Glock 42 vs 43?

jmr40 said:

I felt the G42 was just WAAY to big to be in 380. If you want 380 there are lots of smaller options. Glock had to make it much bigger than necessary to be able to import the gun. I went with the G43 and had no trouble at all carrying it concealed IWB. Of course I already had a Kel-Tec P3AT which is much smaller than the G42.

FWIW, I tried one of the Ruger LC9s pistols and liked it enough better that I sold the G43. The grip on the Ruger is a hair longer to fit in 1 more round, but feels thinner. I shot it much better though.

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The G42 is pretty consistent in size with a lot of .380s particularly historical .380s. There is just this idea in a lot of people's minds that .380 is supposed to be very tiny like a LCP and they can't get past that. A lot of people, myself included have tried that and don't like it. Rather than compete with the LCP what Glock made instead was a shooter.

bangbang01 said:

Makes sense. I'm 5' 9" 170lbs. The Glock 42 is as big as a pocket gun as it gets for a guy my size.

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The Glock 42 probably fit your hand though.

For me just so long as everything else is there that we've come to expect from modern gun manufacturers is there (accuracy, reliability and so on) if a pistol is comfortable in the hand I tend to do better with them then other pistols.

Kind of why I generally prefer shooting BHP's and CZ-75's. The Walther PPS was the most comfortable out of the single stack subcompacts (no, it's not generally thought of as a true pocket pistol) and I can get it in and out of my pocket without much trouble. The Glock 43 was the same exact size (even used the exact holster for the PPS) and it fit in the hand okay, but I didn't like the G42 and 43 as much as I thought I would. Something just wasn't there for me, so I sold them and moved on.

My step brother is 6'6" 330lbs. He's not sloppy fat either. He was a division 1 offensive lineman in college. Anyways, He pocket carries a 3" Ruger sp01 357 in cargo pants lol.

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Yeah, I'm not that big.

Being tall/big does have its advantages.

I'm really interested in the colt mustang right now. I think that's a gun that I could pocket carry with the right holster, and from what I've been told it's a great shooter.

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I've shot that gun.

One of my friends pocket carries it. It's actually pretty nice. Pretty classic looking sort of pistol. He's had it for awhile though and paid quite a bit for it.

If you like the safety and like being able to flick it off on the draw stroke (I've become accustomed to the draw/aim/fire operation of striker fired and DA/SA pistols after retiring my BHP as a carry pistol) it has some potential I would think.

If you are going to pocket carry, neither one is ideal. For iwb hip carry, I don't think there would be much difference between the 42 and 43. For appendix carry, the 42 would be more comfortable, I think.

G43 for me if I were choosing between the two. If I can carry a 9mm that’s just slightly larger than a .380 then to me it’s a no brainer. I don’t pocket carry and never will so my opinion may be a bit bias. The g42 will be easier to conceal because it’s a smaller gun but I’ve learned a long time ago that everything in handguns is a compromise and I don’t compromise a little size for firepower. That’s just me

Now that Sig has announced the 365 I'd be tempted to wait and look into it as well.

Not touched upon is the fact that yes the 42 is big for a modern 380

But that extra mass and grip makes it a very smooth shooter that you can just pour ammunition into a target with in such a way you just can’t with a micro 9mm

I am 5'4" 160lbs but in good shape and the Glock 43 is invisible in an IWB holster even with just a t shirt. Like others to me the size between the .380 and 9mm is negligible. Also the 9mm fits my small hands just right.

I have tried both. I much prefer pocket carry. Hence, the G42. The 9 is fine, as they say, but .380 is a very sufficient defense round carried by 100's of thousands of people world wide. Any two calibers can be compared putting one in an unfavorable lights if a person has a mind to do so.

98bluewave said:

I have both the G42 and G43. I have medium sized hands and love how the G42 feels in my hands. Although I don't carry often, the G42 is my choice because I like to pocket carry the G42. With the right ammunition, the G42 has adequate stopping power. The G43 is a little large for me to pocket carry. I've added Pearce +1 magazine extensions to both and the extension really helps the feel of the pistols in my hands. I've added 3.5# connectors to all my Glocks and that improves the trigger. Both shoot great! The top left one is my G42, bottom left is my G43, and my G19 and G17 are on the right.
View attachment 774029

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Nice Glock collection.

SteadyD said:

Now that Sig has announced the 365 I'd be tempted to wait and look into it as well.

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Sig makes some good stuff, but I still would wait a year or so to try one out.

Sometimes it takes a while for problems with new guns to show up.

On paper the difference in them is very small. When holding them, well the 43 feels a lot better and heavier to me. I bought the 42, but I kind of with I had gotten the 43. 380 is just so marginal, but mostly I hate trying to fiind my 380 brass in the midst of all the 9mm on the ground. And it's 1 more caliber to have dies, bullets etc for in an already crowded closet.

I'm the opposite. I like the 42 and 43. I have small hands.
Bought my wife a g42. Nice little pistol. Tiny mouse guns don't hold much interest for me. If you can't hide a 42, something's wrong. It is a heavy trigger but breaks real clean. If I'm shoving something in my pants, I want that heavy trigger.

Want to transform that G42? Slap a +2 extension from Strike Industries on it. Makes it feel like a totally different gun.

Jackal said:

Want to transform that G42? Slap a +2 extension from Strike Industries on it. Makes it feel like a totally different gun.

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Thanks ... I just ordered a couple to try.

GBExpat said:

Thanks ... I just ordered a couple to try.

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Welcome to a full length grip. Turns the G42 from a pocket gun into a compact 9mm short.

GBExpat said:

Thanks ... I just ordered a couple to try.

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You will not be disappointed with the SI +2, even now when extensions of all kinds are available. I have Promag and ETS 10 and 12 round magazines even. But the SI extension matches the factory texture the best (well, after a little sanding). Couple words of caution though: 1) yes, you can pinch yourself driving it in, and 2) the SI's plastic does not like reuse. I cracked all that I tried to relocate from 02 to 03 magazines.

Both are too big to pocket carry for most people. If you're going to put one in or on your waist, you might as well choose the 43 unless you're recoil sensitive.

The 42 is very popular with the ladies according to the guy behind the counter at my indoor range.