Well got the laser back today. Now I need to get out and try again to see if this one holds up.

My laser has now failed on me. Owned it for 3 months, it is my daily carry and I have put 250-270rds down range on it. I have already replaced the batteries and it is still dead. Button fix has been done already. Very disappointed in it as I also own a MP 15-22 and have been very happy with it and am looking at a full size M&P .40...but if the BG380 is an indication of quality on the semi auto handguns...I will be selling the BG380 and getting a Sig P238 and looking at a 4th Gen Glock 22

Turbo, I have to agree with offensive. This gun has some real problems. I usually shoot indoors and it shoots well. Today I went to an outdoor range and there was a bit of an overcast. The laser could't even be seen on the silhouette target. I was lucky to keep all of the rounds on the silhouette let alone in the center. The gun shoots at least 12 inches low from my aim point. Hell, I might have been better off throwing the gun at the target, but I CAN'T THROW 100 YARDS!.

Good one Cop... thanks.

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Jack C

I read about it, then I read about it again! S&W has fixed the lock falling out, they are fixing the laser on an as needed basis. They wrote some lawyerese. Now, what are they doing about improving the striker to make it reliable to dry fire? That is a deal killer for me, sorry!

I even waited and bought a later version to avoid the lock up failure issue. What is the MTBF on striker failure? That is what I care about the rest is just mean words!

Now mind the fact that I have preferred and bought S&W products for 51 years. I am not just some guy taking a verbal shot at you.

Ok, that's good to know... thanks.

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Jack C

Every one of these little autos from every manufacturer is having issues. They're CAD/CNC darlings to sell to newly minted CHL holders who are never going to experience a violent encounter and none of them are "enough gun." Look, if the PPK can't be made to shoot reliably, what chance does anything smaller have? Glock 26, don't go any smaller than that. Hopefully, the Shield will be an okay piece.

I've got 1200 rds down the pipe with no issues so far

I looked at this thread hoping for some useful info on the Bodyguard... boy, did I get an earful... reminds me of Junior High School insults flying back and forth.

A complete waste of everyone's time...

Maybe this forum would benefit if it had a moderator?

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Bill
NRA Lifer

Wow has all this ever gotten off topic. I belong to other forums and haven't seen much of this kind of back and forth on them. I'm relatively new here. Hope this isn't the norm.

I posted this in another thread on here so I hope I don't bore people with it again but maybe it will help get this back on topic.

I currently own 2 BG 380's. My wife and I CC these for personal protection. We both love the small compact size of them.

To be honest I bought a Sig P238 first with the intent of using that for CC. However it is highly unreliable. It doesn't seem to matter what ammo i use it has had tons of FTE and some, but not as many, FTF. I need to take this gun to a gunsmith or see if Sig will stand behind it like S & W does because it just doesn't work right.

I bought the first BG 380 used and after shooting a couple hundred rounds through it without any issues I bought a second one. We love the gun and have had NO issues with either. I stumbled across this forum and these threads simply because I was looking for better sights for them (prefer some nice night sights). I tend to agree with whoever commented earlier in this thread about the laser not being worth it. If the day comes when I actually need this gun for the purpose I carry it (hope it never happens) there is no way the laser will help me, or at least I think it is highly unlikely to help. I'd really prefer to just upgrade to a nice set of sights.

Clearly we are fans of the BG380 and have had no issues. I have a couple of friends who also have had no issues with theirs. I guess it could be luck of the draw, who knows. I was clearly unlucky with the Sig I bought but I do own other Sigs that have no issues.

The most informative posting I've seen on potential issues with the Bodyguard 380 was in this thread -->

Bodyguard 380: Anyone had their misfires fixed??

The user BuckeyeChuck wrote a nice summary of the various issues that some on this board have had with the 380s. That thread, and specifically his summary was nicely written and helpful to anyone who owns or is thinking of buying a BG380. If you haven't read that thread I would suggest it is a good read and worth your time.

