Our Glock 42 is picky, is this acceptable?

[JReedEsq]

We have a Glock 42 which is primarily my wife's gun.  First off let me say that I have had several Glocks and every 9mm Glock has been flawless with every ammo and my .40 Glocks have been nearly flawless.  I did have a few FTE issues with steel case ammo on a Gen 4 27 but they were in the first 50 rounds ever put through the gun.  Anyway I have had a few other .380s and my experience as well as my impression from others is that small .380 pistols just tend to be picky.  I personally had a P3AT and an older LCP that wouldn't eat steel cased ammo well.  My current LCP runs Hornady XTP, PDX1 rounds and fmj just fine although I don't recall if I've ever tried steel cased ammo for it or any heavier, 100 grain FMJ.  

 

To get to the point of my question, The Glock 42 has been flawless with the following ammo: Hornady XTP, Critical Defense, and Winchester White Box FMJ.  The gun doesn't stovepipe or fail to feed.  What it does do though is the slide will lock back with rounds still in the magazine.  We noticed this with Remington UMC which I think is probably loaded light and it also does this with 100 grain Freedom Munitions FMJ.  According to a thread on another forum, some G42s have this issue because the nose of a longer bullet can come into contact with the slide lock under recoil.  This would explain the issue with the 100 grain bullets but not the issue with the Remington UMC.  I haven't measured but someone one the other thread said that WWB actually has a short OAL which makes it great for the Glock 42.  I like the XTP rounds in .380.  I have bought them loaded (with the Hornady bullet) from Fiocchi, Freedom Munitions, and (I think) Precision One).  They all work fine in the 42.    

 

One part of me is irritated because a Glock shouldn't be ammo picky.  Really no modern semi-auto should be ammo picky.  On the other hand, it is a .380.  I have heard a lot of people saying that they stick with certain ammo for certain guns and it does work 100% with the carry ammo of my choice.  My wife doesn't carry the pistol often but she has been taking it with her a little more lately so I am giving this some thought.  She is still pretty new to firearms and just got her HCP last year.  She likes the gun and shoots it pretty well. It has really low recoil which I think is awesome for a small woman with limited experience.  If she weren't recoil sensitive I would have already gotten rid of it in favor of an M&P Shield or a Glock 43.  

 

 

The question is this:  Is this degree of ammo sensitivity acceptable or should I consider sending it back to Glock? 

Edited December 15, 2015 by JReedEsq

[JReedEsq]

double post.  sorry

Edited December 15, 2015 by JReedEsq

[Caster]

I'd be pissed too.  You buy Glock for reliability.  If you wanted something that can be ammo picky and unreliable you could get some fancy 1911 and then you'd at least have something that's aesthetically pleasing to look at while you're clearing malfunctions.  LOL!

[JReedEsq]

One more thing: I don't think she's limp-wristing it. I had her rapid fire it with the XTP in it and it ran fine.

[Jonnin]

Had this issue before on a different model gun ... gunsmith was able to take a couple of thousandths off the slide lock so the ammo would stop hitting it, and that was fixed. 

[bud]

.

Edited January 6, 2016 by bud

[TnShooter83]

From my understanding Glock made some changes to address some issues.
Below is a good read if you are interested.

http://looserounds.com/2014/05/10/glock-appears-to-have-made-changes-to-the-g42/

[mikegideon]

My 42 had to go back because it stopped working at all. Haven't shot it enough to know if it's ammo picky. They will eventually fix it.

[JReedEsq]

On Monday my wife put 50 rounds of 100 grain ammo through it and it locked back prematurely two times.  Just like when your car messes up when you drive it but not at the auto shop, my concern is that it we might go to the hassle to send it in and it would work fine for them.  

[mikegideon]

On Monday my wife put 50 rounds of 100 grain ammo through it and it locked back prematurely two times.  Just like when your car messes up when you drive it but not at the auto shop, my concern is that it we might go to the hassle to send it in and it would work fine for them.  

 

Call them. They will be familiar with the problem and have a fix, or not. 

[dcloudy777]

GLOCK has one gun design.  It works well.

 

The farther they stretch/shrink/fold/spindle/mutilate that one design, the less well it seems to work.

[mikegideon]

GLOCK has one gun design.  It works well.

 

The farther they stretch/shrink/fold/spindle/mutilate that one design, the less well it seems to work.

[JReedEsq]

GLOCK has one gun design.  It works well.

 

The farther they stretch/shrink/fold/spindle/mutilate that one design, the less well it seems to work.

 

Trust me, if I thought I could get my wife to like a 9mm, I would.  I tried to get her interested in a shield and she seemed to think it was big :-\ . The only 9mm she thinks is comfortable to shoot is my Glock 17 which she says is too big to even put in her glovebox.  I looked really hard at the Kahr p380 but it (like a lot of .380 pocket pistols) has a reputation for being ammo sensitive. She doesn't care for my Ruger LCP, but it will be available to her in the event we send the 42 to Glock.  I usually carry something larger anyway.  I will get the serial # off of the 42 tonight and probably call Glock customer support tomorrow. 

