What a great thread, thank you.
What a great thread, thank you.
#RESIST
The bullet is out of play by the time the slide is within 1/8" of being in battery.
Single stack magazines that feed tapered cases have inherent hurdles to overcome. Even if they're made by Glock.
The G43 is a wonderful little gun with a purpose in my carry option. As mentioned it’s very accurate and easy to shoot. I stay with OEM magazines for the best reliability. I tested some extended mags set-ups and found that there was a compromise in reliability. My carry load is the 124 gold dot, that with the OEM mags makes for a good combination.
CTX44 thanks for posting your experience. Could you please clarify from your testing:
Does the G43 in stock form (magazines also) run with all bullet weights?
Was the G48 having problems with heavy rounds completely stock also?
I have book on a G43 at ~7000 rounds. Quick review shows a few OOB strikes and a couple of failures to eject in the hands of new, youth, and weak-grip shooters with three loads, only one of which is a JHP (Federal 9MS) and one of which is a known problem load. No RSA replacement is noted. Otherwise, broad spectrum reliability with JHPs and FMJs that parallels other Gs and particularly G43s, 43X, 48. Not a comment on the OP, just a sample of one and a starting point.
I've had a lingering thought that G43 may be a skosh undersprung, and not by weight alone but by the RSA's OAL. Note how light and easy the RSA is seated, popped loose, and shifted between the barrel lug and slide nose. Couple that with a shorter grip with less contact surface, and tolerances narrow. Mag extensions are their own problem. I know others have some luck with certain ones. The 43X grip mitigates some of that tolerance stack and would be useful in problem solving.
Probably a topic unto itself but... When we talk about reliability and loads, I think we talk we talk too much about bullet weight and not enough about all the other stuff in play like profile and length, cartridge OAL, case mouth crimp and drag, etc. Weight is an easy tail to chase and may trend, but may be meaningless.
For reference, here's the ammo list for the G43 discussed above.
BHA 115 TAC XP +P, 194
BHA 124 XTP, 291
BHA 124 XTP +P, 61
Fed 147 9MS, 374
Fed 124 Hydrashok, 50
Fed 147 Hydrashok, 50
Fed 147 HST, 64
BHA 115 115 GDHP +P, 50
Hornady 115 Critical Defense, 100
Speer 147 G2, 174
I have some thoughts on the G48 but will save them until more data is in.
I really like the 43X and see superb results everywhere one goes.
الدهون القاع الفتيات لك جعل العالم هزاز جولة الذهاب
I talked to Glock about 43 recoil springs and they said they've been tested to 10K and ran longer than that with no signs of degradation.
I have over 6K on on one with a lot of flat nose and HST 147 with no problems. Stock six round mags.
This is exactly why the factory don't make extended mags for the G43, not because they don't like money.
A thought I had reading a 365 thread was that the 147gr HST while terminally spectacular does seem to be more of a picky feeder than similsr rounds.
Welcome to Africa, bring a hardhat.
Originally Posted by CTX44
A few weeks ago I went looking for info on decent 115 he self defense loads and found some tests of 115 Gold Dots penetrating +/- 15 inches in . . . Clear gel I think.
Wanted it for my one trick pony 9mm Operator with the KKM barrel they make at Dave Sams request - 1:30 twist.
Designed for max 50 precision with 115 grains.
“Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais
The bullet shape is out of play once the round is chambered but the speed the bullet made the slide move isn't out of play. The issue, from what I can, tell, is less bullet shape or length so much as the slide velocity, or at least that's what I think. Slow feeding the slide by hand shows tiny advantage to shorter bullet profile--this is how I ended up trying the 115's, which I didn't keep on hand otherwise. I do think it's a slide velocity issue, but it could also be a slide velocity issue combined with a slightly shorter bullet.
With your high HST round count, was that a mix of strong and weak hand or was that mostly normal shooting with w two handed grip? It's strange if our experiences with this are very opposite as my experience with the G48 very closely mirrored the G43.
Trying to think of best way to answer this. With ball ammo, all of which was 124 and 147, yes, runs perfectly, no exceptions. The 147 ball I typically run (CCI lawman) has a slightly longer OAL (by .002) than the 147 HSTs do, but the nose is way way pointier (though still a bit flat). The issues really only came with JHP, both HST and Gold dots in weights ranging from 124 to 147. And they only came after the gun was slightly broken in, which to me points to recoil spring issue.
The G48 also runs all ball perfectly, and seemed to run 147 HST well when it was brand new, but after a few thousand rounds it started to slow down a bit, even with a two handed grip. Again pointing to RSA issue.
The G48 so far runs 124 HST very well, after 3K rounds. I did managed to induce one malfunction, but I was working very hard to do it, barely holding onto the gun with a few fingers.
I would feel confident with either gun with 115gr carry ammo. I'd feel confident with the G48 with 124 HSTs also, haven't tried 124 gold dots.
I don't own a G43X, but as so many of my G43 issues seemed to be mag related, maybe that's a way to go if you don't want to run 115 as carry ammo. Once you put a baseplate on a G43, the grip is about the same length as the G48/43X.
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