Once in a blue moon a gun comes out that raises eyebrows in the shooting community more than a plastic surgeon in LA. Sure, there are stirs in the shooting community all the time—from Jessie James making silencers to people in government discriminating against the color of a 5.56’s tip—but I’m talking about a gun that really gets people talking for months. Never before have I seen this sort of drawn out drabble and fanaticism within the gun world than with the release of the Glock 42 early last year.

Maybe I’ve been living under a rock, but it seemed like people couldn’t stop talking about the Glock 42 for months. Everyone was asking where they could get one, how it carries, how it handles, if it could shoot underwater, if it could kill a Grizzly and why Glock would do this. There were several reasons for this, including but not limited to the Glock 42’s caliber, carry, capabilities and concept (or lack thereof). Most of all, people didn’t understand why Glock chose to release a .380 ACP single-stack when they could have released it in the more powerful 9mm with only a small sacrifice in size. The answer to this was simple: Glock knew that people would buy a .380 single-stack if they released it before a 9mm single-stack, but not the other way around. #milkit

Although Glock has now satiated our desires by finally releasing a 9mm single-stack (the Glock 43), the Glock 42 is still relevant and offers a couple of advantages over the 43. I have personally come to cherish my Glock 42 and so do many other shooters, so it would be a disservice to not write a review about this fine concealed carry piece.

I first held the Glock 42 at a Crossroads of the West gun show in the early months of 2014, and when I did I was immediately hooked. Picking up the Glock 42 for the first time was a moment that will stick with me forever due to the way it fit in my hand. It was micro, but it just felt so right. I can’t really describe it. My pinky hung off the grip but it just felt so comfortable and easy. The first time it lay in my hands images of carrying it around and then placing it on my table alongside my wallet after a long day flashed through my mind; and that’s exactly the image Glock wants you to have. It’s a companion to your wallet, an accessory so-to-speak, and a good looking one with widespread appeal. The Glock 42 was something I could see a stylish business professional carrying as well as a girl with a Chanel purse.

The gun is mini but it looks like a full sized Glock. This is a huge bonus for those of us such as myself that want a gun to look good and function well. Sure, you can look at the competitor’s .380 models but in my opinion they don’t touch the Glock 42 in the looks department. In fact, some of those competing models look like they belong in the toy department next to the Nerf blasters. While I’m a big Sig Sauer fan and wouldn’t lump the Sig P238 into this toylike category, I actually prefer the looks of the Glock 42 over the Sig P238.

Taking It Home

After I picked up my Glock 42 from the store I let my friend hold it. “Dude…” was all he could muster as his mouth dropped open and his eyes fixated on the polymer and metal marvel. “It’s my size,” he added as he continued to gaze upon it. That’s the thing with the Glock 42—everyone thinks it’s “their size” even though it may not be, because it just fits so well in your hand. It immediately becomes one of those need-to-have guns, even though not everyone needs it.

With each gun Glock includes their standard hard case, two magazines, some cleaning accessories, a manual, and a spent casing to prove that the gun works. The spent casing is a cool souvenir because it comes in a little envelope marked with the gun’s birth date. The hard case is nice, nothing too fancy, but it should hold up to years of normal use. Before hitting the range I cleaned the 42 and lubed it up, which some may say is unnecessary on a new Glock. With the 42 being my first Glock purchase I lubed it the same way I lube my Sig, which may have been a mistake.

On the Range

I loaded the 42 with standard PMC FMJ and raised it to fire. The range was silent and dark with no one near me. I took my time to align the front sight and the black and orange target 7 yards in the foreground while I zenned out. BAM! The gun snapped upward and a cloud of smoke slowly wafted between the muzzle and the target, moving like a ghost through the empty range. My eyes then focused back on my gun, where a shell protruded from the slide. A stovepipe…the one thing no one wants to see after shooting their new gun for the first time.

I dropped the mag and cleared the spent shell casing, inspecting it for any nuances. None. Hoping that this was an isolated incident I loaded the mag back up to fire again. Before I cocked the slide I decided to bring in my target and see where the bullet hit. The cold shot round had hit nearly dead center of the target’s head, something I like to see the first time I fire any handgun. That was impressive for such a small gun, but the jam was not. So I put the target back out, raised the gun and fired again. Stovepipe once again.

This cycle continued for most of the box, with periods of several rounds firing fine before a stovepipe. My second box of ammo went through a lot better than the first, as I decided to readjust and tighten my grip. Although I still wasn’t satisfied with the stovepipe city experience I was pleased with the Glock 42’s accuracy and figured that I just needed to get used to firing such a small handgun.

A while later I took my Glock 42 back out to the range for round two. I didn’t clean it or lube it—I just left it as is from my first range trip with it. I ran reloads through it and it functioned flawlessly. I kept waiting for it to stovepipe again but it didn’t, which made me a happy camper. I know that many of you are aware of the “reliability” issues on early Glock 42’s, and the changes Glock made to remedy the situation. My particular Glock 42 was manufactured in late 2014, and is the third generation of the handgun. Supposedly if you have a second generation or later you are golden. It is the first batch of Glock 42’s released in early 2014 that some were reporting reliability issues with, giving the handgun a tainted reputation. User experiences indicate that Glock did in fact fix the issues by the second generation and there is a great article that can be found here describing the changes made to the gun.

IRL

Search the web for .380 ACP and will undoubtedly find many detractors of the classic caliber. Some will say it’s small, it’s weak, it’s expensive, etc. On the other hand, there are plenty of people that will tell you that a bullet is a bullet and a .22 still kills. Both sides have their merits, and while I’m no expert in physics I side with the latter. A .380 is no 10mm but it’s still a capable round for a back-against-the-wall defensive situation.

Another thing you should consider when weighing the decision to go with a .380 is size vs. strength. Some of the deepest concealing guns (like the Glock 42) are in .380. A larger caliber usually equals a larger gun—so you have to ask yourself, do you prefer concealability or caliber? In areas with warm weather year round people are going to wear t-shirts and shorts year round. When it comes to the Glock 42 this is a win-win situation because you need a small gun to put in your pocket when you’re wearing a lightweight t-shirt (or going shirtless at the beach), and a would-be attacker is less likely to be wearing layers that may impede on the .380’s effectiveness. There are warm weather clothes and then there are warm weather guns…I guess you could say that the Glock 42 is one of them.

Carrying the Glock 42 gives you the advantage of being able to holster it or tuck it in your pocket—something that a larger handgun would be ineligible for. Additionally, even mini hammer-fired guns like the Sig P238 would easily snag on your pocket liner during a draw. While some would say that the Glock 42 is too large to be a pocket gun I would disagree. It’s on the borderline of being too large but it will still fully conceal in many pockets. If you’re a fashion forward type of person then your pockets may be too small, and other options like a Sneaky Pete holster or INCOG may be your best bet.

Final Take

The Glock 42 is the first of its kind for the Austrian company, and hopefully the first of many. While there was already a single-stack Glock on the market (the 36), the Glock 42 is the first mini single stack that the company has offered. It’s a gun that some say came too late in the game, and others laud as a perfect choice for the growing concealed carry community. For me the Glock 42 is not a letdown at all. It’s a gun that just feels right and fits in the civilian environment. It’s not the most powerful gun on the block but when you need to make a run down to the grocery store and risk running into a wannabe ninja, then it’s the right choice to toss in your pocket.