Would It Be Wise to WAIT to Buy a Bodyguard 2.0?

Seeking advice from wise forum members!

I have never owned a 380. I am a big fan of pocket carry and my usual daily carry is a LCR or Hellcat in my front pocket.
I don't NEED a new pocket carry gun, but I picked up a Bodyguard 2.0 in my LGS a couple weeks ago, and I LOVED it!

Since holding one for the first time I have watched a lot of videos and read many articles and posts. I joined this forum to learn more about the Bodyguard 2.0.

Many people have had no issues, but there do seem to be an unusually large number of complaints about the Bodyguard 2.0.

QUESTION: Do you think S&W will iron out the frequently reported issues (feed ramp burrs, RSA problems, TS going from too tight to too lose, misaligned sights, etc.) in the next year or so, OR are these issues here to stay because they are caused by poor QC?

All replies appreciated!

I think at this point they have, unfortunately some stuff gets thru.

I wouldn’t wait.

I would not wait, but I would also not buy blind. Check out the pistol before you buy it. If the LGS will not allow that, go elsewhere. The front site can be drifted. Smith is quickly replacing recoil assemblies. But you should visually inspect the feed ramp(s) and bring a mag of the ammo you most want for carry and ask the store employee to hand cycle it for you.

Cphobes is right on the money!

Make a list of the problems you've read about (recoil spring assembly, etc., etc.) and carefully go over a BG 2.0 or two at your LGS. I've had many problems but as I've said here, these have all been ironed out and I'm very, very happy with mine in my EDC rotation. I've also shot the hell out of mine (+1000 rounds) and have faith in it once again.

Thanks, all, for the advice!

RevV67 said:

Seeking advice from wise forum members!

I have never owned a 380. I am a big fan of pocket carry and my usual daily carry is a LCR or Hellcat in my front pocket.
I don't NEED a new pocket carry gun, but I picked up a Bodyguard 2.0 in my LGS a couple weeks ago, and I LOVED it!

Since holding one for the first time I have watched a lot of videos and read many articles and posts. I joined this forum to learn more about the Bodyguard 2.0.

Many people have had no issues, but there do seem to be an unusually large number of complaints about the Bodyguard 2.0.

QUESTION: Do you think S&W will iron out the frequently reported issues (feed ramp burrs, RSA problems, TS going from too tight to too lose, misaligned sights, etc.) in the next year or so, OR are these issues here to stay because they are caused by poor QC?

All replies appreciated!

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I will wait a while and maybe the price will drop some too. I got my LCP Max for $267 and don't feel the BG is worth $400

tarheel13 said:

I would not wait, but I would also not buy blind. Check out the pistol before you buy it. If the LGS will not allow that, go elsewhere. The front site can be drifted. Smith is quickly replacing recoil assemblies. But you should visually inspect the feed ramp(s) and bring a mag of the ammo you most want for carry and ask the store employee to hand cycle it for you.

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There is no way our gun store would allow anybody, even an employee to load a mag with ammo in a gun to “hand cycle”. That’s how accidents happen, & people die. Besides, I’ve owned guns that would not hand cycle ammo at all, but load the mag, & pull the trigger, & the gun fired every round. GARY

N4KVE said:

There is no way our gun store would allow anybody, even an employee to load a mag with ammo in a gun to “hand cycle”. That’s how accidents happen, & people die. Besides, I’ve owned guns that would not hand cycle ammo at all, but load the mag, & pull the trigger, & the gun fired every round. GARY

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How did you know that those guns would not hand cycle ammo at all? Surely you did not try to hand cycle ammo in those guns because I hear that's how accidents happen and people die.

I've had three different employees at my LGS cycle ammo for me and nobody every thought it was a problem. I did NOT suggest that I should hold a loaded gun in my hand in their store because that's how liability happens. These are professional gun people who pointed the pistol in a safe direction and cycled a whole mag in about 15 seconds.

You are correct that some ammo will not hand cycle consistently but may be ok when cycled under fire. But if it does hand cycle, you can be fairly sure it will be ok under fire. The problem is that in most places you aren't going to be able to shoot the pistol before you pay for it. And once you pay for it, any problem is between you and the manufacturer.

