BG 380 problems with Mag Release Button

My Bodyguard 380 has a cheap plastic button and a metal magazine. So overtime the metal magazine scraped away at the plastic catch. Now the the magazine just falls out. This gun is new to. That button and mag catch needs to be made out of something better then that cheap plastic. Come on S&W quit cutting corners , how has this not happened to everyone. Need a recall on this BG 380. Not sure what to do , if I send it in they will just replace it and it will happen again. Stupid design.

Thames1976 said:

My Bodyguard 380 has a cheap plastic button and a metal magazine. So overtime the metal magazine scraped away at the plastic catch. Now the the magazine just falls out. This gun is new to. That button and mag catch needs to be made out of something better then that cheap plastic. Come on S&W quit cutting corners , how has this not happened to everyone. Need a recall on this BG 380. Not sure what to do , if I send it in they will just replace it and it will happen again. Stupid design.

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Are you slapping the mag in? My mag gets hung up as you insert a magazine. Smith and Wesson says its normal and many people here have said it does the same. Some advocate slamming it past the hang up spot. I just press the mag button as I insert the mag and it slides right in.

This isn't a range gun. I wish the mag slid in without me hitting the mag release but since I only insert the mag a few times a month at most, it doesn't really bother me. I bought the gun for the size and weight. I like the sights and the slide locking open on an empty mag, and I like the safety. No other pocket guns had that so I can live with the very minor mag issue.

If pull down on the magazine while it is in it comes out after I pushed it in good. Plus it comes loose when I shoot it. Then I look inside the gun at the catch and it's a tiny little piece of plastic that has been scraped away by the metal magazine holes. That plastic mag release button should be made out of metal or a coated plastic not the cheap plastic its made out of.

Thames1976 said:

If pull down on the magazine while it is in it comes out after I pushed it in good. Plus it comes loose when I shoot it. Then I look inside the gun at the catch and it's a tiny little piece of plastic that has been scraped away by the metal magazine holes. That plastic mag release button should be made out of metal or a coated plastic not the cheap plastic its made out of.

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I know that's what it does NOW, but before it started doing that, did you meet resistance when inserting the mag and then give it a whack to get past that resistance? I'm wondering if the whacking it past the resistance that some here say they do, is what caused the erosion of the plastic piece which is why it no longer stays in. If you were whacking it past the hang up, then the problem isn't what the piece is made of, but that it's coming in contact with it at all. So replacing it with metal is just gonna scratch up the magazines and the magazine button. But for me, pressing that mag release as I slide in the mag has become second nature it doesn't hang up, so I doubt I will have an issue. I carry this gun as a pocket gun and I don't carry a second magazine, so I won't be reloading in the very unlikely scenario where I'm shooting it at all in a self defense situation.

I've heard that the original BG 380'did not have this problem. I agree it annoys me a bit, but it's a pocket gun that isn't gonna get the workouts my other guns get and I wanted the features it has.

I understand but it's to late now. I didn't know I had to press the button in when I put the mag in but makes sense. That catch part should be stronger though. Ohh well not sure what to do , don't see anyone selling parts for a BG 380 wonder if there is a comp.

Thames1976 said:

I understand but it's to late now. I didn't know I had to press the button in when I put the mag in but makes sense. That catch part should be stronger though. Ohh well not sure what to do , don't see anyone selling parts for a BG 380 wonder if there is a comp.

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Not too late. Send it in to S&W. You'll have it back good as new in a few weeks. Include a note asking why it meets resistance and why you should have to press the mag button to insert it. For all we know the part has been upgraded since we bought the gun. If you like the gun other than the mag issue then it's worth sending it in. Won't cost you a dime.

But I take it that you did have the hang up and whacked it in? I read about that before I even got the gun. Several videos on YouTube with supposed gun experts telling you to whack it in hard. Never saw the point in that. How often does forcing something that doesn't want to go in a good idea?

Thames1976 said:

I understand but it's to late now. I didn't know I had to press the button in when I put the mag in but makes sense. That catch part should be stronger though. Ohh well not sure what to do , don't see anyone selling parts for a BG 380 wonder if there is a comp.

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Call CS. They will send you a label for the return of your gun to them prepaid. They will restore it to like new!
You've apparently learned your lesson. as another poster said,
"It is not a Range Gun!"

mb

I've had mine since Feb. '15 and have put over 800 rounds of everything through it and no problems what-so-ever, mag related or otherwise. I may be one of the lucky ones but I trust this as my EDC.

I took the slide off so I could see clearly into the mag well and put the mag in. There is a little piece on the opposite side of the mag button that sticks out. Pressing the mag button retracts that piece. It's made out of plastic but the material would make no difference. As you put the mag in the follower clears that piece but the metal body hits it every time. It will not retract on its own. Whacking the mag in to get it past that part will certainly break it eventually. I'll just continue to press the mag button as I seat a mag. No sense forcing something that will just eventually break.

Well you can blame me for it because you don't know me but still the mag catch is made of cheap plastic and the magazine is made from metal and is a little sharp around the hole. Overtime that is going to shave that plastic catch nub down no matter what you do. Not a good pocket carry if the magazine falls out when you need the gun in a bad situation( I love everything about the gun but this magazine problem). Anyhow if there was a casted metal version of the mag catch that would solve the problem or metal at least where the catch is. Not good to cut corners on this stuff.

