Glock 42 issues

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mpickles
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Glock 42 issues

Post by mpickles »

I've been carrying a Glock 42 as a secondary for a little while, but recently had some concerns while at the range.

First, when chambering a round, the shell seems to "hop" out of the barrel and the barrel doesn't close completely. Pulling back and releasing the slide a handful of times does allow it to close properly though. This issue only happens if I'm chambering manually, loading from the magazine seems to work okay.

Second, I've had a handful of instances where two rounds will feed while loading. Perhaps it's a result of trying to fix the first issue, I don't remember now. Sometimes, the second round will stovepipe, other times it will just spill out and the gun cycles properly - incidentally, not the only time it's stovepiped.

Third, I've had several clips full where the firearm will fire, and eject the spent casing, but fail to chamber the next round. Pulling the trigger just results in a hollow "click." I kind of freaked out the first time it happened thinking I had a hang fire situation, but thankfully it wasn't.

Fourth, like I said at the end of my second point, I've had at least a dozen stovepipes with both range and defense ammo. Seems a tad excessive for only 3 range sessions.

I forget what the older range ammo was, but more recently I've used Winchester 95 grain FMJ. For defense, I've been using Liberty Ammunition's 50 grain Civil Defense ammo that was recommended by the gun shop where I purchased. Has anyone else seen anything like this?
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calvin56
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by calvin56 »

What do you mean "chamber manually "? Are you dropping a round in the chamber and closing the action? DON'T DO THAT To load the +1; load the mag, insert the mag, rack the slide, drop the mag and top it off, and finally reinsert the mag. Any other way will damage the extractor and all of the problems you describe can be blamed on a bent extractor.

I am too lazy to go to the safe to make sure it applies to Glock but it applies to most semis so get in the habit of doing it correctly.
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by Brian D. »

calvin56 wrote:What do you mean "chamber manually "? Are you dropping a round in the chamber and closing the action? DON'T DO THAT To load the +1; load the mag, insert the mag, rack the slide, drop the mag and top it off, and finally reinsert the mag. Any other way will damage the extractor and all of the problems you describe can be blamed on a bent extractor.

I am too lazy to go to the safe to make sure it applies to Glock but it applies to most semis so get in the habit of doing it correctly.
I think you are absolutely correct in your diagnosis given the particulars stated by mpickles. Might have to start calling you "Dr. Calvin56".

Hey mpickles, don't drop a round in the chamber manually! There is no advantage or even a decent reason for it.
Quit worrying, hide your gun well, shut up, and CARRY that handgun!

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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by Javelin Man »

The first diagnosis may very well be correct, however, I gotta ask: "Does this happen with a different magazine?"
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ESAFO
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by ESAFO »

if your mags are not stamped 03 this could be the issue, you'll find the marking on the bottom of the mag where the round whole indicators are located.
this issue has been known to cause several problems, i have had 2 original run mags & 2 mags with 02 with no issues what so ever.
its a hit & miss with owners some have been known to have problems & others can run the gun forever with no problems, go to LGS & have them take a peak or to ease your mind contact Glock & they'll advise on how to return your mags & they'll replace them FREE with the newest edition mags.
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mpickles
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by mpickles »

Brian D. wrote:Hey mpickles, don't drop a round in the chamber manually! There is no advantage or even a decent reason for it.
Didn't realize this was a bad habit as I'm still pretty new to the scene. Saw a friend of a friend do it once after he showed me his gun (he unloaded it before handing it to me and was in the process of reloading after I handed it back) and he explained that it saved the extra step of topping up the magazine, which made sense at the time and no one has ever questioned my doing so at the range. Although, now that I think about it he did lose his permit a few months later so maybe not the best role model. Either way, not worth it if it's damaging the gun.

