Holding it for the rest of the week waiting to actually shoot it was torture! It feels good in the hand. It is a Generation 4 design but it didn't come with the MBS (multiple backstrap system) as I thought. This would have been great for those of us with large hands.
It is thin and lightweight, coming in at only 0.94 inch wide and weighing 12.35 oz without the magazine.
In this picture compared to my G27 .40 you can see the difference.
A look down the sight line.
Top view of the slides.
The magazine holds 6 rounds plus 1 in the chamber like other pocket .380's. I'm not sure why it's limited to 6, my guess would be the Saturday night special restriction for pocket guns. It appears it could hold 8-9 rounds in my opinion.
RANGE REPORT
Because I'm being totally honest in my review, I must tell you everything as it happened.
On Friday before my weekend shoot to do the actual review, I got a call that a Firearms Instructor was going to be a the range to allow us qualify with the new Glock 42 so that we may carry it as a back-up on Patrol. You have to qualify yearly with all the backups you may carry whether you choose to carry them or not. I had the gun with me but no ammo. A friend said he would meet me there and loan me 25 rds to use for the qualification. I loaded up with it and proceeded to put my toes on the line. First shot, no extraction. Second shot, no extraction. The rest followed suit. Of the 25 rounds fired I had to manually pull the slide back to extract 23. I was disappointed as the "out of the box" Glock quality was what I'd expected. A hard lesson was learned that day!
NOTE TO SELF: Do not qualify a brand-new unfired handgun with OLD ammunition.
I stewed on this problem all night and got up Saturday and hit the road in search of new .380 target ammo. I spent all day getting the same response "Sorry Sir, we're ALL OUT!" Imagine that... Luckily by the end of the day I managed to find three 50 rd boxes of ammo. Since I was set on doing this review, I'll leave out what I had to pay to get them!
Sunday morning arrived, its time to give it my official review! I had planned to go to an outdoor range with a friend but he sent me a text saying he and his wife were sick and he wouldn't be able to make it. RATS! I was determined to get this done so I decided to go to a local indoor gun range at Carters Shooting Supply.
I showed up right after opening and there were only two guys there.
I fired all 150 rds without a single malfunction of any type. This was the quality I'd expected. It fed and fired everything I had. 50 rds of Winchester, 50 rds of Fiocchi and 50 rds of Armscor Precision.
One magazine of 6 rounds.
I loaded the second magazine and fired the next 6 shots. Total of 12 rounds on target.
I approached one of the guys at the range and told him what I was doing and asked if I could get his opinion. After firing the first magazine he turned and said "There's hardly any recoil!" I told him to put another magazine through it to which he did without hesitation. After firing the second magazine he turned and said "I like it!" with a smile on his face. "I wasn't a fan of .380's but I am now. I've got to get one of these." I went back to shooting and as I reloaded he came back to my stall. "Of the .380's I've shot, I'll take that one over the LCP or Diamond Back any day!"
I finished shooting the remainder of the 150 rds I had for the .380 and just for kicks I put 100 rds through my G27. Now it's a good day! As I was leaving the range, the stores owner Kristi asked if she could shoot it. I said certainly and we proceeded to go back to the range. She grabbed enough ammo to fire both magazines. After firing the first magazine she turned and said "There's hardly any recoil!" After firing the second magazine she turned and said "I shouldn't have done that because now I have to get one." She then said that it has less recoil than her Diamond Back or Sig .380.
My overall impression, it's very nice! The recoil is minimal and very easy to quickly place follow up shots. The gun is small enough for pocket carry. It is very accurate. I fired several magazines @ 25 yds and was able to maintain grouping. You can aim this gun unlike most pocket, point and shoot .380's. The rear sight is adjustable using a sight tool and with night sights coming soon, I will have them installed.
If you're in the market for a pocket .380, you can't go wrong with the Glock 42. Small, lightweight, very accurate, dependable and easily concealed! I give it two thumbs up and my 100% approval. I can't wait to go and shoot it again!
Here are some more pictures...
My bench at the Range.
American made.
Note the US and Georgia stamp
Time to clean up!
It's definitely all Glock!
A special Thank You goes out to Kristi and the staff of Carters Shooting Supply for allowing me to shoot and photograph for my review.
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