Well I finally got the 380 Bodyguard and had a chance to give it a good shakedown cruise today after the car show.
I've got a bit of a mixed review of it after shooting 2+ box's of mixed ammo through it.
The initial impression of it is OK after un-boxing it and checking it out, sad part,,1 mag,,,seriously,, it's a $420 gun,, it should come with 2 for that $$$$. Cheap Bastards,,,
Off to the South 40 to try it out,,,
1st thing, it doesn't like to have a round dropped in the chamber and close the slide on it,95% of the time you'll have to press the back of the extractor into the slide a bit to make the extractor grab the case and allow the slide to move completely forward, it may work itself out after more rounds, but hadn't after 2 box's through it, I'll let ya know later on that point after it's been shot more.
The laser is only,,,so-so,it doesn't show even in the shade during daylight, inside or at dusk, it's OK, it's a bit weak and defiantly not as good as a Crimson Trace, not even close. But for what it was designed for,,it's acceptable. It has a pulse mode too BTW.
So lets shoot it now,,,surprisingly accurate for a mouse gun, it really surprised me. I didn't try it on targets , just cans at 20' and 30', pretty easy to connect almost every time on 16 oz cans, quite impressive. I'll try targets later after it's had 3-4 box's through it and we'll see how it does then. Thank goodness they have very good sights, there quite nice other than they could use a contrasting insert on them and they are right on,, on this particular gun.
Initially the trigger was pretty gritty but it smoothed out, some, after shooting it more. It's has a bit of a long pull, but not overly so and not to heavy,it breaks clean and is very predictable. Pretty typical DA trigger for the most part.
Many reviews I've read said they had "hick-ups for the first few box's through them, not mine, it didn't miss a beat, fast or slow. Not a single FTF or FTE, stove pipe or anything, and I tried 4 different brands including my own loads, which were the most accurate BTW, 90 gr HP, XTP Hornady's over 4.3 grains of Unique, and seems to be nice load in that gun. Pictured were the other brands I tried, all were just about equal with no malfunctions of any short and were all about equal in accuracy. As far as ejecting goes,,,NO PROBLEM , as a matter of fact many of the empties were in a pile very close to the back stop,,,it flings those buggers about 20-25 feet from where your shooting from, no problem other than finding the empties later!!! Ejected cases seem to go most every where's , but mostly forward and slightly to the right for the most part. Just 20+ feet away!!!! WICKED EJECTOR!
One thing I did find that I didn't really care very damn much for, it seems 90% of the time you tend to get bit of gas's and powder residue back into your face when your shooting it, and on many of the cases, they had powder flash over down one the side of the case, the chambers don't seem all that tight on them, and I don't really think the "Loaded chamber port" helps much in that respect and that's probably where it's coming from, not really sure. I did detect some powder residue in that area after shooting it. It wasn't Super Bad, but noticeable, and glass's are recommended when shooting one of these.
Recoil is quite manageable, and the slide springs are just right. It's a joy to carry and quite light, just what I was looking for in a "pocket" gun. It is also set up with the metal insert in the polymer frame like the Glocks are. It has a double strike capibility with the hammer, and you can fire it without a mag installed.
So I guess all and all it's not a bad little mousey gun , over all, other than only having only 1 mag, a bit of a weak laser, minor gas blow back and being some what overpriced.
I honestly think with those short comings it should be more in the $300-325 price range if you ask me, I can't imagine that it cost them more than 150 tops to build one and I honestly think $420 is a bit of a stretch,, price wise. On a star rating,, I'd have to give it about 3 1/2 stars,, maybe 4 sense it's accurate and reliable and eats everything you feed it,,and has many desirable features many others don't. The gas issue, 1 mag and a slightly weak laser knocks it out of the 5 category for me. Well along with cost too,,,,
I think unless your REALLY looking for this type of gun specifically, your $$ might be better spent on a nice used Baretta, a Lamma, or CZ 380, there much better guns for the $$ IMO,, but not,,, really,,, quite in the same class of firearms, but close. I generally can find those all day in the 250-300 range for really cherry ones. And IMO much better guns overall,,,But it's that's still a bit of a "apples and oranges " kinda thing to a certain degree., them not being true "mouse guns".
It's more the price,out gassing and only 1 mag that knocks the Bodyguard out of the 5 star category for me. But if your,,,really,, looking for this type of gun, there pretty decent and seem to have the best features of the bunch for this class of guns that I've researched.
Would I buy another if I knew what I know about them now, yes , but ONLY if it was 100 bucks or so less. 420 is way to much IMO. But I'm really cheap, so you'll have to be the judge on that count.
