Bodyguard 2.0 Hollow Point Problem

GnarlsR2 said:
...I loaded my 12-round with all 12. Using my UPlula it was extremely difficult to get the 12th round in. The amount of force I had to use was very uncomfortable...

...Because of that force, I do not load ANY of my mags to full capacity. I always load 1 round short...
.
Click to expand...

Using BRISK charging, from an open slide, I can load 10. But there are only 9 in the backup mag, as it can't be (reasonably) reloaded, against a closed slide.
S&W has an issue with their mags; it happens when you pack 10 pounds of poo in a 5 pound sack. They wanted to match Ruger's mag capacity, but need to refine the design. They need to find a couple thousandths inside the mag, consistently. Some mags are much better than others.
Love the gun, and trust it to carry.
Moon
 
geeollie said:
Good plan.
If you can maybe try a few different brands 90 gr and a few 95 gr ball and even flat nose Winchester. This could perhaps give a better "polish" to the feed ramp than just one size/shape bullet hitting the ramp at the same place and same angle.
Click to expand...

Today I purchased a box of Hornady Crtitical Defense to try with my BG2. While these rounds performed better than the Fiocchi, I still experienced several failures to feed. I am now certain that the BG2 is not releiable as it comes out of the factory and the cause of the failures is not the ammo, it is the BG2 feed ramp. I will be sending mine back to Smith to address this issue.

This begs the question, did they not realize they are sending out defective guns?
 
Due to one of the post yesterday I read a great article on the development of the Critical Defense round by the Hornaday family. It is a shame that this round won't work in your firearm. It is a good choice for a .380.

Keep us posted with what happens with your BG 2.0. Please.
 
Rf53 said:
Today I purchased a box of Hornady Crtitical Defense to try with my BG2. While these rounds performed better than the Fiocchi, I still experienced several failures to feed. I am now certain that the BG2 is not releiable as it comes out of the factory and the cause of the failures is not the ammo, it is the BG2 feed ramp. I will be sending mine back to Smith to address this issue.
This begs the question, did they not realize they are sending out defective guns?
Click to expand...

If it shoots 99% of the ammo on the market, defective gun would be questionable to me. Mine consistantly jammed on Underwood Xtreme Defense until I figured out how to load it with two flutes hitting the feed ramp and it now runs fine, but I still won't trust it. Everything else feeds perfectly so I use them.
 
Rf53 said:
This begs the question, did they not realize they are sending out defective guns?
Click to expand...

Buying a handgun, from a legendary firearm manufacturer, designed and marketed as a pocket carry self-defense weapon should not require a “break-in” with XXX number of rounds with a FMJ ammo to make the gun NOT fail to fire a defense round that’s been tested and approved by FBI test protocols.

That’s like buying a new Toyota Camry and Toyota saying “You have to drive the car for 1000 miles at 25 MPH before it will go 80 MPH!

Did S&W release a gun that was known to have design failures and quality control issues?

Did S&W do real-world testing with 5 or t0 of the most popular defense ammo?

How did a well-known firearm magazine, Guns & Ammo publish their selection of the 2024 Handgun of the Year?

And, a large sporting goods distributor - NASGW 2024 Best Handgun Of The Year.

Although it may be a small number, the number of published quality issues and failures to fire on the Body Guard 2.0 is beyond understanding and acceptable.
 
I feel for everyone that has had issues, but I can't say I'm one of them.

At most 3 FTF's with FMJ ball ammo that might have been user induced. Sights a bit off (no biggie) changed to aftermarket anyway. No issues with hollow points as of yet. Got just over 1,000 rounds through mine.

So, for me the BG2.0 has been a huge win. I'm quite happy with it and pocket carry way more than I have ever before.
 
I may be old school but I take every kind of round I am going to carry (basically 3 different kinds) and alternate them in every mag....1 Hornady 1 Federal HST 1 Winchester, until the mag is full then Hand cycle all rounds through.....if feed problems are present it will happen here so that you know the brand giving problems
 
I love this little gun.

