Tag Archives: handgun review

July 27, 2024 · 4:53 pm

First Look: Smith and Wesson’s new Bodyguard 2.0 TS

Ursula and I made a recent stop at my favorite local gun store, Collector’s Gun Exchange. As I was perusing the shop, focusing mainly upon the more collectible firearms, salesman Cameron was playing around with a neat little pistol that had just arrived a very few hours earlier. He handed it over to me and asked what I thought of it. My first impression upon feeling the weight and noting the diminutive size was, is this a .22? Nope. It was the new Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 2.0, which comes chambered in .380 ACP/9mm kurz. I was immediately impressed. And when Cameron pointed out to me that this striker-fired elf came with a manual thumb safety, I was pretty much sold.

S&W Bodyguard 2.0 .380 TS (Thumb Safety)

And then I tried the trigger. Smooth, and light. Lighter than even my Sig P365 SAS (which I modified to include a manual safety), which I’ve carried for five years now, but not as good as the single-action mode on my previous carry weapon, the incomparabe Walther P99c AS. My only minor quibble was the longish takeup, about 5mm, with the reset coming in at about the same. More on the trigger later.

S&W Bodyguard 2.0 TS — comes with a 10-round and 12-round magazine

It’s nice that Smith and Wesson includes both a 10-round and 12-round magazine. It would be even better if S&W included a second 12-rounder for a total of three magazines, but since Sig Sauer only gave me two 10-rounders with the P365 I guess I’m not going to complain.

TS = Thumb Safety; NTS = No Thumb Safety

The Bodyguard 2.0 comes in two flavors — Rocky Road and Strawberry Cheesecake. No, wait. I’m thinking of something else. The Bodyguard 2.0 flavors are TS and NTS. The Bodyguard 2.0 TS is equipped with an ambidextrous Thumb Safety, and the NTS has No Thumb Safety. When it comes to a carry weapon, I’m all about the safety. All my carry pieces are either double-action/single-action, have a manual safety, or both. Holding the Bodyguard in my right had, I have no trouble disengaging or re-engaging the safety. Switching to the left hand did not go as smoothly for some reason. Unless my left thumb is drastically weaker than my right, which I doubt, this thing is just darn sticky on the starboard side of the firearm. I’ve been working the safety a bit, and it seems to be smoothing out.

Bodyguard 2.0 TS with ambidextrous manual thumb safety

Now back to the trigger. It’s a flat-face, which seems to be the current rage. And it does seem to assist somewhat in keeping a consistent pull. I rather like it. The pull weight is defintely nice, as well. A five-pull average on my trusty Lyman Digital Guage shows 4 pounds 3.6 ounces/1,915 grams. That certainly beats the P365, which comes in at 6 pounds 8.7 ounces/2,969 grams. For an additional comparison, the AS trigger on the Walther P99 was advertised as 4.4 pounds/2kg in single-action and exactly twice that in double-action. So, the P99’s single-action pretty much matches the Bodyguard’s pull weight.

Bodyguard 2.0 controls — takedown lever, slide lock, safety (engaged)

The Bodyguard’s takedown and reassembly beats the P365 hands down, but that’s because the SAS variant of the P365 swaps out an actual lever for a difficult-to-manipulate slotted head. One word of caution on taking down the Bodyguard: with the slide locked back, depress the ejector all the way down. It’s even more important to make sure the ejector is down before reinstalling the slide. Failure to do so will potentially snag the ejector and possibly damage it.

To raise the ejector after reassembly, simply insert an empty magazine. If you don’t raise the ejector, the trigger will not engage the striker and you will be unable to function-check the firearm after getting it back together.

Bodyguard ejector in the raised position; make sure you lower it.

After removing the slide, everything else is a snap. Compress the guide rod and lift away from the barrel lug, then remove the barrel:

Reassembly is not quite as easy. I had a dickens of a time reinstalling the guide rod. The darn spring just refused to compress. It was almost as if the spring was binding at the forward end of the rod when I placed it into the slide guide rod cutout. Several attempts to remove the guide rod and compress the spring with my fingers, and later a flathead screwdriver, took quite a bit of effort. But after repeated attempts I got the spring to move, and eventually got the guide rod back in, compressed, and reseated onto the barrel lug. I suspect I may have a faulty spring, but once I got it back in there was no binding.

