GLOCK 42 PROS And CONS

PROS:

• Worries about this GLOCK 42 being too big just weren’t supported in our daily carry experiences
• The GLOCK 42 was brain-dead simple to operate

CONS:

• 380 Auto not as effective as 9mm

Many concealed-carry customers pooh-pooh pistols chambered in 380 ACP as being under powered for self defense, but they may well be in the vocal minority, because sales of 380-chambered handguns and ammunition continues apace, with more of the smallish sidearms finding their way into pockets and purses than ever before. It can be argued, in fact, that GLOCK kept seeing its rivals sell so many inexpensive-to-make pocket pistols that the Austrians were forced into the U.S. 380 ACP market with the G42 just so they could grab a slice of the ever-growing pocket-pistol pie.

Worries about this GLOCK being too big just weren’t supported in our daily carry experiences.  With a Viridian green laser on it, we’d bump up the grade to an A- and probably buy it.

The GLOCK 42 came in a plastic pistol case that contained a cable lock, manual, cleaning brush, and GLOCK patch and window sticker. In the case were two 6-round polymer magazines. The front sight was a black polymer front blade screwed into the top of the slide. The rear sight was also black polymer with a white squared U-shape framing the front-sight white dot. The rear sight was drift adjustable for windage. The frame and slide had marks designating that the gun was made in Georgia. Safeties include a firing pin safety and drop safety, as well as the lever in the Safe Action Trigger, but no conventional safety. The G42 is a single-action semi-auto that’s striker fired. The extractor serves as a loaded-chamber indicator. When the chamber is loaded, the extractor pivots out from the slide. The slide is black stainless steel with six rear serrations. The frame is, of course, black polymer, and the grip had a Gen4-like texture, but not as aggressive as on other Glocks. Warranty is a limited one-year agreement.

Operation
The GLOCK 42 slide retraction at 15 pounds bothered some women.Assessing the controls was next, and our testers agreed that the GLOCK 42 was brain-dead simple to operate. No external controls other than the magazine release to fuss with, a marked contrast from pistols with one-side and ambi safety levers. The GLOCK had its trademark take-up, but it broke consistently at 7.9 pounds.

Sights & Accuracy
This was another area in which our testers disagreed. The function of the GLOCK 42 was portable, carry-anywhere self-defense guns, and their sights aren’t made to win matches. How much aiming does a concealed-carrier have to do with a bad guy 15 feet away? The GLOCK sights were much better, in our opinion, and the lasers made us able to shoot them on par with much bigger guns. We  added a Viridian Green Laser, just announced for the GLOCK 42, to our test gun. Viridian’s R5-G42 Reactor is the first green laser for the G42, and this model automatically ignites instantly when drawn from a supplied leather and polymer holster. Additional holster options are available from many holster manufacturers.

Unquestionably, the lasers helped our shooters’ accuracy. Shooting Winchester 95-grain FMJs, the average group size with a laser was 1.2 inches for the GLOCK 42. We saw the same group-size decrease with the Prvi Partizan 94-grain FMJs, with the GLOCK 42 at a laser-aided 1.2 inches compared to open sights at 3.7 inches. The trend continued with Hornady Critical Defense 90-grain FTEs, with the GLOCK 42 and laser/open sights at 1.7/3.3 inches.

Looking at only the open-sights results, the GLOCK 42 was the most accurate with the Winchester fodder, 1.7 inches

The thumb of this woman’s hand is elevated here to show contouring on the grip — this isn’t a firing grip. but you can see how the slightly taller frame accommodates about two-and-a-half fingers. also, notice the Viridian Green laser on the front. It took about 5 minutes to install and vastly improved accuracy.

If you install a $10 Pearce Grip extension, three fingers can hold the gun.

Takedown is the standard Glock process.