Would It Be Wise to WAIT to Buy a Bodyguard 2.0?

[EL_GATO]

Sorry to pee on the parade of the 2.0 blinder boys. No machine is perfect, and you must accept the limitations. Perhaps they are acceptable to you, and that's perfectly fine. But denying they exist, is a trip to Fantasy Island.


Frankly, the only one "making something up" is you.

From the current Glock Manual (p.7):
"The trigger safety is designed to protect against firing if the pistol is dropped or the trigger is subjected to lateral pressure."

So yes, the trigger safety has TWO functions. The design of the 2.0 paddle trigger safety compromises the second function, especially in a pistol with relatively short trigger press, carried in non-conventional means such as a pocket, pouch, or in tight fitting holster of flexible material.



Limiting your capability to shooting at 5-10-15-20 feet - or whatever - is a choice. It's OK if that is your choice. However, it's not mine, nor is it any kind of legal requirement. The factory 2.0 sights are not precise enough for accuracy under stress at speed, at anything other than very close range. I say this as LE firearms instructor for nearly 35 years.



My apologies, but your concepts of legal self-defense lack a sound basis in the law. The internet unfortunately is filled with misinformation, which gets regurgitated. I am a lawyer, in addition to a retired LEO.

How close does an attacker armed with a firearm have to be to kill you? Do you have a cite from your state's laws on that?

How close would you like to get to the offender in a mass shooting, or a psycho with a flamethrower?

You can freely accept the limitations of the sights on the 2.0. That's a choice. But you can't deny them, and I'm pointing out reality. I'm not the only one to do so. I changed the rear sight and the results were satisfactory out to 50 feet. When I get time to get to the outdoor range, I'll test it further.

You make some good points. I have this gun in the rotation as it's a very easy pocket carry, weighs very little and its very small. Sometimes I want that. And it's got a pretty good ammo capacity.

I am well aware of the limitations and accept them. Including the fact that it's a .380. However, it's certainly better than being totally unarmed. My take is this is good for close up point shooting, especially in an emergency where you don't have much time to set up and carefully aim. I am pretty sure that is what this is designed for. If you are trying to engage someone far away it's going to be a lot harder. But show me any tiny pocket pistol that's great at that especially under stress. I can get pretty accurate with it at the range, beyond the close up and personal, but its not really meant for that is it? All that being said its the most comfortable and shootable pocket .380 I have ever tried.

 

[Phenix]

My experiences are based upon 4 copies of the BG2 in our family.
A 1/16" divot filled with phosphorescent paint relieved the rear sight woes (photo below) but I agree on your front sight thought.

Return yours to S&W for a tune-up, although, truthfully... you shouldn't need to for such a storied manufacturer.

Hopeful your issues get solved.

S&W is not the consistent-quality manufacture they once were. Particularly with revolvers which I realize are more difficult to produce than automatics. And I am a big S&W guy.
As much as I love my J frames (and Taurus equivalent), I think the .380 Bodyguard 2.0 with thumb safety is the very best CC pocket pistol out there.
I have mine in my pocket as I type this and can't even tell it is there.

 

[Phenix]

Just purchased the 2.0 the other day and every complaint mentioned is on mine. Sight drifted to right, TS so tight broke a nail trying to move it, impossible to load 12th rd, brute force to lock the mag in place, and hard racking. Most might be fixable by S&W but I dont see how the mag issues will be solved even after 500 rds. It was supposed to replace my SIG P365 SAS as an EDC which is flawless, but looks like the 2.0 will be back up only now.

Take your wire cutters and clip a couple of coils from the bottom of the magazine spring. Will make filling the magazine easier without hurting reliability.
Most people are scared to death to do this simple little alteration.
I don't know why. I have done it on several magazines for different guns with complete success.

 

[Dave686]

Seeking advice from wise forum members!

Okay... Pocket carry is a terrible idea. It is dangerous unless you carry in a holster and if you have a gun in a holster in a pocket it takes too long to deploy. Use an IWB or OWB like most other people.

