I looked at the Bodyguard 38 today, I was wondering if anyone had one and shot it and what their impressions were. Thanks for any input

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Stan

Well, I will tell you that I love my 638 ! Lightweight and does the job without fail every time.

When you look at the target below, those shots were done rapid fire double action from 7 yards onto a 100 yd small bore rifle target.

Winchester white box 130 gr FMJ target loads.

Drawn from a Don Hume IWB leather holster and without a two hand hold.

I think that is more than acceptable.

Attached Images

Model 638.jpg (55.4 KB, 95 views)

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Take your time..quickly.

I have one as does my lovely wife, Granny Oakley. We like them, they are accurate at 7 to 15 yards. These may not be the "best" gun (many critics in this forum) but with it I have become confident and relatively competent.

The new Bodyguard 38 is a sweet shooting firearm. I just bought it and fired it for the first time Saturday. It is easy to handle and very accurate for a snub nose. The trigger pull is much to stiff and I am hoping that spring kits will become available for this revolver very soon. Other than the trigger pull issue it is definately a fine weapon.

I'm assuming we are talking about the plastic fantastic BG38? If so, some people like them, some don't. I know there have been quite a few problems with the lasers on them.

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Centennial Every Day

Funny you should ask. I had mine (from 1963) at the range today and was very happy with how well it shoots compared to the heavier J frames. I put 50 rounds downrange with it and the little humpback just puts them right where they're supposed to be. I'm happy when I can cover an area 3" diameter at 25' unsupported. I'm always surprised with how well this gun shoots because it's so light. I've heard stories that the older ones like mine are somewhat fragile but I've experienced no problems shooting 158gr SWCHPs with it - probably about 600 to 800 rounds total in the 5 years I've owned it.

Jerry

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.

Very well put.

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Centennial Every Day

Photoman44...Thank you.

You're welcome but I take no joy in the fact. I think there is a real market for a "modern" J frame. The reduction in recoil from polymer frames is a big advance that I would like to be able to take advantage of. I just think S&W tried to go too far with the design.

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Centennial Every Day

I got to shoot a friend's last weekend. It didn't handle badly at all and made a nice group about 1" high and to the left of my POA. I was surprised that recoil was very similar to my model 49 Bodyguard, especially considering how light the BG38 is (felt like a toy cap-gun I had when I was a kid ).

The things I didn't care for:
-I don't see how anyone could activate that laser in an emergency. The button is on top of the unit and sometimes takes several attempts to get it to activate, and that's in a non-stressful situation.

-The trigger seemed to start out light, really stack in the middle of the pull, then let off a bit as it got near to releasing the sear. I didn't care for the feel of it and suspect that it may be why my shots didn't quite hit POA.

-The cylinder release is not where I am used to it being, and it was a little slippery to operate for me because it just has some light texturing instead of being checkered.
cylinder release.JPG

-I didn't like how the ejector rod was very thin in the middle. Seems like it's just asking to get bent or broken when you whack it to pop those empties out.
ejector.JPG

-As coach22 said, the cylinder rotating in the opposite direction is an issue if you are reloading in a serious situation.

If someone handed me a BG38, I could certainly defend myself with it, but it's just not what I'm used to. I'll be sticking to my 49, and the Crimson Trace grips if I want a laser. YMMV
49 and bg38.jpg

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Ban lunatics and criminals

The Bodyguard is my favorite J frame. I pocket carry, in a Uncle Mike #3 daily.

I've got one of the new ones. Lack of Grips, lack of springs, the wierd placement of the laser button, and the strange placement of the cylinder release have put me off to the gun after about 400 rounds. I'm seriously considering trading it in on a J frame. Its a good gun but not a great gun. I'm waiting until Hogue or someone makes a new grip for it, and someone (wilson combat) makes a spring kit for it before I do anything drastic. Those two things will make or break the gun for me. I'm going to give it a few months.

I like mine. Hogue said they will have grips this Spring.