S&W Bodyguard 380 - Range Report with a story

[bulldogman]

A couple of weeks ago my wife went out of town to visit a freind and it just so happened that her freinds husband wanted to look at some pocket pistols so off to the LGS they went. My wife called me and said they handled a BG 380 and she loved it, then asked if I could find one for her, after a little research I found a good deal at Woodbury outfitters (which I believe are still on sale till the 30th) and ordered one.

After a good cleaning we went to the range to give it a try yesterday, it was ladys day and women shoot for free. Well she took one shot and put it down and said "I hate it the trigger pull is too long" which I found strange since her favorite gun is a revolver. I picked up the BG starting to shoot and thought the trigger was just fine, yes its a bit long but smooth as butter and not very heavy at all. I reloaded a mag and decided to shoot slowly to see what sort of accuracy I could get out of this thing, I was amazed, 5 shots grouped within an inch of each other (7 yds) I can't even do that with my Shield or FS9. I only shot 28 rounds because we had several other guns to shoot and we were short on time.

I know 28 rounds is not a lot but so far the gun functioned perfectly shooting cheap Monarch ammo. I had no problems inserting a full mag and the slide locked back every time when empty. Since my wife doesn't like it I have myself a new gun and she can't say a damn word about it haha, I wish she would ask me to buy her a new gun more often.

Bottom line, I really like this little pistol, fit and finish is very good, it's accurate as hell for me, recoil is minimal for a mouse gun and I got a great deal on it. I haven't tried any HP's yet but if it handles them without a problem I'll have a sweet little pocket pistol.

 

[mark32812]

Her loss in your gain. I am thinking about a BG380 but when I picked it up in a LGS I didn't like the trigger pull. I am going to see if a place has one for a rental to try out how they shoot. I do not wish to buy without trying it out.

 

[CaptRon956]

I've had my M&P 380 for a month now and put about 150 rounds thru it so far and I love it! Not a single issue at all with it! It's a joy to shoot at the range.. People need to understand that its a pocket pistol, you're gonna want that long trigger pull. You do not want a hair trigger pistol in your front pants pocket.


Here is a pic of my first time shooting this pistol using Monarch brand ammo I picked up at my local Academy store. This was at 7 yards (21')

 

[Big Stick]

Well, lets see...
"She took one shot and put it down"......

Sounds pretty hard to please. even if you did everything she said......

 

[geminijk]

I guess I got a dud.....I have had it about 4 days, took to range 3 times. 1st time I had about 3 light strikes. 2nd time more light strikes. Today I had almost 1 light strike per CLIP, not quite but close. I also had 3 FTE. NOT enjoying my 380 at all at the moment.

Are you all using some high-end ammo? I used Monarch today, but previous 2 boxes of Tulammo.

Help!

John

 

[CaptRon956]

All 150 rounds I used were Monarch. FMJ 94 grain. Not one failure or misfire... Did you buy yours brand new or used?

 

[bulldogman]

Well, lets see...
"She took one shot and put it down"......

Sounds pretty hard to please. even if you did everything she said......


Actually she's pretty easy to please as long it's a revolver, she did say that she doesn't like semi auto pistols any more so I guess my days of getting her rejects is over. Maybe I should try talking her into trying a Walther PPQ, I'll tell her it shoots just like a revolver.

When hearing about light strikes I wonder if the liberal use of cleaners and lube are getting into the striker channel and gumming things up and possibly improper lubing of the slide and rails causing FTE's, just a thought.

Oh yeah, and as CaptRon said this is not a target shooting pistol, the trigger is meant to be long to keep you from shooting yourself in the groin if you pocket carry and if you ever do need to draw your pistol in a defensive situation you dont want a hair trigger when the adreniline is flowing, you have to make the decision to fire with that long pull.

 

[handlebar]

Just ordered one from Woodbury before reading this thread. Those who want one, the price is $259. Closest other price I could find was Buds or KyGunCo, at $308. Even with transfer, it will cost me $300 OTD. Hope mine will be as good as the OP.

 

[southerncomfort]

...When hearing about light strikes I wonder if the liberal use of cleaners and lube are getting into the striker channel and gumming things up and possibly improper lubing of the slide and rails causing FTE's, just a thought...

No striker channel--the BG380 has a shrouded hammer action. Of course it would never hurt to give it a thorough cleaning and re-lube. "Light Strikes" are often actually caused by dimensional issues or hard primers in certain brands of ammo. Better to stay away from the cheap Tula or Monarch stuff. You don't need "high end" for practice ammo, just a decent brass-cased brand such as Federal, PMC, Fiocci, or Sellier & Bellot, for example.

