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It will break again
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Bodyguard 380 misfiring
- Thread starter BW23
- Start date
Updating with my own experience.
I purchased a S&W Bodyguard today and took it to the range. I couldn't get it to fire a single shot properly.
After the first failure to fire, I waited 20 seconds and tried to eject the cartridge. It was held in with incredible force, took all of my might to retract the slide back (Even though everythin appeared fine). The cartridge did NOT have a primer strike. After trying this 4 more times, one finally did have a primer strike. So I had an idea, loaded a new round, and pulled the trigger about 20 times and low-and-behold the thing shot. I did this two more times to confirm my findings, and still had issues with extraction after checking to see if it was still having an issue.
The firing pin was so light, it wasn't even striking the cartridges. But it must have just been poking out enough every 5-6 trigger pulls that it would lightly strike. Since it took 20+ trigger pulls to set it off, I imagine it must have struck the primer at least twice, probably 3 times, for it to fire. The extractor was an issue I have not heard of.
Contacted S&W, I'm sure they'll take care of me, but god damn.
I purchased a S&W Bodyguard today and took it to the range. I couldn't get it to fire a single shot properly.
After the first failure to fire, I waited 20 seconds and tried to eject the cartridge. It was held in with incredible force, took all of my might to retract the slide back (Even though everythin appeared fine). The cartridge did NOT have a primer strike. After trying this 4 more times, one finally did have a primer strike. So I had an idea, loaded a new round, and pulled the trigger about 20 times and low-and-behold the thing shot. I did this two more times to confirm my findings, and still had issues with extraction after checking to see if it was still having an issue.
The firing pin was so light, it wasn't even striking the cartridges. But it must have just been poking out enough every 5-6 trigger pulls that it would lightly strike. Since it took 20+ trigger pulls to set it off, I imagine it must have struck the primer at least twice, probably 3 times, for it to fire. The extractor was an issue I have not heard of.
Contacted S&W, I'm sure they'll take care of me, but god damn.
BW23
NES Member
Too bad it's having all these growing pains. Even though the manufacturer never states a break in period (in most pistols), I've been making sure I put 200 round minimum before making any real reviews. Regardless, that sucks to hear it had that many problems. Sounds like it was a two-for...ammo primer and striker spring.
How many rounds did you put in it?
Good luck with the fix. Hope S&W fixes it all.
How many rounds did you put in it?
Good luck with the fix. Hope S&W fixes it all.
Yeah this gun has had a ton of flaws. The .380 cartridge is a pretty decent caliber but there are a lot more options today. The LC9 is a very good concealed carry and you can get a laser with it. Sorry to hijack your thread, I just want the best for the current shooter. If you don't like the BG, go to the gun shop and take a look at the MANY new CCW handguns. Best of luck.
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Why not simply buy a small revolver - lcr,j frame - better ballistics and not as unreliable as the BG
Updating my experience with the Bodyguard .380
After having it repaired once, the thing started randomly ejecting the magazine when being fired (Tested to see if the mag release was being pressed. It wasn't), a number of double feeds, the laser burnt out after two hours permenently. I sent it back in for repair and asked them what their process was. They said they'll fix the firearm, replace it if it's bad, or refund it if it's REALLY bad. I wanted a refund at this point because I wouldn't trust it to carry it, which is what I wanted to do with it.
I just got it back. I've had this gun for about 3 months and have yet to own it for a day without a malfunction. After taking it to the range and firing about 6-7 magazines, I noted that only two didn't have malfunctions. The slide would close without chambering anything and close normally. There was rampant double feeds and stovepipes with live rounds. The magazine also jammed. I couldn't take more than 2-3 shots without a jam of some kind. The jams where bad, not the normal tap-rack-bang, I had to remove the magazine almost every time.
I'm just plain tired and sick of this gun. I'm completely surprised by the lack of quality of it, and how the repair team keeps missing all these malfunctions.
After having it repaired once, the thing started randomly ejecting the magazine when being fired (Tested to see if the mag release was being pressed. It wasn't), a number of double feeds, the laser burnt out after two hours permenently. I sent it back in for repair and asked them what their process was. They said they'll fix the firearm, replace it if it's bad, or refund it if it's REALLY bad. I wanted a refund at this point because I wouldn't trust it to carry it, which is what I wanted to do with it.
