I have an early 380 BG,serial EAA00xx. With well over a thousands rounds thru it with out a single problem. I was at the range today shooting my model 29 44 mag.,Which I love, I decided to shoot the 380 a little since it is my cc gun. After getting 3 or 4 rounds off the barrel and slide went flying 6ft down the range! I found the take down pin 4ft to my left, never did find the spring. As I said this was my cc gun! In a life or death situation your gun flying apart is not a good thing! When I get it back from S&W I believe I will trade it in on something else. S&W should be ashamed of building this gun! I read all the problems others had with it but thought I must have gotten a good one. WRONG!! If you have an early 380 no matter how many trouble free rounds you have shot, IMO you cannot trust it for a cc gun. I won't!
Early 380 Bodyguard?Get rid of it!
- Thread starter Dannlee
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DustyJacket
Member
You might be able to get away while the bad guy is laughing.
johnsonl
Member
Might I suggest one of S&W's fine revolvers?
Cruiser RN
Member
Revolvers are great for CC.
Pull trigger, she no go boom, pull trigger again and whala BOOM.There is this "Great Debate" about if 5 or 6 shots are enough.With the exception of Law Enforcement I say yes and carry one reload.In one of my mags the author put it great when he said "If you can't handle a self defense situation with 5 or 6 rounds of 38+P you don't need a Semi Auto.....You need a SWAT Team.Stay safe....Mike
Pull trigger, she no go boom, pull trigger again and whala BOOM.There is this "Great Debate" about if 5 or 6 shots are enough.With the exception of Law Enforcement I say yes and carry one reload.In one of my mags the author put it great when he said "If you can't handle a self defense situation with 5 or 6 rounds of 38+P you don't need a Semi Auto.....You need a SWAT Team.Stay safe....Mike
eljaydubya
Member
At what serial number series and beyond did S & W correct the problem? Thanks
I'm not sure. But I've been following the BG 380 problems on line for a long time and I know many people with guns a lot more recent than mine were still having problems.
GeorgiaShooter
Member
Bought mine 9-22-2011 serial EAT5970, test fired at S&W 8-31-11. Shot two boxes of new ammo at dealer and misfiring over 25% of them. Onsite gun smith looked at it and decided to send back to S&W on 9-23-11. So full price paid, no gun. The laser buttons unreasonably hard to press and almost appeared the switch itself was off center with the nipple on the underside of each laser button. We'll see how they take care of it. My takedown pin was hard to get out, no issues though. I thought I might just be ignorant about brilliant gun designs but thought it odd. I thought I was avoiding early issues, we'll see. The excitement of purchasing it sure was deflated. So bad I bought a Ruger LCR 357 which is actually pretty awesome.
You shot two boxes of ammo at the dealer? 
How did he take that? Just kidding; the takedown pin being hard to take out is a good thing and is a result of S & W fixing the takedown pin flying out problem.
All brands of weapons will eventually have a problem with one of their models; Murphy's Law.
One has to look at how many of a particular model were produced vice how many of them malfunctioned to get a true idea of the weapon's reliability.
Also many semi-auto handgun manufacturers recommend one fire at least 200 rounds through a semi-auto before using it as a primary carry weapon. Some semis need a good breaking in.
FWIW I have several brands and types of handguns and therefore have belonged to various forums over the years dedicated to each particular brand. I have seen quite a few bad experiences arise with many supposedly top quality firearms. No matter how exact the science is in fabricating handguns, there is always the human element in assembly and etc. It seally does stink however when you pay good money and get one of the lemons.
How did he take that? Just kidding; the takedown pin being hard to take out is a good thing and is a result of S & W fixing the takedown pin flying out problem.
All brands of weapons will eventually have a problem with one of their models; Murphy's Law.
One has to look at how many of a particular model were produced vice how many of them malfunctioned to get a true idea of the weapon's reliability.
Also many semi-auto handgun manufacturers recommend one fire at least 200 rounds through a semi-auto before using it as a primary carry weapon. Some semis need a good breaking in.
