Seems like a big theme this year is “little guns”. Everyone is doing a compact carry gun of various types; Taurus is dropping polymer revolvers all over the place, S&W has their new Bodyguard guns, it’s crazy. But it’s also a good thing, because it shows that the market is paying attention to concealed carry as a legitimate revenue stream. I remember when the LCP first came out, and there were plenty of people that were skeptical of the selling power of the little .380 – I would say that it’s proven itself pretty solidly.
Out of everything at SHOT though, I’m most interested in Smith & Wesson’s Bodyguard lineup of pistols. S&W is taking a big step by offering a pistol with an integrated laser, and their J-frame Bodyguard is a pretty radical departure from what we’re used to seeing in defensive revolvers. I think it’s cool, mind you – but it remains to be seen how well it’s going to sell. People that carry J-frames tend to be a little bit more traditional, so I’m very intersted to see how well this radical departure from the traditional pistol is going to do.
Tomorrow we’ll take a harder look at the new carry revolvers from Taurus, including words I thought I’d never type: the Polymer framed Judge.
The Bodyguards look pretty sweet, but with the integrated lasers I can’t imagine that they’ll be priced competitively with similar firearms (at least Ruger gives you the option). Any word on whether S&W will offer these with and w/o the laser?
MSRP on my LCP is $367
MSRP on Crimson Trace is $209
So LCP with a Crimson Trace, grip activated laser is MSRP at $576.
What is the MSRP on the S&W .380?
I like the grip activated function of the CT laser better than the push a button activation of the Insight. The Insight is also larger and heavier than the LCP. However, the S&W does have a slide stop and a safety (which the LCP does not) as well as larger sights than the LCP.
Looking forward to it… I have to admit – the whacky engineer bouncing around in my head more than perked up at reading that particular phrase a few days back. The gun is probably borderline useless and an answer to a question that never needed to be asked, but for some reason, I want it.
Of course, I also want a Mateba, and a Webley-Fosbury, so it could just be a continuation of “crazy-assed funktacular revolvers”…