Glock 43: Your Thoughts After Owning & Carrying for Awhile ?

[CanineCombatives]

For what it is, I dont think it has any peers, pearce grip plus 1's are as dependable as the factory mag with a one round gift, I like talon grips on mine
just to give it the feeling of a little extra girth in the hand, and ameriglo spartan tacticals give me a nice picture without the bulk of HD's.

I consider it a deep hideout pistol when clothing or circumstance wont allow anything else, and in that role like I said, peerless. I can get hits with the
43 that would be a pipe dream on anything else it's size.

Still, I would have liked to seen them go with an ever so slightly longer grip and just a millimeter or 2 more girth for an even ten rounds in a flat
baseplate factory mag, to me that would have been the perfect G43.

[TC215]

Not to derail too much, but for those of you who have experience with the G43 and the Shield, what do you feel are the big pros/cons of each?

I've had both. Thought the Shield shot a little softer, but the Glock is noticeably smaller than the Shield, so I thought it would be better for ankle carry. This was during the time period that I thought I could replace my j-frame BUG with a semi-auto. Didn't work out, and I stuck with the j-frame. I sold my 43, but wouldn't mind to have another when I have some extra money to spend.

I did like the Shield, but I had an early one and put APEX trigger parts in it. The newer Shields have way better triggers, in my opinion.

[Nephrology]

I've had both. Thought the Shield shot a little softer, but the Glock is noticeably smaller than the Shield, so I thought it would be better for ankle carry. This was during the time period that I thought I could replace my j-frame BUG with a semi-auto. Didn't work out, and I stuck with the j-frame. I sold my 43, but wouldn't mind to have another when I have some extra money to spend.

I did like the Shield, but I had an early one and put APEX trigger parts in it. The newer Shields have way better triggers, in my opinion.

Agreed. I have the Apex sears, but not the striker block or trigger springs. I might throw the USB on there to give it more of a rolling break...

I use the shield as my "invisible no matter what" beltline T shirt. as I type this I am wearing a white T shirt that is WAY tighter than the amazon description would suggest, and the shield is still invisible. Sounds like the G43 doesn't offer me much at this time. I have a S&W 442 for tiny light gun things.

[CS Tactical]

I'm about 600 rounds in so far and the one malfunction I had was with an inexperienced shooter on the very last round at the end of a semi-long shooting session, so I think he limp-wristed it. I like the gun and it shoots well for its size but don't love it as I rather carry my Gen 4 G19 100% of the time since it fits my hand better.

[Beat Trash]

Not to derail too much, but for those of you who have experience with the G43 and the Shield, what do you feel are the big pros/cons of each?

I'm "Complicated" because I can find positive things to discuss about both the Glock and the M&P.. I work for a major agency that was one of the first to adopt the M&P9 as an issued pistol. I'm issued and carry a M&P9 at work. Yet I carry a Glock 19 off duty. I've owned a Shield since they were first introduced. Currently own 3 of them. All have an Apex sear and Ameriglo Spartan sights. I carry a Shield as a BUG on my vest, under the uniform shirt. It works for my body size.

I bought a Glock 43 a few months after it was introduced. I have large hands with long fingers. My wife is a smaller person with little hands. My wife got her CCW permit about the time I bought the Glock 43.

The Glock 43 was too small for me to shoot as well as I would like when compared to the Shield. My wife is a Travel Nurse and goes on 13 week contracts, out of state. She spent some time shooting the Glock 43 and when she left, my Glock 43 must have got lost in her luggage, because it dissapeared.

I wrote off the Glock 43 as being a good pistol mechanically, but too small for my hands. Then I got a chance to dry fire and shoot my gun again, once my wife got back. I found if I wrap my fingers deeper around the grip with the front strap on my knuckles, then the gun stays put when I shoot it. I found I could shoot the Glock 43 as well as the Shield.

The Shield 9mm is an excellent pistol. So is the Glock 43. For me, neither is a primary carry gun. I am willing to live with the weight and discomfort of a Glock 19 on a regular basis. The G19 takes care of 90% of my off-duty needs. But for those times when I need to go smaller, the Shield works. But the Glock 43 works a bit better as it's smaller.