I've got a bit of a mixed review of it after shooting 2+ box's of mixed ammo through it.
The initial impression of it is OK after un-boxing it and checking it out, sad part,,1 mag,,,seriously,, it's a $420 gun,, it should come with 2 for that $$$$. Cheap Bastards,,,
Off to the South 40 to try it out,,,
1st thing, it doesn't like to have a round dropped in the chamber and close the slide on it,95% of the time you'll have to press the back of the extractor into the slide a bit to make the extractor grab the case and allow the slide to move completely forward, it may work itself out after more rounds, but hadn't after 2 box's through it, I'll let ya know later on that point after it's been shot more.
The laser is only,,,so-so,it doesn't show even in the shade during daylight, inside or at dusk, it's OK, it's a bit weak and defiantly not as good as a Crimson Trace, not even close. But for what it was designed for,,it's acceptable. It has a pulse mode too BTW.
So lets shoot it now,,,surprisingly accurate for a mouse gun, it really surprised me. I didn't try it on targets , just cans at 20' and 30', pretty easy to connect almost every time on 16 oz cans, quite impressive. I'll try targets later after it's had 3-4 box's through it and we'll see how it does then. Thank goodness they have very good sights, there quite nice other than they could use a contrasting insert on them and they are right on,, on this particular gun.
Initially the trigger was pretty gritty but it smoothed out, some, after shooting it more. It's has a bit of a long pull, but not overly so and not to heavy,it breaks clean and is very predictable. Pretty typical DA trigger for the most part.
Many reviews I've read said they had "hick-ups for the first few box's through them, not mine, it didn't miss a beat, fast or slow. Not a single FTF or FTE, stove pipe or anything, and I tried 4 different brands including my own loads, which were the most accurate BTW, 90 gr HP, XTP Hornady's over 4.3 grains of Unique, and seems to be nice load in that gun. Pictured were the other brands I tried, all were just about equal with no malfunctions of any short and were all about equal in accuracy. As far as ejecting goes,,,NO PROBLEM , as a matter of fact many of the empties were in a pile very close to the back stop,,,it flings those buggers about 20-25 feet from where your shooting from, no problem other than finding the empties later!!! Ejected cases seem to go most every where's , but mostly forward and slightly to the right for the most part. Just 20+ feet away!!!! WICKED EJECTOR!
One thing I did find that I didn't really care very damn much for, it seems 90% of the time you tend to get bit of gas's and powder residue back into your face when your shooting it, and on many of the cases, they had powder flash over down one the side of the case, the chambers don't seem all that tight on them, and I don't really think the "Loaded chamber port" helps much in that respect and that's probably where it's coming from, not really sure. I did detect some powder residue in that area after shooting it. It wasn't Super Bad, but noticeable, and glass's are recommended when shooting one of these.
Recoil is quite manageable, and the slide springs are just right. It's a joy to carry and quite light, just what I was looking for in a "pocket" gun. It is also set up with the metal insert in the polymer frame like the Glocks are. It has a double strike capibility with the hammer, and you can fire it without a mag installed.
So I guess all and all it's not a bad little mousey gun , over all, other than only having only 1 mag, a bit of a weak laser, minor gas blow back and being some what overpriced.
I honestly think with those short comings it should be more in the $300-325 price range if you ask me, I can't imagine that it cost them more than 150 tops to build one and I honestly think $420 is a bit of a stretch,, price wise. On a star rating,, I'd have to give it about 3 1/2 stars,, maybe 4 sense it's accurate and reliable and eats everything you feed it,,and has many desirable features many others don't. The gas issue, 1 mag and a slightly weak laser knocks it out of the 5 category for me. Well along with cost too,,,,
I think unless your REALLY looking for this type of gun specifically, your $$ might be better spent on a nice used Baretta, a Lamma, or CZ 380, there much better guns for the $$ IMO,, but not,,, really,,, quite in the same class of firearms, but close. I generally can find those all day in the 250-300 range for really cherry ones. And IMO much better guns overall,,,But it's that's still a bit of a "apples and oranges " kinda thing to a certain degree., them not being true "mouse guns".
It's more the price,out gassing and only 1 mag that knocks the Bodyguard out of the 5 star category for me. But if your,,,really,, looking for this type of gun, there pretty decent and seem to have the best features of the bunch for this class of guns that I've researched.
Would I buy another if I knew what I know about them now, yes , but ONLY if it was 100 bucks or so less. 420 is way to much IMO. But I'm really cheap, so you'll have to be the judge on that count.