New Bodyguard 380 Report
This seems like as good of an existing tread as any to post this ... a New Bodyguard 380 Report.
Since I am picky when purchasing a new weapon, I evaluated the top three .380 subcompact concealed carry pistols with much scrutiny. After months of comparison and actually firing many rounds through all 3 candidate .380's, I choose the S&W Bodyguard 380 as my wallet holster CC weapon for a few personal reasons (as always open to individual tastes and debate). I own several S&W pistols and revolvers and have so for almost 40 years, so I must admit a bias toward S&W handguns in general. There is still a little rush that occurs in my brain anytime I procure a new weapon, and this was no exception ... maybe I'm a gun shopping addict!
Anyway, I brought my new Bodyguard 380 home, thoroughly cleaned and lightly oiled the weapon as the manual delineates on the four points on the slide, and immediately took it out to the range with 11 boxes of different brands of 380 ammo. Maybe that may seem like overkill, but the consensus of many reports and forums I've read made it seem that generally, small semi-autos can be picky concerning ammo. I wanted to test this pistol to from A to Z and break it in before I could believe it trustworthy to perform for me in an emergency. I also purchased 3 additional S&W brand 380 magazines, a black leather Talon Wallet Holster (Nice!), and a DeSantis inside waistband Belt Holster.
On to my new Bodyguard 380 experience ...
Once at the range I setup paper targets, 8 inch circular at 20 feet, the maximum distance I think I might ever need to use this weapon. I listed all of my ammo brands and specs in a notebook, and took to loading mags and getting shooting. I was fortunate one of the six outdoor ranges entirely to myself. Ear and eye protection in place, I proceeded to the shooting line ready to have some fun ... unfortunately, my new Bodyguard was not so eager to please. I assumed target shooting position and slowly pulled on the trigger for the first time. The trigger was very heavy and had a long pull. Even though I had shot two other Bodyguard 380s a few times less than a month ago, I was surprised at the trigger resistance and travel, at least 8-9 lbs and longer than I remembered.
Then the surprises really started, I continued to slowly squeeze the trigger until it was completely flush with the trigger housing and the trigger return spring was fully compressed, no hammer release, no firing pin strike, no click, and no boom! I slowly released the trigger forward to rest position and with about 1/4 inch of travel remaining in the cycle ... Boom! I had never felt a semi-auto fire like that before and it was tad unsettling. The bullet hit about 3 inches right of bullseye, almost perfect elevation, the casing did eject and the next round chambered from the magazine. Obviously this wasn't an ammo issue right? So with an even firmer grip on the pistol (there is not much real estate to grasp on any subcompact 380), I aimed and slowly pulled the trigger again with the exact same results, no fire with the trigger completely compressed and the pin strike occured during the release of the trigger. A little disturbed by this action, I ejected the magazine and emptied the chamber. Maybe a very small chance it could be ammo or magazine related?
I then filled a different magazine with another brand of ammo and popped it into the gun (as others have reported, my magazines were rubbing slightly on the release button and required a light butt slam to engage the magazine). I repeated trigger pull process another 6 times and had nearly the same results during each cycle. Each time the gun fired when the trigger was closer to the fully retracted trigger position, but still after being fully depressed and during the return to rest position. S&W warns owners about the dangers of staging a trigger in the manual, but this pistol seemed to be designed around staging! All rounds cycled cleanly and amazingly they were all somewhere on the 8 inch target considering I was getting unnerved by the WhackAMole firing trigger mechanism.
I considered just packing it up and going home to contact S&W concerning service on the pistol, which would be a first in my experience with brand new S&W guns. Since no one else was on the range and I strictly kept it pointed at the berm downrange, I decided to continue and try to run some more ammo through my new favorite "try to guess when I will fire" gun. Well, the results were honestly amazing and my persistence paid off. With over 500 rounds on hand, I continuously fed the Bodyguard round after from the 4 magazines rotating the various brands of ammo without any recording of FTE or FTF. If it didn't cycle, I just manually cleared and re-chambered. After about 10 magazines full (6 per magazine) the trigger slowly reached the point of breaking prior to full travel, at about 80% of the travel from rest position to fully retracted. After another 75 or so rounds, it had become a very predictable and regular trigger. It was still heavy and long, but after cycling the weapons through about 150 rounds, the trigger was now regular and solid ... no more surprise ignitions! I wasn't aiming at all by this time and had no notion concerning its accuracy at 20 feet, but just was happy that it was going bang regularly and consistently.
So, I retreated to my original plan of recording ammo performance regarding FTF or FTE, and during the next 300 rounds learned that this Bodyguard does love some brands and types of ammo and hates some of the others. I don't want to try and tell you what works and what doesn't, because you should discover this for yourself in your own weapon, regardless of manufacturer, make, model, caliber, etc. If you are going to depend on a pistol to possibly save your life or the life of a loved one, go ahead and spend the money to figure out what is reliable in your weapon. My Bodyguard 380 does seem a bit like me, more biased toward the good stuff in life. It's ammo appetite is selective toward the more premium rounds, which obviously are the more expensive ammo. I did find one lower end brand that cycled regularly and has become my designated practice round of choice. Accuracy was amazing for such a short little barrel and tiny grips. I was able to keep all rounds on the 8 inch target when emptying a 6 round magazine rapid fire at 20 feet. When aiming and slowly firing, 4 inch groups were not irregular. I am not a NRA gunslinger or TopShot contestant!
I had no other issues to report after feeding well over 500 rounds though my new Bodyguard, it is firing like a piston in a Maserati. After I returned home, I broke the pistol down and thoroughly cleaned quite a mess out of the gun. It was funky as could be inside from all the various ammo I put through it. I have not experienced any problems as others forum posters have reported: no take-down lever problem, no laser issues, no slide issues, no FTF when using specific brands of ammo, no FTEs. I am happy with my purchase and would buy it again if circumstance required. In my opinion and experience, no firearm is perfect and every weapon I have owned has it's model specific particularities. I highly recommend this little beast when asked for my opinion concerning a subcompact semi-auto. As far as the effectiveness debate of the .380 round ... my opinion is that shot placement is everything in most any caliber. I know I surely don't want a .380 round hitting me anywhere! Heck, look what a .22 did to Robert Kennedy! Hope this non professional review helps someone when considering purchasing a subcompact CC weapon.
.. I haven't had a chance to shoot it yet, since I couldn't find ammo til yesterday, but I've been obsessively reading the forums and getting a kinda bad impression. Now the pistol I got has a very late serial # (KAJxxxx) and I was just wondering if everybody is still having firing pin, etc.. issues with the latest guns? I hope I don't have to sell it and get an LCP since I really like the design and feel of it, but I want to trust my CCW. Most of the complaints I see are for earlier numbers (EAA, EAB, EBB) so is this a sign of improvement from S&W? Should I worry about my gun?
