Why I Carry the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0

When Smith & Wesson first introduced their Bodyguard 2.0, I got a chance to shoot this at the Smith & Wesson facility.

 

They invited me up for a sneak peek, and I was really impressed with it. But it’s very difficult to really get a good feel when you’re at some kind of range event.

Once I did the full review of this handgun, and then followed up with a full review of the comparison between the LCP Max and the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0, guys, I was thoroughly impressed with this handgun, to the point that this is one of my primary carries. It is in .380 ACP, and we’re going to talk about that as a self-defense option. But also, we’re going to talk about the size, the ways I carry it, the reason that I really love this little handgun.

We’re also going to be talking about some of the issues that people have had with these handguns. But guys, this is a very small, tiny option. It’s not necessarily for every situation, but this makes a really lightweight, easy, deep concealment gun, but yet it fits your hand.

It’s really unusual. This is about why I carry the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 as one of my primary carries. Guys, when it comes to concealed carry, it’s a very personal choice, and each of us have different needs, different budgets.

You may have one gun that you count on for concealed carry, for home defense, whatever. For me, I do have some options, and I like to have tools in my toolbox. One of the things that I’ve really become big about is these small, little micro handguns.

And the reason why is because it’s something that I may not be able to carry something larger, and this just allows me to be able to carry as discreetly as possible, and yet it can be very effective. For a long time now, I’ve carried the Ruger LCP Max. This is a great little gun, 10 plus one, you can get a 12 plus one magazine for it.

It’s just one of those small little guns. And before that, I was carrying the LCP, which only had six rounds. So this really upped the game.

And this became one of my deep cover concealment firearms. And I still like this handgun. But we did a review comparing the LCP Max with the new Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0. This is, to me, just has some features that personally I like.

Now let’s go ahead and drop our magazine. It comes with a 10 round magazine, but it also comes with a 12 round magazine. We’ll check the chamber, and the gun’s empty.

Now this, to me, is one of those guns that fits my hand extremely well. I didn’t know how well it would fit it until I compared the two, and we did a full review. I’ll have it annotated above, comparing these two side by side.

While the LCP Max did have some advantages, the Bodyguard 2.0, to me, eclipsed it for what I like to do. One thing I love about this handgun, though, is how thin it is. I mean, it’s super tiny thin.

It’s a very small handgun, but it still gives you a nice full grip. And that’s something that you don’t see, especially with small concealed carry options. And you have the 10 round or the 12 round magazine capacity.

Another thing about this handgun is just the looks. I love that armor night finish. They do a fantastic job on that.

The texturing is extremely well done. I mean, it just grips to your hand. The slide serrations, again, very grippable.

It does have a tritium front bead on the front, and just blacked out rear, and that’s become really one of my staples, as far as the way I like to carry. I like to have night sights on my carry guns, because typically at night is when something goes wrong. Also, there’s no accessory rail, and honestly, there’s not one needed.

It’s not optics ready, which I don’t want. I want this to be as small as possible. And to me, those things just add bulk.

Now, if I want that, I’ll grab my Glock 19 or something else. It gives me a little more capacity. Plus, this is 380 ACP.

So what we’re going to talk about is ways that I carry this, reasons I carry this, and we’re going to address some of the issues that some people have had with this handgun. Now, I’ll tell you up front, we have not had a lot of those issues. We have had a couple that I’m going to point out.

So there are a couple of negatives to this handgun, but are they deal changers? And that may be something for you to decide. Now, first, I want to address the caliber. And 380 ACP, while it is an effective self-defense round, it’s getting down toward marginal.

Let’s just… I mean, .22 long rifle is an effective self-defense round with right shot placement. But the 380 ACP lacks quite a bit compared to your 9mm. And the biggest part of that is penetration.

Here with a full metal jacket, the penetration actually is pretty decent. The one thing is it doesn’t expand. So it’s more just a clean hole.

