Glock 42 - initial thoughts

[2Wheels4Ever]

Jerry Miculek did a review on the 42 and his trigger pull was coming in at over 9lbs. The thing is just too big for a .380 to do it for me. I would rather get a kahr p380, or just keep the p238

 

[NavyBob]

I think if you love Glocks, you will love the 42. I find Glock people to be some of the most devoted to their brand. I personally like the Sig 230 & 232SL's and PPK's for .380's

But the biggest question if you live in my area, where do you buy gas for the car? .380acp ammo is harder to find than .22lr.

 

[Shomermaster]

Update: Got my G42 back in the FedEx today. Glock had it for 6 business days. The piece of paper in the package said: "Inspected. Upgrade. Meets Factory Specs. Tested OK." Not the most detailed of reports. I'll call them in the morning tomorrow to see if I can get more info and perhaps what ammo they used to test. Hopefully I'll get to the range tomorrow too. Stay tuned!

NavyBob..as for "gas for the car", .380 is extremely rare here in Portland too. I have had decent luck with gunbot.net/ordering online. I have recently picked up 500 rounds (various brands) for relatively decent prices. I plan on feeding the G42 a sampling...

 

[Shomermaster]

Just so you know... what is Glock's G42 target audience? Ladies in yoga pants... GLOCK 42 Commercial (Extended Cut) - YouTube

 

[Shomermaster]

Third (and post Glock Warranty visit) G42 Range Report

Top line: Spoke with Glock and they didn't do anything to the pistol. They just took it completely apart, put it back together and fired 5 mags thru w/o issue. Visited my club this morning and 89 of 96 rounds went through fine, the other rounds FTE (6) or FTF (1). Gonna clean it and give it one more go.

Longer version:

Got the G42 back from Glock yesterday and the repair order said "Inspected. Upgrade. Meets Factory Specs. Tested OK". I called Glock this morning to see if I could get more information. The tech I spoke with said that "Inspected. Upgrade" means they took it apart, would have upgraded any outdated parts and then reassembled. Since this pistol is totally new, no parts were replaced. He said that they put five mags through it without issue. Those mags were loaded with: Federal Premium, Hornady Critical Defense, Winchester 95 grain and two magazines of Blazer. I was a little concerned that it sounded like they didn't actually do anything to the gun, but was hopeful since such an array of ammo went through OK. Maybe they just reversed a spring or something…

After the call I hit the range for my third attempt with this new fangled Glock 42. I too brought a smorgasbord of ammo. Seven different brands and two types of rounds: FMJ in Magtech, Blazer, Speer Lawman, S&B and American Eagle. HP in Corbon and PMC.

First three magazines of Magtech (2) and Corbon (1) produced zero issues. Next two mags, both with Blazer, conjured up 1 FTE and 1 FTF (both on the last round). Then the Lawman, PMC, and S&B fired without any issues what so ever. One magazine of American Eagle produced one FTE, but that was it. Ok, back to the Blazer. I put six magazines of the stuff through and got four more FTE, all on the last round.

MUCH better, but not Glock "perfection". I'm not sure if the .380 is just a finicky round or if this pistol is just not up to the perfect Glock standard. My G19 and G26 have truly spoiled me. I'm gonna clean it up and give it one more go. Perhaps I'll try more of the other brands/types now that I know it doesn't really like Blazer.

This morning I had the Kahr PM9 with me, that thing is awesome and even smaller then the Glock…but I'll stay on topic.





Stay tuned!

 

[RK600]

How many magazines do you have? Is it maybe a mag problem and not a pistol problem? All on the last round sounds to me like maybe a weak mag spring or something wrong with the mag feed?

 

[Shomermaster]

Thanks for the comment RK600!

I only have the two magazines that came with the pistol. I have been wondering, since Glock didn't actually do anything to the gun (or so they say), if maybe they just sent me new magazines. I have no way to tell. Would a weak magazine spring contribute to all of the failure to ejects tho?

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

Just so you know... what is Glock's G42 target audience? Ladies in yoga pants... GLOCK 42 Commercial (Extended Cut) - YouTube

Wow, that's funny, i wonder why they used stock library mag insert and slide draw sounds...

 

[RK600]

Thanks for the comment RK600!

I only have the two magazines that came with the pistol. I have been wondering, since Glock didn't actually do anything to the gun (or so they say), if maybe they just sent me new magazines. I have no way to tell. Would a weak magazine spring contribute to all of the failure to ejects tho?

I honestly don't know, I'm not a gun smith. It just seems odd that your FTF and FTE happened on the last round, you know? That's the only thing pointing me to a possible mag problem. Maybe the plastic piece inside the mag is mis-shaped, or sticks up too high and interferes with the ejection? Maybe the mag seats too high in the grip? I would think a last round FTE would be cause by a magazine.