Luckily for me the gun had been a loaner, try it out gun at my range. I imagine the first time it was fired it had issues. It was immediately given the in-house armorer to fix it. The chamber ramp had been polished. I have no idea how many rounds had been fired through it.

I had to remove the main spring on the guide rod and cut 3/8" off the end to get it to sit flat up against the rod end cap. That allowed the guide rod to seat into the front of the slide in order to get the spring compressed enough to get the rear end cap to sit into the notch on the barrel, and re-assemble gun.

I have drifted the front sight enough to get an improved POA/POI from 4" left/2" down to about 2" left/1" inch down. I will drift it a tad more. I'm going to the range on the 15th to bench test it again and get another 100+ rounds through it.

I have to load 1 round short in the mags. I have not had any failure to fire with Winchester PDX1 Defender, Sig Sauer Elite JHP, Hornady Custom XTP, Hornady Critical Defense FTX, Federal HST JHP, PMC Bronze FMJ, Magtech FMJ, Winchester FMJ Flat Nose.

I don't need to test any other ammo to verify it will be my RAT gun (Reliable And Trustworthy) CC or EDC. When I get about 500 rounds through it with zero failures, it will be my first choice CC or EDC pocket carry.
 
Last edited:
GnarlsR2 said:
I love this little gun.

Luckily for me the gun had been a loaner, try it out gun at my range. I imagine the first time it was fired it had issues. It was immediately given the in-house armorer to fix it. The chamber ramp had been polished. I have no idea how rounds had been fired through it.

I had to remove the main spring on the guide rod and cut 3/8" off the end to get it to sit flat up against the rod end cap. That allowed the guide rod to seat into the front of the slide in order to get the spring compressed enough to get the rear end cap to sit into the notch on the barrel, and re-assemble gun.

I have drifted the front sight enough to get an improved POA/POI from 4" left/2" down to about 2" left/1" inch down. I will drift it a tad more. I'm going to the range on the 15th to bench test it again and get another 100+ rounds through it.

I have to load 1 round short in the mags. I have not had any failure to fire with Winchester PDX1 Defender, Sig Sauer Elite JHP, Hornady Custom XTP, Hornady Critical Defense FTX, Federal HST JHP, PMC Bronze FMJ, Magtech FMJ, Winchester FMJ Flat Nose.

I don't need to test any other ammo to verify it will be my RAT gun (Reliable And Trustworthy) CC or EDC. When I get about 500 rounds through it with zero failures, it will be my first choice CC or EDC pocket carry.
Click to expand...

Now that you mention it the recoil spring is very stiff on mine and I have to fiddle with it a bit to get it to sit correctly.
 
Rf53 said:
Now that you mention it the recoil spring is very stiff on mine and I have to fiddle with it a bit to get it to sit correctly.
Click to expand...

If the end of the spring is not seated directly under the guide rod cap, I could NOT get the guide rod seated into the front of the slide.
 

Attachments

  • !BG2OEMCCL.jpg
    !BG2OEMCCL.jpg
    94.1 KB · Views: 15
  • !BG2OEMOUTCCl.jpg
    !BG2OEMOUTCCl.jpg
    113.4 KB · Views: 13
  • !B2MODIFIED1CCL.jpg
    !B2MODIFIED1CCL.jpg
    39.2 KB · Views: 13
Last edited:
DISCLAIMER!!! I am not a gun smith or professional. Proceed at your own risk!!!

