I picked up a Glock 42 a few weeks ago. I simply decided there were some days down here in South Florida, that are too hot to carry my usual EDC guns. Some days are just so hot, I can barely wear clothes. I was so impressed with the little Glock 42, I wrote a post where I reviewed the Glock 42 for CCW for the hottest days of summer:

Summer Heat and Concealed Carry: Glock 42

Now that I have hit the range a few more times and have over 500 rounds through this little Glock, I am truly amazed by this little gun. You will see in my initial review I have never been a fan of little .380 pocket autos. I also am not a huge Glock fan. I like Glocks, I shoot them pretty regularly, and I sometimes carry a Glock 19. But I am hardly a rabid Glock owner. I have several handguns that I prefer over the Glocks. But one thing I LOVE about Glocks...RELIABILITY. I have owned a number of Glocks, and they have always been utterly reliable. Now that I have over 500 rounds through the Glock 42, and I have NOT had a single issue using 3 kinds of ammo, I'm a happy guy. Especially because my previous experience with these little .380 pocket autos showed reliability to be spotty. Very spotty in fact. Some wouldn't run reliably with any brand of ammo. Others would only run with this brand, but not that brand, etc. Not for me. Either a guns works properly or it doesn't. I don't keep any guns that only seem to run with one or two types of ammo.

I am amazed at how consistently well I shoot the little Glock. Every group I have shot at 10 yards is 2" or less. Partially because it seems the grip-angle issue i have with the Glock design is not present on the Glock 42. Glocks never point naturally for me. The grip angle causes the front end to tip up ever so slightly for me. This does not happen with the Glock 42. When I raise the G42 with my eyes closed, then open them, the sights are perfectly lined up on target. After firing a round, the gun comes right back naturally on target requiring no adjustment on my part.

I also love how soft shooting this little .380 is. In my previous experiences, some of these little .380s can have some pretty harsh recoil. That's because many of them are straight blowback recoil operated. But the G42s little dual recoil spring and Browning lockup really seems to absorb much of the recoil. Because of this, returning on target for accurate follow up shots is a breeze and happens surprisingly fast. I actually really enjoy shooting this gun. You will never see me put 500 rounds through one of my 38 S&W J Frame Airweight revolvers in three weeks like I just did with this tiny Glock. The Airweight revolvers are just not pleasant to shot at all. The Glock 42 is! I could shoot it all day.

Here are a couple of groups my from range visit today. I ran 50 rounds of Remington UMC 95gr FMJ, 50 rounds of Fioochi 95gr FMJ, and 12 rounds of Hornady 90gr FTX Critical Defense (my carry load). Regardless of ammo, this is basically what ever single group I shoot with the diminutive Glock looks like. At 10 yards shooting a full mag of 6 rounds, I alway seem to get 4 rounds under an 1" and two rounds just a little further away. The groups always seem to be 2" or less.



I just installed a set of Ameriglo I-Dot Tritium Night Sights. I'm far from being a gunsmith, so fortunately it is very easy to change the sights on a Glock pistol. I really like this sight picture a lot for target and defensive purposes. It works very fast for my eyes. I have never used these sights on any of my guns before, but i definitely will on other guns in the future.



So what's the downside to the little Glock? I can find no fault with the gun, but the caliber is definitely wanting. However, I have finally found a decent performing .380 round. Luckygunner tests show the relatively new Hornady FTX 90gr Critical Defense to be a very promising round. None of the others really come close. Even the Federal 99gr HST performed horrifically!

Handgun Self-Defense Ammunition Ballistics Test

Other than .380 not being the ideal defensive cartridge, I really love this little Glock. I'm thinking of picking up a couple of more of them just to have around. Definitely an FDE one to match my FDE G19 and G17. I know there are a lot of other newer 380 pocket pistols to try. But honestly a lot of them are smaller than the G42. I don't want a smaller gun than this. The Glock 42 is about as small of a gun I would ever want to shoot and practice with. Since it has proven 100% reliable and I shoot it well, I will stick with it for the dog days of summer. And for fun at the range :)

What ammo are you using mostly for practice?