 

[soberups]

If Glock--the company that has pretty much become synonymous with absolute reliability in handguns--cant even get a pocket 380 to run right then to me that is just one more piece of proof that the entire concept is flawed. There is a limit to how much the size and weight of a handgun can be reduced before the engineering and ergonomic compromises that must be made wind up seriously degrading the reliability of the weapon. If my life is on the line I need my gun to go bang one hundred percent of the time, not 94 or 95, and I need it to hit the bad guy hard enough to end the hostilities ASAP. A pocket 380 isnt going to cut it. I dont want to settle for a weapon with poor ergonomics, less than absolute reliability, and at best marginal stopping power that can only be realized with expensive and hard to find ammo. If pocket carry is a must, then stoke a Ruger LCR or Smith 442/642 airweight snub with some +P 158 gr wadcutters, stick it in a Galco pocket holster with a couple of Speed Strips in the other pocket for reloads, and go forth with a reliable weapon in a proven caliber.

Rant over, flame suit on......

 

[usagi]

summarizing all the glock 42 reviews i've seen so far, the glock 42 is extremely finicky when it comes to ammo.

380 is not a finicky round, every other 380 i've ever fired has no problem cycling anything. ruger lcp, bodyguard 380, sig p232, walther ppk, bersa thunder, sig p238. no problems at all.

glock has managed to build something nobody else has -- a 380 which is extremely picky about which ammo it will reliably run. maybe glock will get it right with the next gen 42.

 

[SVT-ROY]

I'll give mine a test soon soon, I have many different brands of ammo, I will list them in the range report. Ill put the Micro Eagle Against it. And I'll mark any mag giving me an issue. I expect problems but will know soon enough.

 

[billt]

Not bashing Glock, Ill admit they are a decent weapon but without even looking I can tell you exactly what the difference between this Glock and every other Glock since day one is! ...mmm......nothing. Im ready for somone to do something new. Something genuinely new. Its been what.....25 years or so. Want to bet what they unveil at SHOT 2015 ? And we will still be doing the same old bubblegum and gripe cuz they didnt pick our favorite caliber or favorite magazine configuration.

You don't change something that has become arguably the best gun design to come along in the last quarter century. No matter if you love Glock's, or hate them, Glock is making a fortune as a company. Above and beyond what most firearms companies are earning. Why should they "change"? When you mess with success, you generally screw it up. They continue to sell pistols at a record rate every year. They will continue to do so without any changes for years to come.

 

[Shomermaster]

This will probably be my last G42 range report.

Sent 85 rounds down range this morning. Same issues (FTE/FTF - mostly on the last round), only this time the G42 didn't care which ammo it decided to malfunction with. Of the same seven types/brands only Magtech FMJ fired 100%.

Called Glock again. The sent me another FedEx to send it back.

At this point I have ZERO confidence in it as a carry gun. When it comes back, I will be getting rid of it.

 

[HKUSP40]

The post about Glock "not even trying" on this gun seem accurate. I feel the EXACT same way about the G26, G27, etc....they chopped an inch (or whatever) off the grip and called em sub-compacts, no effort or engineering went into those guns at all, I had one, and that's my feeling. And with all the malfunctions I've read about here and other places with the 42 already, looks like Glock managed to screw this one up just like the gen 4 9mm with it's FTE's and brass to the face issues.....I'm sure "cheaper" and "cut costs" were the order of the day for all the newer Glocks. And don't lambast me with insults for saying what I just did; I have a G19 gen 3 that I would not trade for anything.

 

[HKUSP40]

Ya know, the more I thought about all this, and the multiple malfunctions this 42 seems to have, the madder I got!! Because this is EXACTLY what these gun manufacturers (save for maybe 1 or 2) do to us every damn time - they put out a product that hasn't been adequately designed and most of all tested, all in the name of getting it on the market fast as possible so they can make MONEY on it. They know it's not 100%, but they put it on the market anyway cause they gotta get paid. And then, in many cases, not only do you have something that doesn't work like it should, but there's no parts to fix the fu##ing thing!! Yea...this kinda crap really irritates me, I don't deal well with sub standard stuff.....any gun I have ever had that has malfunctioned on me has been repaired and sold...I do not put up with half-assed engineering, but I also will never put a gun on the market that I know isn't right. Never thought I'd see stuff like this from Glock....

 

[usagi]

the glock 42 problems continue...

Glock 42 barrel problems?

 

[HKUSP40]

We'll have to see if there are more reports of barrel problems. I tend to initially think that was an isolated case maybe in that article, and maybe the user did do something to cause it.
And why did Glock waste time on a 380 pocket gun?? Are they aware they missed the 380 pocket gun craze by about 3 years or so?? 9mm pocket guns are the new thing, in case they haven't been paying attention.

 

[usagi]

<broken link removed>

looks like reliability is all over the place. very ammo finicky, and lots of malfunctions. looks like glock pulled a gen4 goof all over again, rushed the 42 out the door before it was ready.

maybe glock will get it right in the next gen 42.

 

[NWGlockgal]

Ive put another couple of boxes through it, still without issues. Magtech, WWB, Freedom, UMC, no problems with any of it. Guess I got one of the good ones.