Chevy... thank you for a return to sanity! The thread is back on track!

Very helpful post, what I was hoping for originally. I have had great luck with M&P's, including a Shield, and was considering a Bodyguard for blue jeans pants pocket carry.

All things considered, they look way too "iffy" to trust. Guess I'll stick with my LCP, which is 100% reliable with everything; hard to improve on that.

I hope the rest of the hot air above isn't typical... I haven't seen anything quite like that on several other forums I frequent.

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Bill
NRA Lifer

Guys get touchy about their guns...

Like I said, I've dry fired mine probably 400 times and have more rounds than that down range, and never a hiccup at all. Some guys have LCP's that give them trouble. Go figure.

The laser was not a selling point for me. I bought mine because of the low price new ($289 with the LE discount), the S&W name and the cute little size. It's just a cool little gun. Now if I wear holed up in a house and some bad guy was prowling around I may take the half second to turn the laser on. That may be all that is needed to scare him away. A laser dot on your chest is a sobering sight to see.....

Pants pockets, ankle holster, etc . . . . there is like no place you can't fit this sweet little gun. Heck for that matter it comes in a nice little pouch carrier and my wife has carried that in plain sight as an accessory and no one had a clue what was in it. It is just a great CC gun.

I looked at the LCP too. My father in law (retired Army) and my bother in law (current Army and LE) both have these. I test fired them a couple years ago(?) and they seemed fairly reliable. I did have a few FTE in a box of 50 rounds but they were easy to clear. My BG has been more reliable (for me). For us the laser is a nice trinket but like I said, I'd rather have a better set of sights. The black on black sights with no dots or anything isn't the greatest. In the case of a laser it kind of works both ways, sure it helps you aim but it also helps the other guy aim too (if you know what I mean). It is also mostly a night kind of aiming device also.

I do openly admit that I didn't know about any of the problems that have surfaced with the BG before I bought ours. We are so impressed with the guns design at this point that I wouldn't think twice about paying for repairs or upgrades in the event that something went wrong with ours.

There does seem to be some hit and miss with the reliability of these guns. We may have just gotten lucky (which would be nice for a change). I am at least mindful of the potential for problems now and more informed about what to look for thanks to this forum and BuckeyeChuck's post.

Glad you found the post useful.

Did you have one of the earlier P238's with the extractor issue?

XS night sights installed on BG380
XS Big Dot sights for Bodyguard 380 (*pics added*)

I have heard of people using Novak sights from the Kahr on the BG380 as I was looking into them before I got rid of mine.

My pocket carry choice will be down to the Boberg Xr-9s, the Sig P938 or P238, or the LCP. A good friend has the Boberg on order and I will figure out if it's worth the $1k price tag after I fire it. The P938 the same way, if I can have a pocket carry 9mm, I'd rather have that over the .380. I have fired the P238 and liked it, but I am aware they have extractor issues and usually spent a few weeks back at Sig for a fluff and buff and extractor replacement if you have issues in the first couple hundred rounds fired. I have yet to hear a problem with an LCP other than it's hell on the hand after 20-30 rounds fired.

I have a Shield currently and it's great, just tough to conceal in certain clothes I wear for summertime.

As I posted earlier, I wish mine would not have had issues. It's a nice package for the price, if it had been reliable.

And thanks to Chevy for getting this back on track. I am the first to admit I am stubborn and don't back down from people on the net. I am glad others are having no issues with the BG, reassures me on my other purchases from Smith and Wesson.

I had never heard about this. News to me. You can be sure I will look into this. All I can tell you is that I was looking for one of these pint sized 380's when G & A (?) or American Rifleman (?) did a comparison article on several different 380's. They included the Sig P238, Ruger LCP, KelTec, etc . . . BUT they did NOT include the BG 380. Not sure why not. Out of all the guns they tried they seemed to like the Sig the most and also gave high ratings to the LCP. Based on that article I bought the P238.

