Honey, I Shrunk The GLOCK! It may look like GLOCK left a G19 in the dryer too long, but this little gun is absolutely adorable. If it weren’t for the .380 chambering, I’d want one desperately . . .
The semi-staggered magazine might be called a ‘one and a quarter stack,’ but it still only holds six rounds of diminutive 9×17. Glock’s factory guy told me that no extended pinkie-rest magazines or baseplates are planned (by GLOCK, anyway) because that would defeat the CCW purpose of Gaston’s Littlest Grandchild.
It’s got an MSRP of $399, but the street price will probably be closer to the law enforcement price of $319. So here’s the question: is the little GLOCKling gunning for the .380 Ruger LCP, or is it the engineering proof of concept for a future G44 in 9×19 caliber that will challenge the Ruger LC9 and Remington MIA on their own turf?
How in the world can that only hold 6 rounds of .380? Especially when the XDS holds 5 rounds of .45 in a similar sized frame.
5 rounds of stacked .45 is about 10mm taller than 5 rounds of .380 and about 1mm taller than 6 rounds of .380. Unless they make one of those mystical .9mm guns, you are not gonna fit much more in there.
The problem is that Glock chose to make this a single-stack magazine, possibly to satisfy some arcane eastern-US market gun law–there is no Federal law that makes a single-stack 6-round magazine in this size pistol mandatory, and the ‘SNS’ importation regulations don’t apply size-wise if the gun is manufactured in the US. The magazine clearly could hold at least double that number if it was staggered. Model 25s and 28s hold up to 19 and 17 rounds of .380 respectively, and there is no mechanical reason why the 42 could not take either of those magazines if the frame width is also 30mm, which it appears to be.
This gun is a confusing conundrum–what’s it FOR?! For six rounds, it’s far too big–might as well have a Walther. For 17 or 19 rounds, it’s just right.
I haven’t seen it yet but it should be fiarly concealable, even if it’s not quite pocket sized. And apparenlty it’s *very* gentle shooting, which will appeal to a lot of people–just not you or me, perhaps.
The XD-S also holds 7 rounds of 9mm Hornady Critical Defense in a narrow single stack magazine. That’s one more than the Glock’s wide semi-staggered magazine of 95gr low velocity rounds.
Carry gun? Tough choice…
I will wait for a 9MM version; I have zero interest in a 380 pistol. Ammo is expensive and hardish to find and its another caliber to contend with needlessly…whoever the “genius’ was at glock who decided this should be their big new product of the year needs to get canned.
If this had been a 9MM pistol, Glock would have had a regular Shield on their hands in terms of popularity.
It’ll sell. Because it’s a Glock, it’s kinda cheap, and it’s new–kinda. But it’s not on my list either.
Come on, you know this was Gaston’s brsin child.
I agree. After the Shield, no thanks. If this was a 9mm, I’d be on five waiting lists looking for the first opportunity to buy one.
Well that’s certainly cheaper than the Mustang or P238, though I think those other options are smaller.
Did you just write that the “street price” will be closer to the LEO price?? If so, I’m probably down for at least one. Will be a good one for my wife.
Not if availability ends up being similar to what we’ve seen of the 30S. I’ve seen the 30S sell for $700 on gunbroker out of apparent desperation to get one. I wouldn’t expect a new model to sink below MSRP for several months.
None of the popular Glock models have street price anywhere near blue label pricing, by the way.
I may get one just to fill out the safe, but I’m in no hurry. I get blue label pricing, but I’m sure availability will be a problem for a while. In the meantime, I’ll stick to my LCP for deep concealed carry, and wait until I’m in the mood and have a little spare cash to supplement my safe with a G17 before I pick up one of these.
Maybe by that time the 9mm will be out.
Or the .9mm.
Let the caliber shaming begin!
Personally, I cant wait. And that price, is so nice. Ive been waiting for a Glock .380 for years.
Woah, that’s a downright respectable price! Good on ’em.
Looks like it should hold more than 6 rounds judging by the distance from the bottom peep hole to the floor plate.
For under 4 bills even poor folk can afford it. Some people simply need a simple reliable gun and they aren’t POTG. This gun and a box or 2 of shells will bring endless hours of peace of mind to those people. And if they ever really need it, it will work.
It’s not a gun I’d do backflips over. But there’s lots of people out there that would like glock brand glock reliability at a good price.
Good points, and the market you describe may well go for it (for either for home or carry). However, if a newbie that fits your description asked me for advice (assuming is was mostly for home defense), I’d probably steer them toward a used .38 spec service revolver. Each to their own, however.
