Smith & Wesson Bodyguard

The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard is a family of small J-frame revolvers with shrouded hammers manufactured by Smith & Wesson. They are available chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum.

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 (previously Insight) 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.

History

 * 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.


 * 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.

Users

 * Massachusetts State Police Plainclothes officers.
 * Massachusetts State Police Plainclothes officers.