I agree with polishing the feed ramp and making sure there isn’t any weird raised portions like a lot of people have been seeing. Mines didn’t have a raised edge but was very rough in texture from coating and not polished (which is what yours looks like). Had like 1 in every 50 rounds of flat nose FMJ getting caught on lower feed ramp. I polished feed ramps, rails and a bunch of other parts then ran 100 rounds with no issue (cycled like a hot knife thru butter). Waiting on some ammo to run a 1000 more. Also ran 10 rounds of critical defense with no issues (stuffs expensive so I’m wait for a deal). Hopefully it solved the issue as it’s looking like these bad boys only like round nose FMJ. I’ve had no issues with 1000rds of round nose FMJ. As for the magazine I only run 10 rounds due to local laws however, besides the 10th round being a little tight I have no other issues with the mags.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_6261.jpg
    IMG_6261.jpg
    35.4 KB · Views: 18
Okay, we're overthinking.things. Find a brand/loading that has a good rep for penetration and expansion. In .380, you aren't apt to find a perfect load.
Then, find out if your choice is readily available, in a small lot, initially.
Test hop a box or two; work okay? If so, get more.
Regarding the gun itself, it's worth putting 50 rounds of ball through, just to smooth things a little. Then get busy testing your carry ammo. Fifty rounds without drama is a pretty good start, though some folks like a lot more.
With the BG2.0, charge it like you're trying to break it. If you're worried about the gun hanging up when first charging, the real question: Does it run okay, once loaded?
Don't try to load those 5lbs of poo in a 3lb sack magazines, without a mag loader. Get a LULA and have done with it.
Finally, not everyone's gun, and every shooter, is the same. Just because a load runs in my gun doesn't guarantee they will run in yours.
Moon
 
Re-reading this post has me looking at my BG 2.0 that shoots everything well. What I have noticed is that the mag stop lever catch ...the part inside the firearm that when lifted actually catches onto the magazine..... this part is bright and shiny on the very outside rightside of this part. I believe that some rounds have been slightly touching this part when the round to be fed is being lifted into position. Mine is now polished so it has some contact with at least some ammo. I shoot several different brands and bullet type so do not know which it could be.

If your BG 2.0 is having trouble feeding maybe check the slide stop to see if it is interfering. I am only guessing that perhaps some 2.0 might extend just a tad to the rightside and cause a hang up???
 
Last edited:
geeollie said:
Re-reading this post has me looking at my BG 2.0 that shoots everything well. What I have noticed is that the mag stop lever catch ...the part inside the firearm that when lifted actually catches onto the magazine..... this part is bright and shiny on the very outside rightside of this part. I believe that some rounds have been slightly touching this part when the round to be fed is being lifted into position. Mine is now polished so it has some contact with at least some ammo. I shoot several different brands and bullet type so do not know which it could be.

If your BG 2.0 is having trouble feeding maybe check the slide stop to see if it is interfering. I am only guessing that perhaps some 2.0 might extend just a tad to the rightside and cause a hang up???
Click to expand...

I can see the part you are describing. The very corner of mine does show some very slight wear and even copper color. I assume there is light contact with a bullet as it is chambered. If that part extended too far into the path of the round being chambered, it could cause enough friction to possibly cause a round to not fully chamber. It sits right at the left side of the grip feed ramp.

So far I have had no issues with feeding multiple round types. :D
 
For ours both to work with multiple rounds perhaps shows that some contact is probably OK, maybe normal, not always a problem. That part does not seem to wiggle left and right. Sooo this may not be a problem for anyone, but thought I'd mention it. Thank you for describing yours.
 
I don't have a Bodyguard, but did have a Bersa Thunder .380 (I know, Bersa!) that was very fussy about ammunition. I didn't like anything over 90gr and it didn't like the ogive of many different types of round. It really hated the 100gr JHP that I wanted to use for carry.

My daughter's boyfriend bought a BG 2.0 a couple of weeks ago. I don't think he's shot it yet, but I can ask if he has and if he has had any issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Bodyguard 2.0 slide issue
Replies
6
Views
296
pedropcola
P
lunger
Possible Bodyguard 2.0 Problem
Replies
6
Views
350
lunger
lunger
R
S&W Bodyguard 2.0 slide release issue
2
Replies
27
Views
3K
CajunBass
CajunBass
AJ
Bodyguard Question
Replies
17
Views
685
TigerDude
T
RevV67
First Range Trip with New Bodyguard 2.0
2
Replies
24
Views
970
Bamabirdie
B

Latest posts

Back
Top