Well it seems Smith and Wesson are following the crowd and have introduced a .380 pocket pistol of their own. Much like all the rest it seems to be a double-action only pocket pistol. Unlike all the others Smith and Wesson decided to toss on a manual safety.
They also introduced a new pocket revolved. Nothing too fancy.
Both guns are produced under the moniker Bodyguard. Likewise both have integrated laser pointers.
The “Bodyguard .380” is interesting, but it looks like S&W failed to market it well already. See how it looks exacly like a subcompact M&P9? calling it something silly like this, IMO, is tossing out a major marketing hook. Instead of “A subcompact M&P”, consumers will likely see “Another subcompact .380″.
What’s in a name? A lot.
Crud, I forgot about the laser. Bad call, I say. putting a laser in it will inflate the price quite a bit, possibly to the $800 mark (I bet MSRP will be $750)
The price, and integrated laser (read: no option) just might drive customers away.
I for one, would prefer an LCP with a Crimson Trace laser, holster, spare mags and a surefire light to that Bodyguard.
The one thing I will say about the integrated laser though is finding holsters for it should be easier. Once problem with the LCP (At least it was when I got mine) is trying to find a holster for one with a mounted laser. Fortunately mine doesn’t have the laser so finding a holster wasn’t a big deal but I know quite a few people with them who’ve attached lasers and they say it’s very difficult to find a holster for the bloody thing.
The other thing I will say is the iron sights on my pocket pistols are useless. This isn’t that big of a deal considering the ranges they are normally used at but having a laser sight would probably help.
On the other hand it adds cost to a gun that is normally very affordable.
The pending MSRP I found is $575. Looks like I was off a bit (not a bad thing in this case) but i’d still prefer the LCP/crimson trace option (which is still cheaper).
The revolver, however, I simply don’t like. The cylinder release is apparently where the hammer is supposed to be! All of my revolvers will have hammers (well, all my autoloaders too…) so that just won’t work for me (and many others, I’m sure).