clockwise, I have some adjusting to do. Adapt or die — I choose adapta- tion. Yet another change for this mod- el, and a first for Smith & Wesson, is an integral laser-sighting system. Smith, for years, has offered grip-
mounted lasers from Crimson Trace. They are great and I have them at- tached to my J-frame, but for the Bodyguard series they’ve switched to an Insight Technology laser, which is an essential part of the new gun. The laser is tiny and mounted on the right side of the gun. Activation is top mounted right next to the cylinder re- lease, so it’s easily accessed by lefties
MODEL:
CALIBER: CAPACITY:
FRONT SIGHT: REAR SIGHT: FRAME SIZE: GRIP:
or righties. One push of the activation button brings the laser alive in the constant-on mode and with a second push, you have a pulsing laser. The third push deactivates the laser.
Bodyguard 380 The new semi-auto offering in the
Bodyguard series is just 5.5" long and weighs only 11.85 oz unloaded. That’s small enough for anyone to carry. The slide is stainless steel coat- ed with S&W’s black Melonite. It’s a
S&W 38
Bodyguard 38 .38 Special +P 5 rounds
BARREL LENGTH: 1.9" / 4.8cm ACTION:
DAO
Black Ramp Integral
Small-internal hammer Synthetic
OVERALL LENGTH: 6.6" WEIGHT:
14.3 oz
UPPER FRAME: Aluminum alloy LOWER FRAME: Steel-reinforced polymer CYLINDER:
FINISH: PURPOSE: 12
Stainless steel with PVD coating Matte black
Personal protection, law enforcement
thermo-chemical treatment involving a salt-bath, nitriding process. In oth- er words, they put the slide in a hot chemical bath and magically it turns the stainless steel black and hard- ens it even more. For some things, you just have to have faith — unless you’re a chemical engineer and actu- ally understand this stuff. For the rest of us, it’s black, hard and wears well. The Bodyguard 380 has a steel-
reinforced polymer receiver with the normal semi-auto controls on the left side — including a flip-up and flip- down control for fire thumb safety, slide stop, take-down lever and maga- zine release. The gun is hammer fired, and will fire even with the magazine removed — a feature I really like, even though there are a couple differ- ent schools of thought on that subject. The polymer frame is also home
for the semi-auto’s laser-sighting sys- tem. Like the revolver, this system is made by Insight Technology and has the same steady-on and pulse features. Activation of the laser is accomplished by pushing the button just forward of the triggerguard. Its location is convenient as — depend- ing on your finger size — its place- ment is exactly where you would in- dex your finger prior to moving to the trigger for firing. The Bodyguard 380 is chambered
in .380 ACP, and, like the .38 Special, is quite capable of stopping an at- tack. With the introduction of high- quality ammunition by Remington, Federal and Hornady, the .380 ACP has been elevated from a round that would just piss off your attacker to
PERSONAL DEFENSE • SPRING 2011 SPECIAL EDITION
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