Glock 42: Initial Impressions, Review, Long Term Durability
Jul 8, 2014 12:26:47 GMT
Browning35 and homerj like this
Post by Gingerbread Man on Jul 8, 2014 12:26:47 GMT
Good day, Friends.
I jumped the shark. Yes, I bought a Glock 42. It was $404 delivered to my FFL. I've been holding off on getting a smaller than Glock 26 gun because I want a single stack 9mm from Glock. Well, it looks like that isn't going to happen any time soon. So I put on my water skis and pushed Fonzy out of the way.
What the Glock 42 (G42) does different than the Glock 26 and why it appeals to me. First, it's half the weight which is 13 ozs, more when fully loaded. I can easily stuff it into my jogging shorts and the elastic waist band holds it up without making the waist super tight. The slide is 0.32" thinner at 0.83" compared to the 1.15" of the G26, that's big and really does make a difference. I can wear this around the house with great ease, I can mow the lawn, work out, and go get milk at the store without any hassle or need to change my shorts. I have a home, a family and I have my husband and father duties. The gun disappears in a front pocket as well. Stopping to strap on, swap out for another gun or change shorts isn't always the easiest or possible thing. If you're a dad, you know what I mean.
Back to the good parts of the gun. It has REAL sights. Like real Glock sights, I'm going to swap these out for Ameriglo hiviz tritium and a ledge style rear sight. That's something you can't do with the vast majority of the pistols in this category. Most guns this size have piss poor sights, IMO. Next, it has a Glock trigger. Love it or hate it, the Glock trigger works and has a positive reset. It's the same trigger that's in every other Glock. It's not a long double action with a heavy pull and indistinct reset. To me, that's big. The frame is about perfect, it shoots well, doesn't feel like it's going to come out of your hand while shooting, and is much more "shootable" than the LCP or a snubby wheel gun. I only had 7 rds to shoot (Damn it, I left my ammo at home) but at 10 yds I went 7 for 7 on the plate machine at my range. Wow, that was a shallow learning curve but I know my carry ammo works in my gun. The G42 has the 4th Gen mag release. Yes, much bigger, longer and more positive than the Gen 3. I timed my mag changes and it's just as fast as the full sized guns.
24/7 carry around the house so far has been the biggest thing for me. I live in a low crime area and I'm not going to kit up for lounging around or going to get milk. I will carry a gun and a knife however, since my threat level is so low, it's not likely I'll need an AR-15. I've been carrying the G42 in a Bladetech IWB clip on holster. The holster is wider than I'd like, it almost doubles it's width and kind of defeats the purpose but I picked it up for $25 of EBay. I need to get with a holster maker for something nicer. The clip is secure even in jogging shorts and I've not had it unclip on my draw.
Now, what doesn't the Glock 42 do. It's a 380 Automatic Colt Pistol and it hold 6 + 1 of them. There are three loads that have been verified to meet the FBI protocols. While I'm not wrapped up on FBI protocols because I could careless what happens in the event I have to discharge my noise maker, I just want the threat to go away. If it lives, if it dies, if it's permanently disabled, I don't care just as long as I'm unharmed. It's not what I would consider a CCW. It lacks capacity and the 380 ACP is marginal but it excels in it's attributes.
Small, light, durable and reliable (so far) are it's strong suits. Granted, I'm breaking my own rules by not putting this gun through it's paces and training with it before carrying but it works with my "duty" ammo. I'd like to see some one make a +2 extension for the G42. That would give the user 8 +1, perhaps not to carry in the gun but as a back up mag, yes. I believe the G42 puts the LCP or LC9 to shame with their iffy reliability, poor sights and meh trigger. It's far thinner, higher capacity and way better sights than any snubby I've seen. The frame allows for 2.5 fingers on my medium sized hand. The mags really need a extension.
I think Glock really hit the mark with this gun. Stand by, I'm about to work the poop out of this gun as I have about 400 rds and 100 odd hollowpoints.
I jumped the shark. Yes, I bought a Glock 42. It was $404 delivered to my FFL. I've been holding off on getting a smaller than Glock 26 gun because I want a single stack 9mm from Glock. Well, it looks like that isn't going to happen any time soon. So I put on my water skis and pushed Fonzy out of the way.
What the Glock 42 (G42) does different than the Glock 26 and why it appeals to me. First, it's half the weight which is 13 ozs, more when fully loaded. I can easily stuff it into my jogging shorts and the elastic waist band holds it up without making the waist super tight. The slide is 0.32" thinner at 0.83" compared to the 1.15" of the G26, that's big and really does make a difference. I can wear this around the house with great ease, I can mow the lawn, work out, and go get milk at the store without any hassle or need to change my shorts. I have a home, a family and I have my husband and father duties. The gun disappears in a front pocket as well. Stopping to strap on, swap out for another gun or change shorts isn't always the easiest or possible thing. If you're a dad, you know what I mean.
Back to the good parts of the gun. It has REAL sights. Like real Glock sights, I'm going to swap these out for Ameriglo hiviz tritium and a ledge style rear sight. That's something you can't do with the vast majority of the pistols in this category. Most guns this size have piss poor sights, IMO. Next, it has a Glock trigger. Love it or hate it, the Glock trigger works and has a positive reset. It's the same trigger that's in every other Glock. It's not a long double action with a heavy pull and indistinct reset. To me, that's big. The frame is about perfect, it shoots well, doesn't feel like it's going to come out of your hand while shooting, and is much more "shootable" than the LCP or a snubby wheel gun. I only had 7 rds to shoot (Damn it, I left my ammo at home) but at 10 yds I went 7 for 7 on the plate machine at my range. Wow, that was a shallow learning curve but I know my carry ammo works in my gun. The G42 has the 4th Gen mag release. Yes, much bigger, longer and more positive than the Gen 3. I timed my mag changes and it's just as fast as the full sized guns.
24/7 carry around the house so far has been the biggest thing for me. I live in a low crime area and I'm not going to kit up for lounging around or going to get milk. I will carry a gun and a knife however, since my threat level is so low, it's not likely I'll need an AR-15. I've been carrying the G42 in a Bladetech IWB clip on holster. The holster is wider than I'd like, it almost doubles it's width and kind of defeats the purpose but I picked it up for $25 of EBay. I need to get with a holster maker for something nicer. The clip is secure even in jogging shorts and I've not had it unclip on my draw.
Now, what doesn't the Glock 42 do. It's a 380 Automatic Colt Pistol and it hold 6 + 1 of them. There are three loads that have been verified to meet the FBI protocols. While I'm not wrapped up on FBI protocols because I could careless what happens in the event I have to discharge my noise maker, I just want the threat to go away. If it lives, if it dies, if it's permanently disabled, I don't care just as long as I'm unharmed. It's not what I would consider a CCW. It lacks capacity and the 380 ACP is marginal but it excels in it's attributes.
Small, light, durable and reliable (so far) are it's strong suits. Granted, I'm breaking my own rules by not putting this gun through it's paces and training with it before carrying but it works with my "duty" ammo. I'd like to see some one make a +2 extension for the G42. That would give the user 8 +1, perhaps not to carry in the gun but as a back up mag, yes. I believe the G42 puts the LCP or LC9 to shame with their iffy reliability, poor sights and meh trigger. It's far thinner, higher capacity and way better sights than any snubby I've seen. The frame allows for 2.5 fingers on my medium sized hand. The mags really need a extension.
I think Glock really hit the mark with this gun. Stand by, I'm about to work the poop out of this gun as I have about 400 rds and 100 odd hollowpoints.
