When Smith & Wesson introduced its original Bodyguard .380 design, it proved fairly popular, but it still had some limitations, notably its single-stack magazine design and a long, double-action trigger pull for its hammer-fired operating system. The company went back to the drawing board with its Bodyguard 2.0 in 2024 and came up with a compact, shootable design that’s perfect for concealed carry. Watch our “American Rifleman Television” Rifleman Review segment above to see the details of this small, lightweight .380.
“So when Smith & Wesson announced that they were coming out with their Bodyguard 2.0, I think a lot of people were blown away by just how small this thing is,” American Rifleman Executive Editor Evan Brune said. “This is really designed to be a true kind of backup pistol design.”
Designed with a striker-fired operating system, the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 is chambered in .380 ACP and makes use of a stagger-stack magazine design that increases capacity, despite the gun’s limited dimensions. A flush-fit magazine holds 10 rounds, and a 12-round extended magazine is also included with the gun.
“Smith & Wesson decided, with the 2.0 version of the Bodyguard, they were really gonna focus on creating a really easily carried, shootable version of its Bodyguard, and this really ticks all the boxes,” Brune said. “I mean, one of the great things about this is, when you look at the ergonomics of the gun, even in a flush fit configuration, you can still get a pretty solid grip on that, which is great.”
Thanks to the locked-breech operating system used on the Bodyguard 2.0, the company was able to reduce the gun’s slide mass, as well as lower the amount of force required to get the gun into battery. This makes the pistol easy to rack for those with weaker hand strength, and the reduced mass also lowers the weight to just under 12 ozs., unloaded.
“You know, there have been smaller .380s than this, but in terms of combining shootability with concealability, it’s really hard to get much better than this package right here,” Brune said. “So big kudos to Smith & Wesson for taking another stab at the Bodyguard .380 design and really knocking it out of the park with the 2.0.”
Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0
Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson
Action Type: blowback-operated, semi-automatic, centerfire pistol
Chambering: .380 ACP
Barrel: 2.75″; five-groove, 1:10″ RH twist
Frame: polymer
Sights: dovetailed; square-notch rear, tritium dot front
Overall Length: 5.5″
Height: 4″
Width: 0.88″
Weight: 11.4 ozs.
Trigger: 5 lbs., 10 ozs.
Magazine: 10-round detachable box
Accessories: owner’s manual, 12-round magazine, lock
MSRP: $449
To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/videos/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.
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