I love my G42, as well, and feel its the most fun to shoot gun I own.  However, mine won't run reliably with Blazer Brass FMJ, Winchester White Box, Freedom, or other practice ammo.  It runs perfectly with any carry ammo I've tried, from Freedom loaded with Hornady XTP, Remington Golden Sabre, Underwood, Hornady Critical Defense, or others.  My every day carry defense ammo is the Freedom with the Hornady bullets.  It doesn't matter which magazines I use, either.  It performs exactly the same with all of them.  (I have 4, indcluding one with a +2 baseplate.)

Glock said to send it in and they'll fix it, but I'm not in the mood to pay the shipping.  I'll probably do it, but its a hassle.

I've also got a Glock 43 that I love 95% as much, and it eats everything I feed it.  I'd really like to have this little 42 fixed.

In the 5th paragraph above I discuss ammo. I have over 500 rounds through it. I have shot the following ammo: Remington UMC FMJ, Fioochi 90gr FMJ, Hornady Critical Defense FXT 85gr, Federal 99gr HST, Remington Golden Sabre, and America Eagle FMJ. I have not had a single hiccup. All ammo has run flawlessly.

I have not run Winchester White box yet. But White box is hit or miss in my experience with 9mm. So no surprise on that. I read of lots of problems with Winchester White box on this forum as well. So no surprise you have problems with it. The brass federal ammo I buy at Walmart always runs great, much better than White Box, and it's the same price or cheaper.

Honestly if I buy a gun and it doesn't run on all kinds of ammo, I give it a good cleaning. If it still doesn't run, and I can't diagnose the problem, it is gone the next day. I didn't expect any 380 pcoket pistol to be completely reliable. I have ben pleasantly surprised. I have even tried to induce a failure in my G42 by limp wristing and couldn't.

I love my Glock 42 as well. I haven't owned a .380 in years but decided to take a chance on the G42 solely as a fun gun for the range. Glad I did as it is definitely a keeper.

I read about some people having trouble with Winchester White Box, but I'm not one of them. Last year alone I shot several thousand rounds of it through my various 9mm handguns with no problems at all. That has been typical of it's performance over the years I've used it. The brand I won't buy is Magtech while others use lots of it without fail. No ammo brand it perfect so I just go with those which have worked well for me over time.

Yes, the G42 isn't a micro gun. For a specific carry purpose where I needed a very small gun I bought a Kahr CW380. Works very well for the role it needed it for. Other than that one purpose I prefer the larger size of the G42.

OP, glad you like you G42. Glock waited a long time to bring out the G42 and G43 but they got both of them right.

I've tried just about all the .380's going and I have finally made my G42 my summer carry pistol. It's just a pleasure to carry and it actually shoots like a real gun. I like to live on the edge so I stoke mine with Underwood +P XTP's!

I think you just summed it up perfectly. That is what I like so much about it. It doesn't shoot, recoil, or handle like traditional pocket 380s. As you so aptly say, "It actually shoots like a real gun". I never warmed up to any of the traditional pocket 380s because they were unreliable and not pleasant to shoot. I can shoot the G42 all day and I shoot it as well as I shoot any of my other Glocks. And it is just as reliable as my other Glocks.

I've got no arguments about the 42.  I would not hesitate to carry one if it shot well for me.  

However, MOST .38 rounds probably recoil harder than .380's.  When I shoot light loads in my 442, I can shoot a lot of rounds no problem.  It's when the ammo starts to get hotter it makes it not so fun.  Even some of the normal pressure .38 is not always fun.  I carry Hornady American Handgunner and it's definitely hotter than PMC, Winchester and Federal 130ish grain FMJ.  But my guess is if you got some wadcutters and/ or hornady critical defense lite, or even some of the mild FMJ like I mentioned, you could shoot it pretty much as much as the 42 and not have a problem.  

