I got my Bodyguard 2.0 .380 about two weeks ago. Both the 10 and 12 round magazines were extremely hard to load, especially the last two rounds. I had to use an Uplula to get those in. I went to the range last week and put 200 FMJ rounds through it. The slide didn't lock back on the last round until after about 120 rounds. The magazines are still difficult to load. Any suggestions?

Load both magazines with 10 and 12 rounds and leave for 1 to 2 weeks...

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Tom
SWCA 1856, SWHF 780

Thanks for your reply. It has been two weeks and both magazines have been fully loaded since day one. I've loaded and unloaded them many times.

More time or a mechanical assist loader.
OR

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Same with mine, but they have loosened up after 300 rounds. Still stiff but not impossible to load fully. Try this, after you’ve loaded what you can, press down on the top round with your thumb while you hit the base of the magazine on a solid surface. That will “reset” the spring and should allow you to add more rounds to the mag.

I put another 200 rounds through yesterday. Using PMC FMJ. had two FTF. I have rather large hands. Slide action cut my hand. Had to be very careful not too grip too high. Both mags still extremely hard to load.

I’ve had light slide bite on two occasions through 2000 rounds with small hands.

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USN Retired, EDC BG 2.0

PMC might be a bit underloaded for a new, stiff gun. I've always found their 9mm FMJ in the powder puff class.

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Release the Kraken

Guys I know who own the gun told me that sometimes, because of it's size, they inadvertantly have their finger resting against the slide release while firing. Check out your grip and see if you're anywhere near it.

Yes, the mag springs are quite stiff when new.

I purposely ride my thumb on stop so slide doesn’t lock back - no biggie, feels comfortable that way for me, slide stop functions fine when I don’t do it.

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USN Retired, EDC BG 2.0

emailed S&W a week ago. No response.

After no response to me email, I called S&W today about magazine issue. Agent said, "The issue with difficulty loading the last round, is due to the Bodyguard 2.0 being such a small gun and the tolerances are so tight." End of story.
Uh, not much of an answer or any help.
Sorry, this will be my last S&W.

Just spotted this thread after starting my own. Yep, I have this problem but can only feed three rounds into the magazine! Brand new, out of the box. S&W rep said they would mail me a replacement. That was 30 days ago. I've received nothing but was advised (again yesterday) that a new mag will be shipped to me and I can return the new one with their label. Interesting. Maybe a real bad batch of springs? S&W may be keeping this quiet, too many to keep up with?

This is probably due to the follower getting cockeyed and getting caught on the hole in the shell. People have just clipped off the excess length so it doesn't catch. The new one from S&W won't be any different than the one you have. When mine were new I could get 2 rounds in but not the 3rd. I thought my MagLula was broken, lol. Somehow my followers wore in and don't catch anymore. There's a few videos out there showing this problem...

I am holding the magazine and factory packaging for return to S&W, as instructed. My problem started new, right out of the box. You undoubtedly have the solution. S&W should not require customer gunsmithing work to fix their defective parts. I'll see if they send me anything in the next few days. Thanks.

Seems you have your answer. Use an Uplula. I've had to use them for every Glock, Shield, and so on I've ever used. My Uplula is a bit large for the BG-2 but it does work. I picked up another mag loader off ebay that's made for the BG-2 for about $15.00 or so that works like just fine.

I've got about 300? 350 rounds through my BG-2 and it's getting better, but I don't like beating my hands up just to load a magazine. I'll take some mechanical help everytime.

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John 3:16 .

Just picked mine up from LGS. I had two 12 round mags that were impossible to load 12. The sat with 11rds for 4 weeks. I had purchased additional mags prior to picking mine up.

I've had difficulty mags (thinking my Sig 365 17's) but nothing like this ever before. Disappointing.

It’s interesting that is known that the “magazine” is the most common firearm component that fails most often, and yet the magazines I’ve received and purchased in the past 5 years did not work as advertised. As simple as a magazine is, it's difficult to understand why the firearm manufacturers can't make them function as advertised and at a higher level of quality.... the prices seem high enough, but I'd pay more if they were guaranteed to perform as advertised out of the box.