The sights are a bit like a Spaghetti Western — There’s the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good is that the front sight is tritium with a high-visibility orange surround. The bad are that the tritium portion is very tiny. The ugly is the absolutely hideous U-notch rear sight — all black with no side indices for low-light acquisition and a ridiculously wide notch. There will be no match shooting with this handgun. But, then again, that’s not why it exists. Inside of 25 yards/23.8 meters I doubt I’ll have problems keeping on paper. I may not be as accurate in the dark, however. There’s simply no way to tell if I have the front sight within the notch, let alone have it centered left, right, up, or down. That’s certainly a minus in comparison with the P365’s Mepro FT Bullseye, even though the FT Bullseye also has its challenges in low-light situations.

Bodyguard 2.0 tritium front sight with orange surround

So, am I ready to swap out the P365? I think so. I’m definitely going to consider it after I’ve thoroughly checked out the Bodyguard for reliability. It’s smaller, much lighter, and holds the same number of rounds. The only downside is that I’ll be stepping down to .380 ACP/9mm kurz from the more powerful 9mm Luger. But, heck, I’ve even been known on occasion to carry .32 ACP/6.35 mm in a Beretta 3032 Tomcat or a Walther PPK and still not feel insufficiently armed.

I mentioned a moment ago that the S&W Bodyguard is considerably lighter than the Sig Sauer P365 SAS. I measured them today, both with empty 10-round magazines inserted. The P365 weighs 17.88 ounces/507 grams while the Bodyguard is a featherweight 11.48 ounces/326 grams.

S&W Bodyguard 2.0 TS Dimensions and Other Information:

Length: 5.5 inches/140mm
Height (with 10-round magazine): 4 inches/102mm
Width: 0.88 inches/22mm
Barrel length: 2.75 inches/70mm
Weight (with empty 10-round magazine): 11.48 ounces/326 grams
Capacity: 10+1 and 12+1 with included magazines
MSRP: $449
Street price: $399

Hopefully I’ll get out a range report soon. In the meantime, if you’ve any questions just leave me a comment.

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Filed under Firearms, R. Doug Wicker

Tagged as Bodyguard 2.0, Bodyguard 2.0 MSRP, Bodyguard 2.0 NTS, Bodyguard 2.0 TS, concealed carry, firearms, guns, handgun, handgun review, pistol, R. Doug Wicker, S&W, S&W Bodyguard 2.0, SIG P365, SIG Sauer P365, Smith & Wesson, Smith and Wesson

March 17, 2023 · 5:35 am

End of the Road for the Best Striker-Fired Polymer Pistol Ever Devised

Walther’s superlative, innovative P99 AS and P99c AS

The Walther P99 AS died in 2021. Or was it 2022? Many sources site the former year, but I’ve recently seen one P99 AS with a CC date code, which translates to 2022. Or did the P99 AS die this year? In February, while Ursula and I were on our most recent travels, Walther announced the “Final Edition” of what is, in my view, the best striker-fired polymer-framed pistol ever devised. And that’s a real shame, but not unexpected. Walther has been one of the most innovative manufactures of firearms over the past century. Alas, incompetent marketing has always been Walther’s undoing. The P99 AS was no exception to this propensity to make great weapons, and then fail to follow up on actually selling the darned things. The double-action/single-action semiautomatic? Walther invented that entire genre with its PP in 1929, then let the design gather dust until it was too late to salvage it with the far superior PP Super that came out 43 years later. The dropping block locking system? Walther pioneered that concept in the P38, but when you think of the dropping block today it’s the Beretta 92 that comes to mind. A double-action/single-action striker-fired pistol? Others claim to make such a beast, but the P99 possesses the only true DA/SA system with two different trigger pulls… or is it three?

A Walther P99 AS (Anti-Stress trigger) made in 2017 (BH date code)

The AS (Anti-Stress) trigger developed for the P99 has a double-action mode that rates at 8.8 pounds/4 kilograms and a .55-inch/ 14mm trigger pull length, and a single-action mode measuring exactly half that amount — 4.4 pounds/2 kilograms — and a much shorter .31-inch/8mm trigger pull length. Channeling Ron Popeil, “But wait! There’s more!” There is in fact a third trigger mode, the Anti-Stress mode. That mode mates the single-action’s 4.4-pound trigger with the double-action’s longer .55-inch pull length. The intent of this design was to give police departments and military personnel a margin of safety in stressful situations should they opt to carry the P99 AS with a cocked striker.