Not sure if waiting would really matter as they have shipped thousands to dealers everywhere and those may be just as messed up as the ones you hear about

RevV67 said:

Seeking advice from wise forum members!

I have never owned a 380. I am a big fan of pocket carry and my usual daily carry is a LCR or Hellcat in my front pocket.
I don't NEED a new pocket carry gun, but I picked up a Bodyguard 2.0 in my LGS a couple weeks ago, and I LOVED it!

Since holding one for the first time I have watched a lot of videos and read many articles and posts. I joined this forum to learn more about the Bodyguard 2.0.

Many people have had no issues, but there do seem to be an unusually large number of complaints about the Bodyguard 2.0.

QUESTION: Do you think S&W will iron out the frequently reported issues (feed ramp burrs, RSA problems, TS going from too tight to too lose, misaligned sights, etc.) in the next year or so, OR are these issues here to stay because they are caused by poor QC?

All replies appreciated!

Click to expand...

RevV67 said:

Seeking advice from wise forum members!

I have never owned a 380. I am a big fan of pocket carry and my usual daily carry is a LCR or Hellcat in my front pocket.
I don't NEED a new pocket carry gun, but I picked up a Bodyguard 2.0 in my LGS a couple weeks ago, and I LOVED it!

Since holding one for the first time I have watched a lot of videos and read many articles and posts. I joined this forum to learn more about the Bodyguard 2.0.

Many people have had no issues, but there do seem to be an unusually large number of complaints about the Bodyguard 2.0.

QUESTION: Do you think S&W will iron out the frequently reported issues (feed ramp burrs, RSA problems, TS going from too tight to too lose, misaligned sights, etc.) in the next year or so, OR are these issues here to stay because they are caused by poor QC?

All replies appreciated!

Click to expand...

I bought mine In September of 24 shortly after they came out. Only problem I’ve experienced is 3 failures to go into battery, all from the same box of fiocchi ammo and I saw many others with the fiocchi ammo issue. I’ve put around 500 rounds since with no issues. There have been what looks like quality issues but all have been worked out through Smith and Wesson, I haven’t heard of anyone with problems after sending the pistol in, it’s just the wait time to get it back.

N4KVE said:

There is no way our gun store would allow anybody, even an employee to load a mag with ammo in a gun to “hand cycle”. That’s how accidents happen, & people die. Besides, I’ve owned guns that would not hand cycle ammo at all, but load the mag, & pull the trigger, & the gun fired every round. GARY

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Yep. Any store owner who let you do that is a moron. And hand cycling doesn’t prove anything anyway, unless you can hand cycle at the rate a bullet being fired cycles the slide.

And most of the gun shops I’ve been in don’t really have “professional gun people” in it. Some are better than others but it doesn’t take a Navy SEAL to work in a gun-shop. I’ve seen some people who didn’t even know the caliber of the weapon they are handling. One guy recently said the Glock 43 is the same gun as the 43X and the mags would interchange.

kbm6893 said:

Yep. Any store owner who let you do that is a moron. And hand cycling doesn’t prove anything anyway, unless you can hand cycle at the rate a bullet being fired cycles the slide.

And most of the gun shops I’ve been in don’t really have “professional gun people” in it. Some are better than others but it doesn’t take a Navy SEAL to work in a gun-shop. I’ve seen some people who didn’t even know the caliber of the weapon they are handling. One guy recently said the Glock 43 is the same gun as the 43X and the mags would interchange.

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This is ridiculous. You hand cycle a pistol every time you load a mag and then put a round in the chamber to prepare to shoot. Exactly what disaster are you expecting? The folks in the LGS didn't "let me" do anything. I did not touch a loaded pistol in their store.

The folks I deal with in my LGS work with guns all day, every day and are very knowledgeable. They are all carrying loaded pistols on their person all day, every day. They did not go running to the "owner" to ask permission. They all know what to do.

As mentioned earlier, if a round fails to hand cycle, that does not prove it won't cycle under fire. But since you can't, in general, fire a pistol before you buy it, hand cycling is the only thing you can do. And in my case, I got the information I needed. The ammo hand cycled just fine and when I got to the range, the ammo worked fine. This was ammo that had been reported to have problems in the BG2.0 so I wanted to know this particular pistol did not have that problem.

tarheel13 said:

This is ridiculous. You hand cycle a pistol every time you load a mag and then put a round in the chamber to prepare to shoot. Exactly what disaster are you expecting? The folks in the LGS didn't "let me" do anything. I did not touch a loaded pistol in their store.

