Bodyguard 2.0 buying guide

Um, there's a lot more than 25 BG 2.0s with "issues." At my gun range alone, 5 other guys with them had sights, recoil spring, lower ramp problems, and de-fanging even the 10 round mag followers. Mine spent 3 weeks at S&W. Now it is the handgun I want it to be.
 
Just for record....
I was shooting 6 o'clock sight picture. One of my range buddies (he's a sharpshooter) suggested I try the Center Hold or Combat sight picture. That fixed my low shots. :)
I concluded this myself as well. After adjusting the rear sight, and using a combat sight picture, it was quite accurate. That said, I've since had a set of XS sights installed, but likely won't be able to make it to the range to try it out for at least another month or so, as I wait for a call from my doctor to schedule a badly needed back surgery. I'm pretty much confined to the house, and to the couch in my living room, until they fix me.


Frank
 
Holy cat balls. You tell some story about mounting a rifle scope affecting elevation and windage and you actually think that is relevant to drifting a rear sight in a solid steel dovetail? Like I said, the level of bad bad incorrect silliness masquerading as input is off the charts here.

Think this through. Drift a rear sight in a fixed dovetail and come up with any way that the elevation will shift. Give it a minute, mull it over. Ok, it can’t. Ever. Under any circumstance. It will affect windage. That’s it.

I got moderated for being mean. Ok. I own that. Yet you guys keep saying things that can’t actually happen. Go drift a rear sight in a handgun and report back as to elevation change. lol

I am no fanboy of this gun. I think it is a solid ccw choice. Accurate, soft shooting, tiny. Fits anywhere I might want to carry it. Good sights that I find easy to stack rounds with. I had to send one back for a defective manual safety. I use a pair of nail clippers to trim a mag follower. The RSA always has to have the spring edge placed under the lip of the guide rod to install like it should. I had to drift every single one of their sights to get them to shoot POA/POI. These should be addressed at the factory level. All that being said, the comments on this forum make the gun out to be awful. The 5 examples I have personally handled and shot are reliable, accurate, and hold a goodly amount for size. I owned a BG1.0. I find it amazing that some of you claim to like those better than the 2.0. That is crazy. It isn’t even close. Did we all forget that craptastic laser the 1.0 had? It was comically bad even when it worked. Which it didn’t from the factory. Horrible trigger. Bad sights. Low capacity. All in a gun basically the same size.
 
"AI Overview


Adjusting elevation with a front iron sight (yes and no)
Generally, drifting a front iron sight only left or right is primarily used to adjust windage (horizontal point of impact). However, there is an indirect relationship between windage and elevation on iron sights, especially when adjusting the front sight for windage.
Here's why drifting a front sight can also affect elevation:

  • The "Front Sight Opposite, Rear Sight Same" Rule: This rule helps remember how to adjust iron sights. When adjusting the front sight for windage (left/right) or elevation (up/down), you move the sight in the opposite direction you want the point of impact (POI) to move. For example, if your shots are hitting to the right, you would drift the front sight to the left to bring the POI to the right.
  • Mechanical Interaction: Drifting the front sight can cause a slight mechanical change in the sight picture, which might unintentionally influence elevation.
  • The Line of Sight: Your line of sight, which goes through both the front and rear sights, intersects the bullet's trajectory at two points: once on the way up and once on the way down. Any change to the front sight can slightly alter this line of sight and potentially shift the bullet's impact point vertically, especially if the adjustments are significant."
 
Will a rifle scope that is not in perfect horizontal level affect the elevation
Search only for Will a rifle scope is not in perfect horizontal level effect the elevation


"AI Overview


Yes, if your rifle scope isn't perfectly horizontally level, it will affect the elevation adjustments you make, and potentially your accuracy, especially at longer distances
.
Here's why

  • Canting the scope means the scope is tilted slightly to one side relative to the rifle's bore line.
  • When you adjust your scope for elevation to compensate for bullet drop, if it's canted, those adjustments will not be purely vertical. Some of the adjustment intended for elevation will be translated into a horizontal (windage) error.
  • This error becomes more noticeable and can significantly impact your point of impact at longer distances, potentially causing misses that could be avoided with a level scope.
Impact on accuracy and precision
  • Accuracy refers to how close your shots are to the intended target. A canted scope will cause shots to land consistently off-target horizontally, even if the groupings are tight (good precision).
  • Therefore, while a canted scope might not affect the inherent precision of your rifle (its ability to group shots closely), it will definitely impact its accuracy by shifting the overall point of impact away from the target.
Importance of leveling
  • Leveling the scope is crucial for maintaining proper sight alignment and ensuring that elevation adjustments translate directly to vertical changes in the point of impact.
  • A level scope is a fundamental step in achieving accurate shots, particularly in long-range shooting.
In summary, a horizontally unlevel scope will affect your elevation adjustments and introduce horizontal error, thereby impacting your shot placement and overall accuracy, especially at longer distances."
 