Walther P99 AS trigger position for anti-stress or double-action modes

Walther P99 AS trigger in single-action position

A careful pull of the P99 AS will reset the trigger from anti-stress to single-action, although I don’t recommend staging the trigger unless you’re on target and ready to fire. You definitely don’t want to carry a P99 AS in that configuration. That’s just asking for trouble.

When you first chamber a round, the P99 AS defaults to the anti-stress trigger. So, how do you switch that to the even safer double-action? You depress the decock button atop the slide and within reach of your thumb if you’re a righthanded shooter.

P99 AS decocker for placing the trigger into double-action mode

There’s even a nifty indicator on the P99 AS that tells you if the striker is cocked. It’s at the back of the pistol, and it looks like this:

P99 AS indicating a cocked striker (either single-action or anti-stress modes)

P99 AS — if you don’t see red, the striker is decocked and the weapon in double-action

An added benefit to the striker indicator is that as you are pulling the trigger in double-action, the indicator emerges to give you a visual indication that the sear is about to trip.

Walther P99 AS with an aftermarket threaded barrel

But what if you need to place an accurate shot at a distant target? There’s no hammer to thumb back, as you would on a traditional DA/SA pistol or revolver. So how do you transition the P99 AS from double-action to anti-stress without racking the slide and ejecting the round already chambered? It’s actually quite simple. You merely snick back the slide about a quarter of an inch. The striker cocks, the indicator protrudes from the rear, and the trigger remains at the double-action pull length. This is quite simply the most versatile and, in my opinion, the safest striker-fired system ever devised. I mean, other than a manual thumb safety, what’s safer than a stiff, long double-action first pull? Answer: Nothing! Even better is that the P99 came in a smaller 10+1 capacity compact version, predating the SIG P365’s 10-shot double-stack wonder by two full decades. Behold the P99c AS, in which the “c” stands for compact:

Walther P99c AS — my choice for concealed carry for a decade

That marvel weighs 20.8 ounces/590 grams (with an empty magazine). Other measurements are:

Lenth: 6.6 inches/168mm
Height: 4.3 inches/110mm (with flush-mount magazine)
Width: 1.26 inches/32mm
Barrel: 3.5 inches/89mm
Capacity: 10+1 (9mm)/8+2 (10mm); will accept the full-size 15-round (12-rounds in 10mm) P99 magazine with a sleeve

Compare that to the more recent SIG P365:

Weight: 17.8 ounces/504 grams
Lenth: 5.8 inches/147mm
Height: 4.3 inches/110mm
Width: 1.0 inch/25mm
Barrel: 3.1 inches/79mm
Capacity: 10+1 (9mm); 12 and 15-round magazines available

Twenty-six years may separate these two weapons, but not much else does. I say twenty-six, but that’s based upon when the P99 hit the market in 1997. Development actually began about four years earlier.

When the P99 first arrived on the scene there was no “AS” in the name. It only came with the AS trigger, so that would’ve been redundant. But here’s where Walther falls down on marketing. Not content with the marvelous and innovative Anti-Stress trigger, Walther began copying inferior striker-fired offerings from less innovative companies. There was the P99DOA (Double-Action Only) and the P99QA (Quick Action trigger with emulated the partially loaded striker of, shudder, the Glock). But why? The Walther P99 AS trigger was already at the apex of striker-fired weapons, and additional trigger configurations only managed to confuse the market and any potential customers. If some police department wants to buy a cheap Glock with an inferior trigger, one does not dumb down one’s superior product going after that market. You instead shoot (pun intended) for those departments that recognize quality, innovation, and safety, and are willing to pay a bit more for it.

And then things got even more confusing. Smith and Wesson entered the picture with the SW99 and SW99c (2000-2004) with frames made by Walther and most of barrels and slides made by Smith and Wesson. Smith and Wesson then proceeded to further add to the confusion by coming out with the SW99O (Double-Action only with no decocker), SW99 QA (Quick Action trigger comparable to the, shudder, Glock), and the SW99L (basically a rebranded SW99 QA minus the decocker). The only thing good to come out of the SW99/Walther collaboration was that a version of the P99 in .45 ACP became available, the SW99 .45:

Smith and Wesson SW99 .45 ACP with 9+1 capacity

At least Walther’s next collaboration led to an actual improvement, but unfortunately that didn’t last long because Magnum Research followed Walther’s lead and botched their marketing as well. Behold a beautiful long-slide variant of the P99 AS with a 4.5-inch/116mm barrel, the elegant and refined MR9 Eagle:

