Bodyguard 380 questions and gripes

[gmtx]

Bought a new BG 380 about a month ago. Right out of the box I have light strikes. About 10% or so. Cleaned it. Same thing. Ammo was Herters 9mm Cabelas special. Mfg'd by Sellier and Belloit. It was cheap so I figured WTH. The Hornadys Critical Defense was flawless.

I sent it off to Galloway for the trigger job and spring kit. Trigger is much improved but still having problems with light strikes. Same Herters, same problem. Tried Fiocchi Extrema HP's. Supposedly the greatest 380 HP's around. Same problem but not quite as bad as the Herters. And boy do they flash and spark! I could feel it on my hands. Again, Hornadys Critical Defense was flawless.

Another thing I noticed is when I inserted a new loaded mag the slide would automatically close. Is this by design?

I have read about 380 loads failing to fire. I'm wondering why this is. Has this always been a problem with 380's or is it a new problem with the smaller guns? Guy at the range told me that non-USA mfg's use a much harder primer. Why would they do that? What lower cost range ammo would you all recommend?

I'm still in the evaluation stage with this gun. It is small. Fits in the pocket real nice with a sticky holster. Sights suck. I'll need to get some paint for those. Needs a fatter grip too. I'll try the Handall jr.

 

[Old cop]

Thanks for posting. I'm considering (again) a small .380 and have been leaning toward the Taurus instead of the Smith. Everything I read leads me to believe these little guns are no reliable & that fits w/my experience w/the Ruger as well as the Glock 42.

 

[whipnet]

The wife carries one and had a couple of misfires the first time at the range, but never since then. 5-6 boxes without a misfire.

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[gmtx]

I just finished cleaning it. Wow. That Herters 380 ammo is dirty. I can't believe how much carbon built up in only 100 rounds. The Herters is cheap but I guess you get what you pay for. Won't be buying any more.

The wife carries one and had a couple of misfires the first time at the range, but never since then. 5-6 boxes without a misfire.

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What brand of ammo?

 

[Mcwsky09]

My dad has a Taurus TPC 738 (or something along those lines) and it has near constant failure to feed.
I have had light strikes with my BG380 primarily when pulling the trigger slowly, not so much when snapping the trigger, after a number of Galloway Precison upgrades that I installed myself.
I tried painting the sights but the got to the indoor range spoofng at white targets and the white panted sights disappeared.

 

[PersDef]

I traded in a Taurus TCP earlier this year and bought a new MP BG380. The TCP was unreliable, many FTFs/FTEs regardless of ammo. The BG380 has been flawless since day one, absolutely reliable regardless of ammo. Guess its luck of the draw...

 

[Johnmuratore]

Welcome to the Forum.
I've had the BG for just about 2 years and never had a FTF. I've used several different brands of ammo including the S&B you mentioned.
The flash and sparks usually occur because the propellant isn't completely burned when the projectile leaves the barrel. Magnums do that a lot because they use slower burning powder, giving a longer "push".
I use a Pacmyer (sp?) Grip Glove and it gives the little grip more of a hand-filling feel. Also reduces the snappiness of the gun a little.
Heard about the slide going into battery when the mag is slammed but I've never had that happen. Does the mag stick a little on the way in?

 

[barbourman04]

From what I have leared about the taurus tcp they tend to be on and off for quality. I had one of the good ones. I had 4 stove pipes on the first box. Added a hogue grip and a mag extension which fixed my problems. Traded up to a shield 9.

 

[djattack]

Bought my BG380 about a month ago also. Planned on shooting 100 rounds through it after I cleaned it up. I labored through 50 rounds and called it quits. That trigger was a bear and I couldn't stand it any longer. Bought some snapcaps and dry fired something like 500 times in the course of a couple of days. I noticed the trigger got a whole lot better. Either it softened up a bit or my hand strength improved. I don't know. Anyway, now it's a joy to shoot. By the way, I've never had any trouble feeding it any kind of ammo. She'll eat up anything!