While I think the fit and finish of the gun is good it just doesn't eject spent rounds for beans. I am lucky to make it through a single clip let alone a box of ammo. It doesn't matter what ammo either. I was planning to have a gun smith look at it to see if he could do anything with it but haven't had the time. I won't carry it anywhere until I get it fixed.

I mentioned the problems I was having to fellow gun owners and they suggested the BG. When I first looked into it I really liked what I saw. First, it is DA which I prefer over the Sig which is single action. It makes me nervous to what around with chambered gun clock and locked. I know some people do it but it isn't for me. So the features of the BG, DA with a long, somewhat aggressive trigger pull and a safety are more my speed. Add in the free laser (price compare to any equivalent other brand) . . . how could you go wrong? Plus it is a S&W which tend to back up their products.

Anyway thanks for the info on the Sig. I still own it and plan on keeping it. Hopefully Sig will stand behind the gun and help me out.

This is ironic because it was this posting that Google found which lead me to this forum. I was really just looking for sight for my BG's. Anyway thanks for pointing out this posting. There is another thread in this forum that has more details on sights for the BG and I have been posting my findings in that thread. I am aware of the XS sights but they aren't my favorites. I have contacted several other sight MFGs and posting their replies on this in the other thread. I hadn't heard about using Kahr sights on a BG. That is news to me.

Bodyguard 380 night sights?

I have never heard of either the Sig P938 or the Boberg. If either of these are really $1,000 for a little pocket pistol . . . they had better be VERY, VERY GOOD! That is a LOT of money for a pocket pistol. I'm not sure I would compare a gun costing 3x more to the BG? Kind of like comparing a VW to a Porsche isn't it? The Porsche had better do something remarkable for 3x the cost.

Anyway I do hope that one of these other guns works out for you and thanks for the info on the Sig and BG.

The other thread you posted had the sights I was referring too, after reading it more closely towards the end, I see where someone updated it and said the Kahr sights would not work on the BG380. It has been a while since I had looked. I actually liked the BG380, just had issues with it and lost trust in that gun, after that it wasn't something I felt comfortable with if it boiled down to me actually needing it to protect me or my family.

Sounds like your Sig has the ejector problem. Call them up and send it in, tell them it has a feeding problem as well to get the whole work over, also ask them to run a box of ammo through it to make sure the problem is solved. They will take care of you as the P238 had it's issues with the early ones.


The Sig P938 is a new model this year, it is a 9mm version of the P238. So it has my interest, pricing seems to be about $50 more than the comparable P238.

The Boberg is a pretty nice firearm, bull pup designed from the ground up. The gun matches the ballistics of full size 9mm's, and has been miniaturized.


Boberg Arms

It is a pretty intriguing firearm, almost worthy of just being part of the collection. Arne Boberg seems to be pretty good with customer service and I have been watching for any issues to develop. This gun has been in the works for almost 10 yrs before finally hitting the market.


Do you know if there is a thread with the Serial numbers and date of manufacture for the BG380 like there is for the Shield. I did really like the pistol and if I had an early one that was a fluke, I'd consider another one. But just not that one. The new owner of my old one has not had a issue and put 2k rds through it, but he uses it as a back up.

There is a board dedicated to the BG.380 that started when the gun came out. We documented from the very beginning the issues that popped up and there is a lot of fantastic info. I have the BG.380 and it has been very reliable since I had the break down pin fixed/addressed. Not one issue since.

Boy I wish I knew where to get this info. I assumed there was some kind of link or something on S & W's website to look up date of MFG of a gun but honestly I don't know. I wish I did. I would like to look mine up.

Anyone out there ???

Ok . . . so I would LOVE a link to the site? You're not going to just leave us BG owners hanging like this are you?

isn't the fired shell casing, dated envelope, considered the DoM..