 

[DreamerzCC]

After buying a 2nd Shield my wife decided it was too heavy to carry in her purse. So she leaves it on her nightstand since sometimes I work until 10pm. So we bought her a BG 380 and she loves it. Carries it everywhere now. I am considering one for my secondary carry weapon.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[CaptRon956]

No striker channel--the BG380 has a shrouded hammer action. Of course it would never hurt to give it a thorough cleaning and re-lube. "Light Strikes" are often actually caused by dimensional issues or hard primers in certain brands of ammo. Better to stay away from the cheap Tula or Monarch stuff. You don't need "high end" for practice ammo, just a decent brass-cased brand such as Federal, PMC, Fiocci, or Sellier & Bellot, for example.

I disagree that Monarch be considered "cheap" ammo... Its made by PPU out of Serbia. Its brass and I fired hundreds of rounds w/o a failure. I would stay away from steel cased ammo, such as Tula however.

 

[southerncomfort]

I disagree that Monarch be considered "cheap" ammo... Its made by PPU out of Serbia. Its brass and I fired hundreds of rounds w/o a failure. I would stay away from steel cased ammo, such as Tula however.

Well that's my mistake then. The Monarch I'm most familiar with is steel-cased. I guess they're like Herter's--they import both a steel-cased line, and a brass-cased (better grade) line of ammo. (Believe Herter's has their brass made by mfrs like Fiocci and S&B.) I'd agree it's better not to feed the BG steel.
Cheers

 

[bulldogman]

No striker channel--the BG380 has a shrouded hammer action. Of course it would never hurt to give it a thorough cleaning and re-lube. "Light Strikes" are often actually caused by dimensional issues or hard primers in certain brands of ammo. Better to stay away from the cheap Tula or Monarch stuff. You don't need "high end" for practice ammo, just a decent brass-cased brand such as Federal, PMC, Fiocci, or Sellier & Bellot, for example.

My bad, I had striker fired on the brain.

 

[CaptRon956]

Not trying to hijack, But I just wanted to share my pleasant experience with this little pistol.... Here are the results at the range today... The target with the orange bullseye was at 5 yards then I moved it back to 7yrs fired 5 more. The other was at 10 yards...They are both NRA B-16 Targets and the black center measures 5" dia. Ammo was Federal American Eagle FMJ 95 grain. So far, 275 rounds thru my M&P 380 and still no failures..

How 'bout you guys? Lets see those targets..

 

[geminijk]

An Update...

1. I had bought brand new Monarch to answer a previous question above.
2. I cleaned and lubed the gun. Did not do that FIRST. I'm new, maybe I should have done that before ever shooting it for the first time.
3. Bought Hornady, and a more mid range (per Store clerk) ammo Aguila (Yes, both BRASS)
4. Watched some videos on Limp Wristing, and worked on NOT doing that and ensuring I wasn't having my arm fatigued between shots (I think the thing has some kick to it, as opposed to my mid-frame size 9MM 9E.)
5. Did 5-6 clips.....NO ISSUES WHATSOEVER with the Aguila. No issue with the 1 clip of Hornady (expensive stuff!). I even ran a clip of the original Monarch, and still NO ISSUES

So maybe my issues are gone. Another day at the range to confirm, but I'm feeling MUCH better about the S&W380 BG now! Little gun can shoot quite well too, now that I was actually able to focus on technique rather than issues.

John

 

[CaptRon956]

Honestly IMO, I feel the BG380 is kinda finicky about keeping clean... I'd say after 100-150 rounds, its time to take a bath...Including the mags as well.

 

[Rickgus]

An Update...

2. I cleaned and lubed the gun. Did not do that FIRST. I'm new, maybe I should have done that before ever shooting it for the first time.

So maybe my issues are gone. Another day at the range to confirm, but I'm feeling MUCH better about the S&W380 BG now! Little gun can shoot quite well too, now that I was actually able to focus on technique rather than issues.

John

So glad to hear you had a great trip to the range! When I purchased my Bodyguard 380, the LGS told me, "no need to clean it before going to the range!" After reading many forum posts about the definite need to clean before a trip to the range, I did take the time to clean and was surprised at how dirty the weapon was! I believe the time you took to clean and lube before going to the range again is what gave you the results you got. I have always cleaned all my firearms after firing. The little time it takes does make a difference!