Long-slide version of the MR9 variant; frame by Walther, slide and barrel by Magnum Research

Full-size P99 AS vs Magnum Research MR9 long slide

And if that Magnum Research version of the P99 was too big for you, the MR9 also came in the original 4-inch configuration. The MR9 was produced between 2011 and 2015. By the way, if you take a closer look at the MR9 and SW99 you’ll note that the ambidextrous magazine release levers are much shorter than the P99 pistols shown in this article. These are the magazine release levers that adorned the original Generation 1 P99. Also carried over from the Generation 1 is the “ski hump” inside the SW99 trigger guard.

Smith and Wesson SW99 alongside the Magnum Research MR9

But enough about the collaborations. Let’s look at what comes with the typical full-size P99 AS right out of the case. As you can see below, Walther was yet again well ahead of the competition with modular backstraps to adjust the grip, front sights of various heights to adjust the point of aim, and an Allen wrench to install those sights:

There is one Walther P99 collaboration with Poland I’ve not yet covered. That would be Fabryka Broni Radom‘s double-action only P99 RAD. Yep. Another addition to the P99 confusion, and another example of why Walther is terrible at marketing.

And then there’s the unlicensed P99 AS clone from Canik of Türkiye (see also: Canik USA, importer Century Arms). It’s a remarkably close copy, right down to the decock button, striker indicator, and the operation of the three trigger modes, but the trigger on the Canik TP9DA is not nearly as refined as that on the P99. When I picked up a TP9DA and tried the trigger several years ago I gave the pistol a hard pass despite the much lower price. After Walther’s Final Edition runs out, however, the Canik may be your last shot (pun intended) at a new pistol with an Anti-Stress trigger. And, yes, Canik also cloned other P99/SW99 configurations as well: the TP9SA (single-action only with decocker) and TP9SF (single-action without the decocker).

Anyway, let’s peruse this P99 AS Family Portrait:

Walther P99 AS Family Portrait, including cousins from S&W and MR

One last look, this time at the Final Edition P99 AS currently being offered by Walther in a hideous OD Green:

The End of the Road for the Best Ever Made

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Tagged as Canik, Canik TP9, firearm collecting, firearm review, handgun, handgun review, Magnum Research, MR9, MR9 Eagle, R. Doug Wicker, Smith & Wesson, Smith and Wesson, SW99, Walther, Walther P99, Walther P99 AS, Walther P99c, Walther P99c AS

January 5, 2022 · 5:35 am

Revolver Week — Ladies’ Day with a S&W Model 60-7 “Lady Smith”

Smith & Wesson Model 60-7 “*Lady Smith*“

Okay, ladies, admit it. The miniscule revolver pictured above is just so darned cute! Today’s Revolver Week article is on a gun that Smith and Wesson specifically marketed toward women, the Lady Smith variant of a S&W Model 60, change 7. And there’s quite a history behind the Model 60, as it began life as a Model 36 “Chief’s Special” which, as you may have guessed by that name, was designed in 1950 as a small-framed concealable revolver suitable for plain clothes police duty.

S&W Model 36 “*Chief’s Special*” (image from S&W online catalog)

The first thing you’ll notice in observing the differences between the Model 36 shown above and Model 60 is that the former is blued and the latter is made of stainless. The Model 60 presented today was probably made in late 1994, which would place it near the middle-to-late range of 60-7 production (1990 to 1996). These were the last Model 60 revolvers made before Smith and Wesson changed the line to the J-Frame magnums, which were able to take the much hotter .357 Magnum load in addition to the milder .38 S&W Special (hereafter the .38 Spl).

Once again, when dating any Smith & Wesson revolver, the serial number is the key. This example falls in the BRS range:

S&W revolver serial numbers are on the butt of the weapon

Change 7 is considered by many as the apex of the Model 60 design, so there is a demand for them. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, change 7 brought about a different heat treatment that strengthened the gun. Next, it was the last of the Model 60 revolvers to be chambered solely for .38 Spl. Why is that a factor? Because, let’s face it, does a .357 Magnum load in a compact, light, small-gripped, five-shot revolver really make sense to anyone? It doesn’t to me, especially when you’re throwing lead from a barrel that measures under two inches in length. So, why bother?

