MArooned Product Review: Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380

For someone trapped in Massachusetts (and therefore subject to the “Approved Firearms Roster”), the explosion in pocket .380 ACP pistols has largely passed us by. The Kel-Tec P3AT (and it’s kissing cousin, the LCP) is not available for sale in MA; neither is the Kahr P380 nor the Diamondback DB380. The Taurus TCP is right out. SIG SAUER’s P238 was made Mass-compliant, but it’s a single-action, 1911-based pistol – not everyone’s cup of tea for pocket carry.

Enter the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380:

Bodyguard 380

Light, small, and – an industry first – containing an integral laser, the Bodyguard 380 one-upped the P3AT/LCP by offering everything in one unit. And they managed to do it at an MSRP not considerably higher than the laser-less competition ($399 MSRP from Smith & Wesson website; prices run about $50 less “off the shelf”). Then they went one step further and made the Bodyguard 380 compliant for sale in Massachusetts. The temptation was simply too great.

The first thing noticed about the Bodyguard 380 is that this is a real, honest-to-goodness pistol – it’s solid and well-constructed, even at a weight of less than 12 ounces (empty). The fit is superior, the finish exemplary – there are full-sized pistols out there that would do well to aim for the level of finish of the Bodyguard 380. The corners are rounded for optimized pocket carry, finger grooves and indents position the shooter’s hand well on the small firearm, and the slide-to-frame finish is solid with no slop or wiggle evident.

The Bodyguard 380 has several features not normally associated with inexpensive pocket 380s. First and foremost, it has real, honest-to-goodness sights:

Front Sight

Rear Sight

These aren’t just vestigial bumps on the top of the slide upon which one guesses as to where the alignment should be; these are real, actual, adjustable sights. While there is an argument to be made about the taller sights possibly catching during a draw from a pocket holster, repeated attempts to catch the sights on a DeSantis Superfly pocket holster were unsuccessful – the sights simply do not appear to catch.

The most obvious features on the Bodyguard 380 are the levers – for take down, slide release, and safety:

Levers

Not only does the Bodyguard 380 have a slide that stays open on an empty magazine, the slide can be released by a lever, just like a full-size pistol. It’s even pretty fluid to release the slide – it’s almost as easy as “slingshotting” the slide closed. The take-down lever is stiff and comes out with some muscle – but that’s a feature, not a bug, as it should be a tight fit. The safety is difficult to engage or disengage, requiring a precise action using one’s off hand – this is not something that can be accomplished quickly with a flick of the thumb.

Carrying the Bodyguard 380 is very similar to any of the other pocket 380s – it disappears in all but the tightest front pockets of jeans (and even in those, the printing is minimal and most likely invisible to non-gunnies). The weight is comparable to an ultra-light J-frame revolver, less than twelve ounces empty, and the extra magazines are small and easy to fit in a pocket. As for the safety, if engaging and disengaging is an issue, it can be left disengaged - if you’re comfortable carrying a double action revolver in a pocket holster, the Bodyguard 380 is no different.

Shooting the Bodyguard 380.

The biggest surprise of all with the Bodyguard 380 was at the range. While it might be expected that the small size would make shooting the Bodyguard 380 a handful – the grip is only sufficient for one and a half fingers without the finger rest magazine floor plate – it turned out to be very well-mannered on the firing line. The sights were more than adequate, providing a sight picture that allowed reasonable accuracy out of the 2.75” barrel:

Representative Target

The laser required sighting in and was used only for reference. The laser is a matter of some contention among gunnies. Some feel that a sight that requires the user to take one’s hand off the firing position is best left unused – there is merit to this line of thinking. However, the placement of the laser controls is well-thought out – it’s right where one’s finger rests before readying to fire. It’s a simple matter to engage the laser sight – and if the movement needed to activate the laser is unnatural, the gun’s sights are more than adequate on their own.

The trigger pull on the Bodyguard 380 is heavy, there’s no question about it; however it’s also very even, leading to a surprisingly easy double action only pull overall. The Bodyguard was not finicky on ammunition, digesting a steady diet of everything from 88 grain jacketed hollowpoint defensive ammunition to standard 95 grain full metal jacket practice ammunition:

Obligatory Range Pic

In numerous range sessions, one well in excess of a hundred rounds, only one failure to fire was experienced, and was remedied by a second pull of the trigger. While it’s still too early to draw conclusions about reliability, it looks promising. The Bodyguard 380 has been to the range at least a half-dozen times and shot by several different folks - the beauty of the Northeast Bloggershoot! - and was pronounced "better than adequate" by all who shot it. Not bad at all for a micro-380...

Conclusion.
Of all of the pocket 380s on the market, the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 falls approximately in the middle of the field for price. This should not be an indicator of quality, as the Bodyguard is a well-made, reliable (thus far) firearm that’s surprisingly easy to shoot and plenty accurate as well. With an MSRP of $399, it’s an inexpensive pocket 380 that’s light on the wallet, light in your pocket, and at home on the range.

Two thumbs enthusiastically up - way up - for the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380!

That is all.