In 2013 I decide to thin out the herd and sold about sixty-two and traded a couple but kept a “few”. I have “several” holster handguns left but didn’t have a real “pocket gun”. I do have four J-Frames but for me they just don’t fit the bill as a pocket gun. I also have a number of .380s (including a stainless PPK/S) but again for me they just don’t quite fit the bill for a pocket gun. My personal conviction is that if I’m going to carry a holster gun it’s going to be a “robust’ one.
There are occasions that I ride one of my motorcycles and a holster gun just doesn’t work for me. I actually took the BG, in a Nemesis, for a ride on my 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 last week and it felt right at home.
Also it sometimes gets REAL hot here in southern-middle Tennessee and a true pocket pistol may work for me sometimes.
I looked at and handled the Taurus TCP, Ruger LCP Custom, and the S&W M&P Bodyguard CT. Past experience with a Taurus PT1911SS and the build quality of the TCPs I looked at eliminated them. I really liked the looks of the Ruger LCP Custom but for some odd reason it pinched my trigger finger between the top front of the trigger and the frame. I tried it several times and it was pretty consistent. I have had dozens of S&W handguns through the years and yet have “a few” so it was not too hard to go with the BG.
It was a few months before I got time to actually shoot it but I did manage to get it down to my range a few weeks back and put some rounds through it. Time was limited so I only got to shoot it about seventy times with a number of different loads. I did chronograph most of them and tried to shoot as accurately as the gun and myself were capable of that day.
All tests were shot from seven yards and were twelve shot groups (with the exception of the Federal HydraShock which was ten).
The only thing I did to the gun was to polish the feed ramp as I intend to shoot a lot of cast bullets in it. I have five factory magazines I rotate through it.
The first twelve shots I fired in the gun were WWB FMJTC 95 grain.
Average velocity 862 FPS / SD 11. Factory OAL was 1.938” – 1.949”.
The next twelve were PMC FMJ 95 grain.
Average velocity 831 FPS / SD 22. Factory OAL was 1.974” – 1.976”.
The next twelve were Aguila FMJ 95 grain.
Average velocity 831 FPS / SD 22. Factory OAL was 1.955” – 1.960”.
The next twelve were Hornady Critical Defense 90 grain.
Average velocity was 88e3 FPS / SD 12. Factory OAL was 1.950” – 1.959”.
Next was a hand load using WW cases, Federal #100 primers, AA#5 powder, and PennBullets 100 grin TCBB.
Average velocity was 919 FPS / SD 13. OAL was 1.950”
Next I shot twelve Federal FMJ 95 grain but did not chronograph them.
Finally I shot ten Federal 90 grain HydraShocks.
All rounds fed and ejected flawlessly. There was one failure to slide lock on one of the Aguila groups. However, I personally don’t consider this any issue at all. In the astronomically small likelihood that I ever need to use this gun in a defensive situation I’m not concerned about a failure to lock back the slide. If the issue isn’t resolved in seven rounds I have no aspirations that another six will do the trick. Besides I never carry an extra magazine anyway.
I have had several third gen DAO pistols through the years and my current “farm gun” is a 3953. I shot IDPA SSR and ESR with custom 625s and a custom 646 and have shot many other DAO guns through the years. The BG gives a whole new meaning to DAO for me. It works well for what it is but its trigger pull does seem to me to be “plenty” long.
I loaded up some test rounds on the RCBS Rock Chucker single stage and now that I have a decent load I’ll set up the Dillon RL550B and crank out some practice ammo.
I acknowledge that seventy rounds is not much of a test but it gives me an idea of the gun’s potential. Nor is my shooting of it anything to be proud of. However, for me I think it is a great little pocket gun. The only thing I will do besides shoot it a lot more is make a slight adjustment on the rear sight. If issues crop up I’ll correct them.
My stature (5’ 8” / 160#) allows me to easily carry a more “robust” handgun the greater percentage of the time with a normal fitting shirt in warm weather or a jacket in cold weather. My general warm weather CW is a Colt Stainless Lightweight Commander XS (NOT XSE) with Crimson Trace Master Series grips in a Mitch Rosen 5JR.
Colder weather usually brings the SW1911E in a high ride close-tuck Kydex.
On another note my wife decided that her M60 w/Crimson Trace grips was getting too heavy and bulky for her so she wanted something thinner. She’s shot for most of our forty eight years of marriage and shot IDPA ESP with me for years with a custom Browning HiPower I built for her so she knows her way around a handgun. She has advance RA and one of her criteria is that she must be able to manipulate the slide herself. Almost all of the many micro .380s we looked at had stiff recoil springs which precluded that. The Ruger LC380 started life as a 9mm and then with a new barrel, much lighter recoil spring and spaced magazine it was a .380. Very easy to manipulate. Fairly long (but not BG long) trigger pull but not too stiff (I haven’t checked it on the Lyman digital gauge yet). She shoots it VERY well. I added the Crimson Trace laser to it for her. To me it’s a little big for a .380 but it works great for her.