I’m a revolver guy. But most of these folks nowadays ain’t. I used to automatically recommend a service grade revolver in .38 to newb’s. But most of the rookies have been influenced by games and movies and the Glock is known to them and it’s near as simple as a revolver to operate.
Makes sense. And like you say, this is simple and will work. If that’s what it takes to arm more people, it’s a plus.
I still love my Colt Dick Special, but it’s a little wide and I don’t want to bob the hammer on it.
I’m actually surprised by the low price.
I don’t put the LCR in the same category, the LCR truly is a pocket pistol, the glock is too big.
seems to go more head to head with a Walther PPK, Bersa Thunder, or Ruger LC380.
1. This will sell incredibly well, because it’s a Glock. There are Glock fanboys who will buy it, there are new shooters who know the name Glock from their track record with police, and so on.
2. This is probably a prototype for the 9mm version to come later (perhaps in 2021-2?). .380 is an easier gun to make with its lower pressure compared to 9mm. Then they’ll sell a new shiny 9mm version to every Glock fanboy, and to the people who waited.
3. Glock is about 10 years behind everyone else. They have been for a long time. Why is this any surprise?
Got to shoot it and the 41 back a couple weeks ago.
What a beauty. Zero recoil. Doing head shots rapidly at 15 yards was easy.
I definitely want one.
It’s also a great gun for teaching, women and children. Think about it.
“…Zero recoil…”
OK, now that’s interesting. There is a young woman I know who wants a .22 for her first carry gun because she hates recoil. This little Glock could be a viable alternative, then.
Honestly, I’ve been shooting a good many years. Beyond a great pocket gun, my other thought was for my wife. She hates recoil too. My buddies 16 year old son couldn’t stop shooting it.
Aside from the recoil, how did it feel in the hand? Any chance you could get it again and write a review?
You don’t need to contort on a mat this time-unless you really want to. . .
Quite possibly…I’ll check on doing a review, if the lads don’t get to down in Vegas.
It was very comfortable, very slim. Everything about it was identical to the big brothers. Very accurate for rapid fire. We were pinging a 4″ steel plate at 10 and 15 yards.
We shot I think, 400 rounds between the 5 of us. Not a single hiccup.
Unfortunately, I was sworn to secrecy until after formal announcement at shot show.
I got even more turned on by the 41. Long slide .45 acp.
Man was that a gentle, low impulse, soft shooting, hi cap gun.
Wish they would have made a single stack 9mm or would have made a .380 the size of a Kahr P380. However, I would be okay with this gun in this caliber and size if it held one or two more rounds.
I hope I wasnt the only one to google “Remington MIA” before feeling dumb…
If a child looks “just like” its ugly parent, trust me – the child is ugly.
all I know is my Glock 36 was the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned.it had a six-round 45 ACP magazine that delaminated so badly that it jammed up in my magazine release button ,and I had to take the slide off and punch the magazine out with a wooden dowel ,and a hammer. The 36 also has a staggered magazine that was just horribly designed. blocks overall quality has dropped off the charts their slides are not true anymore there are warped slightly where the front sight mounts and will lean left or right just depending on what day of the week it was made. in fact our local PD had to send back 400 Glock 22 gen 4 because they would not fire in cycle rounds with a light on the accessory rail. Glock replace them with gen 3 Glock 21 .45 ACP.and I’m not a Glock hater I have 5 Gen 2’s and 2 Gen 3 early models that are absolutely built wonderful! And don’t get me started on my gen 4 Glock 19 and all the trials and tribulations I went through to get it to work.their machines that stamp out there parts are so worn that they haven’t resurfaced there press plates that the parts are coming out have rough metal edges and even warped. all gun manufacturers are trying to struggle with the enormous backlog in are rushing the process of assembling these guns and I have seen it all the way across the board Glocks not the only one. and due to the fact that we have so many new shooters buying handguns for the first time there is an abundance of people that don’t know as much about firearms, may not notice a lot of these problems. Which is great for the gun manufacturers not so good for the gun buyers. that’s what happens when you get rid of all your gunsmiths and replace them with gun techs!
Their late Gen 3 and Gen 4 nines have been problematic mainly due to a a combination of ejector and extractor issues that they still don’t want to openly acknowledge.
The rest of their line-up is fine, though. For some reason they really ****ed up their classics (G17, G19) but everything else seems to be alright.
My G36 is my EDC. I’ve had it for five years now, shoot the hell out of it and have never had a problem. Still looks like new, both the gun and the magazines. Don’t doubt your experience, just have to say I’ve had the opposite.