Not blaming you for anything. But the mag doesn't rub against that piece. That piece sticks out and the metal magazine body comes right up underneath it and hits it solid. You could make it out of titanium and it wouldn't matter. Unless they change the whole design, then whatever they make that piece out of is blocking the mag. And slamming it home isn't gonna do anything but damage that piece and/or the mag. It's like pounding a square peg into a round hole.

I've asks you several times and you have never answered. Did you come up with resistance and slam the mag in? Not your fault since you didn't know, but changing the material isn't gonna do anything. If you like the gun otherwise then learn to live with it. That way there will be no danger of mag failure. I have. I find the features on this gun much more desirable than any other polymer pocket .380. And pressing the mag release when I insert a mag is not only second nature now, but certainly not a deal breaker unless the gun fails to function. And so far (only 150 rounds so far) it's been reliable.

I'm not slamming the mag in , nor did I ever. I don't agree with you and your supporting S&W on a bad design flaw. I called and even the guy from S&W agreed with me.

Thames1976 said:

I'm not slamming the mag in , nor did I ever. I don't agree with you and your supporting S&W on a bad design flaw. I called and even the guy from S&W agreed with me.

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Who said I was supporting S&W on this? It's something that should be addressed. I'm just saying that your assessment of the plastic being the problem is wrong. That piece needs to move back on its own as the magazine is put in. Making it out of titanium wouldn't make a difference. Maybe changing the shape to something more round would allow the mag to slip by. I don't know. The magazine hitting it is what is breaking the piece. Maybe you weren't "slamming it in" but if you weren't pressing the mag release as you put the mag in then it was coming in contact with it and it eventually broke it. Several videos on YouTube have guys mentioning the mag hang up and advocating giving it a good hard slap until it "breaks in". Breaking it in means that the part has worn away enough to not hit the magazine. Metal wouldn't do that so if it was metal the issue would keep happening. Send it in to S&W. They'll fix it. Then either do what I do or its gonna happen eventually. If it bothers you that much than sell the gun for something else. I prefer to take the positives of the weapon over the small issue with the mag release.

I'll just continue to do what I do and press the magazine release so I avoid the problem. If S&W ever issues a recall, I'll send it in. Until then, the gun fills the role it was bought for: feather light carry gun.

I also saw where people were slamming it in rather than depressing the magazine release button. I knew better than to do that it is just common sense. I shoot the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 as much as any of my other weapons and it has a perfect record. I enjoy shooting it at my outdoor range constantly without any problems whatsoever. It functions perfectly well as a range gun and a carry piece.

In my years of range/classroom training..I yet to hear... DEPRESS MAG RELEASE BUTTON...INSERT MAG...RELEASE MAG BUTTON...RACK SLIDE... COMMENCE FIRING... aka, fire at will.

Once the mag release button becomes a problem for you then you'll understand.

USMCEMBASSY said:

In my years of range/classroom training..I yet to hear... DEPRESS MAG RELEASE BUTTON...INSERT MAG...RELEASE MAG BUTTON...RACK SLIDE... COMMENCE FIRING... aka, fire at will.

Once the mag release button becomes a problem for you then you'll understand.

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And nowhere in the manual does it say to depress the button first. It basically says "load mag, insert mag" (page 17). I like the BG380, but the mag release button should not have to be depressed to insert a magazine.
I have owned several mouse guns and none of them required this extra step.

it's not a "range gun"

I know this is old thread, but just wanted to chime in and say the "it's not a range gun" is a complete and total BS excuse.

It's called a "bodyguard". The only reason any of us carry these is personal defense, you know like guarding your body?

In a personal defense situation and in need of a reload I'm pretty sure your not going to have the time or frame of mind to pre-load the magazine catch so as not to have interference loading the magazine.

Anyone making such a claim should be embarrassed...

ALSO, Smith and Wesson should be embarrassed that I can't find a replacement part quickly and easily for something that obviously huge numbers of customers are having issues with. Clearly the part wears out as the number one search result (instead of an easily found replacement part) are other people having similar issues with the gun.

Mine had seemed fine until you shoot it, and then the force of the slide pulling back knocks the magazine out of the gun. At fist I thought I was hitting the catch when I shoot. Because even though the mag was loose/mag catch not engaged it was still working. But it's because my pinky is beneath the mag and miraculously, even though the magazine catch wasn't engaging during fire I was still getting the slide to strip the next round. But now it's to the point that racking the first round is enough to dislodge the magazine and I don't always have my pinky beneath when I first load/rack the slide. So I've had the mag drop on the ground when loading!

Not much of a bodyguard when the mag drops on the floor...

And then to get it replaced it looks like I need the receipt and copy of the 4473 and to send it in. All for a stupid piece of plastic that from all accounts they should just be throwing extras in the box in the first place since they wear out.

From reading the forums it seems the only reason I've had good luck so far with this gun is because I really never shot it. Just made sure I could hit OK and that it ran the HP's I had in it when I got it. Then I'd only shoot it a few times a year after that. Never really "trained" with it till recently and then I started getting light strikes and now the magazine won't stay in it... FAIL.