Smith & Wesson has one of those boring naming conventions. It’s just a model number and the numbers often mean something. For example, any three-digit model number with six in the beginning is a stainless steel revolver. It’s better than the way they named guns at the turn of the century. Who wants to say Smith & Wesson .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model New Century? Occasionally, they break away from those boring model numbers and we get guns like the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard series.
The Bodyguard series has been around since the mid-1950s and continues to be a big part of their branding. Today, we are going to examine the history of the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard series, current offerings, and maybe take a shot in the dark at what the future of the Bodyguard series will (or should) look like.
The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard
The term “my brand” gets tossed around enough to make anyone sick. I thought I could avoid it in the gun world, but hearing dudes with 300 Instagram followers discuss their “brand” at SHOT Show is just painful. However, there is a kernel of truth that comes with branding. Branding can work, drive sales, and allow you to establish yourself or your product.
On the other side, branding is tough. It needs to be clever, easy to understand, and shouldn’t take more than a cursory thought to comprehend. Smith & Wesson conquered branding when they released the first Bodyguard in 1955. As far as guns go, the term Bodyguard is a great way to categorize the purpose of your gun. It’s obvious the gun isn’t designed for Bodyguards but to be your Bodyguard.
We joke that we carry a gun because a cop is too heavy, but the same could go for a Bodyguard. However, a Smith & Wesson Bodyguard is easy to carry. Concealed carry wasn’t common in 1955. Guys like Chic Gaylord designed concealed holster solutions for undercover cops and even became famous enough to make it on late-night TV. Still, the concealed carry industry didn’t exist.
The Bodyguard was far from the first revolver designed for concealed carry. The Fitz, Colt Detective, and numerous other Smith & Wesson revolvers predate it. The Bodyguard’s branding tells you everything you need to know about the gun and the fact it was designed to protect. Chief’s and Detective’s special guns were designed for convenience, but the Bodyguard was a tiny fighting handgun.
Early Origins of the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard
The origins of the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard are traced back to several guns. In 1951, Smith & Wesson introduced the Model 37, which was an aluminum frame version of the Model 36 Chief’s Special. The Model 37 was a five-shot, J-Frame, snub nose revolver.
In 1952, Smith & Wesson released the Centennial revolver. It was also a snub nose, five-shot .38 Special but had an enclosed hammer and grip safety. The camel hump-looking rear end was designed to make the gun easy to draw and snag-free. The gun was a double-action-only revolver. While that’s fine, there was some demand for a similar design with a single-action option.
In 1955, we got the first Airweight Bodyguard. It seemed to take influence from the Model 37 and Centennial. It dropped the grip safety and used the same camel hump to conceal the hammer. However, a tab protruded from the hump; that tab was the hammer. Users could now cock the hammer into single-action on demand. They also ditched the Centennial’s grip safety.
The Bodyguard offered the gun community a much lighter backup option since it used an aluminum frame. This edged out competing designs from Colt and made it a more competitive choice than other J-frame style, snub nose options. In 1957, the Bodyguard became the Model 38 Bodyguard because Smith & Wesson really loves number-based designations.
In response to a request from the Massachusetts State Police, Smith & Wesson produced a steel frame Bodyguard in 1959. The State Police wanted a more durable revolver, which became the Model 49 Bodyguard. The Model 38 and 49 were produced at the same time and were distinct enough to warrant two model options.
Bodyguard Evolution
The Model 38 was produced until 1999 while the Model 49 lasted until 1997. However, they weren’t dead. Smith & Wesson had produced the stainless 638 since 1989 but discontinued it until 1996. The 638 ultimately replaced the Model 38 while the 649 replaced the Model 49. There have been a few variations of each gun with minor changes. We won’t dive deep, but the 649-3 was the first Bodyguard to utilize the .357 Magnum cartridge.
The Model 638 is still in production, but the 649 has been discontinued. These weren’t the final Bodyguards produced. In 2014, Smith & Wesson went back to the Bodyguard well to release two radically new Bodyguard weapons.
The New Bodyguards
In 2014, Smith & Wesson embraced polymer, not with a pistol, but a polymer frame revolver. The M&P Bodyguard 38 blended a modern polymer frame with a J-frame revolver design. It’s a .38 Special, five-shot revolver. The gun originally came with laser grips, but it’s currently laser-free. The idea was to create a more affordable lightweight snub nose revolver for the everyman. Polymer offers a strong, lightweight option without the price of scandium.
In my humble opinion, Smith & Wesson dropped the ball in getting rid of the exposed hammer tab. That feature set the Bodyguard apart from all other enclosed hammer revolvers. At this point, it really has more in common with the Centennial than the Bodyguard. One interesting feature of M&P 38 is the cylinder release is in the position of the hammer as an ambidextrous release.
The M&P 38 wasn’t the only Bodyguard released in 2014. Smith & Wesson also tried their hand at a micro-sized .380 ACP. The Bodyguard .380 was the first semi-auto Bodyguard. Original models utilized a built-in Crimson Trace laser with newer options dropping the laser. It was a double-action-only gun with six-round magazine. Stand-out features included a slide release, which is rare on micro-sized guns.
It was fine but, like most pocket .380s, it was a lot to handle. The trigger was really long and heavy and the grip was small. It was tough to shoot accurately. Frankly, I wasn’t a fan.
Future of the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard Series
For almost a decade, Smith & Wesson has seemingly forgotten about the Bodyguard. I would love to see them pick the series back up. If they aren’t afraid of it, I’d take it the Taurus Defender route with an optics ready three-inch J-frame with famed enclosed hammer and nub design.
Smith & Wesson has already released three micro compacts in the form of the Shield Plus, CSX, and Equalizer. What’s a fourth? If we aren’t afraid of automatic Bodyguards, give us a 9mm DA/SA gun that takes any of the above magazines. Make it optics-ready with a rail and all the modern features you can toss at it.
That’s what I would like to see, but what about you? Let us know below what you think the next Bodyguard should be!