My Gen 4 35 is flawless. .So is my 1992 Gen 3 27
I have no use for it or similar sized nines. If I’m carrying a 9mm it’ll probably be my Glock 19. For pocket carry, I carry the Ruger LCR .357
I owned a Shield for a few weeks but was not impressed with the trigger and a few other things. This reminds me of that, only a Glock and in .380.
If .380 was cheap I’d consider buying one for range use but it’s just as expensive as .45, if not more.
I have a Shield, carry it every day.
Guy with a knife is comming at you. Let’s list the concerns
1 Do I have my Shield with me?
2 I might die
3 I my get mamed
4 Escape route
5 Adrenaline dump
6 Shakey Hands
7 Poop in my pants
8 Oh this damn Shield trigger
Notice the order.
Didn’t know you needed a 2Lb match trigger to shoot the knife out of the air if he throws it at you.
And did I over hear you say, that your last bottle of Dom Perignon was a bit flat?
My wife is upset I sold her SIG P230 three years ago. It was a great purse gun, lightweight, no recoil and dead accurate.
The G42 would be the perfect replacement.
I love the P230! Bit snappy, but amazing craftsmanship. Would be nice to see Sig maintain that high standard today, wouldn’t it?
So how does it fire compared to other .380 models? What is the kick like? How does it feel?
My SIG P238 Blackwood fires very smoothly, and I really like it. I purchased a SIG P238 HD for my wife, and she loves it as well. She started with a Ruger LCR .38 special, and she HATED it because of the unnerving double-action, and the hard kick. SImply put, she wasn’t comfortable with it. But she really likes the SIG P238. in fact, she carries more than I do.
They’ll sell a ton of these and then release the 9MM version. If they released the .380 and 9MM versions at the same time, then the .380 wouldn’t sell nearly as many units and would be glossed as the “Lil’ Glock that never could”.
Honestly, it sounds like a good marketing strategy.
Admittedly, some of the folks that have already shot this pistol may feel a need to be very complimentary in exchange for being included in the “first look” shoot, but the writers are absolutely gushing about how nice a shooter this gun is. A bit bigger than the usual 380 platform but that seems to give it just enough grip, just enough mass, and familiar Glock mechanics to make it a great shooter.
I’m in the same “where in the heck is the 9mm version” camp as many of you, but this almost sounds like a comfy 22LR shooter with 380 ammo, which at least nudges it into the basement of self-defense chambering.
I say that with a 10mm Glock 29 in my waistband. And I AM glad to see you…
This sounds like a great pistol for many circumstances. My wife, for instance. She wants to handle a self-defense pistol competently but she’s not going to spend hours at the range. She could easily get up-to-speed with this and, coupled with some high-quality SD rounds, provide an appropriate amount of shall we say social deterrence if the need arose. Plus, her familiarity with this Glock would giver her a better chance to use my other Glocks more successfully in an emergency.
No one will ever mistake a 380 wound channel for a hot 10mm load, of course. But looking at some gel testing of the more modern SD HP rounds like Gold Dot, Hornady, and even – gulp – HydraShok (who knew?!) I was pleasantly surprised. 10 to 12 inches of penetration and good expansion. No, not gonna pass any FBI barrier testing but alone in a parking lot, with an accurate easy-shooting pistol – I’ll take it.
Nice summation. I agree…this little guy has it’s place.
“Glock’s factory guy told me that no extended pinkie-rest magazines or baseplates are planned (by GLOCK, anyway) because that would defeat the CCW purpose of Gaston’s Littlest Grandchild.”
Hogwash. Extended mags are easy to carry and conceal as backup mags. I typically use the flush-fitting 6-round mag in my Beretta Nano since it doesn’t print, but when I carry a spare(s) I carry the extended 8-round version. In a pocket or on the waist (typically held vertically in a mag holster), the extra length doesn’t matter.
That is precisely my strategy with the Nano. (I’m having reliability issues and may ultimately ditch it, but that’s a different matter. A working Nano should be carried precisely the way you are describing.)
I do the same with a PM9. carry the 6-round mag in gun, 8-rounder in pouch.
“If it weren’t for the .380 chambering”
I dunno, I might have thought this before the shootingthebull410 .380 quest, but there was ammo that performed just fine.
Now, that said, I am turned off the 6 round mag not the .380 chambering. If I want a reliable 6-shooter I am not thinking semi-auto.
The staggered rounds are killing it for pocket carry. All of the pocket .380s I have pawed are single stack and slim enough to conceal easily.
