The Glock 42 is the gun people buy when they don’t want to carry a gun. That sounds like a knock. It isn’t…well, not entirely. Glock’s smallest pistol is a six-shot .380 that weighs less than a pound loaded and disappears in a pocket or an inside-the-waistband holster. For a lot of people, that’s exactly what gets a pistol on their body every day instead of in the nightstand drawer. However, the concealed carry market has changed dramatically since the G42 hit shelves, and the question deserves a real answer.
Is it still a good carry gun in 2026? The short answer is yes, for the right shooter. The longer answer takes a wee bit of explaining
The Smallest Glock
Glock released the G42 in 2014, and it was a big deal then.
It was Glock’s first single-stack pistol and the first .380 the company sold to American civilians.
Earlier Glock .380s, like the G25 and G28, were law enforcement or overseas guns that never came here.
The G42 was built in the U.S., and they flew off store shelves.
Glock’s spec sheet tells the story.
The G42 is 5.94 inches long, 4.13 inches tall with the magazine, and 0.98 inches wide.
The barrel is 3.25 inches.
It weighs 12.17 ounces unloaded and 15.87 ounces with six rounds in the magazine.
Glock 42. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
In a gun this small, you still get a 4.92-inch sight radius, a beavertail, and the standard Safe Action trigger, rated at 24 newtons (about 5.4 pounds).
Put another way, a loaded G42 weighs less than an empty Glock 19.
What The G42 Does Well
The G42 is easy to shoot for its size.
That’s its biggest selling point. Most pocket .380s are blowback guns with tiny grips, and they bite.
The G42 uses Glock’s locked-breech design, and it’s a bit larger than guns like the Ruger LCP.
That extra size and the lighter cartridge combine to create a soft recoil impulse. Newer shooters can run it for a full range session without dreading every trigger press.
It’s also a Glock, and that matters.
Gun Digest’s reviewer called it a sizzler right out of the box, and it ran with nearly everything he fed it.
It was accurate enough to break clays and water bottles despite a 3.25-inch barrel.
It’s slim enough for pocket, ankle, or IWB carry, and holsters come in plenty of options.
However, one myth needs to die. People assume the G42 is the answer for shooters with weak hands.
The recoil spring is stout, and the slide serrations are shallow.
Larry Vickers thought the slide was too hard to run, so he worked with TangoDown on a $18.95 slide racker plate to fix it.
If racking a slide is your problem, try this gun in person before you buy it.
Eve Flanigan recommended dry-fire training while “pairing LASRX with a Laser Dot Trainer; you can make dry fire challenging and unlock a whole new world of practice possibilities.
Consider following along with the Shooter Ready Challenge for ideas on dry fire practice.”
TheTrade-Off With A Smaller Caliber And Capacity
The G42 gives up two things. Caliber and capacity.
The .380 ACP works, as long as you feed it the right ammunition.
In gel testing, .380 bullets penetrate somewhere between 9 and 18 inches, and the 12-inch FBI minimum is the line you want to clear.
Some hollow points expand beautifully and stop short.
Others go deep and don’t open at all.
With a 3.25-inch barrel, velocity is limited, so load selection matters more here than with any 9mm.
Lucky Gunner ran 117 hollow-point loads through gel, .380 included, and I’d read that data before you buy a box of anything.
Then there’s capacity. Six rounds.
That was acceptable in 2014. However, the market didn’t stand still.
Glock’s own G43 is only 0.32 inches longer and 0.08 inches wider, weighs less than five ounces more loaded, and holds the same six rounds of 9mm.
The G43X carries ten, and this spring Glock added factory 15-round magazines. SIG’s P365 and its many imitators put 10 rounds of 9mm into a package not much bigger than the G42.
For those keeping score at home, that’s a lot of competition.
The Verdict
So, is the Glock 42 a good concealed carry pistol?
Yes.
It’s reliable, accurate for its size, soft-shooting, and small enough to carry.
The best gun in a gunfight is the one you have on you, and the G42 is easy to carry.
However, it’s no longer the obvious choice.
In my opinion, most shooters who can handle a bit more recoil are better served by a G43X or a P365-class 9mm.
I prefer the P365 XL, but shooters should buy what works best for them; the G42 is a small, concealable pistol.
The G42 makes the most sense for recoil-sensitive shooters, deep-pocket carry, or as a backup gun.
Pick your ammo carefully, and practice with it.
It was built to be the smallest Glock. More than a decade later, it still is.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
