Smith & Wesson Bodyguard
The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard is a family of small revolvers with shrouded hammers manufactured by Smith & Wesson. They are available chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum.
Models
Model 38
The Model 38 is aluminum-framed, has a carbon steel barrel, a carbon steel cylinder with a five-round capacity, and is chambered in.38 Special.Model 49
The Model 49 is an all-carbon-steel-framed revolver chambered in.38 Special.Model 638
The Model 638 is aluminum-framed with stainless steel cylinder and barrel. Chambered in.38 Special.Model 649
The Model 649 is an all stainless-steel framed revolver. Chambered in.357 Magnum or.38 Special.M&P Bodyguard 38
The M&P Bodyguard 38, introduced in 2014, is the latest incarnation of a Smith & Wesson revolver using the Bodyguard name.It is a polymer framed revolver chambered in.38 Special, and available with a Crimson Trace red-dot laser sight integrated in to the grip. Like previous Bodyguard models, it has a five-round cylinder and a concealed hammer but unlike the previous models, the hammer cannot be cocked for single action fire.
The lockwork is different than any other Smith & Wesson revolver and the model has no parts interchangeable with the J-frame series.
In 2018, S&W announced a new version of the Bodyguard which lacks the integrated laser sight. It is most closely related to the Centennial models.
Users
- *Massachusetts State Police
- **Plainclothes officers
- *Clyde A. Tolson, special assistant to FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, owned a Model 38 Airweight, serial number 512236, with his name engraved on the side.
Former users
- Kingdom of Laos
- * During the Laotian Civil War
- ** Royal Lao Army
- ** Royal Lao Police
- * During the Rhodesian Bush War
- ** Civilians
- ** Air Rhodesia aircrews
- * During the Vietnam War
- ** Army of the Republic of Vietnam
- ** Republic of Vietnam National Police
- * During the Portuguese Colonial War
- ** Civilians
- ** Government officials
Criminal activities
- Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, South Vietnam's chief of National Police, was photographed using a Model 49 Bodyguard to execute a Viet Cong prisoner, Nguyễn Văn Lém, during the Tet Offensive of 1968.
- Bernhard Goetz used a Model 38 Bodyguard in the controversial 1984 New York City Subway shooting.