I wonder if they staggered the rounds to make the mag fit to the pistol, instead of the reverse, which would make more sense. Unless they are intentionally leaving some meat on the slide and frame for the 9mm chambering to come later…
Gimmie a 9mm at that price point and sold, even with the small round capacity.
Just as I suspected, she’s got a fat @ss. I’ll stick with the Bodyguard. Wake me when the 9mm version is announced.
Hold on. Black, petite and a fat @ss. The brothers (me included) are gonna love this one
Tochet’. That description in anything but a pocket pistol is indeed worthy of envy.
Oh, my. . .
How sweet! Do they make it in men’s sizes too?
Sure. It’s called the Glock 17 in that size. Or you could go with a different brand I suppose, for a “man’s size”
Not that such would have anything to do with you, as a real man wouldn’t belittle the tools that someone smaller and/or weaker might have to use.
Ok I could be wrong but it looks to me like that same mag could be made to hold a few more rounds. I wonder if the six was just made first to make this gun legal for states that have enacted limits, like New York and New Jersey to name a couple. Which means we may see higher capacity mags for the rest of us. And possibly the 9mm version.
They’re introducing it in the same way Ruger brought in the LCP and then the LC9, but it’s not a pocket pistol (at least for my pockets). So no, it’s a nice, inexpensive piece but it won’t replace my LCP. It will sell well and is certainly the lead card for a 9mm version. Then the question will be how much I love my Kahrs.
It slipped easily into my pocket. And I’m only 5’7″.
I’m scratching my head on the round count. My LCP is tiny, even compared to this. Its mag holds 6 rounds, completely straight not staggered at all. I’m clueless as to why this isn’t a 7 round mag of .380… Seems to me its entirely possible. There is obviously a reason, I just want to know why because I can’t for the life of me see why.
So Glock can sell it in states like New York that restrict the number of rounds in your magazine. I’m also going to guess that Chicago will have a similar limit since they will finally be allowing CCW, and that’s a whole new market for gun manufacturers.
but isn’t NY a 7 round limit? So if they made this a 7 round magazine then it would still be compliant with every state. NY has the record at 7 and as far as I know, no one has gone below 7.
Question for those people that have held a Glock 42. Would the frame accommodate 9mm rounds?
Any new Glock magazines? I was like to see a magazine the same size as the Glock 22 round .40 one but in 9mm
Glock is following Ruger and Sig. It’s a given the gun will eventually be offered as a nine mil, hence the dimensions. Sig had the P238 and soon after the P938.
What I can’t understand is why they didn’t cut the front of the slide as in the 26,27 and 34,35.
At that price it will sell like iPhones. And no restrictions capacity wise behind the blue curtain states.
Arg. I think I want one. Or two. As an introductory center fire pistol for my twin 2yo daughters. It will be well broken-in for them 😉
I’m trying to picture a typical 8 inch silencer on that….
If I understand it right it’s nearly the size of an XDs-9, holds 3 fewer rounds and in .380 Vs 9mm at that?
It’s for what again?
It’s to big to compete with other .380s and totally out of the running to compete with either the XDs or Shield for power or capacity. It’s truly a solution in search of a problem. Glock may finally have produced something that will flop.
I agree with you entirely, except for the part that says this gun will flop. Strangely, it won’t. People love Glock like tech guys love Apple. So they will definitely make a good profit off this, but for you and I who see it for what it is, we won’t waste our time. No way will this replace my Shield or my LCP. Its an odd duck in the middle and I have no use for it.
REAL tech guys don’t like Apple…..
Buuwwwaaahhhhaaa!
I think this is a cool gun. I like Glocks. They work. period. The .380 may not be the best for defensive carry, IMHO, but It is a cool gun. I read reviews on new guns and I see them for what they are. I never try to compare – calibers, size, which is better, why is it this way or that – with other guns. I see the review, decide if a gun is cool or not and buy it if I want it. I will not carry it. I have that gun figured out but I will get one or two for the cool factor. It may be fun to shoot and the family kids will love it. It
It’s a neat little gun. A lot of those posing do not have one.
I have two and it is a neat little gun. Maybe just to collectors. I prefer my glock 30s for serious duty.
But what a fun neat little gun. And it’s a Glock. Much better than most 380s except maybe sig p238 but this gun has glock trigger
Nice little conceled carry pistol, for a woman!
My husband works out of town on a regular basis. We have a glock .45 and a desert eagle. 50 cal but I wanted something smaller that I could handle with ease. The glock 42 .380 is perfect. I love it. It’s the perfect size. It handles great. It’s easy to conceal. Add hollow points and is gonna stop whatever I want it to stop.
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