The .380 is a terrible round for self defense. I have seen that from victims firsthand. Besides that they have function issues because they are too weak. Unless you are handicapped and can't operate a larger caliber; don't do it.

QUESTION: Do you think S&W will iron out the frequently reported issues (feed ramp burrs, RSA problems, TS going from too tight to too lose, misaligned sights, etc.) in the next year or so, OR are these issues here to stay because they are caused by poor QC?

I have been a S&W fanboy for over 50 years. I have bought more of their product than I can count and will continue to do so. It's better than the alternative.

But we have no way of knowing what will happen. Who would have ever thought Remington, Bushmaster, DPMS, or Sabre Defence would have gone belly up. I don't usually buy foreign guns, we need all the American gun manufacturers we can get. Foreign guns can be shut off with the stroke of a pen.

All replies appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[BLLefkay]

Holy crap, a lot of ignorant posts/thoughts here!

 

[Phenix]

Okay... Pocket carry is a terrible idea. It is dangerous unless you carry in a holster and if you have a gun in a holster in a pocket it takes too long to deploy. Use an IWB or OWB like most other people.

The .380 is a terrible round for self defense. I have seen that from victims firsthand. Besides that they have function issues because they are too weak. Unless you are handicapped and can't operate a larger caliber; don't do it.


I have been a S&W fanboy for over 50 years. I have bought more of their product than I can count and will continue to do so. It's better than the alternative.

But we have no way of knowing what will happen. Who would have ever thought Remington, Bushmaster, DPMS, or Sabre Defence would have gone belly up. I don't usually buy foreign guns, we need all the American gun manufacturers we can get. Foreign guns can be shut off with the stroke of a pen.

Thanks!

I don't think those are accurate statements.
A lot of people with more experience than either of us likely has would disagree.

 

[Mercury]

I don't think those are accurate statements.
A lot of people with more experience than either of us likely has would disagree.

I agree with you Phenix, they are not accurate statements.
It seemed to me that Dave686 was trying to be sarcastic but didn't pull it off.

 

[GerSan69]

This is ridiculous. You hand cycle a pistol every time you load a mag and then put a round in the chamber to prepare to shoot. Exactly what disaster are you expecting? The folks in the LGS didn't "let me" do anything. I did not touch a loaded pistol in their store.

The folks I deal with in my LGS work with guns all day, every day and are very knowledgeable. They are all carrying loaded pistols on their person all day, every day. They did not go running to the "owner" to ask permission. They all know what to do.

As mentioned earlier, if a round fails to hand cycle, that does not prove it won't cycle under fire. But since you can't, in general, fire a pistol before you buy it, hand cycling is the only thing you can do. And in my case, I got the information I needed. The ammo hand cycled just fine and when I got to the range, the ammo worked fine. This was ammo that had been reported to have problems in the BG2.0 so I wanted to know this particular pistol did not have that problem.

Tarheel, your gun shop is the exception rather than the rule. There just aren't many stores any more that have competent, knowledgeable people behind the counter. Unfortunately, the majority of stores in this age of hyper-sensitivity and lawsuit-happy folks just looking for a chance at the big payday aren't going to let anyone handle a loaded firearm on either side of the counter if they can help it. I'm in a gun-friendly state, and I don't think I've ever been in a gun shop without some sort of sign at the door prohibiting loaded firearms inside and asking armed customers to stay holstered. Your shop is a genuine unicorn in the gun business.

 

[Dave686]

I don't think those are accurate statements.
A lot of people with more experience than either of us likely has would disagree.

Possibly. Those are just statements from my experience. People must decide what makes the most sense to them, they must check with someone they trust, or they must get real life experience. Maybe the OP didn't have anyone he could trust to ask, so he's asking us. It will be up to him to determine what makes sense.

He said he's seeking advice from wise forum members. I like to think I meet that criteria. He says he has never had a .380. So I'm telling him the .380 is a terrible round for self-defense. It's now up to him to determine if that's a true statement or not. And I'm making comments on pocket carry that I'm absolutely sure anyone with experience will agree with.

I agree with you Phenix, they are not accurate statements.
It seemed to me that Dave686 was trying to be sarcastic but didn't pull it off.

