S&W Bodyguard 380 for home defense (opinions welcome)

[moosehead]

Why the lc9s and not a sr9?

Because he seems to be caught up on the small size issue. My wife's birthday is this weekend. I hope to have a conversation, and try to figure out what he's looking for and why.

 

[Hopper]

Boy, I'll second the SR9C. It's not much larger form-factor wise than a baby Glock, but slimmer, and I think the trigger on it is fantastic! If your FIL has a gimpy trigger finger, I don't think the Bodyguard will work well. I shot one at a range last winter that a buddy of mine had rented, and the trigger was HORRIBLE, might as well have been pulling my index finger the length of a football field before it broke, not to mention heavy.

I did have a chance to dry fire the new Ruger LC9S last weekend. The trigger on it was as good as, perhaps even slightly better than, the SR9C. If that size is more what he's after, I don't think he'll be disappointed with the trigger, even with a bum finger. I was very impressed. Hickok45 has a fairly current video shooting it, might be good to show your FIL the YouTube video.

 

[addictedhealer]

Also vote sr9c. Affordable and crisp light trigger. Less recoil and snap than any of those baby guns and can fit the 17 round mag. Bonus is it's American made other than the magazines. Love mine, been carrying it lately and it shoots excellent and feels good!

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

the subcompact is no longer the "baby Glock"
...as that title now belongs to the 42...
(tell him to give that thing a whirl)

 

[lovemachine]

the subcompact is no longer the "baby Glock"
...as that title now belongs to the 42...
(tell him to give that thing a whirl)

That doesn't make any sense.

The Glock subcompact's are the G26 (9mm) and G27 (.40).

The Glock is just their .380. It's not a compact, subcompact or even a full size. It's just a .380.

 

[CindyE]

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one here who dislikes the SR9C. I think ours was probably just a lemon, and there may be tons of good ones out there. The slide on ours was very hard to pull back. I do have small hands, but I am not weak, and have no trouble with almost any other semi-auto. If he's not going to carry, or rarely carry, I'd want something like a full size 9mm, maybe an SR9 instead of SR9C? My favorite 9mm is my Browning Hi-Power.

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

the subcompact is no longer the "baby Glock"
...as that title now belongs to the 42...
(tell him to give that thing a whirl)

That doesn't make any sense.

The Glock subcompact's are the G26 (9mm) and G27 (.40).

The Glock is just their .380. It's not a compact, subcompact or even a full size. It's just a .380.

lol
what I meant was since the 42 is smaller than the 26, 27, etc
that the 42 could now be called the "baby glock"...
EWIDFM

 

[Water63]

Just take him gun shopping. There are some nice used guns that will fit the bill. With that said how much is he going to range shoot? The 9mm is a nice gun for defense and a easy shooting range gun that won't break the bank to shoot. I saw a used M&P the other day with 3 mags for $325. There are deals to be had my

 

[Ricnzak]

I would start with the $25 spring kit from Apex on the J frame. If that dosen't do it go to a range with some rentals. The BG 380 has a longer trigger than the j frame. It takes some getting used to. He is welcome to shoot my BG to try. What about a Walter PPK? They are owned by S&W. The weight will help with the recoil.

 

[remauto1187]

P89, P91, etc could be a non starter due to the heavy DA pull on the first round. Other than that you are correct. SOLID guns, easy to shoot, and can be had for under 300 in some cases. I have an 89 and LOVE it. Its fun to shoot. He probably needs to stick to a striker fired weapon though so he isnt worried about that first DA pull.

Thats only if he was to get the P89 DAO model. There is also a P89 DA/SA model and the hammer goes back and cocks when you rack the slide. You of course can decock it and that would put it in DA mode. It has a safety so you could carry cocked and locked.

P series rugers are rather large frame handguns. My first handgun I ever owned was P89 DA/SA model. Great gun and it never missed a bit on me. It gobbled everything I ever loaded it with.

 

[Vigilant]

That doesn't make any sense.

The Glock subcompact's are the G26 (9mm) and G27 (.40).

The Glock is just their .380. It's not a compact, subcompact or even a full size. It's just a .380.

