Glock 19 to Glock 42 (concealed carry)?

Vodoun da Vinci · Jul 16, 2014

Excellent amplification, Trent! I love my 9mm's (got 2 double stack subcompacts as my primary carry guns) but in the teeny tiny 9mm's I'm better of with the Wife's G42 or one of my Colt 1903's.

Primo/hot .380 out of the G42 is not gonna be giving up so much in ballistics that it cannot be compensated for with a couple fast follow ups. I'll take 3 -4 taps of hot .380 to 2X of 9mm but that's just me. I have friends and Range Buddies who are seemingly immune to recoil and follow up with small 9mm's as fast or faster than I can with .380.

I'd do that if I could but try/train as I might I stil draw, crank 'em out, and hit better with a .380 or .32 than I can with a uber teeny 9mm.

VooDoo

Nom de Forum · Jul 17, 2014

Glock G42 replaces Kel-Tec PF-9 for pocket carry

Besides just wanting a baby Glock .380, I think it is advantageous for the Trayvon Martin stigma to fade from public memory to prevent possible negative perceptions of me should I have to use the PF-9 for SD.

Monday I bought a G42 ($419). No failures after 100 rounds of Winchester 95gr FMJ and 37 rounds of Hornady Critical Defense 90gr FTX. The G42 is more comfortable to fire and carry. I never found the PF-9 recoil to be uncomfortable, but when fired it did slightly abrade the webbing of my hand (fixed that) and when carried the grip panels sometimes abraded my thigh (put-up with that). The G42 does neither. I wish the G42 was a 9mm but can accept the reduction in power of a .380 for pocket carry if it is a Glock. I prefer the trigger system of the Glock and it is much easier to detail strip for cleaning. While my PF-9 has been reliable and I have sufficient confidence in it, I have even more confidence in the Glock design.

george burns · Jul 17, 2014

I am not recoil sensitive although 40 caliber rounds always twisted my had in some odd way that no other round did. I personally feel more snap from a 380 that a 9mm. Therefore I have no use for them, I did carry a PPK for many years and I got used to shooting it because there were no small 9mm pistols in the 70's.
You are giving up half the power, "at least" when you go down from 9mm to 380. Ayoobs article of late had that thrown in again, I have read even less powerful from other experts, so why step down to 1/2 to 1/3 power to get in an extra shot? 2 -9mm rounds should equal 4 380's by that logic.

kokapelli · Jul 17, 2014

george burns said:
I am not recoil sensitive although 40 caliber rounds always twisted my had in some odd way that no other round did. I personally feel more snap from a 380 that a 9mm. Therefore I have no use for them, I did carry a PPK for many years and I got used to shooting it because there were no small 9mm pistols in the 70's.
You are giving up half the power, "at least" when you go down from 9mm to 380. Ayoobs article of late had that thrown in again, I have read even less powerful from other experts, so why step down to 1/2 to 1/3 power to get in an extra shot? 2 -9mm rounds should equal 4 380's by that logic.

"Power" in handgun calibers has pretty much been proven irrelevant.

380 fmj penetration in gelatin testing is consistently over 20 inches. How much penetration do you need?

Trent · Jul 17, 2014

george burns said:
I am not recoil sensitive although 40 caliber rounds always twisted my had in some odd way that no other round did.

Same here. I've owned several 40's, and have sold them all. I gave them a fair shake; they are not for me.

I personally feel more snap from a 380 that a 9mm. Therefore I have no use for them, I did carry a PPK for many years and I got used to shooting it because there were no small 9mm pistols in the 70's.
You are giving up half the power, "at least" when you go down from 9mm to 380. Ayoobs article of late had that thrown in again, I have read even less powerful from other experts, so why step down to 1/2 to 1/3 power to get in an extra shot? 2 -9mm rounds should equal 4 380's by that logic.

Not exactly. For reasons I mentioned above, the power doesn't matter as much as drilling additional holes in a bad guy. There's quite a few 380 loads that penetrate 10+" in calibrated ballistic gel.

Remember just as too shallow of penetration is bad (you don't want something that punches through only 4", like birdshot), *over* penetration is also bad - you don't want to smoke clean through a bad guy to hit a friendly in the lane of fire that's clear out of sight on the other side of the wall behind them (44 mag, etc).

If your daily life takes you through really busy place carrying, or you have concerns about over penetration (if you miss; what obstacles will that round clear and still be lethal?), a lighter projectile doesn't carry as much inertia, and could be a better choice.

I have no doubt in my mind, whatsoever, that 10"+ of penetration times multiple holes would bring a threat to an end.

In the end it is ALL about shot placement; getting in to that arterial cluster center chest, where the important vessels are gathered together. So regardless of caliber, what is important is putting shots where they need to go reliably and under stress. Whether 9mm or 380 or 50 BMG :evil:

...

I wouldn't feel undergunned with a 380 any more than I would with a 9mm. If I need something bigger, I'm in a lot deeper trouble than a handgun is going to get me out of.

Vodoun da Vinci · Jul 17, 2014

george burns said:
I personally feel more snap from a 380 that a 9mm. Therefore I have no use for them, I did carry a PPK for many years and I got used to shooting it because there were no small 9mm pistols in the 70's.

In what pistols? My Wife wanted nothing to do with a .380 last Summer 'cause the first pistol she shot was a Ruger LCP...*way* more snap than our Glock 26 or the Beretta Px4 both 9mm.

And there is a trade for more energy from a 9mm (or a .40 or a .45...) over a .380...you get more snap, more blast. At some point I feel it is better to step down in power and gain fast follow ups. If you can get fast accurate follow ups with a .45 or a .40 or a 9mm (and I can) then that's what I carry as a primary. But many folks can't do that so I'm not a proponent of going bigger or more powerful or "going home".

Compromise is present in all parts of Life for me. I'd love to carry and sling 12 gauge like I do a 9mm/.380 but that won't happen. Compromise for SD.

VooDoo

Wildbillz · Jul 19, 2014

I bought a G42 a couple of months back. I only have about 300 rounds through it as of right now. Worked great with Winchester white box and Hornaday Critical Defense ammo. Not so good with the El-Chepo Monarch ammo from Academy Sporting goods. With the Monarch I had a failer to extract every third round or so. Also had a couple or failer to feeds with it. It was like the Monarch was underpowered or something. All though the Monarch would work fine in my LCP. So I have to guess that the G42 doesn't like the cheap ammo. Accuracy was good with all the ammo I tired in it.

WB

Glock 19 to Glock 42 (concealed carry)?

Vodoun da Vinci

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