And so a lot of people will go to your jacketed hollow points, which creates more expansion, but less penetration. And the velocities are lower than it is 9mm. So that can be a factor.

Plus, jacketed hollow points can be more difficult to maintain reliability. And because of entering the chamber, even though most 380 ACP like this is pretty well-rounded. Masad Ayyub just came out and was talking about these conical type bullets with the grooves through them.

Now there’s a number of companies that make them. These just happened to be from Norma. He recommends this for the 380 ACP.

It gives you full penetration, but with these cuts, it allows for more blood loss. And that will incapacitate the assailant or somebody attacking you. And so what I’ve been switching to for 380 is carrying these type bullets.

Again, there’s a number of companies that make them, but I would definitely consider this the best self-defense round for 380. We’re actually in the process of getting ready to do a review of these three, testing them out and seeing how effective they really are in ballistic gelatin. But if Masad Ayyub says that these are good, I’m telling you, then they’re good to go because he’s one of the most renowned gunfighter experts out there.

Now, while I covered this in the full review, one of the reasons why I really love this handgun is because of the grip length. Even though it’s small, Smith & Wesson did a great job of getting this really high. And so it is a super low bore axis and I’m able to get my hand a full grip on the handgun.

Medium-sized hands. So if you have larger hands, they do make the two-round extension for 12 rounds. But this is one of the things about this handgun that I love.

A lot of guns in this class have a very short grip and this just gives you a lot of advantages. And the higher up you get toward the bore axis, the more flat and the more recoil management you’re going to be able to take. It’s like this.

If you hold a gun down here and it shoots, it’s going to be very violent. The more you lift up your hand to get closer to the bore, the more that you have control over it. And guys, that’s just physics.

But the recoil management on this is really excellent. It is a very flat shooting gun for such a small firearm. The first time I shot a Ruger LCP, it was just really jumpy, really snappy, and it was not a pleasure to shoot.

And I think a lot of the recoil mitigation for this is this higher bore axis, this little bit of longer grip, and probably the recoil system that’s put in here. But this is a really soft shooting little handgun. And you can opt for no frame safety or you can have a frame safety.

For me, I really like no frame safety. Now we’re talking about size. And guys, the Glock 19, if I had one handgun, this would be it.

It holds 15 plus one. It is in nine millimeter and it’s just an excellent proven handgun. But as you can see, it is considerably larger.

This is considered a compact and yet you can see, I mean, this makes it so easy to carry. Now, if I’m going into a situation to where I think I need a little more firepower traveling, I’m going out to dinner where I can carry something like this, especially during the winter time, I’m going to opt for a larger handgun. I’m going to opt for nine millimeter.

But typically for what I do, I just like the size because I’m carrying this no matter what. And so one of the things I want to show you is some of the ways that I carry this handgun. And the number one way is just with one of these small little holsters.

This is from Uncle Mike’s and this is the size two. It’s kind of a universal. It’ll fit a lot of different ones, but it fits this perfectly.

It has this material on the outside that’s a little grippy and right here. Now there are sticky holsters that are great. And so this is just something for the pocket.

I can even put this in a cargo pocket, but I can also put this in a belt against my waist and it holds very well. I’ve done that quite a bit, just slip it in my waist. I can put it appendix or four o’clock, however I want to carry it.

It’s a very versatile, easy holster. Plus it protects the handgun. And another option is one that sticks out just a little bit, and this makes it a little bit better for pocket carry.

So when I put it in my pocket, the holster will catch right here. And so I’m able to draw it. Now you’ll see Ruger on here, and this is what came with the Ruger LCP Max, which is just an excellent handgun in itself.

But again, I moved up from the Ruger to the Smith and Wesson, mainly because of this area right here. And you’ll see the bore axis on the Ruger is considerably higher than it is on the Smith and Wesson. And you’re getting a shorter grip.

You’re getting a longer grip. And again, we get into more of the details on the full review. Also, there are small little holsters that have the clips.