Really, it's just something to carry when you can't carry a gun!(purple as necessary)

 

[Cameramonkey]

Thats only if he was to get the P89 DAO model. There is also a P89 DA/SA model and the hammer goes back and cocks when you rack the slide. You of course can decock it and that would put it in DA mode. It has a safety so you could carry cocked and locked.

P series rugers are rather large frame handguns. My first handgun I ever owned was P89 DA/SA model. Great gun and it never missed a bit on me. It gobbled everything I ever loaded it with.

Are you sure? My P89 is NOT a DAO as far as I can tell. However it DOES go DA if you apply the safety after you rack the slide. My gut says if its a DAO the hammer will follow the slide after each shot and not stay back (which mine does). So even the DA/SA models may not be fit for a shooter with a gimpy finger as the safety forces it into a DA mode.(I can illustrate if necessary)


And I am particularly sensitive to this because of an incident in my short lived employment at a private security firm almost two decades ago... I chose to carry a P91DC. That weapon had no "actual" safety per se, and relied on the DA decock mode for a "safety". I was a fresh face in the company and was working the nigh shift at my assigned location. A supervisor stopped by in the wee hours to check on me. At some point in the conversation he noticed my gun wasnt in "safe" mode. He started jumping my sh** asking why my safety wasnt on, pointing out that his P89 safety was engaged and he expected me to engage mine as well, to wit I pointed out that my sidearm WAS in the safest mode possible for my weapon since it didnt have an actual "safety". I thought it was odd, but let it go.

A little while later it was time to go through the annual(?) certification course and qualify with my sidearm in the class that was required. This is a class for all of the new hires to get trained and then go to the range and qualify. I recall hearing that one of my fellow students was a long term employee who had a ND, and therefore was required to recertify (and not just requalify on the range) Lo and behold who was in the class with me? That same "Barney Fife"-ish super who berated me for not having my sidearm in a (non existent) safe mode. That nights discussion suddenly made perfect sense.

 

[danielson]

Home defense gun = shotgun, IMO

Pistols are not the best choice for defense... The reason many people rely on them is because they are portable, thats important when your walking around town, running errands, but if your talking strictly home defense, portability is irrelevant. Keep the .380 as a backup home defense gun, but he would really be better off with a pump action 12ga, or 20ga if recoil of 12ga is too much. Its hard to beat buckshot in the home defense role.

 

[ChalupaCabras]

I think 380 is an acceptable carry gun...

But why, why, oh why would you choose a sub-compact 380 for home, where you have essentially no restraints on what kind of weapon to employ?

A 20g pump, an AR-15, a full sized serivce pistol in 9mm, are all better options than a pocket pistol.

 

[looney2ns]

Ruger SR9e, can be had for $325 or less brand new.
I also agree on the Sr9c as being a great option. Really not that much bigger then the LC9. And in my opinion the LC9 has an undesirable snappy recoil.

 

[Dundee]

Home defense gun = shotgun, IMO

Pistols are not the best choice for defense... The reason many people rely on them is because they are portable, thats important when your walking around town, running errands, but if your talking strictly home defense, portability is irrelevant. Keep the .380 as a backup home defense gun, but he would really be better off with a pump action 12ga, or 20ga if recoil of 12ga is too much. Its hard to beat buckshot in the home defense role.

This is good advice!

 

[Bluestarbass]

That doesn't make any sense.

The Glock subcompact's are the G26 (9mm) and G27 (.40).

The Glock is just their .380. It's not a compact, subcompact or even a full size. It's just a .380.

What about the 25 and 28?

 

[possum_128]

Might I suggest the sar 9 or the witness ? Both are 15 + 1 9mm with safety and the best part is they are both less that 300.00!

 

[crispy]

Might I suggest the sar 9 or the witness ? Both are 15 + 1 9mm with safety and the best part is they are both less that 300.00!

What part of America are those manufactured in?

"He wants something American made"

Right there in the OP...

 

[possum_128]

What part of America are those manufactured in?

"He wants something American made"

Right there in the OP...

Well excuse me for trying to suggest some well made cheap guns! And why the heck do you even care you are not the op?