Additional info on my M&P BG380CT will be posted as I have time to load and shoot it more
James
There are occasions that I ride one of my motorcycles and a holster gun just doesn’t work for me. I actually took the BG, in a Nemesis, for a ride on my 2014 Kawasaki Z1000 last week and it felt right at home.
Also it sometimes gets REAL hot here in southern-middle Tennessee and a true pocket pistol may work for me sometimes.
I looked at and handled the Taurus TCP, Ruger LCP Custom, and the S&W M&P Bodyguard CT. Past experience with a Taurus PT1911SS and the build quality of the TCPs I looked at eliminated them. I really liked the looks of the Ruger LCP Custom but for some odd reason it pinched my trigger finger between the top front of the trigger and the frame. I tried it several times and it was pretty consistent. I have had dozens of S&W handguns through the years and yet have “a few” so it was not too hard to go with the BG.
It was a few months before I got time to actually shoot it but I did manage to get it down to my range a few weeks back and put some rounds through it. Time was limited so I only got to shoot it about seventy times with a number of different loads. I did chronograph most of them and tried to shoot as accurately as the gun and myself were capable of that day.
All tests were shot from seven yards and were twelve shot groups (with the exception of the Federal HydraShock which was ten).
The only thing I did to the gun was to polish the feed ramp as I intend to shoot a lot of cast bullets in it. I have five factory magazines I rotate through it.
The first twelve shots I fired in the gun were WWB FMJTC 95 grain.
Average velocity 862 FPS / SD 11. Factory OAL was 1.938” – 1.949”.
The next twelve were PMC FMJ 95 grain.
Average velocity 831 FPS / SD 22. Factory OAL was 1.974” – 1.976”.
The next twelve were Aguila FMJ 95 grain.
Average velocity 831 FPS / SD 22. Factory OAL was 1.955” – 1.960”.
The next twelve were Hornady Critical Defense 90 grain.
Average velocity was 88e3 FPS / SD 12. Factory OAL was 1.950” – 1.959”.
Next was a hand load using WW cases, Federal #100 primers, AA#5 powder, and PennBullets 100 grin TCBB.
Average velocity was 919 FPS / SD 13. OAL was 1.950”
Next I shot twelve Federal FMJ 95 grain but did not chronograph them.
Finally I shot ten Federal 90 grain HydraShocks.
All rounds fed and ejected flawlessly. There was one failure to slide lock on one of the Aguila groups. However, I personally don’t consider this any issue at all. In the astronomically small likelihood that I ever need to use this gun in a defensive situation I’m not concerned about a failure to lock back the slide. If the issue isn’t resolved in seven rounds I have no aspirations that another six will do the trick. Besides I never carry an extra magazine anyway.
I have had several third gen DAO pistols through the years and my current “farm gun” is a 3953. I shot IDPA SSR and ESR with custom 625s and a custom 646 and have shot many other DAO guns through the years. The BG gives a whole new meaning to DAO for me. It works well for what it is but its trigger pull does seem to me to be “plenty” long.
I loaded up some test rounds on the RCBS Rock Chucker single stage and now that I have a decent load I’ll set up the Dillon RL550B and crank out some practice ammo.
I acknowledge that seventy rounds is not much of a test but it gives me an idea of the gun’s potential. Nor is my shooting of it anything to be proud of. However, for me I think it is a great little pocket gun. The only thing I will do besides shoot it a lot more is make a slight adjustment on the rear sight. If issues crop up I’ll correct them.
My stature (5’ 8” / 160#) allows me to easily carry a more “robust” handgun the greater percentage of the time with a normal fitting shirt in warm weather or a jacket in cold weather. My general warm weather CW is a Colt Stainless Lightweight Commander XS (NOT XSE) with Crimson Trace Master Series grips in a Mitch Rosen 5JR.
Colder weather usually brings the SW1911E in a high ride close-tuck Kydex.
On another note my wife decided that her M60 w/Crimson Trace grips was getting too heavy and bulky for her so she wanted something thinner. She’s shot for most of our forty eight years of marriage and shot IDPA ESP with me for years with a custom Browning HiPower I built for her so she knows her way around a handgun. She has advance RA and one of her criteria is that she must be able to manipulate the slide herself. Almost all of the many micro .380s we looked at had stiff recoil springs which precluded that. The Ruger LC380 started life as a 9mm and then with a new barrel, much lighter recoil spring and spaced magazine it was a .380. Very easy to manipulate. Fairly long (but not BG long) trigger pull but not too stiff (I haven’t checked it on the Lyman digital gauge yet). She shoots it VERY well. I added the Crimson Trace laser to it for her. To me it’s a little big for a .380 but it works great for her.
Additional info on my M&P BG380CT will be posted as I have time to load and shoot it more
James
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