Palm-Sized Pistol: Bodyguard 2.0 Review

I tested the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0, a palm-sized 12+1 380 Auto pistol that weighs less than 10 oz. This gun looked and operated like a miniaturized M&P 2.0, one of the most comfortable duty guns on the market today. At the end of this test, I found that the Bodyguard 2.0 has all of the qualities of a good defensive handgun.

I suppose I have been on a personal campaign to highlight the utility of pocket guns. Often people come to me asking what they should carry off duty. I explain that carrying a concealed firearm is a practice full of compromise. That is, smaller guns often mean smaller calibers, or reduced ergonomics. As the efficiency of smaller calibers gets better, and gun designs get better, people can carry smaller guns. The Bodyguard 2.0 is the perfect balance between size and efficiency. Though I steer people towards 9mm guns, a good 380 Auto in competent hands will work.

The Bodyguard 2.0 comes in two configurations; with or without a thumb safety. I picked the one without the safety to test, but really could have gone either way. My S&W Shield in 40 has a thumb safety, and anyone can train to sweep it of when engaging a target without changing anything about the engagement speed. It is simply an added layer of safety for the user. My only recommendation here is to integrate manual safety use into training drills for the particular gun.

The Bodyguard 2.0 has the same thin grip of the M&P, which fits most hands, even large ones. I found the web of my hand always found correct positioning in the contour of the beavertail. The front and rear stippling pattern adds to the ability for the hand to index on the grip. They added the detail of a stippled trigger finger index, and enough grip for a two handed hold.

I loaded up the Bodyguard 2.0’s 12 round magazines, and stepped back to 7 yards. I started with slide manipulations; Tap-Rack-Target drills, without a magazine. The Bodyguard has the same aggressive slide cuts as the M&P 2.0, along with a captured recoil spring that made the slide very easy to rack. This was a good week for me to test this gun, as I had a hand injury at the time. This gun is easy to clear, and even easier to press check.

I emptied the first magazine into the target. I was shooting Winchester “White Box” 380 rounds, which are pretty common practice cartridges. These are 95 grain target loads that run around 950 fps. Even though this gun weighs 9.8 oz, I was able to rapid fire a group as if I was shooting a 22. I have a couple of friends who use M&P 2.0’s for this very reason. The geometry allows for a softer felt recoil.

The Bodyguard has Full sized drift adjustable sights. The front dot is tritium. The rear is a wide U-notch. It was easy to align these sights. They are boxy enough to align quickly in my plane of vision, and follow up shots are easy. The gun shot a little low and to the left. If I was keeping the gun-if I could have kept the gun-I would have drifted the sights. It shot well enough for my testing purposes. Even while dumping 12 shots in a few seconds, it shot small groups. The Bodyguard is not optic ready, and  like iron sights on micro guns.  

I did shoot fast with it. For such a concealable gun, it had a very stable platform. This is the reason I would also recommend the Bodyguard 2.0 as both a backup and off duty gun.

Here’s the thing: The Bodyguard 2.0 feels like a companion to the duty gun, even though it is pocket pistol sized. It can be called upon to do duty gun things, like holding a suspect at gunpoint, keeping the off-duty Officer in familiar territory at all times. Question: How many of us have stopped while off duty because their fellow Officer has initiated a traffic stop and her backup has not arrived yet? Not every Officer carries the duty sized gun with those shorts and flip flops. The Bodyguard 2.0 is the gun for this.

I do not like magazine safeties, and the Bodyguard 2.0 does not have one. I find that magazine safeties simply add another element that could introduce Murphy’s Law into the practice of self-defense. The Bodyguard 2.0 has a trigger safety and a striker block style of safety. Both worked well in providing safe and intuitive operation.

The magazines were fairly easy to load, even without a loader. They flew free from the magazine well, empty or full. The 12 round magazine has a short grip extension, which still keeps the gun pocket sized.

At the range, I field stripped and inspected the Bodyguard 2.0. I liked the fact that it has an external extractor, which is easy to clean, inspect, and maintain. The firing system is solid, with no play in the trigger linkage and a consistent sear engagement.

The only thing that I had to inspect closer was the safety on the trigger face. On most of the newer striker fired pistols, the trigger safety is a protrusion from the trigger that prevents the rearward pull without a finger depressing this part first. On the full sized M&P 2.0, it is a skeletonized ramp. On the Bodyguard 2.0, it is more of a treadle, which almost extends the full length of the trigger. I thought it might be a little too generous. Later, I found it to be perfect.

The trigger safety seemed to allow the finger to get a lot of leverage on the trigger. It actually feels like a tuned trigger, with very little play, even though it is for an EDC platform. This is a product of great engineering.

When we evaluate firearms, there are plenty of tangible factors that come into play; accuracy, reliability, quality of build, and similar factors. However, the factors that cause end users to actually purchase a gun are intangible. For the Bodyguard 2.0, the deciding factor is “shootability”.  I’ll do my best to capture this definition: I can take a new or beginning shooter, hand them a Bodyguard 2.0, and have them shooting confidently in record time.

The Bodyguard 2.0 is 4” high and 5.5” long, and .88” wide. It has a 2.75” barrel. It comes with two magazines: 10-round and a 12-round.  It has all of the accuracy that one would want from a handgun. For agencies that carry M&P duty guns, this is a natural transition to off duty. However, this gun is more. It is something I would recommend to new shooters. It is a gun that most people could carry anywhere. Some agencies go as far as issuing an off duty gun in case an emergency necessitates an immediate response. If this is your agency, this is the gun.