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Old 01-04-14, 02:35 PM   #1
bassboogieman
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Default MY new toy..

Yesterday I went to Cabela's, got a flyer for their EMPLOYEE PRICING sale - not a really big deal as it equaled a 10% discount on NON-SALE items. But it was something to save me a few bucks. So, I was looking for a small pocket pistol and after reading Keith's post I wanted to look at a Shield and some other "small" pistols. Well the Shield was too big for what I wanted, looked at some others in that general size and the nicest one I found was a Kimber in 9mm that was out of my price range at $800+, so I dropped down to a .380. I only wanted something small (but not a .25 which I've had) and I've had 3 in that caliber previously but they are a little larger frame than what I wanted - NOT TO MENTION, I've sold or traded them all when I decided to move up to heavier caliber pistols. After having them a while now, none suit me for summer carry, they are just too large and heavy. I think this will suit me perfectly, it's a S&W Bodyguard. It's not a target pistol or a plinking pistol, I intend this for summer carry, where I can put in in the pocket of my shorts.

It comes with an integrated laser sight - not sure how great that is for a reactive defense weapon. Not much time to play with turning it on, though it is relatively easy with the switch being the gray button in front of the trigger guard - and the switch is on BOTH sides of the pistol. If you have time, placing the finger tip on the pistol in front of the guard rather than on the trigger, your finger falls naturally on the laser on/off button. Only negative I find (and it's easily rectifiable) is that it comes with only ONE clip (6 shot). An extra clip would have been nice. It does come with a nylon case which is nice for a trip to the range. It's recommended that a 200 round break in be done, that will be a PITA with one 6 round clip. I almost bought a 15 round clip for it at Cabela's just for the break in, but I think a spare clip or two is a better choice.

This picture shows it's size in relation to my hand, trigger guard is large enough to get my finger easily on the trigger, but I can only get two fingers on the butt, not a biggie as it won't kick itself out of my hand.


I put it in my pants pocket and you can't tell it's there, jacket pocket no problem either.

Last edited by bassboogieman; 01-05-14 at 06:51 AM.
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Old 01-04-14, 03:20 PM   #2
carolina-rig-01
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I think you'll like it. I bought Britney a Kel-Tec .380 a while back and although it isn't a fun gun to shoot nor is it highly accurate at longer distances, it's still a gun that allows me to carry concealed in the few occasions when I can't conceal my .40 and I can still group pretty descent at 21 feet with all of my shots hitting in about a 6 or 7 inch circle. My groups are much better with my .40 but the .380 serves its purpose well and does what it's intended to do which is hit targets at a very close range. As far as the laser, if you ever need to draw the gun and shoot something at a close range in a hurry the laser won't be needed anyways, if the range is a little longer then the laser would probably be a big benefit. Congrats on the gun, I've never shot the Bodyguard but my boss has one and really likes it.
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Old 01-04-14, 06:33 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bassboogieman View Post
Yesterday I went to Cabela's, got a flyer for their EMPLOYEE PRICING sale - not a really big deal as it equaled a 10% discount on NON-SALE items. But it was something to save me a few bucks.
Pretty sure the % off varies by item, at least at our store here it does. I was just out there with the same deal and got 15% off a new spinning reel, 15% off a few packs of senkos, and 25% off some footwear items.
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Old 01-04-14, 07:05 PM   #4
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I only used it for the pistol, got 10% there, my other items were sale priced and cheaper than the discount applied to regular price. If I had bought other stuff - not on sale - I might have realized the variable discount. If I could have doubled up the discount on sale items I would probably needed a bigger truck.
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Old 01-04-14, 07:34 PM   #5
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I had the Body Guard for a while it was a good gun and left almost no footprint when in your front pocket. I found the trigger pull stiff but good for a pocket gun, and once you got use to the break over point it was easy to manage.
It was not a lot of fun to shoot at the range because of the higher pressure .380 round and the small handle, the laser on it was more of a toy than a tool, and I was constantly trying to get it dialed in for a set distance, but after shooting a few rounds through it the settings would change.
Overall I liked the gun, I sold it to a girl who worked with me on 2nd shift as she wanted something should could easily conceal and help her feel a little more secure at night.
I made the move to a larger caliber in a .45 XDs
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Old 01-05-14, 02:07 AM   #6
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I'm sure you will like the Bodyguard. And looking at the white inlay really looks nice! Shooting it with two fingers shouldn't be a problem. The 9mm Shield with the 7 round clip only allows for two fingers as well, but handling the gun when shooting was no problem at all. I'm sure the .380 won't be either. The 8 shot clip for the shield will allow 3 finger gripping, but I didn't feel any improvement when shooting the gun. That Bodyguard is a sweet sized pocket gun for sure. FYI though. The Shield does have a thumb safety located right where it's located on the Bodyguard, and it does lock open after the final shot.
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Old 01-05-14, 06:50 AM   #7
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Keith, you are correct, I'm sorry about the mistake. I looked and compared a couple different pistols and it was the Kahr that didn't have a thumb safety and maybe the lock out or it could have be the Ruger LCP or LC9 that didn't have a lock out. MY BAD. It stands to reason the Shield would be very similar to the Bodyguard, again my apologies for the mis-information. I was getting a lot of info from the salesman in response to my questions in comparing the different brands, resulting in my brain fart (confusion) in the initial post and I should have checked prior to inserting foot into mouth. I've deleted the bad info for someone new reading the initial post, but I admit to the error!
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Old 01-05-14, 09:46 AM   #8
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Ah the complexities of obtaining a summer ccw pistol,its 5 1/4 in length will help,yet still will need a loose shirt of sorts.Its 12.8 oz unloaded weight isn't bad to pack around, lazer is a quick sight also something in the dark to shoot at.Although small in 380 wont be lots of recoil,but like most short barreled ccw weapons loses fpe due to barrel length ,380 roughly 200 fpe in a 3.2 will put out about 150 in a 2 1/4..Yet better to conceal what one does have.I carry a 9x18 Pa 63(250 fpe) with coat as small man,loose shirt 32 acp llama,all steel 3.4 in barrel so with hot ammo equal to that small 380,hot weather shorts n tight t shirt a 22 revolver just picked up an old top break iver Johnson as same small frame in 38 sw as went on a trip and left the 22 with wife..It was a good choice you made considered reliable,as for me im into pocket pistols of yesteryear and surplus iron curtain weapons as much cheaper still fits the bill I looked at a shield recently but not in 9mm if I go larger to me width(thickness) is larger ,most of my current pistols are longer like 6 .5 to 6.9 but thin, shield or for that matter an xds in 40 or 45, are made HOWEVER TO CARRY A LOT AND SHOOT LITTLE. That gun does have a manual safty,a long da only trigger pull,it will take some getting used to,but also has a flush hammer upon reseating one can tell easily if trigger is snagged as hammer would come back or move rearward even if carried with safty off,something others in striker fired one cannot tell if its about to go off xds or glock in mind,with many accidental discharges attributed to,so its a good lil pocket carry or ccw gun all around.

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Old 01-07-14, 04:52 PM   #9
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Well today I solved the issue of finding .380 ammo. Cabela's was out when I bought the pistol, couple of my local sources also were out. But I found another shop that had some, so I bought 200 rounds. Never thought about the availability of ammo when I bought the pistol. Seems production is lacking a bit and not keeping up since the introduction of these POPULAR pocket guns. 9mm & .45 is still pretty easy find around here. Although the prices are getting higher - guess if they can't restrict guns they can make the ammo more expensive and limit us that way. I'm really starting to think things may get worse before they get better as the USA isn't smelting lead anymore...
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