380 Bodyguard problems solved yet?

[Shuz]

Has Smith been able to solve all of the problems many of us have had with this fine little gun since it's introduction?

I'll be frank, I had one and I loved it when it went bang! The problem was that I had many many FTF's and sent the gun back 3 times and still they didn't resolve the problem. The 4th time I asked for, and rec'd my money back, for which I'm grateful. I'd like to buy another one, but I'm a little "gun shy" (pun intended)!
Comments!?

 

[greybeard43]

I have one. It goes bang every time I pull the trigger and eats anything I feed it. My nieghbor just bought one, His works as good as mine. I Have an EAJ and his is an EAM ser nr. I have seen all the gripes about the weapon but have not experienced any problems. It is my CCW main weapon and I am sure that it's reliable. I plan on getting hold of some of that buffalo bore +P stuff and giving that a try. That puts it up with the bigger nine quite nicely. I get a kick out of the gunwriters that call it a smaller bore. It's a nine with smaller powder capacity and a lighter bullet weight, that's all. I highly recommend this little pistol. I have a blast shooting it at the range.

 

[Loco Weed]

S&W got a handle on the take-down lever problem, mostly limited to EAA prefixes, and now, although very stiff, it seems to curing the problem. I just today read on some forum where S&W now has improved laser actuation buttons and are replacing the old ones on a case-by-case basis. That problem may also now be under control. I have read numerous complaints of failure to fire (FTF) with certain brands of ammo, mostly foreign it seems; (PPU is often mentioned). Don't know how big of a problem this truly is but I would keep it in mind. Once in a while I hear about the laser retaining screw partially backing out and locking up the pistol... probably isolated cases. Plenty of information passes through this forum and you might also want to check the Bodyguard380 bunch. And of course there are a great many owners who have put many hundreds of rounds through their unmodified, factory original, pistols without a single complaint. The bottom line -- they're getting better all the time. Avoid used ones because they probably have problems of some kind.

Edit: I had one of the EAA models and it went back to the factory twice and the frame was replaced. The laser buttons worked very unreliably and I finally lost faith in it as a carry gun and sold it at a loss with full disclosure. I liked it and may buy another in a year or two after ALL the bugs are worked out.

 

[Loco Weed]

I have one. It goes bang every time I pull the trigger and eats anything I feed it. My nieghbor just bought one, His works as good as mine. I Have an EAJ and his is an EAM ser nr. I have seen all the gripes about the weapon but have not experienced any problems. It is my CCW main weapon and I am sure that it's reliable. I plan on getting hold of some of that buffalo bore +P stuff and giving that a try. That puts it up with the bigger nine quite nicely. I get a kick out of the gunwriters that call it a smaller bore. It's a nine with smaller powder capacity and a lighter bullet weight, that's all. I highly recommend this little pistol. I have a blast shooting it at the range.

Your Bodyguard is not rated for .380 +P ammo.

 

[mag318]

Rest assured the new Bodyguards have had all the bugs worked out. I too had an original EAA that experienced the take down pin problem. But as soon as S&W fixed it with a new frame the pistol has been troublefree. A few months ago S&W dropped the price of the Bodyguard and M&P line, I like the BG so much I decided to buy a 2'nd with an EAR prefix. On this BG it has a lighter trigger than my EAA example. And though I never had a problem with activating the laser on the earlier BG the 2'nd one is much easier. Also with either pistol I have never experienced a FTF or a jam, these are very reliable pistols.
I hope S&W rumored Bodyguard 9mm debuts at next Januarys' Shot Show, then I'll have to buy another one.

 

[greybeard43]

Your Bodyguard is not rated for .380 +P ammo.

That's not what my instruction book says. I think you are confusing it with the LCP.

 

[Ranger98]

I had an original "EAA" model and didn't have any problems with it,how ever I traded it for another pistol some time ago.
Just recently I purchased a new "EAR"model and have had a few issues.
In no particular order,the laser screw backed out,the laser it self intermittently will shut on and off when firing,the safety lever is extremely difficult to operate and,as an added bonus,the rear roll pin backs out each time I shoot it.
Of course there is still the old stand by of the laser buttons being hard to operate.
Outside of that,it shoots well and is accurate as ever.
Oh,they have definitely fixed the problem of the take down lever falling off.It now takes a pair of pliers almost to remove it for cleaning.. life with this pistol was much better with the original ...

 

[mag318]

Ranger 98, I know what you mean by having to use pliers to remove the takedown lever because they are so stiff now. Not wanting to scratch my new Bodyguard I use a plastic toothbrush handle that I had with my cleaning gear. It worked easily and will not mare the finish. I called S&W when I first attempted to field strip my new Bodyguard and couldn't rotate the takedown lever. I was advised it would loosen up after several hundred rounds. Pushing the lever with a piece of plastic, the lever now moves easily. This small takedown hassle though is far outweighed by the performance of this great little pistol and much better than having to pry out the lever with a screwdriver like you have to do with Rugers' LCP.
Hopefully as S&W advised this takedown lever will loosen up with use.