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Yea that is so AI. Drifting a sight in a fixed dovetail has ZERO influence on moving elevation. ZERO. Mounting a scope in rings obviously can be done poorly to influence both. Moving a front sight laterally didn’t affect your elevation. You just shot differently that day, ie a different sight picture. How many more guys are going to say “it’s shooting low” only to discover they are using a 6 o’clock hold? FFS.

Go ask anyone who you trust in their shooting knowledge and ask them if drifting a sight laterally affects elevation. Having done it myself hundreds of times on dozens of guns I can tell you I wish it could be true. That would be a lot easier than how you actually shift elevation on a gun like this, buying a different height front sight. Dawson Precision has a very good page on the math you can useto move POI. Fixed sight guns require changing sight height to impact elevation regardless of what ChatGPT told you. Lol
 
Holy cat balls. You tell some story about mounting a rifle scope affecting elevation and windage and you actually think that is relevant to drifting a rear sight in a solid steel dovetail? Like I said, the level of bad bad incorrect silliness masquerading as input is off the charts here.

Think this through. Drift a rear sight in a fixed dovetail and come up with any way that the elevation will shift. Give it a minute, mull it over. Ok, it can’t. Ever. Under any circumstance. It will affect windage. That’s it.

I got moderated for being mean. Ok. I own that. Yet you guys keep saying things that can’t actually happen. Go drift a rear sight in a handgun and report back as to elevation change. lol

I am no fanboy of this gun. I think it is a solid ccw choice. Accurate, soft shooting, tiny. Fits anywhere I might want to carry it. Good sights that I find easy to stack rounds with. I had to send one back for a defective manual safety. I use a pair of nail clippers to trim a mag follower. The RSA always has to have the spring edge placed under the lip of the guide rod to install like it should. I had to drift every single one of their sights to get them to shoot POA/POI. These should be addressed at the factory level. All that being said, the comments on this forum make the gun out to be awful. The 5 examples I have personally handled and shot are reliable, accurate, and hold a goodly amount for size. I owned a BG1.0. I find it amazing that some of you claim to like those better than the 2.0. That is crazy. It isn’t even close. Did we all forget that craptastic laser the 1.0 had? It was comically bad even when it worked. Which it didn’t from the factory. Horrible trigger. Bad sights. Low capacity. All in a gun basically the same size.
You make a very valid point on the windage adjustment affecting elevation. I’ve had no issues with my BG2.0 but I’ve read several complaints about it. Do you think that possibly the dovetail on some slides aren’t cut true and a small windage adjustment with a slight rise could be the problem? Just a thought.
 
Honestly even if they cut the dovetail incorrectly, which would look a hot mess by the way, no I don’t think it could affect elevation in
a meaningful way, it would have to be pretty far off.

As screwed up as S&W can occasionally get I don’t think they are cutting dovetails at an angle. Lol

What that guy posted from AI is pure drivel. Moving a sight laterally has none, zero, nada, effect on elevation. Ask a moderator if you think I’m wrong. lol. This idea is so dumb as to be laughable.
 
I read the AI stuff again. The scope mounting stuff is common sense. Guys have been using levels, lapping compound, t squares, anything they need to ensure the scope is mounted true for ever. The stuff about irons sights doesn’t even make sense.

“Drifting the front sight can cause a slight mechanical change in the sight picture”. What does that even mean? A mechanical change in the sight picture. Oh brother. At least read your posts before hitting save. lol
 
With the short sight radius of the BG2.0, even an out-of-square dovetail would have an inconsequential effect on elevation.
We're debating how many angels can dance on the head of a pin here. ;)
Moon
 
I've got one of the first editions of the Bodyguard 2.0 and it has been flawless. The only change I've made is the sights and it's one of the best choices I've ever made and one the most fun guns too. I can hit 8" plates at 25 yards about half the time and all the time at 15 yards. The smaller rear sight opening really helps and doesn't slow down my target acquisition a bit.
What sights did you change to? I have tried different brands of personal protection ammunition including Critical Defense, Sig Sauer, Federal & Fiocchi. The point of impact averages 5" low at 10 yards vs point of aim using a bench rest with each round mentioned.
 
Just for the record…

I’ve spent many hours at the range over the past 5 years and shot over 50 different firearms. Since August 2024, I’ve spent many hours at the range, once or twice a month, carefully working on correcting the POA/POI on my BG2’s factory sights. After 3 drifts on the front sight, I got the POI to be very close to center target at 7 yards.

Despite any and all comments regarding elevation physics from the self-identified experts, after getting the POI to POA from out-of-the-box 4” left and 2” low, the elevation DID IN FACT change by about 1”. I further corrected the POA/POI by changing my sight picture from 6 o’clock to Center Hold. Those are the facts, believe them or not.
 

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I was recently watching a pistol review (unrelated to Smith). The reviewer was shooting iron sights at 75 yards and was high and left. He corrected windage on the rear sight and surprised himself by finding that his tight groups had moved both right and down. It happens.

We know that there is something wrong with the rear sights of the BG2.0 because they are difficult to impossible to drift. This could be due to a manufacturing error that leaves them out-of-level. That is not a proof but it does mean I am not surprised by results such as the ones @GnarlsR2 has seen.
 
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