I just got it back. I've had this gun for about 3 months and have yet to own it for a day without a malfunction. After taking it to the range and firing about 6-7 magazines, I noted that only two didn't have malfunctions. The slide would close without chambering anything and close normally. There was rampant double feeds and stovepipes with live rounds. The magazine also jammed. I couldn't take more than 2-3 shots without a jam of some kind. The jams where bad, not the normal tap-rack-bang, I had to remove the magazine almost every time.
I'm just plain tired and sick of this gun. I'm completely surprised by the lack of quality of it, and how the repair team keeps missing all these malfunctions.
Sparkey
NES Member
I had posted that I had some light strikes with tula ammo. Field stripped the gun cleaned and oiled it up and ran 50 rounds of Remington Jhps and 50 rounds Of WWB with out a single issue yesterday.
Updating with my experience. I'm going to copy and paste it from the Precision Armament Wekrs thread since it's relevant in both threads.
Some of you might remember the S&W Bodyguard .380auto threads that I posted in. I got a new one from PAW that was a lemon - light strikes/couldn't manually extract a cartridge. But it didn't end there, as this handgun has been sent back to the factory a total of FOUR TIMES over the course of only about 6 months that I've owned it.
First time, it had light strikes. You would press the trigger 15-20 times to discharge a single shot. After two hours of ****ing with it, we only shot 4 cartridges. Couldn't manually extract a round, took two of us big guys pressing down hard on it with the slide pressed on a table just to eject an unfired cartridge. Unsuited for carry. Took 1 month for repair.
Second time, Still couldn't manually extract a round. Laser burnt out after a few hours. Magazine would drop and fall free after a few shots being fired. Tested it to make sure the mag release wasn't being pressed and it sure as hell wasn't. Took a month for repair. With PAW sending it in, we hoped to get a better result this time and talked to them about a refund (Which S&W said they will do if they deem necessary
Third time, the laser wasn't burnt out but was defunct and had a giant line in it. Massive amounts of double feeds and stovepipes. 6-7 magazines fired an only two cartridges fired didn't result in a malfunction. I had gotten the name of their "review board" head guy and plastered his name everywhere. Took two weeks to get it back this time (There was about 1-2 weeks each time between sending it in)
Fourth time, I got it back and it finally came with a letter. Prior, nobody in S&W would tell me or PAW what the hell was going on with it and they never said what they did to it. This time they threw in two extra magazines, and a letter that said they completely replaced the slide and worked on the frame to prevent magazine mishaps. They also said they fired 50 shots without error. So I took it to the range and it fired about 100 rounds without a hitch. I decided to carry it around for a week before taking it to the range again. Three days later it wouldn't hold a magazine. You would put in any of the mags in it and if the slide was closed, it would pop right out. The magazine release wasn't being pressed. It didn't matter if there was one cartridge or all six in the mag. It would pop out without fail. At this point, the firearm was completely useless and you'd have to manually load a single shot in the chamber every time to get it to shoot.
All in all this was a six month headache for both myself and Greg at PAW who had been there the entire time. He gave me his cell number, wanted all the updates, and did everything he could. At this point, he asked me to bring it back in and gave me a refund for the gun. I was afraid I just lost hundreds for something that never, ever worked but he made sure to take care of me. I can't think of any other local dealer who would do something like this.
Some of you might remember the S&W Bodyguard .380auto threads that I posted in. I got a new one from PAW that was a lemon - light strikes/couldn't manually extract a cartridge. But it didn't end there, as this handgun has been sent back to the factory a total of FOUR TIMES over the course of only about 6 months that I've owned it.
First time, it had light strikes. You would press the trigger 15-20 times to discharge a single shot. After two hours of ****ing with it, we only shot 4 cartridges. Couldn't manually extract a round, took two of us big guys pressing down hard on it with the slide pressed on a table just to eject an unfired cartridge. Unsuited for carry. Took 1 month for repair.
