In the sixth paragraph I consider it a good thing when nice slick layer of copper from the shell coats a small part of the extractor.

Eleventh paragraph down should read that the slide, when pulled back and released, will outrun the striker when pointed down, thereby no inappropriate contact between the firing pin and cartridge shell (obviously by design).

The returning slide is about “three sixteenths inch” open when the unlocked (and floating) firing pin gets kicked back. (When pistol pointed downward only, and empty, so you can watch it work).

Unfortunately the rear of the cartridge leaves the magazine when it is about “one half inch” open. And if an overly gentle person is trying not to loudly chamber a round (riding the slide) the top of the head of the cartridge will hit the firing pin. That is only if the pistol is pointed downward so gravity has the firing pin down.

If the pistol is pointed upward there is no problem because the firing pin (the striker) is again responding to gravity and staying back, in this case away from the breech face.

So again, after cleaning you will be loading your house gun, or carry gun. If you point the pistol at the floor and gently lower the slide it will either lock open with the shell stuck under the firing pin, or more likely you will just feel a bump as it pushes the shell out of the way. And you will probably worry (as I did) that the pistol is not feeding smoothly.

All my glocks need to cycle normal speed. If no other reason the extractor spring is relatively strong and the point where the extractor first meets the cartridge groove is not polished. It does seem to get covered with brass, from the shell, after firing several times. (Normal break in perhaps).

And (like in most pistols) the more shells that are in the magazine, and the stronger the magazine spring, the more momentum the shells will exert when they all move up one place pushing the top shell under the extractor.

Those of us that learned to baby our handguns back in revolver days listened when the trainers told us not to slam the revolving cylinders closed with a flip of the wrist like in Hollywood gangster movies. Now we are told to pull the slide back and let it fly (as is normal for it when shooting).

Abuse is when you let the slide fly/slam closed with no ammunition in the magazine, sending it crashing into the breach face. Yes there are target shooters that dry fire over a thousand times a week. Some of them let the slide fly with an empty magazine. Most probably only half cock the slide enough to reset the trigger, and lower the slide the rest of the way.

I have only owned my glock 42 about two weeks and not fired it yet. I already love it almost as much as my glock 17, and more than my glock model 22. It is light, it is the right size for me right now, and I do not need a magazine loading tool to put a few rounds in it.

Most people are probably like me in aiming a handgun at the floor for the first dry fire. Or when cycling the first round from magazine into chamber. I was raised on a wood floor with dirt under it and feel pretty safe about it. Fortunately the glock 42 slide will outrun gravity when you point it down to cycle it.

Too bad Glock did not put a model 42 manual in the box, and explain the new parts. But they have been so nice to me in the past I will sorta give them a pass this time. Most people will not need more than the model 17 manual that comes with, this pistol, and probably all glock pistols.

I went through a lot of distress trying to find the “bump” when first chambering my new pistol. Both of my new magazines are higher than average at front.
And one of my magazines was not as smooth as the other. Thumb a round out of it and the case mouth hit’s the elevated metal end of that magazine firmly.

Yup, I polished it excessively prior to finding/reading about the floating firing pin jams, and watching mine lock up when chambered slowly. But I learned a lot and it will have been cheap at the price, if I need to buy a new magazine.

Almost every time I buy a new pistol I learn something valuable about evaluating the next purchase.
Don’t buy it during the first year.
Don’t buy it if no spare parts are available yet.
Don’t buy it if no manual with an exploded parts diagram of the pistol you are buying.

But I am not getting any younger and wanted one of these really bad. And they really stand behind their products.
And on and on it goes.