New Bodyguards dropping mags

[shawn mccarver]

Something is seriously wrong at Smith & Wesson in so far as it concerns this issue of magazine drops. It seems it has happened on almost every one of their semi auto pistols starting with the M&P and intermittently continuing right up through the present time. Like the issue of mental illness with an EDP, I may not know the diagnosis, but I know the problem when I see it. I am sorry to say, but I tend to lose my confidence. These are defense guns and have no use apart from that. Defense guns have to be 100% reliable. These are not, and the problem is when they come back from Smith & Wesson, how many rounds do you have to fire before you think to yourself that the problem is solved and it will not happen the next time you fire the gun. Good luck.

 

[Manley-AK]

Reliability and Mag Drops

Not to be a Smart A**, but I find that the "magazines" on my Models 28, 642, and 627 are 100% reliable. When on the east coast, my 642 is my EDC; when in AK, I often carry my CZ-PCR, but recently found a shoulder latch-up for the Model 28, so I'll start wearing that.

Wheel guns are great for self-defense because 'they work' every time. Fewer rounds is a non-issue unless you're looking for a fight with gang. I believe long term stats show that something like 95% of SD encounters are resolved with 2 or fewer (often zero) shots being fired. However, as with anything, practice, practice, practice.

Gun1: Thank you for sharing this information on the mag drops and the cure. It's useful to share with others, esp. as more folks become gun owners. I appreciate your efforts in running this down, particularly the photos.

 

[Jimbobjr]

Edit…I'm referring to the BG2.0 below, sorry for confusion as I see the post above are about the older version…
Hello, 1st post here, I have this problem as well but only with the mag release moved to the other side for left handed shooter. There isn't enough material on the release to hold the mag in during recoil. Either hand, one handed what ever way shooting the mag falls out with the release moved to the other side.
Move it back how it came it's fine. I would just leave it but left handed draw leaves the button hanging out there. With it so sensitive I'd be dropping mags unawares all over town.
Being a machinist and having a little shop in my garage it think I'll make my own release with more material on the catch.
There's also so much slop between the frame in the button. It rocks back and forth and will almost release a mag without even pushing the button. I like the convenience of a turn of a screw driver to switch the button to the other side but it comes at a price of poor function.

 

[geeollie]

It would have been smarter for S&W to not name the 2 .380's with a very similar name.

With that said, please do follow up on your fix with the Bodyguard 2.0. We have lefties in our family and a reliability upgrade would be nice to know about.

 

[Jimbobjr]

It would have been smarter for S&W to not name the 2 .380's with a very similar name.

With that said, please do follow up on your fix with the Bodyguard 2.0. We have lefties in our family and a reliability upgrade would be nice to know about.

Sure will, I think the main problem is all the play in the interface between the frame and the button assembly. I added a total of .012" of shim on the flat of the button and reinstalled it and a mag without the follower and spring so I could look down thru it. Definitely better but I would have to go to the range to see.

I would have no problem if it was just a fun gun for the range. I have plenty of firearms with no reversible mag release. But for carry, having the mag release on the outside while carrying is asking for an embarrassing situation.

I'm most likely going to call s&w. I have not seen anyone with this problem on YouTube but the only lefty I saw did not have is released switch around. I didn't have any trouble that way, in fact I was quite pleased on how well it shot and no malfunctions.

 

[Jimbobjr]

My BG 2.0 was sent to S&W a couple weeks ago after talking with support on the phone. Seems like an isolated incident with my gun. It's on its way back so hopefully it's good to go. I'll stop back here to tell what they did.

 

[Model 15-4ever]

Call the ball right now and send them down the road.

Been down that road many times previously. Often the best option. Early adoption = Continued frustration.

I bought a first-month production Ruger LCP Max. It had many problems, same as other folks had. It went back to Ruger. Returned with the same problems unfixed. So down the road it went... Fast forward 18 months later, I bought another one. All perfect!

My last THREE S&W purchases were out-of-the-box disasters. The second one, I returned to S&W three times for "repair", with shoddy work and new problems each return. They finally replaced the entire gun after a call to an old contact at the company.

Cut bait my friend. Buy the OG M&P Bodyguard which 100% a better firearm for the purposes intended than the 2.0.

 

[Model 15-4ever]

My BG 2.0 was sent to S&W a couple weeks ago after talking with support on the phone. Seems like an isolated incident with my gun. It's on its way back so hopefully it's good to go. I'll stop back here to tell what they did.

"I'm shocked - shocked - to find that gambling is going on in here!" - Captain Renault, Casablanca

https://youtu.be/SjbPi00k_ME?si=6Gb1hlkjuNqZiAED

S&W is well aware that they sadly turn out various amounts and degrees of garbage on a daily basis in every one of their lines. CS has the script on what to tell the customer. Hopefully, your firearm is repaired or replaced.

 

[cracker57]

it seems to me S&W is sending out bad guns hoping people fix them by themselves and come up with solutions for S&W.
if everyone sent their problem guns back maybe S&W would fix the problem before sending out more problems.
send em back to the mother ship and let them fix THEIR problems.

 

[Jimbobjr]

Resolved…My gun came back in about 2weeks or so. The mag catch was the issue. Again, the old catch worked fine until switched to a left handed shooter. The recoil would cause the mag to fall out.
With the new catch it is fine now. Put several hundred rounds down range with no failures and no dropped mags.
Hopefully this was just a fluke as these seem to be flying out of gun shops and I don't see anyone else with this problem out on the internet.

 

[Model 15-4ever]

Regarding the OG Bodyguard 1.0 specifically, there's nothing wrong with the design of that model. I've had a number of these guns since they were introduced over 8 years ago. Likewise members of my family of all sizes. Never ever had an issue with magazines dropping out, over thousands of rounds a a dozen or more magazines.

Some early guns had a run with some light strike issues, but magazines dropping out were never an issue. Any part can be out of spec and maybe you got an out-of-spec mag catch, grip frame, mag catch, etc. Send it to S&W for repair or have someone else try it first.

Magazines dropping out of known working designs - the Bodyguard 380 has been around for years - are usually an operator problem You are likely contacting the magazine catch during recoil. Change your grip position. In any event, some guns just don't suit certain people in that regard. In which case, change guns.