I'll check the magazine stamps when I get home just in case this is exacerbating the problem, I only have the two mags that came with the weapon but I've never looked at them much beyond loading/unloading.
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sodbuster95
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by sodbuster95 »

mpickles wrote:Although, now that I think about it he did lose his permit a few months later so maybe not the best role model.
Yup, this may likely be considered good cause for questioning this gentleman's firearms techniques and prowess. :lol:
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ESAFO
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by ESAFO »

mpickles wrote:Although, now that I think about it he did lose his permit a few months later so maybe not the best role model.
choose your friends wisely :twisted:
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mpickles
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by mpickles »

sodbuster95 wrote:
mpickles wrote:Although, now that I think about it he did lose his permit a few months later so maybe not the best role model.
Yup, this may likely be considered good cause for questioning this gentleman's firearms techniques and prowess. :lol:
Well, he lost his permit (required to carry in MA) for brandishing after being involved in an accident, so it's not like he's my spirit guide. Haha!
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mpickles
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by mpickles »

Update: After working with this firearm some more, we noticed that the issues we were having were happening almost exclusively when my son would shoot - think once or twice for me. I ran into a buddy of mine at the range who's retired PD and I mentioned the issues we were having with that weapon. He watched us for a bit and determined that my son was limp-wristing his shots. Once he worked with us a bit, we were able to finish the box of ammo without issue. Why this behavior showed up when shooting my 42 but not the 22 is beyond me, but I'm happy to count it among my active weapons again.
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by Sevens »

I missed this on it's first go-round so I'm reading it all now.

First thing I would do is dump any 50-grain "wonderkill" ammo. This nonsense is some of the worst marketing ever because it puts people in to a potentially bad situation. I can say with confidence that -NO- gun manufacturer designs, builds or tests any of their guns using half-weight pre-fragmented superduperwonder (crap) ammo. Take this ammo 100% out of the conversation.

For absolutely sure, ALL semiautomatic firearms are designed to and are by all means BEST used when stripping absolutely every single round of ammo from a magazine, 100% of the time, for all the reasons mentioned above (and other reasons not yet mentioned) but the next thing to take away from this conversation is that Glock makes a high quality pistol with a very strong extractor design. You definitely should treat it "right" but I say there is almost zero chance that you "damaged" it in 4 range trips. My point is that every session is further testing for any/every gun, but in your shoes... I would go forth definitely being skeptical that the pistol/magazine runs properly but with nearly NO worry that anything you did damaged a Glock extractor.

Being a Glock, I would expect that it ran ALL the time, but making any/every/all tiny downsized pistols run ALL the time is simply far more difficult than doing the same thing with a larger pistol. This is something you need to know going forward as it may figure in to your plans and ideas for concealed carry.

Me? I'm nowhere near "new" to handguns but I have only been carrying since 2008, and many folks around these forums have been carrying longer. I will say however that it is my (strong) opinion that these small pistols as a primary carry gun are a bad idea, and I often equate it with a laziness or unwillingness to carry something more appropriate. Yes, of course, it's "better than a sharp stick" and it is "better than the .45 you left at home" and all the other tired, worn out and useless gun forumisms, but if you choose a dinky downsized gun as a primary, you also choose the warts inherent in dinky, downsized guns.
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Re: Glock 42 issues

Post by TSiWRX »

mpickles wrote:Why this behavior showed up when shooting my 42 but not the 22 is beyond me....
Sometimes, a smaller and lighter gun can perversely be considerably harder to shoot, even when there is a corresponding "step-down" of the caliber.

Yes, the G22 is a .40 S&W, but it's also a full-sized handgun. Loaded to-capacity, there's inherent absorption of some of the recoil simply from its weight - and with a larger grip, there's just more of the gun to hold on to and leverage against (which typically only really affects those with extremely small hands - trust me, my just-turned-11-year-old can shoot a full-sized handgun, and she takes an "extra small" women's-fit PIG FDT Alpha. Switch that gun to a G27 or even a G23, your observations may well be different. Particularly if your son is good at executing the modern thumbs-forward grip with a proper support hand wrist lock (or is otherwise able to achieve sufficient locking of the wrists to mitigate muzzle flip), that he's "shooting a .40" really doesn't necessarily mean that he's going to have problems, at least in terms of keeping the weapon within the parameters it needs to achieve successful cycle-of-operation.

With this in mind, while the 42 is a .380 Auto, its smaller size just makes it that much harder to hold on to *_properly_*, and that has significant implications relating to the cycle of operation of the smaller pistol, which itself teeters more on that edge of stoppage than its larger counterpart.
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