When Hyatt Guns recently gave me the opportunity to take their brand new Glock 42 to the range to put her through her paces, I gladly accepted. Local shooting instructor, Sam Cranston and I met at an outdoor range near Charlotte, NC. My range bag was equipped with 90gr PMC Bronze, 95gr Winchester PDX1 Defender, and 95gr PMC Gold Starfire .380 ACP. With just a couple hours of sunlight remaining, fairly cold temperatures, and shared eagerness to analyze the Glock 42’s performance, Sam and I got right to work.
I stepped behind the camera and Sam went up to “bat” first. I took my turn next. After we had both established our first impressions, we took time to compare our notes. Sam and I agreed that this is the most shootable little .380 we’ve handled. Its recoil is pleasant, tame—almost uninteresting. It’s like a modern sports car that’s so responsive and easy to drive that it makes everyone look like a race car driver. The Glock 42’s ergonomics are outstanding, Sam’s hands are very different in size and shape than mine, but the gun fit both of us equally well. Many compact pistols on the market are purchased and then rarely fired by their owners, but this gun is as comfortable as it is comforting—you will want to shoot it. Some consumers have expressed discontent with the guns caliber-to-size ratio, but these are the exact characteristics that may, in the end, win them over. You don’t feel like you’re trying to manage extreme recoil with two fingers; rather, most hands will enjoy a full grip while barely noticing the soft recoil sensation. If you compare the G42’s profile with historically popular .380s like the Walther PPK, you will discover similar dimensions with a lot less “heft.” Who knows? Maybe James Bond will consider the Glock 42 for a future silver screen adventure.
Stats:
Length (overall): 151 mm / 5.94 in.
Length (slide cpl.): 146 mm / 5.75 in.
Width: 24 mm / 0.94 in.
Height (with magazine): 105 mm / 4.13 in.
Barrel length: 82.5 mm / 3.25 in.
Length of twist: 250 mm / 9.84 in.
Trigger distance: 61 mm / 2.40 in.
Trigger travel: 12.5 mm / .49 in.
Barrel distance: 18 mm / 0.71 in.Line of sight (polymer): 125 mm / 4.92 in.
WeightPistol without magazine: 350 g / 12.35 oz.
Magazine std. empty: 40 g / 1.41 oz.
Magazine std. full: 57 g / 2.01 oz.
Magazine Capacity (rounds): 6
Barrel Profile: right hand twist; hexagonal
Standard Trigger Pull: ~5.62 lbs
The gun’s slim, single-stack design enables it to disappear on just about any user, making it a strong concealed carry option. The Glock 42 is the smallest gun that Glock has manufactured to date, but it has clearly maintained its family lineage; all the Glock characteristics are still there. You’ll notice the easy-to-learn Glock controls are just where you’d expect them to be, the safe-action trigger is there, the pleasantly low bore axis is still present, and best of all the G42 retains Glock’s simplicity.
Simplicity of design directly impacts servicing and function. In the beginning, I was a little concerned that this simplicity may not translate into reliability for this model, as we did experience three failures to extract right after un-boxing. However, it seems that those initial hiccups (experienced with hollow point ammo) could be attributed to the gun “breaking in.” After the first fifty rounds, the Glock 42 ran smoothly.
If you’re in the market for a concealed carry piece, a back-up gun, or just an all-around fun .380, the new little Glock is a strong contender.
