I own a pocket gun and you probably do, too. In fact, I own a few that can adequately do pocket duty. There are times when it’s just a lot easier to slip a pistol into a pocket than it is to strap one on your hip. For those times, my pocket gun of choice has been a Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard .380. It does what you want in a pocket gun. It’s chambered in a reasonable caliber, it’s very slim, doesn’t weight much, and it’s easy to tote in a simple holster that covers its trigger.
I’ve owned my little Bodyguard 380 for more than a decade, since back in the heyday of “mouse guns.” I’ve carried it a lot over the years a little Uncle Mike’s Number 1 pocket holster. With modern defensive ammunition, it’s effective enough to do the job when I want to carry the smallest gun I can.
Now, after making the original model for more than a decade, Smith & Wesson has done a thorough update of the gun. A lot has changed in the intervening years and the new M&P Bodyguard 2.0 looks like it’s been rethought in just about every way to reflect that.
The original Bodyguard was fine and competitive enough in its category for when it was made (think of similar guns such as the KelTec P3AT and the Ruger LCP). But that was then. In an age of P365s, Hellcats, and Shield Pluses, the gun-buying public has come to expect more. No, those nines aren’t really pocket guns, but they’ve set the bar to a higher overall level for carry guns in general. And that’s why this drastically updated Bodyguard 2.0 is such a welcome addition.
One of the most important updates is the change from DAO hammer-fired to a striker-fired action. That has significantly improved the Bodyguard 2.0’s trigger over the original. While the hammer-fired 1.0 had a long DAO pull and required that the trigger be let all the way out before firing again, the 2.0 (after some take-up) breaks cleanly and has a short reset.
No one will mistake the Bodyguard 2.0’s trigger for that of a tuned Performance Center M&P9 (or even a standard M&P9 for that matter), but it’s a significant improvement over the original Bodyguard 380.
The Bodyguard 2.0’s sights are another big step up. The original’s sights could best be described as rudimentary. You don’t expect much more on a mouse gun, as they’re mostly intended to be used at bad breath distance.
With the 2.0, however, you get actual useable night sights. There’s a tritium illuminated orange dot on the front with a dotless serrated rear sight. Sure, the 2.0 is still a pocket(able) gun but it’s no longer a two-finger rodent gun.
And that’s the third big change. Smith & Wesson has completely redesigned the Bodyguard’s look and feel. While the 1.0 had M&P stamped on its slide, it bore no resemblance to the rest of the M&P pistols. The Bodyguard 2.0 now has a look and feel that’s consistent with the rest of the M&P line, from its grip style and texture to the serrations on the slide.
That redesign isn’t only aesthetic. It vastly improves the Bodyguard 2.0’s ergonomics. The grip is much feels much better in the hand — not as rectangular, shorter from front to back — and it’s slightly longer. That added length helps with the final very big improvement…the 2.0’s capacity.
Like its competitors, the 1.0 held 6+1. Again, not bad for a mouse gun. But single stack is so six years ago. By making the 2.0’s grip slightly rounder, a little longer, and a whole lot more comfy in the hand, it can hold 10+1 rounds with the flush magazine and 12+1 with the extended magazine (both are included with the gun). I can attest that in the short time I’ve carried the 2.0, those additional rounds give you an enhanced level of peace of mind over the original.
The place you really appreciated the cumulative effect of all of those improvements is, as you’d expect, at the range. While still small and eminently pocketable, the Bodyguard 2.0 actually feels like a gun as opposed to the little 1.0 mouse gun. The 2.0 is pleasant to shoot. You won’t mind putting a box of ammo down range to cycle your carry ammo and maintain your skills.
In the end, the updates Smith & Wesson has made here — a full redesign, really — are literally everything I would have suggest if they’d asked me…which they didn’t. It’s still small enough to slip into a coat or pants pocket and be carried easily. But now it has a much better trigger, feels better in the hand, and packs enough rounds to be much more useful if the worst should every happen. The Bodyguard 2.0 is now a very good, very viable option that has everything you’d want in a gun on which your life may depend.
Specifications: Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard 2.0
Caliber: .380 ACP
Capacity: 10+1 (flush, 12+1 extended)
Barrel Length: 2.75 inches
Overall Length: 5.5 inches
Width: .88 inches
Weight: 9.8 ounces
MSRP: $449
Call me nitpicky, but the thumbnail for the embedded YT vid at the top of this page shows the support side thumb *way* too far forward, the tip being literally only 1/2″ from the muzzle. Bad practice (violates the training I’ve undergone all my adult life) and ends up being what I remember most from this article now, overshadowing whatever else intended to be conveyed in the text below it.
No biggie, looks safe enough to me.
Two years ago, I was in a course in which a fellow student near me literally lost his thumbnail due to the pressure exerted on the tip of his thumb from such poor grip. That’s not a safe place for a body part.
I enjoyed reading your review of S&W Bodyguard 2.0 👍🏿👍🏿🇺🇸🇺🇸. I have the S&W Equalizer 9mm and I am seriously considering added the Bodyguard 2.0 to my EDC carry . Thanks , Wayne A.
To the shootingnewsweekly.com admin, Good job!
This summer I have had several tasks which all but precluded carrying a firearm (either concealed or openly visible) in holster on my hip. That was a first in my life. What was practical, though, was carrying a “mouse gun” in my pocket. And I resigned myself to the fact that I had 6 + 1 capacity in my particular mouse gun.
I recognize the obvious utility of having a 10+1 round capacity over a 6 + 1 round capacity. I also realized something this summer being limited to a mouse gun in my pocket. I could carry a mouse gun in both front pockets! That is my go-to solution now when I cannot carry a handgun on my hip. Thus I have actually have 12 + 2 capacity AND a spare handgun!
Is it plus p rated?