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Jack C

Humm, if there is a dated envelope surely that should be close enough I think. In the box of nearly every gun I have ever purchased there is a casing showing that the gun worked at the factory but I don't recall if they were all in a dated envelope or not? I thought some of them were just in a plastic baggie but I could be wrong.

I'll look in the BG boxes today on my lunch hour and see if there is a dated envelope. Good suggestion.

Last night I finally remembered to look at the SN on them and one is EAMxxxx and the other is EAYxxxx.

It's on the envelope of date of manufacture, test fire is usually a couple weeks later.

They should be in there, all guns from S&W are shipped with the Dated shell envelope..

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Jack C

You guys are correct. Indeed there were dated envelopes in there. My EAMxxxx was dated 5/3/11 and my EAYxxxx was dated 11/18/11. Not sure if that will help anyone else out or not but there you go.

Hey Turbo - how did you get "US Veteran" to show up under your screen name? I can't figure that one out.

It was easy, I served my country in the early 1970's! click on this link, I believe that will take care ot it for you, although I though I was a member of the Vet group, but it appears I'm not. I'll have to check that out ..
http://smith-wessonforum.com/profile...editusergroups

If that doesn't get you there, go to your control panel and under edit social groups.. that should work

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Jack C

Actually you have to send a message to Smith357. He runs that group and can send you an invite to join.

Oh ya!! that's right, thanks Lake.. I'm not sure though that he ever completed my request cause I still can't go into that forum... but I do have my US Vet designation...

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Jack C

Well you do now!!!

Way to go Chevy!@! I see you got your US Vet... under your name!! congrats and thank you for your service

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Jack C

Goldenbb: It does seem as though all the pocket 380 offerings from manufacturers across the board seem to have issues; hit and miss issues if that. I badly want the Kahr P380 but there are a few things holding me back. Reliability being number one. Seems as though some have had zero issues while others have FTE, FTF, FTRTB. I also don't like the fact that they recommend chambering the first round via slide release as opposed to racking the slide; that to me is a design defect. I just want a reliable, pocket sized 380, with no integrated laser, decent night sights, no manual safety, and a slide that locks back on the last round! Doesn't seem like too much to ask. It must just be tough to make these reliable pistols so small.

I love this Bodyguard. Bought it for the wife and she didnt like it so I threw it in the truck. Later took it to the range and it is amazing !! I love it. So easliy concealable..like a feather. Badass with the high powered ammo.

There is a problem however...the end piece on the magazine slides off and the ammo, spring, ETC, falls to the floor. Very embarrasing to say the least.

This gun is a piece of junk and can't believe S&W has risked its reputation by keeping this in the market

I'm picking my BG380 up tomorrow from my FFL. Not sure what the serial # is or what the date on the fired casing envelope is either but it is a brand new gun.

I also received 3 magazines for it in the mail today and they have everything a mag should have. Numbered witness holes on both sides, solid no tilt follower that completely encompasses the mag spring and acts as a bright indicator in the witness hole below the next round, strong steel body and includes a positive flush baseplate and second finger extension. I'm note sure what the current BG380 serial number range is but I figure they should have any bugs worked out by now.

The firing pin of the little 380 pistols from any brand are usually pretty thin. I really wouldn't dry fire any of them very much which is why I have a set of A-Zoom snap caps for every caliber I own, JIC.

If the dirty rental BG380 is any indication on how mine will be, then I'll have a nice reliable and accurate little buddy to keep my P238 company.

Mine was made on 11-29-2010, I don't know when these guns first came out, but I am very happy with mine. Feels good in the hand, very accurate at 15 yards and so far reliable.

This forum has multiple moderators, but sometimes threads fall through the cracks. That red bordered triangle in the upper right corner of each post ( /!\) is the report post function. Help us out and USE IT.

Far too many posts have been deleted, but the thread is cleaned up for now. FAIR WARNING: Any more insulting or crude remarks will result in point being issued and the thread getting locked. Stay on topic, not on each other.

From the general rules:
... and:

Regards,
chad

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"I also cook."