The folks I deal with in my LGS work with guns all day, every day and are very knowledgeable. They are all carrying loaded pistols on their person all day, every day. They did not go running to the "owner" to ask permission. They all know what to do.

As mentioned earlier, if a round fails to hand cycle, that does not prove it won't cycle under fire. But since you can't, in general, fire a pistol before you buy it, hand cycling is the only thing you can do. And in my case, I got the information I needed. The ammo hand cycled just fine and when I got to the range, the ammo worked fine. This was ammo that had been reported to have problems in the BG2.0 so I wanted to know this particular pistol did not have that problem.

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Chambering a round to load it is one thing. Hand cycling a full magazine is another. Hand cycling does not replicate the firing cycle. Does chambering the first round require the extractor grabbing the rim and ejecting it?

Over 30 years of in and out of gun shops. Never been in one where somebody hand cycled live ammo. Not saying it doesn’t happen. Just saying it shouldn’t and it doesn’t prove anything anyway.

kbm6893 said:

Chambering a round to load it is one thing. Hand cycling a full magazine is another. Hand cycling does not replicate the firing cycle. Does chambering the first round require the extractor grabbing the rim and ejecting it?

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Hand cycling a full magazine is a test of the compatibility of the ammo, the magazine, the feed ramp, the extractor, and ejector. You are correct that it does not replicate the timing or the forces involved in firing a pistol. Only firing can do that. Hand cycling will not tell you that a particular ammo WILL NOT work, but if successful it can give you a suggestion that particular ammo will probably work. That's what I needed. It was the best I could get under the circumstances.

kbm6893 said:

Over 30 years of in and out of gun shops. Never been in one where somebody hand cycled live ammo. Not saying it doesn’t happen. Just saying it should, and it doesn’t prove anything anyway.

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I have no idea how common the practice is. I've certainly encountered gun store employees that I would NOT ask to do this for me. But in these instances I had no reservations about asking these particular LGS guys to show me what the product they had for sale could do. And they had no reservations in showing me. These folks have my business because they are very accommodating. They ordered a particular pistol just because I was interested in it. They gave me a call when it came in. I field stripped the pistol and asked detailed questions which they were ready to answer. This store is very busy but they made time for me and were efficient in conducting the sale. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I will certainly go back to that store for my next purchase.

Again, thanks for the replies!

I asked my LGS to look for a BG 2.0 for me.

They are certainly available at big brokers, but my LGS owner is also a master gunsmith and gives me discounts on work done to guns purchased from him. He's going to give it a once over, look for known issues, and polish the 2-part feed ramp before I take it home.

Especially since QS is a problem with so many things these days, not just firearms, I'm always happy to pay a little extra for something that works right!

I wouldn't pocket carry the 2.0 without the TS version, engaged.

Model 15-4ever said:

I wouldn't pocket carry the 2.0 without the TS version, engaged.

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Thanks for the tip!

I agree. I specified a TS only.

Since I sold my 1911s, the BG will be my only pistol with a thumb safety, other than my Canik C100 (CZ 75B Compact clone).

I do prefer my OG Bodyguard 380. But in the interests of research, I took a look through the several specimens of 2.0 that my LGS had in stock. There's not much consistency between them in terms of quality of trigger press and thumb safety operation. On one example, none of the sales staff could operate the TS with the shooting thumb, due to extreme tension on it. Trigger pulls were all over the map, most with scratchy take-up, a couple with heavy release weights, and varying reset feel. Not S&W's best work on these guns.

I bought one with the least worst assembled combination of parts. I spent about 3 hours taking down the very sharp steel diamonds on the control surfaces of the TS, mag catch and takedown lever. It was pretty bad - especially on what is supposed to be a small concealed carry pistol, which should have non-abrasive textures. The extended mag catch was also a concern - not a good choice for a close-carry or pocket-carry pistol.

The 2.0 appears to be what an IPSC race gun shooter's idea of a pocket pistol would be. Lots of tacti-cool bells and whistles, which have no place on a CCW arm.