 

[gmtx]

If it don't get better I may just move over to the KAHR CW380. They're only about $300. I currently carry a PM9 and it has performed flawlessly. I'm getting annoyed about the amount of troubleshooting I'm having to perform and certainly don't want to keep throwing money at it.

 

[gboling]

Not to suggest that LAPD is the All Knowing, All Seeing Wizard but they do conduct extensive testing on many products before authorizing them for on duty use by their officers. The S&W 380 Bodyguard was recently authorized for carrying on duty, as a backup gun. Their authorized ammunition is a Hornady load.

It is my personal opinion that to consider any handgun reliable it must, reliably, fire any ammunition that is manufactured to SAAMI specifications. My suggestion is, to first determine if the Herters ammo is manufactured to SAAMI Specifications. If so, and I believe it is, I would pursue a cleaning problem, operator error or a defect in the gun.

 

[mrmike7189]

my old BG380 had light strikes

my old bg380 had light strikes. sold it...
my new M&P bg380 has been flawless....very accurate. Trigger weight and smoothness are way better than the original.

 

[Ibmikey]

My Bodyguard (no laser) has digested at least six boxes of PMC and a couple more Winchester without a FTF. In fact without a misshap of any kind.

 

[mrmike7189]

mine loves PMC ammo

Glad to hear someone else likes the PMC ammo. mine loves the PMC ammo.
cannot find anything else to shoot .
ammo supplies are still low for the 380 auto here.

 

[gmtx]

Just returned from the range. Significant improvement. I fully disassembled - complete breakdown, cleaned more thoroughly than usual, blew out with compressed air, and lubed. Even the magazines. This mornings ammo was Remington UMC. 50 rounds and not a single ftf or malfunction. Hooray. The slide does still close on its own when I insert a full mag though. Not a problem per se - but different. Not used to that. I'll feed the BG several more boxes of PMC, Blazer, and Remington UMC to see how it goes before I make up my mind on this thing. Last night I came real close to pushing the order button on a cw380. Glad I didn't yet.

 

[djattack]

If you check the net, you'll find that the CW380 has it's own reliability problems.

 

[martybee]

I traded in a Taurus TCP earlier this year and bought a new MP BG380. The TCP was unreliable, many FTFs/FTEs regardless of ammo. The BG380 has been flawless since day one, absolutely reliable regardless of ammo. Guess its luck of the draw...

I agree. I have been shooting the BG380 (original Insight Laser) for a little over a year. No FTF's, fires every time, over 500 rds, and it loves Magtech & Freedom Munitions!
Like he said. "Guess its luck of the draw..".

mb

 

[lmacrichter]

Not to suggest that LAPD is the All Knowing, All Seeing Wizard but they do conduct extensive testing on many products before authorizing them for on duty use by their officers. The S&W 380 Bodyguard was recently authorized for carrying on duty, as a backup gun. Their authorized ammunition is a Hornady load.

It is my personal opinion that to consider any handgun reliable it must, reliably, fire any ammunition that is manufactured to SAAMI specifications. My suggestion is, to first determine if the Herters ammo is manufactured to SAAMI Specifications. If so, and I believe it is, I would pursue a cleaning problem, operator error or a defect in the gun.

If they all have the FTF issues mine has the LAPD is going to loose some officers. I would not bet my life on the reliability of this gun.

 

[stantheman86]

Has anyone been sending the guns back to S&W for warranty work?

If I had a BG that didn't light off rounds I'd be sending it back. Theres a reason I pay a premium for a new S&W. I wouldn't accept paying $400 for a gun that doesn't work right.

 

[CaptRon956]

I've owned my M&P 380 for a couple weeks now and put 150 rounds thru it & mine functioned flawlessly. When I insert a loaded mag my slide stays open until I rack it back. The ammo I've been using is Monarch FMJ ( from my local academy store) American eagle & Winchester, pretty much eats what I feed it...