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Bodyguard 380 misfiring

BW23

BW23

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Hi Everyone,

Has anyone had any issues with their S&W Bodyguard 380 misfiring? If so, how would i be able to fix it? I emailed S&W and still waiting to hear back.

This is my carry firearm. At the range I had 4 rounds out of 2 mags that did not discharge. You can see where the firing pin struck (small indent). This is after about 300 rounds into my new Bodyguard.

I use Remington UMC .380 Auto ammo. I think this is a good trusted brand.

After all those misfires i did not have any issues with the rest of my ammo box. Do you think the primer in the rounds somehow got moisture in it from being in my pocket for the past few weeks? I've been carrying this full mag in my bodyguard 380 for a couple of weeks until i decided to shoot them at the range and that's when i saw the misfires.

Any help from you well experienced owners would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
BW
 
Doubt its the ammo, I pocket carry and might not fire it for months, and ive had a phone die because of too much moisture from being in my pocket [laugh]

Try different ammo, see if you have the same problems.
 
Same thing happeneed with my Ruger SR40c. 2 out of the first 3 rounds misfired (light tap). once it got going though, havent had a problem since. Maybe the striker just needed a little loving. Did you clean it before firing? Might be a little lube in there.
 
It's a known-issue. It's a light-strike condition. The 2nd pull of the trigger will fire off the round, though. No way to tell when it's going to happen...random. Interesting note: my hammer broke off; it's a MIM part. S&W fixed it with no issues. I have not fired it enough since the repair to know if the light-strike condition is still there. I've since bought a 1911 and a Glock 26 that I favor for EDC. I'm sad because the BG380 simply disappears when in my Crossbreed Minituck....all day comfort. The horrible trigger and the light-strike have made me look at alternatives, but I still like the premise.

-JR
 
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I also find myself encountering light strikes now and them, predominantly with Tulane and umc, never had an issue with Winchester white magtech +p or anything from hornaday... now the laser screw walking out and blocking my slide going into battery is another issue, I had until I removed the laser completely to send back to Smith for replacement.

sent from my truck while driving down 95 in the high speed lane doing 55
 
I have put maybe 500 rounds through mine and all was perfect until I cheaped out and got crappy reload ammo from a shop in town as a last resort and I had 2 out of 50 FTF. Clean it then run some different ammo through it see if that clears it up.
 
Thanks to everyone who posted! Much appreciated!!

I'm trying to figure out if the light strike can be fixed by S&W. The customer rep asked me to send my BG380 to them so they can address the issue. My worry is, they will fire it a few times and notice no FTF and just send it back without replacing/fixing any of the components that would cause for "Light Strikes".

I lubed my BG380 before i started shooting it at the range and carrying it. I always use a bore-snake after the range too. So i doubt it has any issues with it being not lubed or clean enough.

I'm pretty sure Remington UMC ammo is good and reliable. Anyone disagree?

Has anyone had their BG380 fixed from Misfiring? Possibly addressing the light strikes??

Thanks!
BW23
 
Dump it and get a Ruger LCP. [wink]

No, S&W has a good record of customer service from what I've heard. I wouldn't know as I've never sent any gun back to any manufacturer for repairs. Check to make sure there's not a buildup of pocket lint in your pistol. This is one of many reasons I won't pocket carry any gun.
 
45collector said:
Dump it and get a Ruger LCP. [wink]

No, S&W has a good record of customer service from what I've heard. I wouldn't know as I've never sent any gun back to any manufacturer for repairs. Check to make sure there's not a buildup of pocket lint in your pistol. This is one of many reasons I won't pocket carry any gun.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. But I usually blow some CO2 anywhere there might be a risk of lint build up before carrying.

I really like my Bodyguard 380 but if I'm going to carry it i want to make sure it fires everytime no matter what.
 
I have had a few light strikes with my Bodyguard but I was hoping that it was just the cheap Tula ammo I was using but maybe not.
 
Try different ammo, just because Rem is good doesn't mean it works best in your BG.. I own one and haven't had any problems with it.. if it persists, send it back to S&W they will fix it.
 
I just got one a month or so ago, have about 1000 rounds through and no issues, I am using the Remington UMC as well.
 
SteelShooter said:
I just got one a month or so ago, have about 1000 rounds through and no issues, I am using the Remington UMC as well.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking it may have to do with possibly moisture build up while it's in my pocket holster (in my pocket). But i can't confirm that. The problem is I will carry the loaded BG380 in my pocket holster (in my pocket) for weeks until i can go to the range and fire it. That's when the misfire (FTF) happened. After I shot the 2 mags I've been carrying, the rest of the ammo box shot great. Such a crappy problem to have......

The other issue is there isn't alot of brands to choose from where i live for .380 Auto ammo. It's remington umc or hornady critical defense (which is never in stock).
 
I've put about 400 rounds through my BG380 and not one FTF or any other issues. Mostly Federal ammo, also some Hornady critical defence. never tried Remington.
 
Maybe it's from pocket lint instead of moisture, if it's your carry gun I would make sure I would give it some type of cleaning every day, even if it's just pulling the mag and blowing it out. I'd hate to need it and only hear click.
 
BW23 said:
Anyone?
Click to expand...

Shoot it more. 300 rounds is not a lot. I would guess pocket crud being more of an issue than moisture. Pocket carry while easy is IMHO the worst for the gun in terms of crap building up in the gun. I had no issues with my BG380 but I have heard of other light strike issues...

I enjoyed my BG380 but it was sold to fund a Kahr PM9
 
SteelShooter said:
Maybe it's from pocket lint instead of moisture, if it's your carry gun I would make sure I would give it some type of cleaning every day, even if it's just pulling the mag and blowing it out. I'd hate to need it and only hear click.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I usually always give it a quick clean before I carry. Quick clean consists of releasing the mag and blowing some air down where the firing pin is located and also through ejector port out the mag area. Not only that I usually reverse my pocket and give a few good whacks so there's no lint/dust.
 
**DRB** said:
Shoot it more. 300 rounds is not a lot. I would guess pocket crud being more of an issue than moisture. Pocket carry while easy is IMHO the worst for the gun in terms of crap building up in the gun. I had no issues with my BG380 but I have heard of other light strike issues...

I enjoyed my BG380 but it was sold to fund a Kahr PM9
Click to expand...

I'm going to try to get a few more boxes through it. Maybe it'll get better and no misfires. But I'm seeing a lot of posts talking about the light strikes, so that concerns me too. Almost as if it's the firing pin/spring. That's my big worry.
 
BW23 said:
I'm going to try to get a few more boxes through it. Maybe it'll get better and no misfires. But I'm seeing a lot of posts talking about the light strikes, so that concerns me too. Almost as if it's the firing pin/spring. That's my big worry.
Click to expand...

I'm curious, where are you seeing a lot of these posts?.. I've seen a few, but some are the same guys posting all over the place..
 
Ron Swanson said:
I also wasted about 200.00 worth .380 ammo testing it. They did fix it but it was a serious waste of time and ammo.
Click to expand...

Hey Hey Ron Swanson (sweet logo!),

Could you please tell me what they did to fix the mis-firing issue?

I know ammo isn't cheap and I'd hate to go the same route. There really isn't enough of a selection where I live. Barely anyone has Hornady Critical Defense ever in stock and only other brands & types are Remington UMC (which i get) and Winchester.

Your help would be greatly appreciated!
 
I've put a couple hundred rounds through mine. It hates cheap stuff, like PPU, Tulane, etc... a full mag would generally take 15+ trigger pulls to get through. Hornday JHP's (carry ammo) have been absolutely flawless, though.
 

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