I found the paddle-style trigger safety of this pre-cocked, striker-fired pistol somewhat disturbing for a "pocket gun". The surface of the safety is WIDER than the trigger itself, and could be easily defeated by pressing rearward on the SIDE of the trigger. No need to put your finger properly on the trigger to disengage this "safety" device! Again, this is to appeal to competition shooters and namby-pambies who complain that their trigger finger hurts from the recoil during firing with a blade-type trigger safety.

The sights are frankly ridiculous. Imagine watching a football being field-goal kicked between the goalposts. There's your 2.0 sight picture. The precision possible is minute of sweatshirt at 21 feet. XS sights sells replacement sights, which cost more than 1/3 of the price of the pistol itself. Good luck with that. Fortunately, the inexpensive and available OG Boduguard 380 rear sight is the same dovetail, with a correctly sized rear notch. I installed one, and accuracy was quite good out to 50 feet.

I've fired about 250 rounds through it and it's been completely reliable with factory FMJ and JHP, and my own reloads of JHP and RNL. Recoil is not unpleasant with factory loads. The very stiff thumb safety is working smoother and easier at this point, and the annoying sharp diamonds were removed - not an easy task and required files (stones and sandpaper not cutting it). The poor design of trigger blade safety was alarming, so I judiciously reduced its width to be slightly less than trigger width, and now works as such a device should.

The pistol is quite small and holds 10 rounds of .380. But the grip is almost too small for consistency - my Glock 42 is better shooting pistol. I'm not sure what to think of it yet.

RevV67 said:

Seeking advice from wise forum members!

I have never owned a 380. I am a big fan of pocket carry and my usual daily carry is a LCR or Hellcat in my front pocket.
I don't NEED a new pocket carry gun, but I picked up a Bodyguard 2.0 in my LGS a couple weeks ago, and I LOVED it!

Since holding one for the first time I have watched a lot of videos and read many articles and posts. I joined this forum to learn more about the Bodyguard 2.0.

Many people have had no issues, but there do seem to be an unusually large number of complaints about the Bodyguard 2.0.

QUESTION: Do you think S&W will iron out the frequently reported issues (feed ramp burrs, RSA problems, TS going from too tight to too lose, misaligned sights, etc.) in the next year or so, OR are these issues here to stay because they are caused by poor QC?

All replies appreciated!

Click to expand...

Why wait!
I have 2 and the first had the mag issues they both have crappy sights.
Upgrade the sights and fire away very cool gun

Model 15-4ever said:

I found the paddle-style trigger safety of this pre-cocked, striker-fired pistol somewhat disturbing for a "pocket gun". The surface of the safety is WIDER than the trigger itself, and could be easily defeated by pressing rearward on the SIDE of the trigger. No need to put your finger properly on the trigger to disengage this "safety" device!

Click to expand...

This style trigger safety originated with Glock. The BG 2.0 firing pin safety originated with the Colt 1911 Series 80 and also appears in all Glock pistols. I don't know if the BG 2.0 has anything equivalent to the Glock cruciform drop safety. If anyone knows, please let me know.

These three safeties each correspond to a different angle at which a dropped pistol could hit a surface. The trigger safety was never about forcing your finger to pull from the center of the trigger. Somebody just made that up. The trigger safety prevents the trigger bar from moving backward in the event that the pistol is dropped "muzzle up". The firing pin safety prevents an accidental discharge if the pistol is dropped "muzzle down". And the cruciform drop safety prevents sear drop if the pistol strikes a surface "grip down". There is no safety related to dropping a pistol "grip up" because that angle does not apply a force that would disengage the sear.

Model 15-4ever said:

The sights are frankly ridiculous. Imagine watching a football being field-goal kicked between the goalposts. There's your 2.0 sight picture.

Click to expand...

To carry your analogy further (a quarterback sneak?), the question is...what is the objective? If the objective is to put the kicked football through a basketball net, then you are correct. But if the objective is to score three points by putting the field goal kick between the uprights, then perhaps the BG 2.0 has the right idea. The BG 2.0 rear sight is designed for fast target acquisition at close range. Extreme accuracy at a distance is not much of a consideration for a "pocket gun".