I am currently waiting for my dealer to get my Bodyguard in. After reading several posts in this forum and others I am beginning to wonder if the wait will be worth it. It appears that there are very few good comments on the weapon with lots of things going wrong with it. Sure A&W stands behind their product and will fix it but maybe there's something else out there that is more reliable.
Will the wait for the Bodyguard 380 be worth it?
- Thread starter kas1263
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My opinion is that 99% of the time most users that are 'Happy' with whatever product they purchased or used will not post on the internet forums of their experience. It is only the small percentage that are having problems that will try and research and see if others are experiencing the same and will post their frustration and experience. It is my opinion again that it is human nature to complain, etc. I hope this helps. God Bless 
We're not hearing much from all the shooters who are having positive experiences. There seems to be problems to be overcome and if I had to do it over again I would have waited six months or so. I think the pistol has terrific potential and once the bugs are worked out will be good shooters and reliable self-defense guns.
. I hope this helps. God Bless Dragon88
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I played with one at a shop and didn't like it. The LCP and other similar 380s have a better trigger pull and are way cheaper. Plus the bugs in the Bodyguard 380 haven't been worked out yet. I ended up going with the Kel Tec PF9, mostly because I reload 9mm, have plenty of SD ammo already, and can avoid the whole hassle with 380 ammo.
Got over 150 rounds thru my BG no problems so far but with the some of the issues reported will feel better after 1000rounds. Of all the 380's out there the one that seems to get the least amount of problem posts is the Taurus TCP go figure that. I have one that has over 900 rounds thru it with no problems yet.
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It is definately worth the wait, these a great little pistols. When I got mine my dealer he received 3 pistols. I picked mine up and thru 3 range sessions and a little over 600 rounds the Bodyguard has been flawless. I own a Ruger LCP and a Kahr P380 but like the BG the best out of the three. The Kahr and S&W both are much better pistols than the LCP. Both have much better sights and are a lot more comfortable to shoot. The Bodyguard has repeat strike capability and the built in laser which is proving to be a very good unit. If I had to choose one of the three it would be an easy choice and that would be the Bodyguard.
NO!!! It's a near worthless .380. Not only is it not worth waiting for. It's not worth the money. 380 say's it all. If it was at least a usable 9mm Luger it might be worth snapping up one after S&W beta test it on the public.
I've had my BG380 about a month now and fired over 500 rounds. Not a single miss fire. I really like this gun. Nothing wrong with a .380. It has its place as 9mm does or any cal. I agree some one having a problem with a gun is much more likely to post than some one who is not. So its hard to tell what percentage of the BG 380's are having a problem.
From this and other forums I've gleaned the following problems: trigger failed to reset (most common problem and S&W is reportedly on top of it), dis-assembly lever backing out during shooting (a couple reports), and several reports of problems with the laser buttons. These problems are in a minority of guns and the rest seem to be working well. I had problems with trigger reset and mine is at the factory right now. One poster said he had the same problem with the trigger and the turnaround time at customer service was eight days, door to door. I haven't lost faith in the pistol... it's a new model and things will happen, same as in a new car. This summer I've had to return a Henry rifle, an MSAR bullpup and a Beretta NEOS so it just goes to show you anything can have a problem. It's a very comfortable pistol to shoot and has decent sights. It stands head and shoulders above the P3AT I've been carrying and after establishing reliability with lots of shooting it will be my primary carry. Extra magazines are due out later in September. By the way, after you get it the laser adjusting Allen wrench (.035") is packed in with the lock. They come with an extended magazine floorplate (finger rest) and they throw in a short floorplate to boot. The laser has three positions -- off, steady beam, and flashing beam, all with the push of a button. Get yours and join the club.
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Don't forget about the broken firing pin shift. I was the "lucky" one with that problem.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-semi-auto-pistols/148484-bodyguard-380-first-problem.html
All in all, I like my wife's Kahr P380 more than the BG380, but the latter has promise once the kinks are worked out. Leaving aside the problems, the BG380 certainly is head and shoulders above the Ruger LCP and the Taurus TCP, in my opinion.
http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-wesson-semi-auto-pistols/148484-bodyguard-380-first-problem.html
All in all, I like my wife's Kahr P380 more than the BG380, but the latter has promise once the kinks are worked out. Leaving aside the problems, the BG380 certainly is head and shoulders above the Ruger LCP and the Taurus TCP, in my opinion.
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Sorry GOFFMAN, didn't mean to leave you out. Your problem happened before I had mine so it kind of went under my radar. Did S&W ever give you any specifics as to what the problem was? How's your pistol running now?
I received the pistol back yesterday. The letter that I received with it was blank: a heading at the top, a footer at the bottom, and two-thirds of a blank page in between. I called customer service, and they didn't have any information regarding the nature of the repair either.
The firing pin was repaired as far as I can tell, although I haven't shot it yet (ever, since it broke before I got to the range). The laser button (very difficult to activate on the right-hand side) was not fixed. In fact, it might be a bit worse. The pistol's finish was scratched at some point during the repair process, so it's going back to the factory. I'm waiting on a new shipping label now.
Goffman, just out of curiosity how long did it take to get your pistol back...from the day you shipped it back to the day you received it? Wondering what to expect on my service work. I shipped it to them last Thursday, August 19th, so I am hoping I'll have it back by sometime next week. Mine is back for a different problem (trigger failed to reset), but thought I could refer to your timing as a gauge.
Shipped August 5. Received back August 26. I caught the tail-end of the factory shutdown, which I imagine slowed the return time. No including shipping time, I believe S&W had the pistol for two weeks exactly.
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