I cannot fully load my 10-round and 12-round mags with an UPlula. Hopefully MagGuts will soon release a kit for the BG2 mags

I clipped and sanded the followers on all six of my first mags and problem is gone. Bought two new ones last week and they changed the followers to a new style that don't get caught.

As ChongLi67 above said, it's the fangs in the follower, either coming through the mag space or preventing the follower from going all the way down.

My solution worked 100%. I took out the followers and cut off the fangs of all 5 of my BG 2.0 mags. Loaded right up to capacity.

Problem # 112 with the BG 2.0.

I understand that the dimensions of the follower includes a “no-bind” design.

Cutting off the “fangs” may compromise the anti-bind effect?

Can you please post a photo of a fangless follower?

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I clipped six of them and none are binding or hanging up.

It seems strange that your "gunsmithing" the followers has corrected the full load issue with the mags, why S&W would not have tested the mags and made some adjustments to the follower BEFORE releasing the Body Guard 2.0?

When discussing the performance of defense carry firearm, I want it to be flawless out of the box for 2,500 round. If that takes a choice between a $449 pistol or a $1,449 pistol my choice is a no-brainer.

Designers make mistakes and make rolling changes, like they did to the newer followers. I've seen several postings of people clipping the "fork" without problems, so I tried it on one and then the others. It doesn't do anything about the hard loading to a full mag, just about the the follower gettting caught in the magazine retainer holes.

When I load the magazines, I have been pushing the 3rd round down just a little rearward of where the casing and the bullet meet. This keeps the follower level. When we try to load the 3rd round by pushing down toward the rear of the casing, this tilts the follower and the little legs hang up.

Much easier with UpLula than with fingers.

BG2.0 magazines barely hold 10 or 12 rounds. Clipping a coil off the spring doesn't solve the problem, neither does shortening the mag follower.
Letting them loaded might make them easier to load, but it doesn't really make a difference in capacity.
Yes, you'll want to clip the one 'fang' that gets fouled in the mag catch slot.
I've simply accepted the mag capacity; load 10, and charge from an open slide. The backup mag is only carried with 9, so it can be loaded against a closed slide.
Just the nature of the beast; the gun works well otherwise. Unless Smith re-engineers the mags (thinner spring stock?), it is what it is.
Moon

MagGuts emailed me back and stated...

"We do plan to look at the 2.0 in the future.  I will add you to the notification list."

If more BG2 owners would send MagGuts a request they might speed up their release.

If MagGuts can design 2 very simple components for a magazine and sell it for $34 why the heck can't big bad Smith & Wesson designers do the same??

It's absurd at the very least.

I don't buy into accepting mediocrity, especially from a firearm manufacturer.

Not enough demand to justify the extra cost? It's a competitive market out there.

Glock let thousands of G42s out the door, with a slide stop that engaged when rounds remained in the mag. IIRC, it took two mag modifications before the problem was solved. Glock couldn't isolate the problem.
I suspect that S&W is dealing with a similar problem, however frustrating it may be for consumers.
Modern, 10 lbs of poo in a 5 lb sack magazines, require a MagLula, the BG;2.0 among them.
I'm still awaiting Smith (or maybe MagGuts) to address the difficulty of LOADING 10/12 rounds, and then locking the mag in against a closed slide. Some VietNam era guys like to download their M16 mags by one (or two) for absolute reliability. I've adopted that idea with the BG2.0; my spare mag only has 9 rounds; it locks in without drama.
Moon

What??? Not enough demand for being able to load a mag with ALL of the ammo that it supposed to hold????

Except for the MagGuts +2 in my 2 Sig 12-round mags, all the other magazines I have will always get 1 round short of full.

If the 12 rd BG 2.0 mag could easily hold 12 rounds, Smith would be advertising it as holding 13 or 14 rounds. There is a marketing advantage... a big one... in having a higher capacity than the competition. I need the 12 rd mag for the larger grip size. I load it with 10 rounds.... everything works fine. Nothing about this is surprising.