FWIW I have several brands and types of handguns and therefore have belonged to various forums over the years dedicated to each particular brand. I have seen quite a few bad experiences arise with many supposedly top quality firearms. No matter how exact the science is in fabricating handguns, there is always the human element in assembly and etc. It seally does stink however when you pay good money and get one of the lemons.
how do you find the accuracy. somebody brought one down to the outside range this weekend. standard 50' hit nothing. moved to 25', hit the target maybe 50% of the time.
I know this is made for up close and personal, but still 25' and 50%?
I know this is made for up close and personal, but still 25' and 50%?
Practice for sure. With the really loooong trigger pull it is easy to drop the rounds low. It takes some getting use to but you can definitely
become quite accurate once you get use to the trigger. A Hogue Handall Jr., trimmed to fit, helps a great deal. Hope this helps.
Also, some ammo has hard primers that will usually fire on the second pull of the trigger. Decent ammo fires every time, at least for my BG380.
become quite accurate once you get use to the trigger. A Hogue Handall Jr., trimmed to fit, helps a great deal. Hope this helps.
Also, some ammo has hard primers that will usually fire on the second pull of the trigger. Decent ammo fires every time, at least for my BG380.
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Chuck1217
Member
I bought a pistol from Davidson-Gallery of Guns- they have the replace-not-repair policy, and my new gun was all messed up, wouldn't feed, would hardly eject when it did. Fired 200 rounds to be sure- so they sent me another in just a few days, great service. BUT.....then you fire 200 rounds again, and it goes bad...won't eject when you're unloading it. So I'm supposed to get another one, and fire 200 more? Not me- this one I'm sending to the manufacturer. A lot cheaper if you ask me. I've had 5 new pisto,s in the last 2 years, and every one- including my S&W- have had to go back for SOMEthing, except one- a KelTex, $200 pistol...who figgered...
I just boxed up my BG380 and will be sending to S&W tomorrow. They were pretty quick to respond. I called them yesterday and was emailed a return shipping label today. I will update my post when I get it back and see if they repair or replace it and see what they have to say about the problem.
Just thought I would update. Contacted S&W after they had the gun for a week and a half. The rep e-mailed me back to "give it a couple of weeks". Well they have now had the gun for 3 weeks and no word. So much for a quick turn around. I will update again when I receive the gun back on the repair.
Helderberg
US Veteran
What do we carry if the 380 auto is the best option for the situation? I had a LCP and could not get it to feed. Before that I had a 5 shot S&W airweight and before that a Beretta 22Lr. The Sig has feed problems, other 380 have problems what do I carry? I have a LC9 that is fine when I can dress accordingly but what do I carry in place of the Bodyguard?
What is the option, I would love your input.
Be safe, Frank.
What is the option, I would love your input.
Be safe, Frank.
CAJUNLAWYER
Member
BUy a Walther
My Ruger LCP, purchased 9-12-11 has been nothing but trouble. Constant failure to extract and the problems that did not show up until after I had done the 200 round break-in thing. It is back at Ruger for the second time and I'm not sure what I'll do when it comes back, even if it is "fixed."
I'm carrying my 442 now in rotation with my old Colt Cobra. You really cannot beat a revolver.
I'm carrying my 442 now in rotation with my old Colt Cobra. You really cannot beat a revolver.
Helderberg
US Veteran
geodimeter
Member
A PPK/S is a good choice. 7 round mags and a stable steel frame. Very accurate. I've had mine since February and have put 700+ rounds through it of various loads with no problems.
I have a Kahr P380, and have great luck with it. Just as small as the Ruger LCP, but a much better trigger, and overall quality. I also have an LCP, and it has been a good gun, but not nearly as nice as the Kahr. I have steered clear of the Bodyguard 380, because of all of the problems that have come up with that gun.
Check out the Kahr, a little pricey, but I guess you get what you pay for... YMMV.
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