Pros/cons? I think you're splitting hairs. Shoot both, and buy the one that makes you grin more. It's similar to asking, "Coke vs. Pepsi".

[GLB]

I have been very satisfied with the Glock 43. It serves a purpose for me when I can't carry a larger gun and is for me easy to shoot and it's accurate. It's funny to read comments about this little gun over the internet - "it doesn't have a light rail" "not enough capacity" "grip is too small" etc, so you want a Glock 19 instead. I get all of that, the G43 is not a G19 but it serves a purpose for some of us.

[orionz06]

Not to derail too much, but for those of you who have experience with the G43 and the Shield, what do you feel are the big pros/cons of each?

The Shield is a little more shootable to me, despite the trigger being a little more meh. I think the grip is just bigger enough.

[Eli]

In all fairness, I've only got about 300 rounds through my 43. 100ish rounds of assorted ball ammo, 50 rounds of 147gr Hornady TAP and 150 rounds of 124gr HST. The HST is my carry load. It had one stovepipe with WWB, but other than that, has ran fine.

I originally picked it up to replace my J-Frames, on the rare occasion that I carry a back-up. I still prefer the "lumpiness", for lack of a better word, of the J over the 43. I have a 26 that pretty much just sits in the safe. I've never found a situation where I could conceal the 26, but NOT conceal a 19. Where the 43 shines for me however, is as an NPE gun. Carried in a (modified to ride as low as possible) DSG Clip holster, it works wonderfully in a pair of scrubs. It also works pretty well in a heavy duty Ziplock freezer bag, in the cargo pocket of my swim trunks while at the beach. Yes, it's slow getting it into action...but it's much faster than a blaster left in the cooler, or a carbine left back in the condo.

Mine wears a 10-8 rear and a Hi-Viz front. I've stippled the grip in a tree-bark pattern. Works fine with TTI extendos as well.

[Bucky]

Regarding my 43. I, like many others was in search of a gun to replace the role of the J frame. That is, when a medium size gun can not be properly concealed, based on circumstance with either regard to clothing or situational requirements. Fortunately for me, that is usually on 5-10% of carry time.

My first attempt was a Kahr P9 Covert (before the PM9 was available). I never got comfortable with it, as it was only reliable with certain kinds of ammo. Next up was the XD-S. It was a little on the heavy / big side, but then again - .45 A ('mreica) C P. Alas, I had to ship that gun in for the recall (or as Sig would call it, an "upgrade"), and it was gone for quite some time. In the meanwhile, I picked up a Sig P938. This was the cats meow. Very light and compact. By the time the 43 came out, I felt no need to get one. I ran lots of ammo in the P938 and it ran well. Anyway, I friend of mine who happens to be very good at peer pressure, convinced me to get the 43. Shooting the 43 side by side with the P938, the 43 while only being a little bigger, shot like a much bigger gun. The only issue with it was that trigger blade would give cause pain and give me a blister. Replaced the trigger (shoe only, no internal mods) with an Apex trigger, and now it's simply a dream to shoot. I've even done some pretty accurate shooting with it out to 25 yards, despite having a near 8 lb trigger pull.

Long story short, my move to the 43 as my "deep concealment" gun was like the story of the three bears, with the 43 being just right.

Not to derail too much, but for those of you who have experience with the G43 and the Shield, what do you feel are the big pros/cons of each?

Shortly after getting my 43, I picked up a Shield at what was at the time, a pretty good deal. Of course, now it seems they're giving them away, so the deal doesn't seem as good. For me, my 43 is for deeper concealment, which sometimes constitutes alternate carry, such as smart carry or pocket carry. The 43 is at the absolute max for me for pocket carry, and the Shield is just enough bigger that it doesn't fit that role. I can point you to a more in depth side by side comparison review I have done on this, if you are interested.

[Nephrology]

I can point you to a more in depth side by side comparison review I have done on this, if you are interested.

I'd be very interested.