the laser then the standard sights, I was able to keep representative 125 grain JHP ammo by Hornady as well as remanufactured ammo in tight groups -- bullet holes touching at around 7 yards without any difficulty. I noticed that, while loud, the gun didn't seem to particularly "kick hard." Figuring the top-mounted latch to be a boondoggle - you have to compromise your grip to get at it, I reasoned - I found it easily reached and ideally located. It's well thought out. This gun has lots of promise.
The Bodyguard 380 was quite thin - very flat. The safety - it has a manual safety - is small, cannot be knocked "on" by accident. In fact, I never did get the safety on. The trigger is quite smooth and I found accuracy on par with the Bodyguard 38.
The 38 is .... just, well.... I thought the LCR was ugly when it came out last year.
***_________________________________________________________***
Link
Later we were shown the first iterations of a gun to be out in May or so from Smith and Wesson. One was the Bodyguard 38 and the other was the Bodyguard 380. The 38, as one might expect, was a five shot revolver in .38 Special.
This is not grand dad's j-frame. This is a new gun, the biggest leap in S&W's DA revolver history. Taking a look at it, it appears to be a revolver with a couple of protuberances. Simply, it's a sub-two-inch .38 Special, rated for +P ammo. It's a hammer-fired double action only revolver. It weighs around 14 ounces, is around 1.4" thick, has a stainless steel barrel liner and a stainless steel cylinder - the latter is dark PVD coated.
The frame is a one-piece aluminum alloy upper with a steel-reinforced polymer lower frame.
The new gun has a one-piece rubber stock, a notch in the top-strap rear sight and a pinned black front blade.
Still not excited? Well there's not a single part of the new gun currently in use in any S&W handgun. The cylinder latch thumb-piece is no longer where it was. It's atop the frame accessible to either hand - an ambidextrous cylinder release.
An Insight Technologies laser is a part of the gun. With a top mounted switch, the laser has a constant beam, a pulse laser. The third press of the switch turns it off. With constant beam, the laser, powered by 2 Energizer 357 batteries, has a run time of 3 hours.
The S&W Bodyguard 380 is a compact double action only 6-shot .380 Auto. Measured at ¾" thick, the little gun is hammer fired, has a second-strike capability and an Insight laser aimer installed inside the dustcover.
We fired both these guns at American Shooters indoor range. The Bodyguard 38 has a smooth trigger, correctly noted as "better than a typical J" by a tenured S&W representative. Using first the laser then the standard sights, I was able to keep representative 125 grain JHP ammo by Hornady as well as remanufactured ammo in tight groups -- bullet holes touching at around 7 yards without any difficulty. I noticed that, while loud, the gun didn't seem to particularly "kick hard." Figuring the top-mounted latch to be a boondoggle - you have to compromise your grip to get at it, I reasoned - I found it easily reached and ideally located. It's well thought out. This gun has lots of promise.
The Bodyguard 380 was quite thin - very flat. The safety - it has a manual safety - is small, cannot be knocked "on" by accident. In fact, I never did get the safety on. The trigger is quite smooth and I found accuracy on par with the Bodyguard 38.
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