My girlfriend let me shoot her just-bought Glock 42 this weekend. Here are my “off the cuff” impressions.
She had one failure to feed within the first magazine fired through the brand new gun. In true Glock tradition, I told her she was “limp-wristing” it, and she had no further malfunctions with a box of ball ammo.
The gun suffers from the same “where do I put my pinkie” that plagues the Glock 26, 27, etc., BUT, the slim grip certainly makes it not nearly as noticeable. In fact, I’m convinced now that Glock needs to make a slim grip, single stack forty-five. Uh huh, Uh huh.
We fired it side-by-side with a Colt Mustang Plus II, using the same Winchester white box .380. From about 30 feet, the Colt Mustang shot where the sights pointed. The Glock shot waaaaaaaay low with that ammo. My GF had put a set of Tru-Glo night sights on her pistol, so I don’t know where the original factory Glock sights would have shot. The gun was way off target at close range for either of us, so that wasn’t “limp-wristing”.
The magazines were easier to load than a double stack Glock mag, but my GF still had trouble with hand strength. No mag loader came with her pistol.
I didn’t get a chance to field strip it, but looking through the “window” of the barrel lock/takedown latch, I could see a coil spring. Maybe this is instead of the little L-shaped flat spring on other Glocks?
Recoil was a breeze. The gun is very shootable for what it is. Were I about to spend bucks on a Glock 26 I think I’d get the 42 instead.
So, do I want one?
I wouldn’t discount the possiblity in the future.
Trouble is…after this shooting session I’d rather have a Colt Mustang Plus II.
I’d be very interested to know where it shoots with the factory sights. After waaaaaaaay too much effort, I finally convinced Glock to pay for shipping on my G20C that was shooting low (2" at 3 yds. to 7" low at 15), and am waiting to hear what they come back with. Keep us updated as to any changes and POA/POI?
The G42s benefit from full-power ammo. Those I’ve seen will work with the lower impulse stuff, but are closer to threshold. Also, beware of riding the slide during recoil. The gun sits low in the hand and hands can find their way onto that slide.
The slide lock does indeed have a coil spring providing its upward tension.
The aftermarket sights don’t seem to be uniformly regulated yet, so check them against various loads. My G42 also shot low with OEM sights. This group @ 25yds, 10rds. I believe this was also Winchester ammo.
Skintop911 informed me in the prior G42 thread that the 42 used stock Short sights. I hope your girlfriend didn’t have regular height sights installed on it.
I actually received and installed a set of Ameriglo G42 specific night sights (GL-383) yesterday (thank you Sharon & Rick!). They are tiny little sights! I hope to do some shooting this week with it.
I’ve seen this one, but don’t know too much about it.
I’ve got a Glock mag loader (for my G17) that I don’t use and y’all can have if you want it.
sent from my secure, NSA proof satellite uplink.
I’m not sure the mag loader for a regular double stack mag will work with the Glock 42. The mags seemed noticeably thinner although not as thin as a 1911 single stack mag for example.
The G42 that I shot was new, accurate and a blast to shoot. At about ten yards, my G26 was more POA/POI but the G42 grouped well… a little low. Not so much as I would worry about it. I liked it a lot and will pick one up when supply reaches demand.
I just recently bought a Glock 42 for the wife (she loved the way it felt in the hand).
I think, for the first time, she truly enjoys shooting a gun. She loves that little thing. She is very accurate with it (A little left-Glock trigger syndrome, but working through it), and there is virtually zero recoil. She has had pocket 380 pistols before and hated shooting them (Hell, even I hated shooting them), but this gun is a dream to shoot. I can shoot it very quickly, accurately and it will fit into virtually any pocket.
I am NOT a .380 fan at all. I carry 10mm or .40 usually, but this gun is a winner. It is not the smallest .380, but it is the best sized compact gun I have ever held or shot.
The 36 is pretty big for what it is. Same footprint as a G19 but slimmer width wise. IMO not worth it especially given the lower capacity and stouter recoil. I’ve owned one before. Don’t anymore.
The 26 with the flush mag has a shorter handle than the 36. The 36 mag has a built in pinkie extension that makes the handle length making it closer to the 19.
Whether or not the pistol shooting low is more likely to be due to low-powered ammo or if indeed it’s because the gun requires short sights as OldGreg states in this thread (or both issues).
I’d like to get my GF’s gun to a “happy medium” so she can shoot it with all types of ammo.
The G42 does need the shorter sights. I would reach out to the sight manufacturer(s) of use or interest to see what they’re recommending. .380 ammo also does vary quite a bit, so you may need to experiment to find a good combination.
