Reliability: Ruger LCP vs S&W Bodyguard

[HoosierQ]

The Ruger LCP has, as far as I know, a reputation for reliability and for digesting all the ammo folks feed it. Presumably mileage varies.

What are you all seeing regarding the same qualities in the S&W Bodyguard .380?

 

[wally]

We've got a pair, they are my only small 380 pistols that work with the Wolf steel cased ammo. I've yet to find a brand they have trouble with. My LCP has too many extraction failures with the Wolf steel cased to be fun, and has some ignition issues with Privi (PPU) ammo.

My SIG P238, P3AT, and Taurus TCP are all totally unusable with Wolf steel cased.

I've got a lot of the Wolf steel cased 380 (Sportmans Guide used to sell it for like $90/1000) and it works perfectly in my Wife's Beretta 85 (despite the fact it lacks an extractor!) so I've tried it in everything since I already had it on hand.

 

[jimbo555]

I have a bodyguard no laser, and it is fine with Remington, blazer brass and aluminum case, hornady and Winchester. No reliability issues yet. It's my backup and go to the doctor gun.

 

[Tallball]

Mileage probably varies a bit from gun to gun. My P3AT has no problems with Wolf steel-cased, for instance.

 

[Girodin]

I did a three day shooting class. One participant had a S&W body guard. We shot 400-500 rounds. The body guard did not make it through day two. It seemed to run ok prior to its break down and utter failure.

 

[HoosierQ]

I did a three day shooting class. One participant had a S&W body guard. We shot 400-500 rounds. The body guard did not make it through day two. It seemed to run ok prior to its break down and utter failure.

Thanks man. I took a real good look at one. The guy invited me to dry fire it in the shop. The trigger was terrible. I am not fussy about triggers really. I seldom pay much attention to trigger comments. I notice and appreciate a real nice one (like my S&W Custom Shop 627-5) but I seldom notice one that's not so good. But this thing? I really couldn't tell when it was going to break. Couple of times it felt like it might not. I was put off to say the least.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

With ~300 rounds fired, my 2014 LCP has been flawless with both FMJ and hollowpoints. I don't have a Bodyguard for comparison.

 

[JR47]

I have an LCP, and the neighbor settled on a Bodyguard. Neither has had any failures in several hundred rounds. The triggers on both are mini-gun typical. I have noticed that several examples of both vary a bit as to smoothness and weight of pull.

 

[zbird]

I owned a bodyguard 380 for one day before I traded it due to magazine being released at the slightest push of the mag release button.

 

[Fiv3r]

I've got both. The BG will eat Tula, the lcp will not.
Both are fine and reliable firearms, but I prefer the BG without the laser

 

[JR47]

Your choice to trade it was yours. It has nothing to do with the bulk of Bodyguards made. I'm surprised that your pre-purchase inspection didn't turn that up. As there isn't a large number of like complaints, a call to S&W would probably have had you up and running properly quickly.

 

[Girodin]

The trigger was terrible. I am not fussy about triggers really. I seldom pay much attention to trigger comments. I notice and appreciate a real nice one (like my S&W Custom Shop 627-5) but I seldom notice one that's not so good. But this thing? I really couldn't tell when it was going to break. Couple of times it felt like it might night. I was out off to say the least.

Many of the small 380s have pretty poor triggers. Its one of the reasons that many people have a hard time shooting them very well at all. IME, the Kahrs and the mustang/P380 (the Kahr/mustang are very different triggers from one another) are probably the best of the lot.

 

[FireInCairo]

That's because it really isn't a trigger in any traditional sense. It's more of a switch, which sucks in my opinion.

I can't understand it, but for the fact that S&W just didn't want to engineer a proper trigger for the gun. The look is cool, the size is nice, but for that trigger.

I have fared better with Ruger pistols.

 

[CopperFouling]

If I recall correctly, the S&Ws had some issues with firing pins. Take a look at smith-wessonforum.com. There are some threads about Bodyguards (at least the early ones) having some repeated issues.

 

[HoosierQ]

That's because it really isn't a trigger in any traditional sense. It's more of a switch, which sucks in my opinion.

I can't understand it, but for the fact that S&W just didn't want to engineer a proper trigger for the gun. The look is cool, the size is nice, but for that trigger.

I have fared better with Ruger pistols.

Sir

Can you please elaborate on this please? "It's more of a switch" I have heard this a couple of times lately but I am not exactly sure what to make of it.

One of the things I noted with the Bodyguard, neat as the little thing is...it is very neat...was that their was really no feedback from the trigger. Kind of like steering wheels on late 60's, early '70s power steering cars. My other DAOs (both Smiths, both Revolvers) have excellent triggers.

 

[eddd7]

Essentials for the LCP

Adding the LCP-specific Hogue grip is transformational to the LCP. It really takes away the nasty "snap" to your hand from the recoil. I believe this is because the recoil is spread over a much larger area of your hand, rather than because of whatever material the Hogue is made of.

Also, the addition of the Impact Guns magazine extension not only gives you an additional round in the mag, but provides an extra finger place on the grip.......maybe.

When I first got mine, I was having 1-2 FTF's per 6 round magazine. Ammo type didn't seem to matter. During that time, there was also forum "chatter" about this charming feature. Discussions gravitated toward Feed ramps. It seems that there were "batch" problems that showed up on a hand full of ramps.

