Well, on my way home from a visit to Bellingham the other day I decided to stop by Holiday Sports for some fishing essentials... as usual I stopped in at Skagit Arms, big mistake (as usual, lol)! Looked over the used pistol case, then started browsing the new inventory. First glance and I saw they had the Smith BG380 for $369, I had them pull it out of the case, looked it over, and bought it on the spot. I have been eyeballing these for about 8 months now, and this is the first time I have seen them on the store shelf locally, also the price has come down from near $550 when they came out to just under 4 now. I took it to the range today for the first time, and it is a shooter for sure. I was getting groups smaller than 4" at 20 feet, and for a 3" barreled pocket pistol that is superb. I anticipated sighting in the built in laser, but it was spot on out of the box! I put 7 shots through one big hole using the laser with no adjustment. The .380 ammo is expensive compared to my 9mm and even in comparison to .38 spl. so it is not the ideal target gun. Also, the vibration/shock experienced by the palm of the hand is significant due to the small size and profile of the frame. The trigger pull is heavy, REALLY heavy, and I am hoping it will break in with some use. Compared to the CW9 DAO I recently bought it is like night and day. It doesn't break until the very end of the pull (very VERY end) and you anticipate the shot too early resulting in a flinch most of the time....
Below are some pictures for size reference. The frame and trigger are polymer making this a light carry option for primary carry, or for backup. A good summer carry option as well in shorts and a T-shirt. As you can see, the firearm is barely larger than my wallet, and about the same width.
Overall I am pleased with the pistol. There are a few drawbacks like the useless positioning of the laser power switch, actuating it would be impractical in a life/death situation.
