Glock 42 as primary EDC

[RustyShackelford]

10mm in a safe?....

If you choose to purchase & carry a 10mm/.45acp/.40/etc then it's not going to "sit in a safe".
I agree, you should conceal or carry the caliber & style that meets your needs but if you can train with a .380acp, you can use a 9mm or a .40 too.

RS

 

[gym]

44 years I never leave my carry in the safe. 9mm is as low as I will go, I have 6 of them if you can't get one in your clothing you need a Kilt. Cliché's come and go, the more gun you can carry the better off you will be. It's not supposed to be comfortable it's a gun.
I have shot through barriers, I carry 3 mags 1 has FMJ's in it, for those occasions, aside from a bullet wallet in the glove box.
A380 will work most of the time, but not with 7 rounds and 2 or 3 perps, you need a bit more gun and a few more rounds, you would have to be a crack shot to hit 3 guys with a 380 and stop them.
Even a 9 is a compromise, if possible an XDS is ideal for street attire. Big hole 2 extra mags. There is no disgrace to wanting to come home at night, If I could carry a 10mm I would carry that.
Don't get me wrong for 20 years + I had a PPK's in my ankle holster as a backup gun, but to me that is what a 380 is. The marketing people have latched onto it like they did with 9's last year. I is not optimal, it's better than anything smaller but that is about all.
Any Gunsite instructor or, Ayoob will tell you the same thing, I walk the same streets as they do. Why should I feel differently.
They don't use 380's for instruction because they aren't powerful enough. Look at any top school and you won't see them using 380's, But still better than nothing. I would get a berretta with 15 rounds of 380 if that is what my wife could shoot well. She likes 45's

 

[jimbo555]

In a non Leo/military situation most criminals are not motivated enough to stick around when they risk being shot by any caliber. The few that are motivated will need a physical incapacitation to stop them and that is more shot placement than caliber.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

My Wife's first love was/is a Colt Officers ACP in .45. 20 years ago it was the only gun she needed/wanted and that was the biggest caliber she could manage.

And she was plenty accurate and fast with it.

Now at 56, a 110 lb cancer survivor, even with weekly training and serious instruction, she cannot manage a .45 or 9mm sufficiently to be confident, fast, or accurate. The smaller the .45 or 9mm? The more it beats on her, limits her ability to practice, and the slower accurate follow ups become. She still shoots her Officers ACP and loves it.

She'll carry her G42 and hot .380 hand loads and she feels extremely confident with this arrangement in a way few other pistols work for her. The chances of coming up against 3 skilled gunmen with no cover and taken unaware that a gunfight of 1 woman against 3 skilled shooters is so low given our lifestyles and daily exposure that carrying 50 rounds of double stack 9mm or .45 is overkill. If it could be done/managed we'd opt for that.

I feel that many folks are in a similar position. Mas Ayoob is a proponent of the .380 and Glock 42. As a first an only choice? No, no way. As a viable choice when the other options have been explored and exercised? Yes, it'll do. We have checked all possible options and trained hard. It's .380 for her in the G42 platform.

Ayoob acknowledges that for some it is the best compromise and sufficient to do it's job. I shoot the biggest caliber I can manage and that's a higher cap .9mm G26 or Beretta Px4 and an extra mag. I can do with my 9mm what she can do with her .380. I shoot and have the .45 option for myself. I pass as I am a proponent as well of shooting/carryng/training with the largest caliber one can manage in accurate rapid fire. I can't quite make my .45 skills match my .9mm proficiency as the recoils is just *that* much too much for fast accurate follow up given my level of skill and training. I rely confidently on 9mm. If I could not do that I'd confidently carry a .380 - most likely a G42 based on my limited but growing experience with that pistol/platform.

