Rodfac
Member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 97
- Reaction score
- 271
My younger son bought a Bodyguard for his very pregnant wife after a home invasion several months ago; luckily, she waddled in as the jerks were exiting out the back door, with several of their family guns. It scared him and her that they went on a crash program to upgrade their household security arrangements: alarm system, steel doors, better locks, and several guns where she can reach them in an emergency....but he wanted her to carry 24/7, and even her 642 felt like too much; the answer was Smith's Bodyguard .380.
I got to try it by day 3 and liked it so much that I bought one myself. Spent most of today cleaning, then shooting for sight-in on the Laser and irons....used Federal Eagle 95 gr FMJ's, as well as Remington's of the same type....good loads, didn't chrono them but got good hits at 7-10 yds from a modified Weaver stance. Haven't had a chance to try any bone fide SD rounds through it due to a local supply shortage. I prefer to carry factory loads for SD purposes so for now it'll have to be FMJ's.
My Serial Number is: EBZ56xx, with a March, 2013 test cartridge date. Don't know where that fits in the scheme of S&W's continuing progress with the design. Just hope that the light firing pin falls, the Laser screw problems, and take down lever issues have been dealt with....so far, at 85+ rounds down range, all's well.
Accuracy was surprising considering the size and construction of the gun. All shooting was done from a modified Weaver Stance, two-handed of course. Grouping initially with factory FMJ's, was one ragged hole at 5 yds, a little over an inch at 7, and roughly an inch and a half at 10, all shot with the irons. Later I tried some hand loads with Remington 95 FMJ's as well as Montana Gold's excellent JHP, using Win 231 with WSP caps. Nearing the top end of the recommended charges, things came together to beat the factory load gps. by roughly a 1/4" at all ranges.
As late afternoon rolled around, I switched to the Laser to get that in the ball park. No real need as both the irons and Laser were less than an inch out at 7 yds. A few minutes tweaking put them all on the Pt of Aim from the 7 yd line, with my hand loads and the Laser keeping them well under an inch. Those tightly packed holes, all clustered together with the red dot sight are addictive!
All in all, I put 85+ rounds though the gun, with no cleaning once firing started. I had no FTFire, FTFeed, or FTextract during that entire session. I cleaned it up after firing paying particular attention to the Laser attch screw in the frame's dust shield. I got about a 1/2 turn out of it with the supplied allen wrench....something I"ll pay another visit to, as the round count continues to climb.
I'm well satisfied with the gun, it's ergonomically well designed with the exception of the Laser on/off button. It's a bit of a reach, and then a bit much of a push to get it actuated. That said, for up close, bad breath CCW use, a Laser isn't needed...and beyond the 3 yd line, you've got time....I think....and hope never to find out.
My usual carry piece is a Smith J-frame [M60 .357 with a 3" tube] so the trigger was no great feat of learning....too, I carry a Sig P290 in my normal rotation, which has that same long trigger pull. The Bodyguard's trigger was better then either right out of the box, I"ll have to say...a big surprise.
So why'd I get it...the convenience of carrying in a front, loose fitting, jeans pocket, or a larger shirt breast pocket...bet you've not heard that one in awhile..used to be my J-frame location 40 yrs ago in lll Corps, RVN.
At less than 15 oz's. it's a very useful gun, albeit in a mouse gun caliber, but a gun in hand is worth infinitely more than its big brother back in the glove compartment or safe....
BTW, as to light firing pin strikes...all factory rounds fired as advertised, tho several looked a bit shallow. For my handloads, I normally use Winchester Sm Pistol primers...which normally have a slightly harder cup to them, at least in my experience. Those too fired just fine, but I switched to some Federals, again normally a bit thinner cup, and got better, deeper firing pin indentation. I have a similar light firing pin strike syndrome with my Sig P290, and in fact sent it back to Sig for re-work...got it back and have had no further problems, but I did switch to the thinner cup Federal caps for use in that gun...I'll do the same for the BG .380.
Best Regards, Rod
I got to try it by day 3 and liked it so much that I bought one myself. Spent most of today cleaning, then shooting for sight-in on the Laser and irons....used Federal Eagle 95 gr FMJ's, as well as Remington's of the same type....good loads, didn't chrono them but got good hits at 7-10 yds from a modified Weaver stance. Haven't had a chance to try any bone fide SD rounds through it due to a local supply shortage. I prefer to carry factory loads for SD purposes so for now it'll have to be FMJ's.
My Serial Number is: EBZ56xx, with a March, 2013 test cartridge date. Don't know where that fits in the scheme of S&W's continuing progress with the design. Just hope that the light firing pin falls, the Laser screw problems, and take down lever issues have been dealt with....so far, at 85+ rounds down range, all's well.
Accuracy was surprising considering the size and construction of the gun. All shooting was done from a modified Weaver Stance, two-handed of course. Grouping initially with factory FMJ's, was one ragged hole at 5 yds, a little over an inch at 7, and roughly an inch and a half at 10, all shot with the irons. Later I tried some hand loads with Remington 95 FMJ's as well as Montana Gold's excellent JHP, using Win 231 with WSP caps. Nearing the top end of the recommended charges, things came together to beat the factory load gps. by roughly a 1/4" at all ranges.
As late afternoon rolled around, I switched to the Laser to get that in the ball park. No real need as both the irons and Laser were less than an inch out at 7 yds. A few minutes tweaking put them all on the Pt of Aim from the 7 yd line, with my hand loads and the Laser keeping them well under an inch. Those tightly packed holes, all clustered together with the red dot sight are addictive!
All in all, I put 85+ rounds though the gun, with no cleaning once firing started. I had no FTFire, FTFeed, or FTextract during that entire session. I cleaned it up after firing paying particular attention to the Laser attch screw in the frame's dust shield. I got about a 1/2 turn out of it with the supplied allen wrench....something I"ll pay another visit to, as the round count continues to climb.
I'm well satisfied with the gun, it's ergonomically well designed with the exception of the Laser on/off button. It's a bit of a reach, and then a bit much of a push to get it actuated. That said, for up close, bad breath CCW use, a Laser isn't needed...and beyond the 3 yd line, you've got time....I think....and hope never to find out.
My usual carry piece is a Smith J-frame [M60 .357 with a 3" tube] so the trigger was no great feat of learning....too, I carry a Sig P290 in my normal rotation, which has that same long trigger pull. The Bodyguard's trigger was better then either right out of the box, I"ll have to say...a big surprise.
So why'd I get it...the convenience of carrying in a front, loose fitting, jeans pocket, or a larger shirt breast pocket...bet you've not heard that one in awhile..used to be my J-frame location 40 yrs ago in lll Corps, RVN.
At less than 15 oz's. it's a very useful gun, albeit in a mouse gun caliber, but a gun in hand is worth infinitely more than its big brother back in the glove compartment or safe....
BTW, as to light firing pin strikes...all factory rounds fired as advertised, tho several looked a bit shallow. For my handloads, I normally use Winchester Sm Pistol primers...which normally have a slightly harder cup to them, at least in my experience. Those too fired just fine, but I switched to some Federals, again normally a bit thinner cup, and got better, deeper firing pin indentation. I have a similar light firing pin strike syndrome with my Sig P290, and in fact sent it back to Sig for re-work...got it back and have had no further problems, but I did switch to the thinner cup Federal caps for use in that gun...I'll do the same for the BG .380.
Best Regards, Rod
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