I shot a G19 for my CHL class. I confess to not having the best attitude that day and shooting it as a formality that had to be passed adequately to pass the CHL. I shot 246/250 and now wish I'd been serious about it. Anyway, I mainly want something small enough for pocket carry for when it's too hot to wear cover over a belt holster to carry a real gun.
I'm not worried about working the slide but I don't like recoil so I don't want an ultra light 9mm. I'm considering a J frame, a small 380 and a small 9. In 380 I think these two are the only ones I'd consider so that's why I'm asking for discussion on them. I may start another thread for small 9's.
Walther PK380 and Glock 42
Moderator: carlson1
Re: Walther PK380 and Glock 42
It's fine if you disagree. I can't force you to be correct.
NRA Life Member, TSRA Life Member, GSSF Member
A pistol without a round chambered is an expensive paper weight.
NRA Life Member, TSRA Life Member, GSSF Member
A pistol without a round chambered is an expensive paper weight.
Re: Walther PK380 and Glock 42
+1 I also have the PK380. I bought it for my wife who has severe arthritis. We tried a lot of pistols. This was the only one she could rack. LabRat's review is spot on with my impressions.LabRat wrote:I don't own both, but do have the PK380.
A very lightweight weapon with a very-easy-to-rack slide. it's actually preferred by some women and older citizens for just this feature alone. Good shooter - accurate. I've read (but don't fully understand) the reason is the design softens the recoil and muzzle rise. It does require a special key to unlock the slide for cleaning - the same key is used to lock the trigger.
The weird side of this weapon is the safety. The way to decock it is go "safe" and pull the trigger to drop the hammer....gives me the shivers to do that with a live round in the chamber. It works, but takes some getting used to. I have a S&W that decocks similarly; move the safety from "fire" to "safe" and the hammer drops. Same result, but it feels weird pulling the trigger to accomplish the same thing.
The ergonomics are good, even with my large hands. It is a .380; debate the caliber choice as you see fit.
Hope this helps a little anyway.
LabRat
Re: Walther PK380 and Glock 42
To me a small j frame has the same felt recoil as my g26, and less the the sig p230 I had. Ymmv.
Re: Walther PK380 and Glock 42
I don't have the PK380 but I do have the G42. Shot it for the first time tonight and it was a very soft shooter and fit my hand like it was made for me. I didn't have an issue with racking the slide and I have degenerative disc disease coupled with arthritis and probably even carpal syndrome (in other words really bad/painful joints). Of course I've been shooting a zillion years to I have the old push/pull slingshot method down pretty well.
I was only testing it for reliability so my target was at 7 yards but all rounds were center mass and I could get them off very fast (as fast as the range allowed me....although I did push the limits just once). Although reports of heavy trigger and other malfunctions had me worried, the gun performed fantastic. I don't know what my trigger pull is but it was smooth and had a great breaking point. I wouldn't change a thing about this gun.
I was testing various brands of ammo and out of 225 rounds I had ONE failure to feed. It was the 2nd round of my first mag. I tapped the back of the slide and it fed and shot as did the remainder of the rounds. That was with Winchester PDX1 Defender. There were no other malfunctions the rest of the night, using two different mags and 5 other brands of range and defensive ammo.
As mentioned, the G42 just flat out fit my hand. Something about the grip made me able to get a very comfortable firm grasp that I didn't have to readjust when shooting, the trigger reach was good for me. Really I'm in awe concerning how this gun felt in my hand. Because of that, if you could rent some of the small guns I think it would be a good thing (although renting and having to purchase the range ammo can get quite expensive).
I've owned a pile of other small guns 9s and they were never comfortable for me to shoot at the range and I really do like to shoot my carry/home defense guns quite a bit at the range. Most of the previous 380s I owned were blow back design (except for my Colt). I didn't want a single action "cocked and locked" small carry gun which is what got me to looking at the G42.
Guess you can tell I love the G42........it is a game changer for me. Of all the guns I took tonight that this little G42 is my favorite and I look forward to shooting with it on every range visit. My G34 is mad at me now but she'll get over it!!!
I was only testing it for reliability so my target was at 7 yards but all rounds were center mass and I could get them off very fast (as fast as the range allowed me....although I did push the limits just once). Although reports of heavy trigger and other malfunctions had me worried, the gun performed fantastic. I don't know what my trigger pull is but it was smooth and had a great breaking point. I wouldn't change a thing about this gun.
I was testing various brands of ammo and out of 225 rounds I had ONE failure to feed. It was the 2nd round of my first mag. I tapped the back of the slide and it fed and shot as did the remainder of the rounds. That was with Winchester PDX1 Defender. There were no other malfunctions the rest of the night, using two different mags and 5 other brands of range and defensive ammo.
As mentioned, the G42 just flat out fit my hand. Something about the grip made me able to get a very comfortable firm grasp that I didn't have to readjust when shooting, the trigger reach was good for me. Really I'm in awe concerning how this gun felt in my hand. Because of that, if you could rent some of the small guns I think it would be a good thing (although renting and having to purchase the range ammo can get quite expensive).
I've owned a pile of other small guns 9s and they were never comfortable for me to shoot at the range and I really do like to shoot my carry/home defense guns quite a bit at the range. Most of the previous 380s I owned were blow back design (except for my Colt). I didn't want a single action "cocked and locked" small carry gun which is what got me to looking at the G42.
Guess you can tell I love the G42........it is a game changer for me. Of all the guns I took tonight that this little G42 is my favorite and I look forward to shooting with it on every range visit. My G34 is mad at me now but she'll get over it!!!
"You may find me one day dead in a ditch somewhere. But by God, you'll find me in a pile of brass."~~ Tpr. M. Padgett