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As a former owner of the original Smith & Wesson Bodyguard I was curious what the 2.0 would be like, but ultimately this pistol was reviewd at the request of our Patrons. When funding has gathered enough to make a purchase, GBGuns Patrons decide how it's spent. If you appreciate reviews free from industry influence please consider becoming a Patron of GBGuns.
What is it? The original Bodyguard was a tiny pistol that sacrificed almost everywhere in the name of being small. It accomplished that task and worked as a "pocket gun". The Bodyguard 2.0 has grown a little to accept higher capacity and be a little more shootable, but remains incredibly small. Aside from better controls, the new Bodyguard 2.0 also takes advatnage of the "micro compact" magazine design to fit a decent capacity into a small package.
Who's it For? Like the original, this is meant to be a deep-conceal firearm. There is some sour irony here because newer gun owners are likely to find the gun's size attractive as it's easier to conceal and doesn't pose the same need for a new wardrobe that larger guns do. The sour irony comes from the fact that smaller pistols like this are less forgiving of the shooter and can be more difficult to use well. The Bodyguard 2.0 however is of a more reasonable size than the original, but still has the short sight radius and light weight that some may find more challenging to shoot.
Take a Look at the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 in the tabletop video below:
Specifications:
Width: 0.88"
Length: 5.5"
Height: 4"
Weight: 9.8 oz
Caliber: 380 AUTO
Capacity: 10,12
Barrel Lenght: 2.75"
Optic Ready: NO
MSRP: $449
Prices around the web as of 28AUG24
(Click links for current pricing)
Unsure if the Bodyguard 2.0 was going to be another one of those tiny snappy things, or if the longer grip and locked breech would make a difference we hit the range for the standard GBGuns protocol:
Cold Shots: Truly the first rounds through the gun. No warm up, no practice.
Full Magazine +1: Suprisingly some modern guns still struggle with this. It's a test of how much play is in the magazine as well as how the slide cycles with pressure. This is also when I do my best to learn the trigger.
What's For Dinner™: A test to see what ammunition the gun will eat. Does the gun feed the round from slide lock, will it cycle and feed another round of the same type, does the slide lock to the rear on empty, and is there any notable point of impact change with different loads.
For this gun we used the following ammunition:
Priced and linked where found at the time this article was written
50gr Liberty Ammunition Civil Defense $32.77 / 20 at Sportsman's Guide
80gr Colt SCHP (no longer in production?)
80gr Barnes TACX-PD $24.99 / 20 at Primary Arms
85gr Winchester Silver Tip $17.99 / 20 at GrabaGun
88gr Remington HTP $24.99 / 20 direct from Remington
90gr Hornady American Gunner $18.99 / 20 at Target Sports USA
94gr PPU Defense Line JHP $23.74 /50 at Sportsman's Guide
94gr PPU Handgun Line FMJ $17.09 / 50 at Sportsman's Guide
95gr Speer Lawman TMJ (replaced by FMJ) $21.99 / 50 at Bud's Gun Shop
120gr Remington Golden Saber $37.99 / 20 direct from Remington
Range Ammunition was 90gr PMC Bronze $16.39 / 50 at Brownell's
Sights & Trigger Control: on a 6" spinner target at a distance of 12 yards. We got this from Titan Great Outdoors and use it to gauge how learnable the trigger is and usable the sights are for forced, timed, precise shots.
Practical Accuracy: Five shots from a distance of seven yards at a one inch target. This isn't so much about printing a tight group as it is a culmination of our shooting experience and time for us to collect thoughts prior to making a conclusion.
After Shots: Final impressions and reflections from the range session.
Watch the entire process in the Shooting Impressions video below:
Ammunition seen in our Shooting Impressions video was made possible by our Patrons and supporters of our ammunition savings account through Ammo Squared.
On the Range we were both surprised at how managable the recoil was of the tiny Bodyguard 2.0, depending on ammunition. Also dependent on ammunition appears to be accuracy. The gun ran, but did not seem to like lightweight projectiles. My assumption is that the heavier, and so longer projectiles got better engagement with the rifling during their short trip down the barrel. Keep in mind that heavier projectiles are also likely to yield less energy on target.
Another challenge with accuracy was the sights. They may have been slightly off from the factory, but the VERY wide rear sight didn't help. Wide-open rear sights are great for accelerating the "get on target" stage of aiming, but can proove challenging for shooting tight groups. The Bodyguard 2.0 is not meant for grouping, but we show our targets on GBGuns and I'm sure some will want to call the gun innacurate.
As shooters new to the gun we decided to try a first-time draw and shoot on a torso target at 7 yards at the end of the regular range video. That was unpracticed, and not to demonstrate shooter ability but to get a feel for how those sights work in a more realistic application.
To sum it up the Bodyguard 2.0 accomplishes its intended goal of being a pocketable pistol (with proper holster of course) and also being a true 2.0 of the original, not just a facelift. The new version is much easier to control and use, however prospective buyers need to be aware of the fact that all small guns can be challenging and the Bodyguard 2.0 is no exception.