I’ve had this for years. It’s an Uncle Mike’s as well. And this is just a perfect holster.

I don’t know that they still make these, but this gives me a clip so I can wear this inside my waistband. It protects it. And yet I’ve got it a really small, thin holster.

And guys, one of the things that’s really big about carrying this is that this is easy to conceal. You’re not going to print. And especially if you’re in places that you really probably shouldn’t be carrying anyway, or a place that I just don’t want to print for whatever reason, these make an excellent option for that.

And also excellent for an ankle rig. And so I can take and put this, in fact, this is a DeSantis Apache. This is a great ankle rig.

It has this faux sheepskin and it just fits on your ankle to the point that you forget that it’s there. Of course, with shorts, it’s going to be a little difficult, but here I can clip this and it does have retention and it goes on the inside of my leg right there at my ankle. And I’m able to get to it if I need to.

And I could use this as a backup or as a standard side alone. And one thing to realize is that a lot of times in a situation or self-defense situation, you get pushed down and it makes it really fast to be able to get to your ankle. And that’s one of the things Clint Smith talks about.

But another way that I’ve been carrying lately is with a waist pack or a fanny pack. And this is just a great way to carry, especially for off body. If you’re going to the gym, if you’re going, like for me, I take martial arts.

So I always take this with me, billfold, foam, and my handgun, maybe a flashlight. But I can put it in the back right here and it makes a nice little concealed carry compartment. And this actually is a Velcro field.

So I could modify one of my Velcro type holsters is fully adjustable and put it in there. But for me, I typically just put it inside a small holster, put it in here, and that way I protect it. And one tip is don’t put anything else in here beside the gun.

You don’t want something to activate that trigger. And so that’s a real big plus is just to have a little bit of a covering. And then it’s according to the size of your fanny pack.

And this is the Ridger by Roaring Fire Gear, wax canvas. They also make a ballistic nylon. But this is a great little option.

When I was at the beach this summer, this is the way I carried it. I put this with everybody else. And while we were swimming and having a big time, this was close by.

Or if I’m at the pool or I’m going to some event or I’m doing something to where I’m dressed really light. Now we have winter coming, but people will still be watching this in the spring. So having a nice fanny pack is an easy way to travel and it’s very livable.

And so that just gives you another option. But guys, if you’re going to carry a firearm in your pocket, you definitely need to have some sort of holster to go with it. Now when shooting the firearm, again, the recoil management is so light.

There’s very little muzzle flip. You feel like you have full control over the handgun. And one of the things I love, even though it’s 380, is that it gives me more control.

I’m going to have better shot placement. I can get those shots off faster. One-handed shooting.

And you should really practice with that, either weak hand or strong hand. And getting good at just being able to point it. And guys, I’m telling you, this is such a soft shooting little gun.

In fact, we put about 350 rounds through it on our initial range trip. And then we put additional rounds when we compared it with the Ruger LCP and I’ve taken it out. We’ve shot about 800 rounds through this handgun and we have had no malfunctions.

And typically, the one thing about carrying some of the smaller handguns is that it is a little less easy to control. It has a lot to do with just the size. You don’t have as much grip.

This just seems to give you enough grip to be able to really control this handgun and to enjoy shooting it. And that’s another thing that sometimes you can take some of those smaller handguns and it’s a real bear. And after about 100 rounds, you’re finished.

With this, it’s really a great gun to take to the range and just to shoot. While it doesn’t shoot exactly like a full-size gun, it definitely gives you one of the best shooting smaller micro pistols that I’ve shot. The trigger is actually pretty decent.

You have your safety right here and we have some take up. You can see the trigger stop and it’s a nice little break. It’s not super crisp or anything else, but it’s not bad.

And reset right there. But this is a self-defense pistol, so the trigger is not quite as important. Trigger pull weight with our Lyman trigger gauge, three pounds, six ounces.

We were getting about three and a half pounds consistently. Now again, I’m not bashing the Ruger LCP and if you have one, keep it. It’s a great gun.

