Range report for the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 ....

[PcolaDawg]

The range is actually my backyard. I live in the panhandle of Florida right next to a swamp, which allows me to shoot all I want on my property. Which is nice. Anyway, I know the Bodyguard 380 has had a few range reports already, but here is mine regardless.

- This gun has a LONG trigger pull. Very long. This kind of surprised me given that it has a safety. The safety is redundant on this gun, imo, because the trigger pull is at least as long and hard as a Kel Tec P3AT or even a revolver. It took me about two clips to get used to the trigger.

- Once I was comfortable with the trigger, the gun was very accurate with or without the laser. By the time I was finished (I shot about 100 rounds) I was grouping shots within an area the size of a silver dollar (from a distance of 15 feet). I was very happy with it's accuracy, even without the laser. But, again, it took some practice because until I got used to the trigger, my shots were erratic.

- The gun does jump a bit when fired. This is inevitable given how small and light the gun is. The grip is a bit wider than the Kel Tec and Ruger LCP, so it is a bit easier to hang onto, but not by much. Because of it's very small size it is a lot more uncomfortable to shoot than most.

- Not one jam. I was very impressed with how smooth this gun worked. I've had problems with jamming from most of my semi-autos until I've cycled through about fifty shots or so. Not with this gun. My kid and I shot it with target rounds, hollow points, one handed, two handed, rapid fire, etc., etc. and it never jammed once. VERY impressive.

Overall, this is going to be the perfect pocket gun for me and I highly recommend it. But with any little gun like this, it will require a lot of practice to get comfortable and stay comfortable with it. It's not a gun that you can expect to be proficient with right out of the box, even with the laser, because of the long and hard trigger pull, and the way it jumps when fired. Once you get used to it, though, it is very accurate and (so far) never jams.

For those interested, I am carrying it right now in a Talon Flagship wallet holster: http://shop.talontraininggroup.com/Wallet-Holster-Smith-and-Wesson-Bodyguard-380-WH-RH-BK-22.htm

Also, here is a picture of the gun:

 

[Smaug]

It's got a safety because some people like the idea. Also, the safety is probably a good idea for those who are going to pocket (or purse) carry it without a holster.

For those of us who are comfortable with guns and will properly carry it in a holster, I agree that the safety is superfluous. Hell, I think the DAO is also superfluous. No reason to make us suffer through a long, heavy DAO for each shot. I think Walther really got it right decades ago with the first DA/SA mechanism in the PP. I wish they still made PPs..

 

[Smaug]

Nice review by the way. How about a short youtube video of loading, slide racking, and shooting?

Maybe some annotated targets? Those kinds of things are what really gives the whole story.

 

[PcolaDawg]

I actually use the safety, even though I think it's redundant. But if a gun has a safety, I feel compelled to use it. It's a hard safety, too. By that I mean that, unlike some safeties on guns I have, this safety is not that easy to flip off. So I practice doing it everytime I take it out of the holster.

I got used to carrying a pocket gun without a safety because I carried the KTP3at the last two years.

As to posting videos, I'm not that technologically advanced.

I do like posting pictures, though, and I'll see if I can find the target we used. I was out there with my youngest (a high school senior) and he wanted me to fire into an old phone book so he could collect the slugs. Unfortunately (for him), the slugs tore right through the phone book, so he never did collect them.

I think he kept the phone book, though, so I'll see if I can find it and post a picture of it, fwiw.

 

[Smaug]

As to posting videos, I'm not that technologically advanced.

You should give it a try. If your still camera has a video feature, use that. Take short video clips showing just the action parts. Upload the file to your computer the say way you would for still pictures. Then, go to youtube and click upload. You'll have to create a free account, but there isn't much involved. When the video is hosted at youtube, you can copy the link from the address bar of your browser and post it here, and that's it! It is easy and fun. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a thousand pictures. [at least to help convey what certain actions are like]

he wanted me to fire into an old phone book so he could collect the slugs. Unfortunately (for him), the slugs tore right through the phone book, so he never did collect them.

Lots of folks use wet phone books as an unofficial way to check for bullet expansion and penetration. But you might need 2 or 3.

Doesn't it make you scratch your head when folks talk about what a dismal performer 380s are?

 

[PcolaDawg]

Doesn't it make you scratch your head when folks talk about what a dismal performer 380s are?

Yeah, I was very surprised when they burned right through the phone book (every single shot), and also impressed with the exit hole each slug made.

Looked amazingly deadly to me.

 

[Jeb21]

Hey, PCola - I live in Pensacola as well. Send me a PM if you ever want to go shooting sometime.

 

[PcolaDawg]

Hey, PCola - I live in Pensacola as well. Send me a PM if you ever want to go shooting sometime.

Thanks!

 

[DAdams]

Maybe Apex will do a trigger kit for it ... someday. Thanks for the report. Can never have too many pocket pistols....especially ones you can count on.

 

[wally]

Matches our experience, got two, one to carry the other to practice with. Both 100% out of the box, no "break-in". Both are fine with the cheap Wolf steel cased ammo too, a nice bonus for the lowering the cost of practice.