Advice before buying a Glock 42

[littlejerry]

Background: My wife is tiny. Sub 5' tall, small hands, and 100 lbs. Despite being a fully competent shooter(very safe, exceptionally accurate) she still doesn't feel comfortable shooting the various Glock 19s we have. She refuses to shoot the Gen3 guns and will tolerate the Gen4 guns but still doesn't like the excessive trigger reach.

Recently we went to an indoor range and rented a Glock 42. She actually liked the gun quite a bit. The small grip felt great in her hands and despite being snappier than a Gen4 Glock 19 she handled the recoil better. She loved how light weight the gun was as well.

I was all prepared to go out and buy one today when I started second guessing myself. Do I really want to get my wife a 6+1 .380? Not only is .380 a marginal caliber but its also absurdly expensive which may at some point limit practice.

The S&W Shield is the other obvious choice in this price and size range. I'd love to get her to try one but can't find one for rent at any of the indoor ranges around here. I haven't shot one either so I have no idea what the recoil and handling is like.

My main question is this: For anyone who has shot both a Glock 42 and Shield, how do they compare in terms of felt recoil and trigger reach?

[MVS]

It surprises me a little that you refer to the 42 as having more snap than a 19. I own both and while the 19 is by no means a recoil monster, the 42 is a pop gun in comparison. It is the softest shooting .380 I have ever shot with the possible exception of a CZ83. My wife likes the G42 so much better than her Ruger LC9 that I can almost forget about the .380 being an anemic performer. We only have about 500 rounds through it so far but have had no issues except the slide failing to lock back on the last round when shooting one handed. I have shot the Shield, but don't own one so I can't help out with that comparison.

[KevinB]

My wife and I have 9mm Shields. I've shot the G42, and its a nice gun, but for me the performance of the .380 round leaves much to be desired - so we passed.

My wife has trouble locking the slide on her Shield, its got a pretty stout recoil spring. She can run her G19 much much easier (that said it's a modified gun by Ben @ Boresight Solutions to have the reduced backstrap).

Recoil on the Shield will be a noticeable increase over the G42 -- the question will be, do you want a gun that can be shot "better" with a less performing round?

[Beat Trash]

I own Shield 9mm's. I have shot the Glock 42. What I have not done is to shoot both side by side. But I don't really find issue with the felt recoil of the 9mm Shield. My wife is 5'4" with smaller hands. Recoil of her Shield is a non-issue.

I would really look at the Shield for your wife. Have her use both the 7 & 8 rd magazines, as the feel of the gun really changes a lot just by changing the magazine.

Another new gun coming to market is the Walther CCP. The design is supposed to make working the slide much easier. It's one of the marketing selling points. It's a single stack, so the grip size should be smaller.

A few years ago, I participated in a couple of ballistic workshops hosted by my agency. Any thoughts of using a 380 as a defensive round died that day for me. I would strongly recommend you stay with a 9mm of some type for your wife. Especially due to her smaller stature, if she ever needs a firearm for defensive purposes, then she needs to be able to incapacitate the suspect(s). In my mind, a 380 just isn't up to the task.

[GJM]

For a small statured gal, wearing warm weather, stylish clothes, the Glock 42 can be the difference between an underwhelming caliber pistol and no pistol. My wife uses one occasionally in that role. She can shoot Bill drills with it at G19 speed, and smack an 8 inch steel at 50 on demand with it. I wouldn't want to be shot 6 or 7 times with even a .380. I just got one for pocket carry, as I can shoot it, and reload it enough better than a J frame that I think the cartridge tradeoff is worth it.

[Crow Hunter]

For a small statured gal, wearing warm weather, stylish clothes, the Glock 42 can be the difference between an underwhelming caliber pistol and no pistol. My wife uses one occasionally in that role. She can shoot Bill drills with it at G19 speed, and smack an 8 inch steel at 50 on demand with it. I wouldn't want to be shot 6 or 7 times with even a .380. I just got one for pocket carry, as I can shoot it, and reload it enough better than a J frame that I think the cartridge tradeoff is worth it.

I had this exact same thought. I was thinking about this when I heard that the local fun store had one. So I went and then my wife, who is very small and petite and sometimes complains about the size and weight of her G26/G19 depending on dress, went with me and she handled it too.

Now I have to get one...

[Chuck Haggard]

My wife is a huge fan of her Kahr PM9. She is 5'3 and also has small hands. She shoots that gun well, and has no issue with the recoil.

Just throwing that out there.

I'll second the notion that a .380 beats nothing, and nothing is often what people default to due to lack of viable choices (that they are aware of...)

[GJM]

My wife is a huge fan of her Kahr PM9. She is 5'3 and also has small hands. She shoots that gun well, and has no issue with the recoil.

Just throwing that out there.

I'll second the notion that a .380 beats nothing, and nothing is often what people default to due to lack of viable choices (that they are aware of...)

Chuck, good that the PM9 runs for her. Neither of our two PM9 pistol run reliably for my wife. It takes a MK9 to run, but that thing is so heavy it almost defeats the purpose of it.

[Chuck Haggard]

Chuck, good that the PM9 runs for her. Neither of our two PM9 pistol run reliably for my wife. It takes a MK9 to run, but that thing is so heavy it almost defeats the purpose of it.

Yeah, I have owned three PM9s before we got the one that worked, which the wife promptly claimed.

[Chuck Whitlock]

In addition to the Shield, you might have her try the M&P9c.....trigger reach is significantly less than the Glock, particularly with the small backstrap installed.

If you can find one to borrow or rent, in addition to the Kahr PM9, the slightly larger P9/CW9 is in the size envelope of the Shield. If weight is not a factor, the SS framed K9 is a pussycat to shoot when compared to the polymer guns.