If I were a perp, I would not get into a gunfight with my Wife even at my skill level and knowing what she can do - in her hand, no one could tell it's a .380. She's confident and accurate with her .380. It's the best she can do. I think it's the best many of us can do and brow beating folks into feeling that if they can't bring a 9mm or .45 to bear in CCL they are unable to effectively defend themselves is defeatist - not realism IMO.

VooDoo

 

[C0untZer0]

They don't use 380's for instruction because they aren't powerful enough. Look at any top school and you won't see them using 380's

In Illinois, when people sign up for the Concealed Carry License training, many of them bring 380s to class.

There is a wide range of differing opinion among instructors, some instructors launch on a crusade to prove to the student that with proper training they can operate and conceal a larger caliber handgun.

I try to teach a student to shoot whatever they have, I have in the past recommended that they try other guns but I think that most of us on these gun forums assume that everyone else is like us, interested in firearms and terminal ballistics and all that, but the fact is that most of the gun buying public is not.

They start out with a desire to get a firearm, and for many of them, the totality of what they know about firearms came from their brief conversation with the sales clerk at the gun store.

For many people the 380 fits the bill, hopefully they get educated enough to use the best ammo that can be put in their gun, and they train with their firearm.

I came across a guy who was stoking his nine with Glaser Safety Slugs because he read some article that said the things were awesome. I asked him if he had ever tested them in his gun to see if they cycle it reliably and he said "No - those things are too expensive, and I only have 6 of them."

 

[gym]

Sorry to hear that VdV, prayers to you. Mine has a weak hand from breaking her hand. In that case you do the best you can.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

I belong to a small group of folks who have banded together to learn and grow and get their CCL's here in Illinois. The local instructors (many - not all) have done much the same - trained folks on what they have and urged them to shoot other guns for reference and not just settle for what they have or what is available. Most of the folks in our group are with the group because they do not feel confident and competent carrying a concealed gun and they *want* to feel confident and competent.

All are working class folks - they'd love to take high level classes at the top gun skills schools but they lack the funds, time, and mindsets to benefit from that. They want to learn to protect themselves - they will alter their lives but they cannot and do not desire to become hand gun aficionados or "gunfighters" in the least. They don't read gun mags, hang out online at gun forums and they don't know every gun and everything there is to know about hand gunning.

These are average folks and they enjoy shooting and learning as much as anyone else. I suspect that 99% of the folks carrying and wanting the get CCL's are just like my little group. Which is growing. We share guns and ammunition - the better ones nurture and support the less skilled ones. We take care of each other and help each other and care for one another. Our group now has LEO, armorers, NRA instructors, lawyers, doctors, carpenters, house wives, single moms and working couples/retired couples all sharing guns and experience and working to help everyone find balance and the center.

In many cases (most cases) when we get folks to the range and put another gun and caliber in their hands based on their basic skills and give them options and support and knowledge their world gets better. We are finding as a group that there is no "one size fits all" and that learning to shoot the biggest caliber we can be confident/competent with is more arduous than just "grab a 9mm or .45 and get used to it, honey"

More than one smaller house wife has turned into a "gun toter" and confident gun aficionado because my Wife or a nurturing male has showed her things her "it's a .45 or nothing" husband refused to allow her to experience. You have no idea how many folks have joined our ranks to shoot my 100 year old Colt 1903 in .32 followed by other guns and larger calibers after experiencing the truth that bigger calibers and more powerful ammunition in smaller and smaller guns is not always to only the answer for CCL. Competence and confidence will get us more supporters and more hand gun aficionados than all the bully boy "go big or go home" mentality will ever do.

Use the biggest caliber you can competently manage should not translate into "anything smaller than a 9mm is just silly/lazy/stupid/delusional" and "if you can carry a tiny .380 they make a .45 in the same size and you should carry *that!*" as these thing are defeatist and are quickly found to be the exact kind of bullying that many handgun non aficionados loathe and avoid. They stop shooting and avoid training and getting additional skills when they are made to feel inadequete because they can't tolerate the recoil of a small, light, pocket rocket pistol like an XD-s in .45 or even 9mm or another similar gun. Many who have come to our group purchased Ruger LCP's which are fine guns - they smack them brutally and these folks then feel that if they cannot even handle a lowly .380 their chances of ever being able to get a CCL and adequately defend themselves is effectively zero.