I looked at mine under a strong light and.....there appeared to be machine mark "grooves" running counter to the direction the bullet feeds. I took 1/4 sheet of 600 wet-and-dry, tightly rolled it into a tube just smaller than a pencil, put a small rubber band around one end to hold it as a tube, put a few drops of oil on the other end, and started "sanding" the feed ramp in the direction of bullet feed travel.

After about 4-5 minutes, the feed ramp was smooth and shiny with no grooves. As I didn't want to skew the potential improvement, I didn't even clean the LCP.

On the next trip to the range, I mixed ammo types and brands in the same magazines. I have, perhaps 10 mags and was shooting and changing mags as fast as possible, trying to get the LCP to fail. One thing for sure.....it did get quite hot! I had 2 FTF's in 200 rounds of mixed ammo. Both may have been my fault......limp wristing, probably.

A swapped the stock LCP's 9 LB recoil spring for the 11 LB Wolff spring, shot another 250 rounds with no FTF's. That was 2 years ago year. I haven't had a single failure since then. No, I didn't clean it before swapping out the Wolff spring. I know......bad practice, but for testing purposes - you should only change the thing being tested or you'll get uncertain results.

Now, I carry the LCP daily. I should probably check it for pocket lint build-up.

 

[marb4]

No experience with the Bodyguard but my two LCP 380s have been 100% with everything except steel case Tulammo. I get about one misfeed per magazine with steel.

 

[mgmorden]

Haven't shot the Bodyguard. My LCP has been absolutely flawless though. I've put probably 500-600 rounds through it. Most of that WWB and about 40 rounds each of Hornady Critical Defense and PMC Starfire.

The sights on mine suck but they're better on the newer production ones. It's always been 100% reliable though.

 

[AR15activist]

750+ rounds of ball/defense. 380 shot through my "mod 2" LCP 75 rds. at a time -- 100% reliable.

 

[jimbo555]

Some folks have had issues with the bodyguard some with the lcp. Just like every other handgun. The latest model bodyguard and lcp seem to be reliable. But you still can get a lemon here and there. Luck of the draw. Both companies have great service departments.

 

[eddd7]

Haven't shot the Bodyguard. My LCP has been absolutely flawless though. I've put probably 500-600 rounds through it. Most of that WWB and about 40 rounds each of Hornady Critical Defense and PMC Starfire.

The sights on mine suck but they're better on the newer production ones. It's always been 100% reliable though.

I painted the top of my LCP's front site with white nail polish and it made a nice difference. I cleaned it with brake parts cleaner first (basically acetone in a spray can) to assure good adhesion.

 

[raiderbrit]

I traded my LCP due to the pain it caused - both physical and emotional. The darn thing hurt my hand everytime I fired it. It also had a major issue failing to eject the case. It went back to Ruger twice for this problem. They changed everything but the slide, and I think they eventually resolved the issue. I added the hogue grip, custom trigger, wolff springs but it still hurt my hand - it was just no fun to shoot.
Looking forward to picking up my Sig p238.
I have other Ruger guns that I absolutely love, and believe Ruger are a great company to deal with. The LCP was just not for me.

 

[FireInCairo]

Sir

Can you please elaborate on this please? "It's more of a switch" I have heard this a couple of times lately but I am not exactly sure what to make of it.

One of the things I noted with the Bodyguard, neat as the little thing is...it is very neat...was that their was really no feedback from the trigger. Kind of like steering wheels on late 60's, early '70s power steering cars. My other DAOs (both Smiths, both Revolvers) have excellent triggers.

It doesn't react or feel like any traditional "trigger" because it really isn't a trigger in the traditional sense. The design is such that it can't really be tweaked like a traditional trigger can be in order to perform better. It's more like a switch than a trigger.

Go flick a light switch on the wall. That's what the Bodyguard trigger feels like. I really don't know how else to explain it.

 

[stonecutter2]

I traded my LCP due to the pain it caused - both physical and emotional. The darn thing hurt my hand everytime I fired it. It also had a major issue failing to eject the case. It went back to Ruger twice for this problem. They changed everything but the slide, and I think they eventually resolved the issue. I added the hogue grip, custom trigger, wolff springs but it still hurt my hand - it was just no fun to shoot.
Looking forward to picking up my Sig p238.
I have other Ruger guns that I absolutely love, and believe Ruger are a great company to deal with. The LCP was just not for me.

I find plinking with my P238 is really fun.

Have had no issues with recoil, and it's pretty accurate for such a little thing.

Last summer, went out to the range and a guy had an LCP he was trying to hit some targets with. Didn't make one ring. I stepped up with my P238, first time out with it, and TING! TING! TING! I got 3/5, the others were close but a little left.

Now, I don't know the guy's level of experience vs mine, but I do know that a long DA pull like the LCP against the P238's single action has to be a bit of a factor in accuracy.

My P238 has had no hiccups, I hope yours is the same.

 

[Fiv3r]

I was actually surprised how accurate I was with my BG. My first step up to the line at 25 yards resulted in me peppering a paper plate size target with all size rounds. This was at a DNR range which only has a 25 yard pistol range and doesn't allow you to step any closer. At that distance, I was more than happy with the results shooting cheap ball ammo.

I never really had an issue with my LCP at all. I've upgraded the springs and added a hybrid grip to it to make it a little more comfortable. It's still a good shooting gun, but the BG just behaves better for me. Also, I think the BG is built a little tougher.

Actually, I think I have just talked myself into a Shield to go with the BG. There are times when I can't carry anything bigger than the BG, but the accuracy and reliability of the BG digesting the cheapest of cheap ammo has inspired confidence in the M&P line.