Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 Pistol
After covering all of the latest .380 pistol options on the market and determining which is the best, along comes another manufacturer and this one takes design to a higher level by providing a built-in laser out of the box. I’m taking about the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .380 Pistol. This one does look promising and if I can get a hold of one, it will be thoroughly reviewed here and added to the mix.
I was told by my local dealer that S&W notified him he will see these in January 2011. He was reading out of an email from S&W.
Wow, I expected a 2010 release. We’ll have to wait for this little beast I guess.
The Bodyguard 38 and the Bodyguard 380 have begun arriving at retailers. The Bodyguard 380 was on sale at Buds for less than a day before it was listed as out of stock. As of this note Top Notch Tactical has them in stock for $439.
I purchased a S&W 380 bodyguard a couple of weeks ago. I compared the Ruger TCP, Taurus, Kahr P380 and Sig 238 versions of this size pocket pistol. The Smith seemed to feel the best in hand, liked the laser, trigger pull though long, was predictable, slide locked back on last round, has decent sights. I liked the Sig 238, however a single action 1911 style locked and cocked in my pocket did not seem comfortable to me.
At an indoor range I started at the 7 yard line to see if I could hit with it. Used the laser and it was a breeze… most rounds went where I aimed. With the laser off the sights were good enough even in low light to hit accurately. I backed the target up to 15 yards and had no trouble putting all rounds into the head of the silhouette target. I ran 50 rounds of PMC fmj, then 50 rounds of Remington FMJ and 5 rounds of Remington Golden Saber JHP. Not one problem: feeding, ejecting, firing. Did not notice any difference in point of aim between manufacturers or type of round. Only one oddity, laser’s sharp dot became diffuse on the target after several rounds, may have gotten some dibris from the muzzle on the lens.
Very nice little pistol.