That being said, the 42 is probably easier or at least just as easy to carry as an airweight and carries more rounds.  So.....  There's that.  I carry a J frame pretty much 24/7 and really like it.  But my guess is if someone stuck a 42 in my hands and said here, I'd be just fine with that too.  Probably even a 43.  Not sure.

I have a G26 and shoot it much better than the bigger Glocks and I think it's basically the same thing as you HarrisMasher.  It doesn't really point bad because the hump is more in the palm and not the heal of my hand.  But the G26 is mammoth compared to my J frame.  A little hyperbole but it really isn't in the same ball park as carry size.  Now the 42 and 43, probably a much better comparison and I may be swayed one day.......

I have a nice little collection of J Frames at this point. I think I had a dozen at one point. It took me a long time to master shooting those little revolvers. All that work made me a much better shooter all around. If you can shoot a little revolver with a 12lb well, you can shoot anything well.

There are two reasons I don't like to carry J-Frames these days. Five shots with a slow reload kind of scares me off. And the bulge of the cylinder makes it just as wide as any of my full sized double stack 45s (e.g. FN FNX45 Tactical). The bulge of the cylinder often prints, the Glock 42 never really does.

I may be looking for a smaller gun as well for certain circumstances.

How do you carry?

Pocket carry is out for me. My legs are big enough that guns are hard to get a good grip while in a pocket holster.

I'm thinking about either a tuckable aiwb, belly band, or a ankle holster

Read my original post. I discuss carry at length. IWB. Never pocket carry a gun.

Yep, IWB kydex, for me.

Thanks, I may need a tuckable.

Finding a few options

I bought one for the ex wife and that thing was one of the softest shooting and accurate little pocket autos I have ever shot.

Finally used all the scrounged 380 brass. Loaded up 2000 rounds of 380, and decided that an upgrade from the ppk was in order.  Specifically wanted a locked breech (if that is what you call it), instead of blow back.  Tried, then bought the 42.  Lot easier to shoot than the ppk, realtively inexpensive, much lighter and real honest to goodness sights.  Better yet, they are old man sights.  It is sprung heavy for some lighter loads, and like a lot of smaller pistols need to concentrate on tight grip.

The 42 is a very nice sized option to have, and a keeper.

I'm glad you mentioned the PPK. I had one about 20 years ago. I remember absolutely hating shooting it. The recoil was absolutely brutal. It weighs more than twice the G42, but recoils twice as hard. In fact, the straight blowback operation makes the PPK recoil more than any of my 9s. It also had crappy sights and the slide will slice the web of your hand when firing if not careful. While the PPK is a pretty sexy looking gun, it scores very low on all the key performance criteria. I didn't know much about guns back then, but I sure knew I hating shooting it. I sold that thing pretty darn quick. I almost kept it just because it looked so good. But I was a poor graduate student at the time and couldn't afford to keep it and buy another gun. I can't for the life of me remember what I replaced it with. It may have been a Glock 17.

It's actually kind of amazing the amount of felt recoil some of these lighter guns have now a days.  A buddy let me shoot his Shield a while back and I was sort of blown away how there was no real recoil.  I didn't feel I was overly accurate with it, but it definitely wasn't because of sharp recoil.  

I'm not saying the shield is in the same camp as the G42.  It feels almost more like the size of the G26 but thinner through the grip of course.  probably a little bit thinner through the slide, but it's just not that small to me to feel it's a big jump over the G26.  But I don't own one, so carrying one might be different.

The Shield is an excellent gun. Recoil is super mild and it is very accurate! Typical group I get at 10 yards offhand:







I did some work to mine. Apex Tactical M&P 3.5lb competition trigger. I also had ATEi do some work on the slide and stipple the grip. Love my Shield! No need for a Glock 43. But LOVE my 42.

NICE

Love my 42 as well... so much more than my 43.

Please elaborate? Do you have a gun in the same class as the 43 that you do like? Like the S&W Shield 9mm?

OP HERE:

Just went to the range for a couple of hours. I was shooting revolvers and my Five-seveN today. I had a half of box of 380 FMJ in my range bag, and the Glock 42 on my hip. I figured I would just finish off the box. I wish I had brought more! I just love shooting this little gun!