The five-shot S&W Model 60 sporting “*Lady Smith*” rosewood grips

Smith & Wesson Model 60-7 “Lady Smith“:

Length: 6.38 inches/162 mm
Barrel length: 1⅞ inches/47mm
Height: 4.41 inches/112 mm
Width (at cylinder): 1.30 inches/33 mm
Width (at grips): 1.22 inches/31 mm
Width (frame): .55 inches/14 mm
Weight (unloaded): 19.92 ounces/565 grams
Caliber: .38 S&W Special
Capacity: 5
Trigger pull (single-action, average of five pulls): 2 lbs. 10.4 ozs./1.2 kilograms
Trigger pull (double-action, estimated): 11 to 12 pounds/5 to 5.4 kg

As you can see from the specifications above, handgun is small, light, and adequate. It’s easily concealable in either a holster or a purse, although I tend to steer people away from off-body carry. Purses can to snatched; guns in retention holster, not so much. The grip is a tad small for the .38 Spl. My pinky has minimal purchase when I hold the Model 60, and my fingers wrap completely around the gripto meet my palm just below the thumb. But Ursula’s fi9ngers seemed better positioned when I asked her to hold the “Lady Smith.” I’ve yet to fire this example, but I doubt either I or Ursula would have trouble controlling it. But if it were a later .357 Magnum variant loaded for bear… well, that would probably be pretty painful

And then there’s that superb Smith & Wesson double-action/single-action trigger which I described in Monday’s article on the S&W Model 10-5. The trigger on this smaller J-Frame is not much different. Indeed, the single-action pull is even lighter than what I measured on the larger K-Frame. But in double-action there is a slight difference. Whereas the Model 10 had no take-up upon initiating the pull, the Model 60 has an odd millimeter or so of travel followed by a barely audible “click” before the trigger engages. After that, the double-action pulls are nearly identical between the two revolvers — smooth all the way to hammer trip. This clicking may or may not be related to the hammer spring, as the Model 10 uses a leaf spring, and the Model 60 uses a more modern sprung strut:

With the hammer cocked, this Model 60 is in single-action mode

By the way, ever wonder about the actual difference between a “medium” K-Frame and a “small” J-Frame? You’ll recall on Monday I wrote about a K-Frame S&W Model 10-5 in .38 Spl. Today we’re looking at a J-Frame S&W Model 60-7 in the same caliber. So, let us compare. Both being .38 Spl, it made since for this comparison to line up the back of the cylinders in the below image. Mentally subtract the barrel and disregard the grips and you’ll note that there really isn’t a whole lot of dimensional difference between the 6-round Model 10 and the 5-round Model 60. The difference in cylinder widths is noticeable, as one would expect — 1.46 inches/37 mm (K-Frame) vs 1.30 inches/33 mm (J-Frame). But the real difference shows up in the height of the weapons, which is most impacted by the grips. It’s on that measurement that the J-Frame wins the concealability race by .71 inches/18 mm.

J-Frame Model 60 above a K-Frame Model 10

As I noted on Monday’s article, to check the Model and Change numbers on a Smith and Wesson revolver, just open the crane and check. Below you can see that this is a Model 60-7:

In the above photo of the Model 36 “Chief’s Special” you’ll see Smith and Wesson’s tradition checkered wood grips. The “Lady Smith” on the other hand sports smooth rosewoods in a deep, rich, reddish hue:

The stylish rosewood grips of the “*Lady Smith*” Model 60 variant

Gun sights are as you would expect for a weapon made for short range defense — fixed front paired with a channeled rear “sight” running along the top strap:

Put the two together and this is what you’ll see, which is probably adequate for ranges out to about ten to fifteen yards or so:

… when aiming a gun, focus on the front sight and place it on target

The “Lady Smith” variant of the Model 60 first appeared in the 60-6 in 1989. Indeed, all -6 revolvers where so marketed. It was only with the Model 60-7 that both “Chief’s Special” and “Lady Smith” variants were marketed under the same change number umbrella.

“Lady Smith” marketing stamp on this Model 60-7

I hope you enjoyed Ladies’ Day here on Revolver Weeks. Friday I’m going to present a fake. A fraud. An outright rip-off. But it’s a rip-off with a lot of history behind it, made by some of the most ingenious gunsmiths on the planet. Gunsmiths who operate furnaces in their backyards, manufacturing their own parts on a scale you simply will not believe. Until then, here’s today’s gallery of additional Model 60-7 “Lady Smith” images: