BACKGROUND
I bought the weapon last spring and have since put, maybe, 1,200 rounds through it. I have had to send it back to S & W twice because the laser screw periodically came loose and jammed the slide. That problem was never really fixed, but I learned to work around it by tightening the screw every 100 rounds or so. Not an ideal solution, but I can live with it.
After the second trip to S & W, the weapon usually did not lock back after I'd fired the last round. Again, not an ideal situation, but one with which I can live.
Today, after putting 150 or so rounds through the weapn, the take-down lever broke in half. It did not come out of the weapon, but the part of the lever on the outside of the gun broke in half. The 380 is headed back to S & W.
I'm getting to the point at which I don't have much confidence in the weapon, but I'm not quite ready to get rid of it. The Bodyguard 380 is my only experience with a mouse gun, and I very much like the fact that it has an external safety (I'm not looking to start a debate about safeties on carry weapons; I've read those threads), I like its weight, and I like its concealability. Plus, the person at the gun store who handles returning the weapon suggested to me that I'm firing it too much.
QUESTIONS
First, am I firing it too much? I hope not because, frankly, I need the practice. Yes I could practice with another weapon, but I want to trust the gun I carry, not the gun in my safe.
Second, are problems of this type and frequency just to be expected with a mouse gun?
Third, has anyone ever heard of a take-down lever simply shearing in half? This seems bizarre to me, and I wonder if it's not indicative of a larger problem.
Finally, might stepping up to an LC9 solve my problems? I might accept the slight loss of concealability and increase in weight that such a move would require, but not if I'm going to have to keep sending the weapon back for repairs.
Sorry for such a long post, but that little gun is putting me through my paces.
I bought the weapon last spring and have since put, maybe, 1,200 rounds through it. I have had to send it back to S & W twice because the laser screw periodically came loose and jammed the slide. That problem was never really fixed, but I learned to work around it by tightening the screw every 100 rounds or so. Not an ideal solution, but I can live with it.
After the second trip to S & W, the weapon usually did not lock back after I'd fired the last round. Again, not an ideal situation, but one with which I can live.
Today, after putting 150 or so rounds through the weapn, the take-down lever broke in half. It did not come out of the weapon, but the part of the lever on the outside of the gun broke in half. The 380 is headed back to S & W.
I'm getting to the point at which I don't have much confidence in the weapon, but I'm not quite ready to get rid of it. The Bodyguard 380 is my only experience with a mouse gun, and I very much like the fact that it has an external safety (I'm not looking to start a debate about safeties on carry weapons; I've read those threads), I like its weight, and I like its concealability. Plus, the person at the gun store who handles returning the weapon suggested to me that I'm firing it too much.
QUESTIONS
First, am I firing it too much? I hope not because, frankly, I need the practice. Yes I could practice with another weapon, but I want to trust the gun I carry, not the gun in my safe.
Second, are problems of this type and frequency just to be expected with a mouse gun?
Third, has anyone ever heard of a take-down lever simply shearing in half? This seems bizarre to me, and I wonder if it's not indicative of a larger problem.
Finally, might stepping up to an LC9 solve my problems? I might accept the slight loss of concealability and increase in weight that such a move would require, but not if I'm going to have to keep sending the weapon back for repairs.
Sorry for such a long post, but that little gun is putting me through my paces.
)
