A Glock 42?

[TheTrevor]

"Shooting The Bull" recently published an extensive roundup of gelatin tests covering virtually every available 380 defense load plus some FMJ. A careful reading of his results shows that there exists a bare handful of commercial loads at the very top end of the 380 performance curve which meet standards.

I would be comfortable carrying a G42 with any of the ~3 products which performed well. And this is coming from someone who standardized on hot 40SW loads (JHP @ 450+ ft-lb) back in the late 90s and is only now considering a switch to modern 9mm loads.

[Totem Polar]

As luck would have it, the Fiocchi xtp loading is about the only .380 load that I have been able to find locally over the last several skinny years.

[TheTrevor]

As luck would have it, the Fiocchi xtp loading is about the only .380 load that I have been able to find locally over the last several skinny years.

As Sidhe implies, the Fiocchi XTP load is one of two clear winners. Here is the study -- if you want to jump straight to the results, blue is best, then green.

http://shootingthebull.net/blog/fina...cp-ammo-quest/

[JHC]

If this pistol can handle hot loads, we may see some 'glock 42 only' .380 loads.

Maybe that would change things?

Good thought. Why not? Buffalo Bore/Double Tap style.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...duct_list&c=29

[TheTrevor]

Good thought. Why not? Buffalo Bore/Double Tap style.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...duct_list&c=29

Neither Buffalo Bore nor DoubleTap performed well in the tests I linked to above.

[MGW]

The summation of what was "wrong" with the Glock 42 seemed it was too big, too late, and too expensive.

If this pistol turns out to be successful, it appears that it will largely be because of Glock's decision not to follow in the path of the LCP, with another small but unpleasant to shoot .380, but rather the decision to bring out a small service pistol, very much a Glock in appearance and function, that happened to be chambered in .380.

It makes me wonder if people really WERE asking for this pistol. By people I mean a large department or departments somewhere that carries Glocks as duty pistols and 380's as backups.

[JHC]

Neither Buffalo Bore nor DoubleTap performed well in the tests I linked to above.

But those BB loads were loaded .380 +P; vs "Ruger Only" style as Mitchell was considering for G42 only loads. And BB also has a load they didn't test which is their hard cast flat point which safe to say would have exceeded Shooting the Bull's penetration max limit every time.

But it's probably not a PSI challenge anyway. With a .380; limited to the light bullet weight for caliber in .380 - which is what is holding that round's terminal ballistic performance back - Maybe I'd just go all in on penetration with the 100 grain hard cast flat point of the loads I've read about so far.

[MGW]

I know that there isn't a saami spec for .380 +P. Does anyone know why there isn't a spec?

[David Armstrong]

Well, many street coppers have seen a number of people running around with nothing more than a boo-boo from being hit with a .380 round or rounds.

If the 42 is reliable, and I mean service pistol reliable not pocket pistol reliable, then I am in. Especially since this gun would seem to allow a better level of marksmanship when things get farther or more dynamical.

FWIW, many street coppers have also seen a number of people running around with nothing more than a boo-boo from being hit with 9mm, 40 S&W, .45 ACP rounds and pretty much everything else that you commonly find in a handgun.

[DocGKR]

NONE of the .380 loads in the "Shooting The Bull"/Taurus guy test look good, particularly the 4LD tests--also did not see any autoglass testing...

I know of no .380 loads that consistently meet the FBI protocol test standards; until one is validated as meeting that threshold, I'll continue to recommend other calibers for most uses...

Oh...the magic number is THREE times so far.