New BG38 Bodyguard - I Like It!!

[Edmo]

I took my new BG38 Bodyguard to the range yesterday and was impressed.

I also took an older model 60 snubbie I have owned since the mid 1980s for comparison. Both pistols shot great and here are my thoughts...

Recoil - The older, all steel M60 soaks up the recoil of the standard pressure loads quite well and I expected the feather-light BG38 to be a bit snappy. However, the higher grip of the BG38 really made this light revolver quite fun to shoot. Recoil was very controllable even with +P ammo.

Laser - I've been shooting for 40+ years without lasers. This is my first laser and I'm sold on the concept. This gun is capable of one-hole groups if you do your part and your part gets really easy when you hold the dot on target. As a lefty, lasers generally haven't worked for me. The standard laser placement on aftermarket grips is too low and gets blocked by my thumbs when I grip the gun. With this high laser mount design, I can use it right or left handed. As a lefty I can easily activate the laser with my strong hand thumb, and when shooting right handed my support thumb easily hits it.

Top cylinder release - Again, as a lefty this rocks! The standard side mounted release (I currently own 3 other S&W revolvers) isn't very lefty friendly.

Case ejector - This ejector rod is long enough to get the spent cases fully out of the cylinder, unlike my older "short-rod" Model 60. This is a big plus if you ever have to reload in a hurry, which could be needed with only 5 rounds to start with. My M60 has always struggled to get the cases out on the first hit.

Trigger - Standard double action pull weight... Heavy enough to be safe in pocket carry, but not too heavy to be useful. However, the pull is smooth and consistent throughout. Reset requires a full release of the trigger. For a stock trigger in a DAO revolver, not bad.

Overall, I think S&W "did good" with this revolver. It is light, easy to use and has features which make it more useful to me as a lefty. Although I generally carry a large capacity semi-auto, this new snubbie gives me another option if I want to go light. Well done Smith & Wesson!

Edmo

 

[Ashlander]

Nice review. I like your comments about the trigger -- nice perspective.

 

[mag318]

Edmo, I totally concur with your assessment. I've put a lot of rounds through mine and have been carrying it daily for over a year. A lot of people are put off by it's unconventional design and it's polymer subframe, but I've found it to be a good revolver. It handles recoil very comfortably and shoots to POA, the laser works as intended.

 

[Edmo]

Nice review. I like your comments about the trigger -- nice perspective.

Thanks, it is a good little revolver and I plan to carry it from time to time.

Edmo

 

[Edmo]

Edmo, I totally concur with your assessment. I've put a lot of rounds through mine and have been carrying it daily for over a year. A lot of people are put off by it's unconventional design and it's polymer subframe, but I've found it to be a good revolver. It handles recoil very comfortably and shoots to POA, the laser works as intended.

Although I don't use the Bodyguard as my primary defensive handgun, I would feel well protected with it.

Many throughout history have resisted change to preserve the traditional wood and steel regardless of function...

Some quick examples:

- The M14/M1A crowd shunned the M16 because this plastic and aluminum rifle replaced the beloved M14. The M16 and variants are still the main service rifle some 45-50 years later. I own both a M1 Garand and M1A and although they are really nice rifles, my "go-to" self defense rifle is a M16 style carbine.

- The traditional steel semi-auto handgun crowd shunned the plastic Glock pistol when it was introduced in the 1980s, yet now almost all US law enforcement has a Glock or similar "plastic" pistol in their holster. I've owned Glocks since 1994 and have yet to have a malfunction regardless of ammo or cleanliness. I can't say that of my Colt 1911. Again my "go-to" self defense handgun is a plastic Glock.

I love the look and feel of traditional wood and steel firearms, but will accept change to achieve better function or capability. Compared to my older Model 60 this BG38 Bodyguard beats it in almost every category. I get a handgun which: Weighs a fraction of the all steel M60; Has much better iron sights with a lefty friendly laser; Has an ambi cylinder release (lefty), Can shoot +P ammo; And has full length case ejection.

The only minus I can find when compared to my older M60 is the slightly heavier double action trigger pull which some will consider a safety plus for pocket carry. For me, I'll lighten the trigger pull when I find a good spring kit.

It's a good little handgun, embrace the polymer!

Edmo