 

[Ranger98]

I know,I was being facetious about the pliers,it is better now that I have 500 plus rounds through it ..

 

[coobie]

I own many S&W pistols BUT the S&W 380 bodyguard scares the hell out of me dependable wise,to many bad threads on the net with regards FTF and so on.I am leaning towards a sig sauer P238

 

[papabob]

I bought my Bodyguard Tuesday and took it to the range today. I had 5 or 6 FTF fail to fire. It went bang usually on second pull, once took 3 trigger pulls. I'm going to try some different ammo, but this is very not like a new S&W...I was using some cheap ammo TUL AMMO made in Russia. Help...

 

[coobie]

I bought my Bodyguard Tuesday and took it to the range today. I had 5 or 6 FTF fail to fire. It went bang usually on second pull, once took 3 trigger pulls. I'm going to try some different ammo, but this is very not like a new S&W...I was using some cheap ammo TUL AMMO made in Russia. Help...

This is one reason I ended up buying a sig p238 today.While I own many S&W pistols the 380 bodyguard still needs to get some bugs worked out.coobie

 

[Loco Weed]

This is one reason I ended up buying a sig p238 today.While I own many S&W pistols the 380 bodyguard still needs to get some bugs worked out.coobie

The Bodyguard is very picky about it's ammo diet and prefers premium American ammo. The FTF problem can probably be traced back to the ammo in that particular pistol. Try some of the high priced ammo and see if it works better. I hate a gun which is sensitive to ammo. One of the reasons I bought a Sig P-238 a couple weeks ago. There are better pistols on the market than the Bodyguard 380. As I've mentioned, I owned a Bodyguard for a short while and was extremely disappointed in my overall experience. It's a gun that just isn't ready for prime time.

 

[turbo38gn]

Ok, I just wrote a rant about ammo.... deleted it .. My BG has been almost perfect... still working on the buttons for the laser, they work, tight, like they should be. The bottom line, from a self defense situation, my guess is it's a 1 in a 100 chance you will need the laser. So not really an issue for me at this point. I only know if the button activated easily, we would all be replacing batterys after accidently turning it on in our pockets.. Cleaning it was fairly easy, yep, tight lever, it should be tight, worked like it was supposed to. Been using a few different types of ammo, can't remember the brands, but they weren't Russian and they weren't top o the line. WWB for one. Bottom line I don't recall any that didn't fire. I have no problem carrying this gun for SD... If anyone wants this type of gun, I'm confident recommending it. Some people... just will never be satisfied.. no matter what they own.

 

[JDW250]

I have shot more than 400 rounds through my BG380 "EAP" without any failures of any type. I mostly shoot Winchester FMJs at the range, but have successfully shot several rounds of Winchester and Remmington JHPs without any issues. I like my BG380, and it is my most often carried weapon. I trust it completely. Good luck with your search.

 

[papabob]

Update...I put a couple hundred rounds of Winchester ammo through it with no issues. Great little gun and I was suprised how accurate once I got used to the trigger pull. Had a little trouble getting it apart to clean. I'm looking for a good pocket holster for cary in dress pants. Any recomendations? I have over a dozen handguns but they're all useless if you can carry them easily in hot weather.

 

[Dogdad]

First posting here,,,,have had my 380 BG now for three weeks and has shot all rounds, no ftf. My problem is the takedown lever. Called S&W and was told they were reworked because of the flying out. So now I have to use a wooden dowel to move the lever down.....but the safety comes down and the slide slams foreword every time. So haven"t cleaned the gun yet. Shouldn't think one would have to put up with all of this to clean a gun.By the way I have an EAP ser#.

 

[les strat]

Not unless they moved the laser switch to the grip!

 

[Mike Grasso]

After several trips to the range, approx 350 rds still at 0 malfunctions. The pistol is receiving alot of compliments due to the removal of the safety, therefore making the operation more like a double action revolver. I know many people have written about early series problems but it seems the EAR series is doing fine.

Mike

 

[scottl1346]

i bought this little BG 380 (EAT-) sept 2nd on my b-day fired 5 rounds through it no prob the about 10 more then next day no issues. today i took it out of the box cleaned it up good i wanted to carry it to see how it felt in my pocket i like this little thing a lot. but after carrying it today the lazer stopped working it was working be for i took it and put it in my pocket then when i got home 3 hours later it was not. batteries are good i changed them and tested them. im gonna have to take a drive to S&W tomorrow hope they can fix it quick im not happy with it braking in 3 days and only 15 rounds through it. also it was in a pocket holster.