Smith & Wesson Offers the Bodyguard 380 as an Affordable and Ultra Lightweight Concealable Pistol

Smith & Wesson offers their Bodyguard line in a 5 shot revolver and 380 semi-automatic version. We will be discussing the semi-auto in my article. There are a variety of pocket pistols that are on the market, but the Bodyguard is the first (arguably but that is the claim) with an integrated laser built in. This is really not much of a side arm, but it is a great back up or self defense weapon for a pocket pistol if you have concealed weapons permit.

The Bodyguard by Smith & Wesson is a semi-automatic pistol chambered in .380 ACP. It has a black finish on the polymer lower receiver and metal slide. It is only available in double action only. It is only able to hold 6 rounds, but you should only need one if you know how to shoot. The trigger pull is not really hard, but harder than a typical gun. This acts as a safety mechanism as well as the manual safety that is on the gun. As I mentioned it is extremely small. It is 5.25 inches long, ¾ of an inch wide, 4.1 inches tall, and as a 2.75 inch barrel. At 11.85 ounces it is very light. It includes a soft case that looks like a planner and one magazine. Personally I think they could spring for one more magazine in the price. The prices on these vary. They are usually about $400 in a gun shop or $339.99 online. I have not seen any used Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 to be able to give an idea of what the price would be for a used gun.

There are many people who do not like the .380 ACP calibers because of its size and concern for stopping power in a self defense situation. There is some truth to this. One thing many shooters don't realize though is that a .380 ACP is really a 9mm short. If you had to use it I am sure a placed shot to the head or at least two to the body would suffice in most cases to at least incapacitate your attacker.

I recently bought a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard for my wife when there was a very nice sale on Smith & Wesson Products going on. It does not really have a kick, but because it is so small you will often be able to feel it. I don't believe it to be very accurate from a distance but up close it is fairly accurate, especially with the use of the laser. The laser is a bit hard to get on at first, but after you wear it on a bit it works fine. Aside from how small it is (this is a problem for me) the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard is really a pain in the neck to field strip. Many customers have had problems with the takedown lever coming out while you are shooting several rounds. It has not came out after one or two shots, but this can still be concerning. I am sure no one would want to have to reassemble their weapon if they were in a self defense shooting situation. My situation with the take down lever was different. Many guides say you simple take it out to perform the field strip. I have tried every way possible and it would not work. Finally I had to use a tool to rotate the take down lever in order to get it removed. It then took a nice amount of time to get used to it in order to put the darn thing back together.

Overall I will say it's a pretty good gun. I will say though that I would not buy another one. I would probably check out the ultra compact Bersa .380 ACP. That may end up being what I will purchase for my pocket pistol.

Thank you for reading.

God Bless You and God Bless America.

Sources.

www.thegunsource.com

www.gunbroker.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taNZ4wd9-5E shows takedown problem. Right before he talks to the camera man.