Glock 42X

I was at the range yesterday with my little Glock 43X. I am still learning the gun. But I am starting to appreciate it more every time I shoot it. I got to thinking “what if Glock did the X treatment to other guns like the G42?”. I know I would be running to the gun store as fast as my little legs could carry me. But I think the G42 is the best shooting .380 ever. What about you? Would you want one? Or is this just the delusions of a Glock Fan Boy?

 

Nothing wrong with it. Went with 10.5 oz .38 Spl rated plus P. Less weight to tote around and with wonderful Federal HST Micro infallable.

 

I personally think the “X treatment” is merely a fun novelty and has few real world advantages and introduces a few problems to boot.

Having said that, I also feel the G42 is going to get much less development and support because it was essentially a .380 pocket pistol released much too late in the game when the 9mm pocket autos had already taken over.

Nonetheless there is still a following for the .380 round and I do like it myself but there is just not the interest in the .380 guns as there once was.

So no. I don’t think Glock should produce a G42X. It would produce a nicer shooting gun but that is not the point of the G42 after all. If you want one of the very best shooting .380s, Beretta Cheetahs are the best of the bunch.

 

I voted the what were you thinking option but only because there wasn’t an option that said it’s a good idea but I don’t want one. Larger and higher capacity .380’s have a market whether people want to admit it or not. Not for me but I know several people who would appreciate more reliable .380 options. My mom and wife come to mind since they are kind of recoil shy, though my wife can shoot 9mm effectively. My mom is much more comfortable with .38 special out of a 4” revolver or the .32 acp tangfolio pistol she got from my grandfather

 

Yep, good girls gun.

 

I have heard that. But I have never seen one in real life.

 

Someone once said the girls are the future of the second amendment.

 

Could be a nice offering but not for me.

Full grip and lite recoil may be good for some...

 

I have no interest in a G42X ... but I would really like to be able to buy a G25.

 

earlthegoat2

I had both the Beretta Model 84 and the Model 85. Both were great .380s (nice sights, trigger, and safety), though I felt the Model 84 was a little too wide for concealed carry but made for a decent home defense gun. The Model 85 was also a little too large for a .380 (comparable in size to a 9mm. Star Model BM or BKS), but still had fantastic ergonomics and was a dream to shoot. Should have held on to the one I had as it made for an excellent training gun to teach new shooters with.

 

I agree that G42 is one of the best, possibly is "the best", mostly because of low recoil. Some of the magazine extensions mitigate the grip quite nicely, and you can get any sights you want except the optics. I'm not all sold on the aftermarket triggers, but they are available too.

However, some people think of themselves as trigger connoisseurs and would not admit to G42 because of that. They would rather shoot a gun made by Turkish slaves at Umarex factory, which is barely screwed together (spoiler: Walther PK380). But hey, it has paddles!

One modern option that I am yet to sample is S&W "Shield" 380 EZ. It seems like it may give G42 a good competition.

 

Well, about that. Modern Cheetahs have somewhat useable sights, although they are still not ideal. And I presume the accuracy is adequate (because Cheetah's barrel is not locked into the slide, and the barrel is removable, the guns tend to get issues as they get older). The single action trigger is okay, the grip is nicely filling. Unfortunately, many users complain about the nasty, snappy recoil. I also found it seriously hurting, which really puzzled me, given how heavy the gun is.

I don't know if it's going to help anyone, but I found that Cheetah's recoil can be mitigated by not crawling up the grip so much. The modernist school of shooting is to get as high a grip as possible. You even use the support hand to clam it even more. Well... The solution for me was not to do that. If I grab it lower, then it does not hurt so much. Also, remove wedding ring. This is sort of grip some revolvers require in order not to get your middle finger banged by the trigger guard.

Still, Cheetah is a tricky gun from which to extract fun. If I were dead-set on a hammer-fired .380, then ignoring the S&W 380 EZ, I would rather settle on Browning 1911-380 than Beretta.

 

Nope nope nope, please not the G25. It uses the stupid operating system that's unlike normal Glocks and it kicks unnecessarily. If Glock switched it to a normal Browning locked breech operation, then such "G25M" might be interesting.

 

It does seem like the EZ would be the soft .380 to beat.

 

Your response spurred me to research the G25 ... and I was stunned to find that it is a blow-back design rather than what I thought was a Glock-standard locked-breach arraignment.

Blow-back!? Yeah, forget that ...

 

I would like a longer barrel on the GLOCK 42, sort of a GLOCK 42L. If they brought out a longer barrel, you would get some extra velocity and then a longer grip would help to hand on to it and increase the magazine capacity. I carry a GLOCK 42, when off duty. It went through a who list of guns before settling on the GLOCK 42 as the best pocket .380ACP for me.
It might be interesting, if the made a GLOCK 42X with a slightly longer barrel and grip and chambered it for the 9m.m. POLICE/ULTRA round with a really good hollowpoint.

Jim

 

Went in to the range with three rental guns, including a 42 and a p238. Thought the 42 would be it, but really preferred the p238. For new gun offerings, would really like to see somewhat longer barrels than longer grips, for concealment. Mag extension options abound whereas shortening a grip...

Will be interested to see if there is the rumored Bodyguard update by S&W this year or next.

 

Indeed, this grip/barrel disconnect is curious. Everyone in the community is always asking for longer barrels, but when Springfield released XD-S 4.0, people weren't buying. Then Grock releases 19X and it's an instant seller, only losing to G43. This SHOT show, SCCY CPX-3 and Kahr P9 Covert were demonstrated. Want or not, market for hammer-shaped handguns is on the upswing. Perfect time for G42X or G25S. Couple more years and this fad may pass. Personally, I absolutely would prefer a longer barrel, more in line with G48 than G43X, but Glock has the data that may call for just slapping G42 slide on top of G25 frame.

 

Why 9mm Ultra when one can buy aftermarket 9x18 barrel?

 

I’ve lived with both for some time now. I’m still not sure which I like better.

 

Paulsj,

The 9x18 Makarov and the 9x18 Ultra have about the same ballistics, but the 9Ultra can use any bullet meant for the .380ACP while the bullet selection for the Makarov round is very limited as the diameter is not the same. A 9m.m Ultra pistol would give a "+P" performance to a .380ACP pistol. SIG did it with the model 230, so I do not think it would be much of an engineering challenge and upgrade the performance of some of the execellent .380ACP pistols without the weight and recoil of a 9m.m.x19.

Jim

 

I’m really hoping Glock drops a 42X.

 

Not sure a G42X would sell, I've heard that 42 sales are way off since the introduction of the G43. I had a G42 , good shooter, but the grip didn't do it for me, got big mitts.

 

Somebody else made it. It’s called the Sccy CPX3. I know, it’s not a Glock. But it meets the criteria for a high-cap, polymer .380. And it’s inexpensive!

 

More choices in 380 is a good thing in my opinion.