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G42 HP failure to chamber issues

6K views 35 replies 20 participants last post by  42 lover 
#1 ·
Hello fellow glockers. I am seeking advice regarding an issue with my g42 and its inability to chamber HP rounds. The issue causes the nose of the round to jam into the feed ramp and the slide to lock back. It happens with every round in the magazine (i.e. Not just the first round from a fully loaded magazine). The type of ammo is Gold Dot 90g HP. The only mods to the gun are TFO sights, grip, and Pierce +1 mag ext. Before the mag mods I have fired a little over 3000 rounds (all Spear or American Eagle FMJ) and after the mag mods I have fired over 2500 rounds of the same. I have literally not had a single FTF or FTE with over 5000 FMJ rounds but I recently bought several boxes of Gold Dot HP for defense rounds and the first time I go to chamber it I have had issues. I have not attempted to take this to the range with HPs as I feel it would just be frustrating and a waste of time knowing I cannot even chamber a round. I have been recommended by several LEOs to polish the feed ramp but I have read mixed reviews on this.

I have tried cleaning it extensively and have left it sit for weeks with the slide locked back as per recommendations on the many other threads that exist regarding similar issues. Does anyone have other suggestions that I can take so I can reliable feed defense HP rounds? I absolutely love this gun but do not want to be limited to FMJs for defense carry.
 
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#4 ·
I don't know when yours was made, but I found this on the Hickok45 Channel in his first review of the 42 about 2 years ago. It may shed some light on your issue.

*****It seems as though Glock has silently changed their slide release lever for the 42. I saw a side by side comparison of two 42's, one manufactured in January, and the other in March. The portion of the slide release that contacts the notch in the front of the magazine follower has been re-profiled, and was rounded off a bit on the portion that is closest to the ammunition in the magazine. I wonder if the Buffalo Bore's wide hollow point was actuating the slide release as the next round in the magazine was being fed in.

hickok45's response - With further study, I believe that's exactly what it is. I've honed mine down a little, but I need to work on it just a little more. Since mine seems fine with all ammo I've tried, except the Buffalo Bore, I don't have any serious problems to deal with. Still, I'm going to carefully take a little more off the release.
 
#5 ·
I have a pair of G42's, one has fired several hundred Gold Dots and the other has fired over a thousand! And about another thousand rds each of FP reloads that have a profile similar to the Gold Dot. Neither gun has ever had a failure to feed except when the slide locked open with rounds still in the mag. That was very common on the early guns, very rare on current production which have the -2 slide stop and 03 mags.

I'd start out by making sure the gun has the newer parts I mentioned. If it does, lose the mag extensions and see what happens.

It may not be true in your case, but "People keep fixing their Glock until it's broken."
 
#6 ·
I would start by replacing the RSA. Feeding 5,000 rounds is a lot. Mine is under 2,000 still and has no trouble feeding Gold Dots, but I would not surprised if issues started at 5,000 mark. If that doesn't help, then look into magazines. Get a couple of new 03s.
 
#7 ·
On polishing the feed ramp, whether it's the issue, or not; you can get better feeding with some HP's. It isn't taboo to polish a ramp, either, long as you use the right material and you stay away from power tools. 1000 grit to 1500 to 2000 (wet/dry paper, of course), by hand, will produce a mirror finish on the ramp, without removing metal, and it takes all of 15 or 20 minutes. 1000 grit should be used the least to get rid of the 'rough'. A little more liberal with the 1500 to remove some of the 1000 sand marks, and very liberal with the 2000 for the 'mirror' I use plain 'ol 5w20 as a lube for the paper instead of water. It works great.

We had a Bersa 380 that had the black finish in the feed ramp (don't know why) and would not feed HP's. I removed the finish with the above grits and in the order I listed and when done, you could see yourself in the feed ramp, and it would feed HP's.
 
#9 ·
When I tried Gold Dots in my G42, I noticed the HP cavity hanging up on the feed ramp. This, however, only happens sometimes when fed by hand. When I actually shoot the HP ammo, there is absolutely no issue. Take some of your Gold Dots out and try to run them through the gun and see what happens when you actually shoot it instead of hand feeding. I'd bet that they will feed just fine when actually fired.

Bub
 
#10 ·
Wow, thank you all for your quick responses. I definitely have a few new ideas to try out. As for when the gun was produced, I believe it is an early model. I've had it for a few years now at least but can't remember exactly how long ago. I really dont to want to go through the motions of having to send it to glock. I'm a full time med student so time and finances are tight/nonexistent but I also want a reliable carry.

Does anyone know a decent site to purchase 003 mags? Ive poked around a few sites but none specify what series the mags were. I don't want to end up with more early series mags.

I'll also be looking into a few of the HP brand recommendations as well and test those out. However, if the gold dots work like Bub says they might then i'll be happy with that too. If I need it for defense and a round is prechambered than I could care less if it hangs when I rack it.
 
#19 ·
Mine wouldnt feed Critical Defense when it was new. I ran a few hundred ball ammo through it and polished the feed ramp and it eats anything with the XTP bullet flawlessly. It will also feed the Critical Defense now but I just cant make myself trust it. It has always fed the XTP even when new so I stick with it.
 
#20 ·
I would call Glock and see if you need to ship the entire gun with mags back to them . Several updates including an improved frame for the 42 since it was first introduced. The latest frames are marked "2" when looking near the 1:00 position of the mag well.
 
#21 ·
Couple thoughts for the OP
-lose the mag extension
-fill your magazine with the GD, lock the slide back, and let it slam on the charged magazine. Don't ride it, let it slam.
-as others have noted, shoot the gun to test it. Handcycling proves nothing.
Beyond that, do be in touch with Smyrna. How is your trigger? Tell them you want it to meet the 5.5 lb spec (it is likely a lot heavier now), They will swap magazines, and extra 03s are becoming pretty common online. You'll want the slide stop changed out as well. Talk to CS, tell them your issues, and see how long you might be without the gun, and if they will ship it on their dime. The trigger issue alone will likely get you a free ride to Georgia, since the gun isn't in spec.
Moon
 
#23 ·
Tornado, that's not quite the point I was trying to make. And yes, you should be able to chamber a round that way.
I was concerned that the OP wasn't allowing the slide to slam forward without drag. When we're teaching newbs to shoot, we often have them charge the gun from slide lock because they tend to granny the slide forward (fearing they'll hurt it). I want the OP to let 'er slam, and see if that solves his problem.
Moon
 
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#26 ·
Concur with the Major regarding taking the mag back to stock (the non-OEM extensions get mixed reviews here), but I'd still swap the mags for the new ones. It's cheap insurance and little trouble.
Moon
 
#28 ·
My g42 kinda had same issue with the lehigh max expansion bullets,slide would hang up or shutter with first round.If I put another kind of shell on top of mag it would feed the lehighs and fire without a problem.But the lehighs have a much bigger opening in hollow.point than any other hp.Stopped using any hollow point and went with lehigh extreme defense.more penetration,bigger wound cavity than any hollow point.And you dont have to worry about if hollow point will clog up and expand like its supposed to
re
 
#30 ·
Make sure you're charging from slide-lock, or pull the slide all the way to the rear and release it smartly. I've installed 'tactical slide rackers' to let me get a better grip on the 42 slide.
Moon
 
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