The six rounds seem most comfortable about 2" apart. Because that is what every single group I shoot at 10 yards looks like. Though this one was 1.5" :)

I'm bummed. I had my wife try the rental 42 at our range but she shot my kahr cw9 better and her g19 way better.

She just needs to find something she can carry well and shoot well.

In my experience, the smaller the gun the harder it is to shoot well. So it makes sense she would shoot the others better.

I agree. I was just hoping that because it's softer shooting than the kahr she would do better with it.

She wants to try the 938, g43, and the shield next.

FWIW my wife picked a 9mm Shield. She said the G43 felt notably snappier and she just liked the general feel of the Shield. She tried a PPS, LC9, G43, Shield, and maybe the XDS and 938 but I'm not sure. The Shield was easily top of the pile for her.

ETA: FYI PSA has 8rd 9mm Shield mags for $15

HarrishMasher, I think I posted this in your other thread, but I'll post it again.

How I got it is a long story, but suffice it to say that I ended up with an old Ruger LCP in a trade. I occasionally used it for pocket carry, when I HAD to have a more concealable gun than my 9mm Shield. While I never had a single malfunction with the LCP, it wasn't a good carry gun for me. I have large hands and the LCP is a very small gun. When I had time to properly grip the gun, I shot it fairly well. When I had to grip it in a hurry (like you would probably grip it if you needed it), I'd often grab it poorly and, as a result, shot it badly. While I didn't find it snappy at all with FMJ practice ammo, when shooting good JHP carry ammo, it was a little snappy. I used to carry small DA revolvers, so the trigger wasn't a big deal to me. Not the best, but good enough. I didn't carry it often, so I just put up with it.

I was one of those that looked at the stats when Glock released the G42 and wondered why they even bothered. The printed stats didn't exactly inspire confidence when they were released and I was also complaining about it being a .380 instead of 9mm. I wasn't impressed and decided that I'd probably never buy one.

A couple years ago, a friend brought his G42 out to the range when we were doing qualifications at the PD we worked for. He let me shoot it and I was so impressed that I went out and bought the first Blue Label G42 I could find. For me, the G42 is everything the LCP was not. It is just enough larger that it fits my hand well, meaning I could get a good grip, grabbing it quickly or not. It had real sights rather than the afterthought nubs on the LCP. Also, because of the slightly heavier weight, with how much better it fit my hand and no doubt because of the dual recoil springs, it isn't snappy at all, even with good JHP ammo. It has very minimal muzzle flip for me and just hangs on target, making quick follow up shots a breeze. While I didn't find the LCP's trigger bad, the trigger in the G42 is much better, especially after I installed one of the Glock "-" connectors that they released several months ago. Very similar to the triggers in my other carry Glocks.

Overall, the G42 compares very favorably with the LCP, the only other sub-compact .380 I have experience with. The G42's barrel and slide are a little longer but the butt is pretty much the same length, especially when you have the pinky extension on the LCP, which I did to make it even come close to fitting my hand. The G42 is also a little heavier. It is at the upper limit for what I would consider for pocket carry, but it is definitely doable. When carried IWB, the G42 simply disappears with no effort at all. I'm not exactly crazy about .380, but with good ammo and proper shot placement, it will do the job.

Mine was new enough that it had all of the upgrades, except for the connector, which was the older, heavier connector. I bought some extra magazines and, when they came in, they turned out to be revision "02" instead of "03". Regardless, the gun functions flawlessly with the older magazines. I don't have a ton of ammo through it because I don't reload .380 yet and don't have a bunch of money to buy factory ammo. I have probably 500 rds through it and have never had an issue at all with it. I trust it implicitly and like it so much that I sometimes have to consciously make myself carry my 9mm Shield, even when my dress makes carrying my Shield no problem. I love my G42 and it was one of the best gun purchases I have ever made.

Bottom line, the G42 is an excellent choice for concealed carry, if you are OK with .380. Small, more accurate than it has a right to be, reliable, what's not to love?

Bub75