M&P Bodyguard - Light fires

[mc-heather]

I bought a "like new" M&P Bodyguard about 6 months ago. It had barely been shot when I bought it. I've put probably 60 rounds through it and it has been a good little gun.

Well yesterday I took it out to shoot it a little bit and it light fired 25-30 times. Three out of six rounds would light fire.

Has anyone else experienced this?

We tried two different types of ammo. One was Aquila and the other a hollow point PMC. That was the first time I'd ever shot the Aquila, so it could've been that ammo, but we've shot the PMC before - and was messing up with the PMC just as bad as the Aquila.

Any thoughts or suggestions before I call S&W service center?

 

[JWH321]

You may want to be sure that the striker channel is clean and that the firing pin has no obstructions, especially if you have not cleaned it since you bought it. It is possible that the original owner never cleaned the original packing grease out of the gun and it has now congealed.

BTW - Aquila has always seemed like their primers are tough. I know that when I'm reloading, I'm more likely to damage a primer removal pin on Aquila casings than any other brand.

 

[buckshotshorty]

My Bodyguard has been at S and W for two weeks now for the very same thing. Tech I spoke to said they would most likely replace the firing pin and spring.
It should be back next week. BTW my gun had light strikes with Blaser Aluminum and a German made ammo called Geco. It worked 100% with Hornady XTP, Golden Sabre, and PMC Bronze.
Some on this forum told me that the guns are ammo picky, so just use what works. To me that's bullschtein, the gun should work with any kind of ammo!

 

[Old cop]

Not sure what you mean by "light fire." Did the round not fire when struck by the hammer, light strike, or did the round merely tumble out the end of the barrel, light fire?

 

[mc-heather]

The round would not fire after the hammer struck the primer. We'd have to fire it multiple times before it would actually fire. Went through a lot of ammunition while trying to figure it out.

 

[ocinsomniac]

My MP went back to S&W last week for the same problem. Started doing it infrequently at about 250 rds and then got progressively worse to the point that it only fires about every other round without having to do a second trigger pull. Other than that, it was feeding and ejecting ok.

Keep in mind that this MP was a replacement from S&W CS for a totally defective first generation BG with the Insight laser. Methinks it's time to give up on the BG's and trade it in for an LCP when I get it back........my confidence in this S&W 380 platform has been completely shattered.

 

[buckshotshorty]

My MP went back to S&W last week for the same problem. Started doing it infrequently at about 250 rds and then got progressively worse to the point that it only fires about every other round without having to do a second trigger pull. Other than that, it was feeding and ejecting ok.

Keep in mind that this MP was a replacement from S&W CS for a totally defective first generation BG with the Insight laser. Methinks it's time to give up on the BG's and trade it in for an LCP when I get it back........my confidence in this S&W 380 platform has been completely shattered.

I'm thinking along the same line. If it's not 100 % when it comes back I will get rid of it. I will not send it back and forth to Smith.....way too stressful!
I know it is quite a bit larger than the BG, but the Bersa Thunder CC has a flawless record of reliability. I might go in that direction.

 

[Rickgus]

I'm thinking along the same line. If it's not 100 % when it comes back I will get rid of it. I will not send it back and forth to Smith.....way too stressful!
I know it is quite a bit larger than the BG, but the Bersa Thunder CC has a flawless record of reliability. I might go in that direction.

BSShorty (oops) - You know what, I was tempted to buy the Bersa at the same time I bought the Bodyguard, but not many of my friends nor I knew that much about them. My LGS said he has never heard of a FTFeed and didn't mention any other failures for the Bersa and showed me the unique inline feed design of the Bersa. Everything feeds on a straight line! I had my doubts and bought the LCP which I do not regret. Maybe I should have bought the Bersa instead of the BG, but it is considerably larger and heavier. Would not have been a good carry in my wife's purse!

 

[Mcwsky09]

Mine has done that at times - though I have some aftermarket parts in it.

One thing I noticed the last couple times out - if I try to stage the trigger and break the shot carefully for best accuracy I am more likely to get light strikes - failure to ignite the primer - and it will fire on a subsequent strike.
But if I snap the trigger quickly I do not have any light strikes at all - tough accuracy suffers.

 

[mc-heather]

When I bought it, it came with a Galloway trigger on it - apparently over the last 4-5 months, the trigger spring has become worn out and not nearly as tight as it should've been. So we put the factory spring back in and it works like a charm! No more light fires or misfires! Thanks for the help guys!