Second time, Still couldn't manually extract a round. Laser burnt out after a few hours. Magazine would drop and fall free after a few shots being fired. Tested it to make sure the mag release wasn't being pressed and it sure as hell wasn't. Took a month for repair. With PAW sending it in, we hoped to get a better result this time and talked to them about a refund (Which S&W said they will do if they deem necessary
Third time, the laser wasn't burnt out but was defunct and had a giant line in it. Massive amounts of double feeds and stovepipes. 6-7 magazines fired an only two cartridges fired didn't result in a malfunction. I had gotten the name of their "review board" head guy and plastered his name everywhere. Took two weeks to get it back this time (There was about 1-2 weeks each time between sending it in)
Fourth time, I got it back and it finally came with a letter. Prior, nobody in S&W would tell me or PAW what the hell was going on with it and they never said what they did to it. This time they threw in two extra magazines, and a letter that said they completely replaced the slide and worked on the frame to prevent magazine mishaps. They also said they fired 50 shots without error. So I took it to the range and it fired about 100 rounds without a hitch. I decided to carry it around for a week before taking it to the range again. Three days later it wouldn't hold a magazine. You would put in any of the mags in it and if the slide was closed, it would pop right out. The magazine release wasn't being pressed. It didn't matter if there was one cartridge or all six in the mag. It would pop out without fail. At this point, the firearm was completely useless and you'd have to manually load a single shot in the chamber every time to get it to shoot.
All in all this was a six month headache for both myself and Greg at PAW who had been there the entire time. He gave me his cell number, wanted all the updates, and did everything he could. At this point, he asked me to bring it back in and gave me a refund for the gun. I was afraid I just lost hundreds for something that never, ever worked but he made sure to take care of me. I can't think of any other local dealer who would do something like this.
I wish I had seen this post back in '12. The issue is timing and we can fix this problem. Anyone who is interested please contact me at the shop or bring in your pistol. The fix takes us about an hour of labor and involves some machining. We charge $85 to for the work and guarantee it.
Best regards,
David Hilf
President
Saxonville Armory
508-202-9605
saxonvillearmory.com
Best regards,
David Hilf
President
Saxonville Armory
508-202-9605
saxonvillearmory.com
Hey, just saw this zombie revival, while tooling around doing some google research (which I should have done before purchasing). I have one of these crappy BG's, which has totally soured me on S&W. Had LPS, ftf, slide auto release with mag insertion, failure to lock back, you name it. Also, crappy sights and trigger (which David replaced for me).
Good news is, I can vouch for Saxonville, David has worked on a few of my guns and does great work. The BG seems to be working flawlessly now (I haven't fully tested it myself, but they put a bunch of ammo know for LPS through it with no failures or LPS). Wouldn't make the same purchase again, recommend the sig p238 for reliability and shootability - 100%, blows the BG380 away. However, once you get the BG380 working, you can't beat the form factor.
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No, the bodyguard requires a minimum of 500 training rounds through it to operate properly. Burn 600 and the problem should decrease. It's called a "light strike". That's why you see a small ding in the round. It did not strike had enough. If the problem persists take to a good gunsmith and he will replace the spring with something more taut. Has nothing to so with your ammo.
Marty McFly
NES Member
Me too. I own several.
I have an early BG 380 from when they were first released, my dad and I each bought one at S&W (w/ sequential s/n which is kind of neat), actually pre ordered and waited a few weeks for the release, so first run. Never had any light strikes, only issue I have is with the mag, it’s never fully dropped out when firing but will sometimes pop down just enough that it won’t feed a round. I think this was common due to the plastic mag catch wearing out. I haven’t carried it in a while, suppose I should call S&W to see if they’ll look at it but are they likely to do anything for me on a 13 or 14 year old gun?
scottco
NES Member
I have one too double feeds, stove pipe issues, slide stuck total piece of crap. I put it at the back of the safe because i won’t sell it for someone to have issues I don’t need $200.00 bucks that bad
Marty McFly
NES Member
Odd for sale ad but I dig it
i just bought a 380 Bodyguard from bass pro last week.new! and yesterday at my local indoor range it was very accurate but 2 times in every mag it would light strike but would fire on the 2nd trigger pull.i hate to send it back but sure have no confidence in it the way it is.the ammo was Ammo Signature target 100gr 380 auto. i love the accuracy but don't trust the gun in a need situation.any ideas?
Attachments
Marty McFly
NES Member
Yeah it strange. I got the last 2 in trade but I have a few I bought. And I don't want to flex but I did get the one with the cartel engravings
. The only time I've seen any issue first hand is from pocket dirt since they usually go deep pocket on people.
i tried to get this one of these but was on back ordered everywhere!..the one i got is a very accurate pistol just light strikes every clip.sent it back yesterday we will see what they do.if no better im going to demand a full refund and go back to SIG!
cockpitbob
NES Member
Good.
Always make them fix their problems. In the long run it will make them a better company.