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic at all. I was just posting what I believe to be facts. I don't see where you addressed his questions at all. This isn't about you or me; its about him.

 

[agksimon]

He said he's seeking advice from wise forum members. I like to think I meet that criteria. He says he has never had a .380. So I'm telling him the .380 is a terrible round for self-defense. It's now up to him to determine if that's a true statement or not. And I'm making comments on pocket carry that I'm absolutely sure anyone with experience will agree with.

Until recently I would have concurred, but with the new, more potent 380 self-defense rounds on the market, I feel confident it will get the job done, especially if you practice shot placement religiously. I know you can't always depend on where your shot will land, but I'm always carrying my BG2.0, whereas my slightly bigger guns got left home more often.

 

[pinefd]

...He said he's seeking advice from wise forum members. I like to think I meet that criteria. He says he has never had a .380. So I'm telling him the .380 is a terrible round for self-defense. It's now up to him to determine if that's a true statement or not. And I'm making comments on pocket carry that I'm absolutely sure anyone with experience will agree with...

As @agksimon stated above, there are some new, great .380 self-defense choices out there these days that are quite effective. And to paraphrase a popular saying: A .380 in your pocket (that you're proficient at) for every day self-defense is a lot more effective than a .45 at home in your safe.


Frank

 

[Dave686]

Until recently I would have concurred, but with the new, more potent 380 self-defense rounds on the market, I feel confident it will get the job done, especially if you practice shot placement religiously. I know you can't always depend on where your shot will land, but I'm always carrying my BG2.0, whereas my slightly bigger guns got left home more often.

Thank you for your respectful response. I haven't seen any .380 shot in years and haven't been the responding Officer on a shooting in decades. So your information is newer than mine. It's good to know you have some .380 you are happy with. The caliber wars on gun forums will go on and on forever.

I have been in shootings and know with absolute certainty I am not a shot placement guy when my adrenaline is off the charts. Therefore, I need a round that I am confident will make another shooter unable or unwilling to fire his weapon. The OP is the only one that will have to live or die by his choices.

 

[tarheel13]

The caliber wars on gun forums will go on and on forever.

I have been in shootings and know with absolute certainty I am not a shot placement guy when my adrenaline is off the charts. Therefore, I need a round that I am confident will make another shooter unable or unwilling to fire his weapon. The OP is the only one that will have to live or die by his choices.

Of course, the actual caliber of .380 is the same as 9mm. So what we are talking about is bullet weight and velocity. One route is to use +P .380 ammo. I know that the BG2.0 is NOT rated for +P ammo but it's also true that SAAMI does not define what +P means for .380. So this whole area is sort of murky.

I prefer standard power flat nose bullets which penetrate better because they don't have the same tendency to swerve and are not susceptible to clogging due to clothing . There are also Underwood fluted copper bullets with decent muzzle velocity. And the Federal Train and Protect hollow point seems to have a decent velocity and performs well in gel tests. Lots of good rounds to choose from.

 

[pinefd]

Of course, the actual caliber of .380 is the same as 9mm. So what we are talking about is bullet weight and velocity. One route is to use +P .380 ammo. I know that the BG2.0 is NOT rated for +P ammo but it's also true that SAAMI does not define what +P means for .380. So this whole area is sort of murky.

I prefer standard power flat nose bullets which penetrate better because they don't have the same tendency to swerve and are not susceptible to clogging due to clothing . There are also Underwood fluted copper bullets with decent muzzle velocity. And the Federal Train and Protect hollow point seems to have a decent velocity and performs well in gel tests. Lots of good rounds to choose from.

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but the Underwood that you refer to is my preferred round in any smaller caliber pistol, but unfortunately, it won't feed reliably in my BG2.0. And I absolutely love the Federal T&P; for whatever reason, I'm able to shoot that much more accurately than any of the other leading, highly rated hollow points, like Federal HST and Federal Hydra Shok Deep. So these days, when I carry my BG2.0, I have an Underwood in the chamber and Federal T&P loaded in the magazine.


Frank