Bodyguard 380 frame blemish

[Fox4506]

I got a Bodyguard 380 for Christmas and I love it. It shoots great. Just last night I noticed a blemish behind the trigger on the frame. I remember seeing something on the internet, maybe this forum, about this in the past. I've searched but cannot find it.

Does anyone have any information on what this is? Can it be a problem or is it just cosmetic?

Thanks,
Fox

 

[oldiegoldie]

talk to Smith Wesson customer support and email them a picture. I have found them very accommodating.

 

[Flyordie]

Thats normal. If it bothers you that much, sand it down or something.

 

[hstrawn]

Exactly like mine--must be twins. Don't guess I'll be concerned about it. Are "polymer/plastic" gun frames injection molded (pardon my ignorance)? If so, Looks like where it was "injected".

 

[Szumi]

Mine has it also. Likely a runner or vent on mold. I don't care.

 

[GaryP]

Yes it looks like an injection point,won't hurt anything.

 

[Fox4506]

Thanks for the response guys. I kind of thought it might be an injection point or something like that. The cosmetics don't concern me that much, but I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't affect the function of the gun...I don't want it falling apart on me when I need it.

I have to say though...this is pretty poor quality control on Smith and Wesson's part. I don't think I've ever seen another polymer gun like this. None of my HK's or other Smith's have this. I've also never seen a Glock like this. Not that they don't exist...but I've never seen one. Seems to only be on the Bodyguard from what I can tell.

Fox

 

[hstrawn]

Just got back from the range and that 'injection point' blemish didn't effect my shooting or the BGs general reliability in the least. I did though, have a couple of light strikes on my Fiocchi personal defense ammo. Same as my last range trip--so the Fiocchi ammo goes home with my daughter for her KelTec P3at which'll eat anything. Not sure I can blame these failures on the blem though--maybe hard primers. ;o)

 

[Fox4506]

I appreciate all of the responses...and the blemish on my BG hasn't affected function either.

But you know what...it's still not right and we as consumers shouldn't accept it. I mean they don't even sell ammo with blemishes as new...they sell it as "blemished". At least the ammo I've bought has been that way. Think about it...if we buy a car, shoes, a belt, a coat, anything...if it's sold as new then we expect it to be as new. If I bought a car or a pair of shoes and there was a blemish on it, even it was just cosmetic, I would take it back. As a matter of fact my girlfriend bought me a pair of Crocs for Christmas and one of them had a loose thread that was mostly just cosmetic. She called Crocs and they sent a new pair and didn't even ask for the old pair back. If there is a blemish on a product most companies sell that product as a "second" and not as new.

Why do we accept the fact that a gun can have a blemish but other products can't? Would you buy a car with a dent in it and pay the same as a car without a dent in it? I mean it still functions the same...just like a gun with a blemish functions the same, right? We all know that we buy guns for what they look like and not just how they work just the same as we do cars, clothes, and everything else.

Fox

 

[southerncomfort]

My 4-year-old BG380 has a similar mark in exactly the same place, so based on the known sample it's a typical artifact of the molding process for this pistol. It could be considered a "blemish" but it's not out of the ordinary. Bottom line: if this really bothers you, S&W isn't going to be able to make you happy since they all have it. It's in a seldom-seen location, so IMHO it's much ado about nothing.

 

[Fox4506]

Thanks again. Yeah, I looked at some more BG's...they all have it to some extent. I can live with it. It does shoot great and I've used several types of ammo, including Tulammo...not a single hiccup.

Fox

 

[Szumi]

Just got back from the range and that 'injection point' blemish didn't effect my shooting or the BGs general reliability in the least. I did though, have a couple of light strikes on my Fiocchi personal defense ammo. Same as my last range trip--so the Fiocchi ammo goes home with my daughter for her KelTec P3at which'll eat anything. Not sure I can blame these failures on the blem though--maybe hard primers. ;o)

I scored a bunch of Fiocchi primers and they have worked fine in my BG. I did buy some Fed GM100 for my self defense practice loads because they are the most sensitive. Stay away from Privi Partisan ammo, their primers are hard as the nubs of hell.

 

[Fox4506]

Thanks for the info Szumi. I was looking at buying some Prvi Partisan ammo...I won't buy it now. My BG has eaten everything I've fed it so far...this pleases me.

Fox

 

[Indynick]

I believe this topic has come up before, and one of the owners sanded it down. I think it looked worse then before. Btw, my 2012 BG does not have it, and my 2015 does. Never noticed before.

 

[Pisgah]

Well, maybe quality control should be faulted -- but any buyer that's so picky as to have it bother him to the extreme should have spotted it before purchase. Take a bit of 200-grit abrasive paper wrapped around a stick and buff it out. It is very common in all pistols with injection-molded frames of many makes to have minor flaws at the seams. The only one of 4 poly-framed guns I own that is flawless inside and out is a Beretta Nano.

 

[motorcyclejoe]

As noted by many others it is the point where the molten polymer is injected into the mold. I just checked my M&P9c, XDM and XDS. All have a slight flaw in the same location. The polymer is typically injected at a point least likely to be noticed when the final product is assembled. There will always be a point on any molded item where the runner separates from the molded part causing a flaw.

Granted yours has much more excess polymer at this point than normal. This is evidence of less than optimal pressure/temp/time conditions during the molding process. Obliviously S&W does not bother to trim this area. As suggested, just sand it down if your are bothered.

 

[latinracer]

Any updates from smith and wesson? I bought a new one recently and notice the same. The display guns had them as well.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

An injection sprue, don't worry about it, shoot the sucker.

Have a blessed day.