I have really enjoyed this handgun and I’ve carried it in all the same ways that I’m carrying the Bodyguard 2.0. Same round capacity. There are some advantages to the Ruger. If I only had the Ruger LCP Max, I would be happy with it.

It is a great little gun, but as far as price goes, these pretty much run the same. And if you don’t have one or the other, I would highly recommend the Smith & Wesson, but put them both in your hand, check them out and see how much grip you have. And I’ll tell you guys, that extra grip does make a big difference with shooting this, even though this is a really soft shooting gun as well.

Then we bring in the SIG P365 and this is the 380 ACP version. So I put one of the Wilson Combat Grip Modules on it, so I could tell the difference. Very soft shooting gun.

One of the things though about the SIG is that it’s considerably wider. It’s still a great little gun. I love the P365.

This one is optics ready as well. So if that’s important to you, there you go. And again, you have a little more width.

It does have a proprietary accessory rail, but overall, I mean, these are pretty much neck to neck as far as capacity and shootability. But I just think the SIG is just a touch bigger, but again, an excellent choice. And then the Glock Model 42 and 380 ACP.

The one downside to this handgun is that it’s lower round capacity. In fact, you have six rounds compared to 10 with a flush fit magazine. Now I’ve added a base plate that’ll add an additional round, so I can get seven and then one of the chamber.

So I’m still carrying eight rounds. Really thin, really nice, but not quite as thin as the Smith & Wesson. But this is a very shootable gun.

I’m a big fan of the Glock 42, but it’s still a little bit larger. And guys, there are some small nine millimeter handguns out there, just like the SIG P365 in nine millimeter and a number of others, but typically they’re just a little bigger. And for me, the reason I like this is because it’s so thin and you get extra grip, even with the SIG.

I mean, this is going to give you a little more gripping surface right here from the trigger guards and from the back strap, you’re not getting a whole lot, but you’re getting a little extra off the back. And so this to me just really kind of sealed the deal, is the grip. Now guys, one thing in particular though, is to keep these guns maintained.

If you’re carrying this on an everyday basis, there’s lint, there’s dead skin, there’s all kinds of stuff that covers this in dust. And you want to make sure that this is up and running for your concealed carry option. And I would highly recommend keeping this clean on a very regular basis.

And so we’re just going to break it down just for kicks. So we have a 10 round magazine, the chamber’s empty, very simple to bring back your slide, bring your takedown lever down, release the slide, pull the trigger and pull it off. Recoil spring and guide rod.

And we have our barrel. It’s very simple, simple. I like that it has a little more of an extended slide rail than a lot of the small micro nines and just any of the polymer frame striker fires.

This has a little bit more slide to frame fit. I’m a big fan of that. One thing they do have is a ramp right here on the frame, and that’s part of your feed ramp.

You can see it goes just like this. There have been some problems with the feed ramp not being clearing ammunition through there, especially with jacketed hollow points. We haven’t had any problems with that, but that is one of the noted issues.

And we’re going to get into a few of the issues with this handgun and some that have been reported and some that I’ve actually experienced. Another thing is when you’re putting your gun back together and you have your recoil spring, you’ve got to kind of have it set in a certain place and then because it’ll feel like it’s bound up. And then once you do, and I’m glad it’s doing it now because it wasn’t doing it earlier, but you’ve got to get it exactly in that hole in the front.

And so that is one problem that some people have had. And so once you get it lined up where it needs to be, then you can just push it and it’ll do that. So really it’s not a big deal.

The more I do it, the less that happens. And then we just bring it back over our frame, put it in slide lock, hit the lever, and we’re back in business. But again, guys, keep your firearms really clean.

And guys, if you’re seeing a little bit of brown right here, it’s not rust, it’s coming off this box. Now getting into some issues, one thing that we found is loading the magazine at first was very difficult. And so this holds 10 rounds and I’m just going to show you since we’re just having here.