Edited December 15, 2015 by JReedEsq

[TNWNGR]

Find someone who has a 3.3" barrel SA XDs9 who'll let your wife run a couple of boxes of ammo through it. I think once she's done that she might take a liking to the little jewel. I you lived closer I'd meet you at a range and let her try mine out. FWIW I like the ergonomics of the Sield better as well as the compactness of the G-43. But different gun models work better for some then they do for others.

As to steel cased ammunition...sorry I'm not going to blame any feed problems with that stuff on a good pistol. I ran literally thousands of rounds of aluminum cased Blazer through a 2nd gen G-22 with only a couple of FTF and one FTF.  However the gun was never intended to have that stuff run through it.

[Jamie Jackson]

JReed;

 

Has your wife had the opportunity to fire a 9mm Shield or Glock 43? I know you mentioned she didn't care for the size of the Shield. But she may, or may not I guess, feel different after shooting them.

 

I ask because I would gladly offer to let her shoot my 9mm Shield and also offer to have my friend meet us at the range (ORSA or Windrock or wherever) with his Glock 43. I prefer the 8 round magazines and my bud runs Taran Tactical extensions on his 43. I find they just feel better in my hand with the extensions, but she could try stock factory flush mags if she'd like.

 

One of our "shooting buds" has an SA XDs9 as well. It too is a nice shooting little gun.

 

FWIW the same guy that has the 43 also has a 42 and has run a fair amount of Freedom Munition ( iirc ) through his...no feeding problems encountered. Good shooting and accurate little gun.

[nightrunner]

GLOCK has one gun design. It works well.

The farther they stretch/shrink/fold/spindle/mutilate that one design, the less well it seems to work.

Man, that's so true it hurts.

[JReedEsq]

Prag,

I really appreciate the offer and I remember what a nice guy you are from Randy's class, but with our kids and other obligations, the only time we (the wife and I) get to shoot together is if we meet at TAC at lunchtime. She really likes the low recoil of the 42. I just asked her if she would consider a Shield since there is such a good deal on the TGO but she dryly suggested I just get her ammo that works and don't make her get used to another gun. I am going to call Glock tomorrow and see what they say. I would hate to get rid of it if it could be something as simple as switching magazines. Edited December 16, 2015 by JReedEsq

[frankmako]

Clean your mags. Open them up. Clean the insides. Check the slide lock. Is it just one brand/type of ammo? Is it the same mag or all mags.

[Jamie Jackson]

LOL. It sounds like your missus has a "plan" and you are on top of it JReed! :up:

 

Thank you for the kind words, and of course the offer is open ended.

 

Keep us posted on how things transpire.

[JReedEsq]

I just called Glock customer support.  I explained in probably too much detail exactly what the gun has been doing.  All he really wanted to know was the serial number and how many rounds have been through it.  He indicated that it should be able to fire any common commercial ammo and is sending a return label for me to send it in.  I will follow-up when I get it back.  Hopefully it won't take too long. 

[ou812]

Here is what I posted in another thread.....IF YOU BUY A GLOCK 42.........It is not like the other glocks ...(Google glock 42 problems)....there is a break in period of about 300 to 500 rounds....I had problems with the glock 42 I bought, at least one failure to feed per every 2nd magazine during the first 300 rounds.  Hasn't happen after the first 300 rounds.  It did seem to happen more often with NEW cheaper ammo like freedom munitions.  But it is running fine now with the cheaper rounds......It would also fail to lock the slide back in the last round!  again it is working fine now.

[JReedEsq]

Update: A Glock tech just called me to ask a few questions and let me know that there are going to "update" some internal parts and get it on the way back to us next week. They paid the FedEx both ways

[graycrait]

A friend of mine called me to tell me about the woes of his 42, which was locked up tighter than ....  Anyway I drive out to his place to take a look.  I was just able to get the back plate off and separate the slide from the frame.  But it took me 20 minutes to get the barrel out of the slide even after I had the striker out.  Unfortunately it had a live round in it.  When I finally got it apart and the round out the steel cased round had a primer that was sticking out too far and it appeared that the case was swollen near the rear.  I reassembled the 42 and went about my way.  Later that day he called and said it shot great until..... Then he sent a pic of the AE brass FMJ round that had a split case.  I got the feeling that the chamber was "off."  Anyway, it went back to Glock earlier this week. 

[JReedEsq]

The guy I spoke with today said that the updated parts they are putting in will almost certainly fix our issue (the slide occasionally locking back with rounds still in the magazine). He said we should call back if it doesn't work with any normal ammo. Once we get it back. I found some more UMC in the safe, you better believe I will run some of that crappy, underpowered stuff through it to make sure it is reliable when I get it back. Edited December 18, 2015 by JReedEsq

[JReedEsq]

A KCSO Deputy I know has two early 42s and says that they run fine on every ammo he has found. I know two other people who say the same thing. I just want to get ours to be the same.