Kahr CW380 vs S&W Bodyguard 380?

[nuke]

Both have a $419 MSRP and the S&W has a factory laser. Does anyone have any real-life comparison info? If my CW9 is any indicator, a CW380 would be a dream. My wife loved a friends S&W Bodyguard 380 but she likes my CW9's proven reliability.

[dsk]

AFAIK production of the CW380 is still pending.

[nuke]

What made me think the CW380 was already on the street? Perhaps I confused some talk about the P380...

[dsk]

I'm silently hoping that maybe Kahr has delayed the release in order to do a few design tweaks and maybe iron out some of the bugs that continue to plague P380 owners.

[kahrseye]

My son bought the Bodyguard but traded it in a short period of time. He said he didn't like it. Didn't break down too easily as I recall.

[nuke]

My son bought the Bodyguard but traded it in a short period of time. He said he didn't like it. Didn't break down too easily as I recall.

That's something I need to ask my ex-brother-in-law (yeah, we're still good friends, much to my ex-wife's chagrin) since it was his carry that prompted my wife to have me research.

[southsound]

I can't say much about the Kahr 380's but we have had a Bodyguard 380 for about a year. I bought it as a "church" gun as our S&W M&P 9c's were just too big to conceal without a heavy over shirt. The Bodyguard was just the ticket in a pocket holster and later in a Blackhawk IWB holster. When my bride wanted it for her EDC, I had opportunity to purchase my first Kahr - a CM9. I love the CM9 as my EDC but my bride has difficulty racking it and is quite happy with the BG. I've only carried it once since I got the Kahr - she forgot her wallet and to keep things legal I carried it AIWB on my weak side along with the CM9 on my strong side. The picture below shows the Bodyguard on top and my CM9 below - both sitting comfortably in their Kusiak Leather holsters.:)

http://soundlearning.com/Pictures/K7.JPG

[gunshinestateCW9]

http://soundlearning.com/Pictures/K7.JPG

Those r some nice/slim lookin holsters u got there! Me likey!

[JFootin]

Those r some nice/slim lookin holsters u got there! Me likey!

The Kusiak is the only holster that works for comfortable AIWB carry of my CM9. Wierd, though. It is very uncomfortable on or behind my hip. But I got it for AIWB carry and I'm pleased.

[Chogers]

i'm silently hoping that maybe kahr has delayed the release in order to do a few design tweaks and maybe iron out some of the bugs that continue to plague p380 owners.

you could not of said it any better brother!!! Amen to that!!!

[nuke]

I... we have had a Bodyguard 380 for about a year...



What are thoughts regarding ease of break down (see post #5)?

[southsound]

What are thoughts regarding ease of break down (see post #5)?

I find it as easy as can be. Takes me less time to field strip and clean the BG that it does for the CM9. Still have to fight with the slide stop on the CM9 and I am constantly reminded that I should have watched the take-down videos because of the scratches I put on the slide when trying to re-insert it after cleaning (grimace). The only gotcha with the BG is that you have to check the screw that holds the laser to make sure it is tight every time you clean the weapon.

On the other hand, I just bought a Windham SCR AR15 and after reading the field stripping procedure, any of my pistols will be a dream. Maybe I could hire a gun valet to clean the rifle - kind of like the folks who bring out a freshly tuned guitar to the rock stars. I wonder if my bride would mind if the valet was a cute young female with... oh nevermind. That would never fly. :rolleyes:

[nuke]

...I wonder if my bride would mind if the valet was a cute young female with... oh nevermind. That would never fly. :rolleyes:

I'm sorry, what did I originally post? You think like me... :cool:

Great input regarding the break down. Thanks.

[nuke]

I e-mailed Kahr and they responded:


"The CW380s are supposed to be getting release in the next 30-60 days.

Demand for current production models has been taking priority over the CW380s."
I suspect it has more to do with working out the bugs as previously mentioned.

[AB1968]

I had a Bodyguard & it is a nice gun if you can get over the 10#+ trigger pull, that said I could do good with it. Last year I sold it with the hope of getting the CW380, anyway I went for the P380 & love it. Its easier to shoot with its sweet trigger & I find it more accurate, probably due to the trigger? As far as the laser, I don't miss it, at defense distances I'm more accurate & faster getting on target with the P380. True it was quite a bit more $ but it also feels & is built a lot better, fit, finish & materials than the Smith. Don't get me wrong, I like S&W's, I have a Shield I wouldn't give up, the P380 is a better gun.

[nuke]

Well, my wife was too anxious to wait for the CW380 and she ordered the S&W BG380. If she doesn't like the trigger pull (which I also read about on the S&W forum), then I guess she'll just HAVE to give it to me to "play" with. Oh, darn...

[ddr1981]

I have a Bodyguard and CW380. I bought the Bodyguard with no research because I was with a coworker at the gun shop who was buying one. I wanted something slightly smaller than my PM40 that I could pocket carry at work more discretely.

The trigger on the Bodyguard is awful. It is super long and very vague. The real problem was that the Bodyguard would fail to fire 10-20% of the time. When firing, I would try and take some of the slack out of the trigger so I was more accurate (I'm sure this was causing the light strikes). The gun would strike the primer lightly causing a failure to fire. My co-worker's Bodyguard also had the same issues (he's ex-military so I am confident in his ability). The good thing with the Bodyguard is that you can just pull the trigger again right away. Even better than that, I sold the Bodyguard yesterday for nearly what I paid for it.

I just got back from the range and ran 200 rounds through the CW380 and had one failure to eject (all cheap reloaded range ammo). I'm happy with that and am glad to get the break-in out of the way. I had a few failures with my PM40 during break-in, but it has been flawless after. So I have full confidence in the CW380 now that I put 200 rounds down range.

As far as CW vs P... I paid a premium for my PM. Love the gun, but don't think it is really worth nearly twice the price. So this time around I went with the CW380 and not the P380.

And for the people discussing breakdown: I thought the Bodyguard was easier to take down than the Kahr. I hate removing the slide stop pin in the Kahr and wish it had a lever or the Glock style takedown lever/button.

[drewski115]

Only shot 1 mag thru a Bodyguard and thought the gun was awful. Bad trigger and way too snappy. Hated the activation of the laser. Take down was a pain and reassembly was ever worse. Ended up buying a CW380 without shooting it. I was relaying on my experience with my PM9 as an expectation for the CW. I was not disappointed. Very smooth and soft shooting for a little 380. Take down was the same as the PM which when I first took it down it was troublesome but since I have mastered it and to me is much easier than the Bodyguard. Very happy with my purchase.

[smokersteve]

I had a bodyguard and did not care for it at all. Myself, my son, and his friend went to shoot the bodyguard and after 32 rounds total we were all done with it. Yes the trigger is horrible and yes it is one snappy gun. Takedown wasn't to bad. Fortunately I was able to sell it at very little $ loss.
I now own a CW380 and really like it. The trigger is nice and the recoil is not bad at all. The other day I shot 120 rounds through it. I have tendinitis in my wrist and the CW380 doesn't bother it at all.

[mikemc53]

I sold my BG to get the CW380. The trigger on the BG is as long and heavy as any I've shot but it really wasn't bad once I got used to it. That said, though, the trigger on the CW380 is so smooth and clean that they are just not in the same class.

The BG is easy to break down and is a real nice gun but like some others have noted I started having failure to fire about 10-15% of the time. Couple that with the fact that I absolutely love my CM9 - so when I got a line on a CW380 it was adios BG. I don't regret it at all, by the way. My 2 Kahrs are fantastic and have kind of spoiled me for most other handguns.