It has a lot of pressure on that spring, which is going to add really to reliability, but it can be tough. The first time I did this, it was a lot tougher. After I’ve reloaded this magazine a few times, it’s gotten much easier, but still that 10th round is a little bit of a bear to get like that.

You got to get that just right, but you can do it. You just got to push down, man up and get it in there. This gets easier as you shoot it.

On the magazine that had 12 rounds, I was able only to get 10 rounds in the magazine and I was at the range. I didn’t have my Lula loader. Up Lulas are awesome.

Unfortunately, I’m not sure where my 12 round magazine is. So I just ordered a couple of more from MagShack, but the 12 rounder is more difficult to load. Again, we got 10 in there and we couldn’t get the additional two rounds.

And I talked about that during the review. So if you’re going for a full range day, I highly recommend the MagLula or Up Lula from Lula loaders. This thing will load about any magazine, this double stack or single stack for that matter.

Now, one other issue that I had is with a fully loaded magazine, entering it into the mag well, it seemed to bind a little bit at the top and it wouldn’t always seat completely. And so when I inserted it, I’d have to just tap it. So that was one thing we were finding.

The more I’ve used this mag, the less that’s happening. But the big thing is, is this is a very tight spring, which is going to give you reliability. So that is one of the issues is making sure that you just tap that into place.

One thing, if you don’t, and if it’s still hanging off, you can probably rack that one round in there, but once you fire it, then it’s going to lock the slide open and then you’ll have to hit your mag. So make sure you hit that mag home. Also, it just has small controls.

Now with a polymer striker fire pistol, there’s not a lot of controls you need to manipulate. You have your slide stop, very Glock like. We have our takedown lever.

That’s a decent size. Mag release is going to be a little smaller, but you can actually hit that with very little adjusting. And of course, if you have big hands and I can actually do that, mag release.

But of course, there’s nothing on the other side. Now, if you have the safety and this is one thing I’ve heard, I don’t have a frame safety, but some people have said that it’s a little tough at first and you need to move it. Another complaint has been is racking the pistol.

It’s not super easy to rack according to some, but to be honest with you, we have had no problems racking this slide. It’s not the Smith and Wesson EZ with that little slide very easily pulled, but to me, it’s really not that big a deal. It is a very small handgun, so the controls manipulating them are going to be just a little different, but overall that has not been a problem.

Some have had a few reliability issues, but again, we have had zero. And no matter what the problem is, Smith and Wesson will take care of any issues. As far as price goes, I’m seeing these come in for about 399.

If you can find them, these are very popular and there’s a lot of good reasons why. Am I recommending you buy this? I think that my recommendation is to go to a gun shop, put this in your hand, see how it feels, and I think you’re going to like it. And as far as, again, some of the issues that I’m seeing, we’re just not having.

The magazine loading is a little bit of a problem and getting it up in here, you’ve really got to mean to do it. But otherwise, this has been an excellent handgun. It’s so concealable, it’s so thin, it’s so lightweight, it’s easy to carry.

And speaking of weight, it weighs 11 and a half ounces. It is really lightweight. Now again, guys, this isn’t necessarily the handgun for everyone, but for me, it just seemed to check off all the boxes.

I love the size. I love the very compact way that you can pack this in a small holster, in an ankle rig, in a fanny pack, whatever. And you’ve got something that’s very capable in your hands.

Of course, ammunition choice is going to be important. And there are times when larger 9mm, 45, whatever, is going to be more suitable for the situation you’re in. But if you want something super lightweight that you can really live with, the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 is definitely one of those handguns.

Now again, in full disclosure, Smith & Wesson did send the Bodyguard for this review, but that does not taint the reasons why I carry this and have chosen to carry this as my regular concealed carry. Again, I have other options, and I do carry more capable firearms for different situations. But for everyday use, just around town, this is a great little option.

Be strong, be of good courage. God bless America. Long live the Republic.

-Don