If we want to keep people out of defending themselves and keep them out of shooting sports and hand gunning for SD, we should continue telling everyone one that they need a bigger caliber and to get over it. If we want to help people discover confidence and skill we should nurture them and support their interest and give them realistic expectations and not tell them to go big or stay on the porch.

VooDoo

 

[Ankeny]

If your wife likes the G42, can shoot it well, and will carry it with her, it seems like that's the ticket. FWIW, I carry a .380 auto on those occasions when I need something for deep concealment. Mine is a 238 Sig. I could have bought the comparably sized 938 Sig in 9mm, but I am not going to sacrifice the shootability of the .380 for the less controllable 9mm. I am not alone in that regard.

 

[Strahley]

http://www.policeone.com/police-her...mo-on-the-job/?source=newsletter&nlid=6198334

14 hits with a .45, 6 of them considered "lethal" hits. No drugs or alcohol in the bad guy. I wouldn't worry about caliber so much when we're talking common handguns

 

[WRGADog]

The G42 has become my primary carry gun

Mine works fine with Corbon or Hornady Critical Defense. I have shot ~250 rounds without a problem. Tried Precision One JHP with less success on two occasions. Will continue to try different brands of ammo. For now, I only carry if loaded with Corbon or Hornady.

 

[jigglyjames29]

Mine doesn't work with Aguila HP's, but works with everything else.

I can even slowly hand cycle BB DPX +P without issues, so that's what I'll be going with.

 

[F1]

.380 is good enough for me. I was looking at this new gun, but I've read more than one report about it JAMMING - something I wouldn't have expected from a Glock! - so perhaps I better stick with my Ruger LCP which is much smaller and lighter, has just as many bullets, and has proven itself reliable.

 

[gym]

Ankenny, I find that the 380 caliber, as a whole, has more kick than my 9mm loads. I carried a 380 for over 20 years, so I am speaking from experience, not trying to argue with your statement, just disagree. The 9mm is not a Hopped up round, like the 40 or 357 sig, it and the 38, 45 are not overloaded snappy rounds. The 380 and the 40 and 357 are much more snappy IMO than the 9, 38, and 45.
I have several soft shooting 9's, where as my Walther will twist your wrist if you have a weak grip. Just my 2 cents. My 380 loads were 100 grain and my 9mm were 90 grain Corbon, when I still carried a 380, the fact is that back when I carried a Walther, there were no small 9mm guns, otherwise we would have carried them instead. Over the past decade there have been so many small carryable 9 mm guns, that there is really no reason not to carry one rather than a 380.
This always starts an argument but if you stop and think about it, there were no small guns until 15 or so years ago with the colt Pony, Mustang line. In the old days a 9mm suggested a Browning Hi Power, not a Kahr PM9.
We spent a thousand dollars on those 32 caliber Seacamps when they came out, because it was a small gun with a larger bullet than what we had in the past. But now that there are a dozen or more small 9's made, there is no reason not to carry one. They are almost twice as powerful as a 380 in practical terms, I believe Maas said 2 to 3 times as effective, I don't know if I still have the newsletter. But even half that is a good reason to use a 9, as a baseline round for self defense. If you have weak hands then a heavier gun or perhaps a 32, may be more effeciant, as a 380 is a snappy round.

 

[Beat Trash]

If the G42 feels and shoots better than my PM9...Then should I really worry about the 380 vs 9mm debate?

Short answer, YES.

I participated in a couple of ballistics workshops my agency hosted about 3 years ago. Seeing exactly how poor the top rated 380 rounds performed with my own eyes made me a believer.

For me, 9mm is as low as I will go.