Carried my 48 for the very first time last night. If I ever get my hands on some 15 round magazines, this truly can be a game changer for me. While I’d prefer OTS (other than striker), the size, to weight, to capacity, to shootability, is unmatched (again, for me).
Talon grip ordered; thanks for the advice. I have those on an older G19 and they work well, so will try that before I take the plunge ($$$) for stippling.Originally Posted by GJM
-Rainman
I currently have Talon rubber grips on my G43X EDC gun. M hands. I like it so far, but don't have all that many rounds through the gun (<500) to date.
Attachment 48468
I am not sure but I am curious if you find out as to how much and how long.
That is a fair criticism of the Talon when wet, but it also applies to many grips.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
I do like the Talon grips in general, I only noticed the last time I ended up at the range in a downpour. It made for some really interesting learning points. Afterwards playing around with grips and tape I found my ideal Talon's would be the soft rubbery texture on the sides and the grippy sandpaper texture on front and back straps. I'll be calling Wilson Monday to ask and will post when I know if you are interested. I'm not huge on permanent modifications to guns but I think I could live with a stipple/laser cut grip job from them.
This is the reason I didn’t like it. When my hands were sweaty, I lost any leverage I had on the 48. I find not having any tape on the right side of the frontstrap to be advantageous on the draw since there’s no material that will slow my hands slipping into position.
I would like to know also. Are there other reputable places that offer laser-cut stippling as well? I can't bring myself to give a gun acne with a wood burner. Don't want to pay for that either. I too have found the Talons to be slick when wet. Even with sweaty palms.
I wouldn't be surprised if there are. But I haven't looked very hard. When I did a search Wilson was one of the first that popped up with photos. I've always liked the starburst pattern since I first saw it. Looks like just enough texture and doesn't make my eyes sore just looking at it, not that it matters much but my CDO likes it.
My favorite Glock, and I’ve owned every caliber. Modifications of note:
Talon Granulate Grips with Ranger Bands. The bands add a little to grip size, help secure Talon Grips, add adhesion during recoil, and buffer skin against chaffing while AIWB. The combination of band and granulate grip tape reduces squirming. Funny thing, when I came on the job, old hairbags had rubber bands wrapped around their Model 10’s. Color me a new age hairbag.
Also added a 6LB Firing Pin Spring. Adds resistance and reduces take-up. Tried a NY connector, which caused me to push right. Tested an 8LB connector, which I removed after one dry fire (yours for the asking). Apex Tactical Trigger. Installed on Glock trigger bar. Used with standard Glock connector. TruGlo Pro Sights. I used to prefer plain black rear. Aging eyes now prefer these in conjunction with target focus technique.
Well, I got a change to wring the G43X out along with a brand new G19.5 and my old training G19.3.Well, I broke down and got myself a black G43X this afternoon.
I have been back and forth trying to decide between it and a G26.5 for several months now and couldn't make up my mind. As part of my research I discovered that the G43X was pretty darn close to the size of my loved and regretfully sold Walther P5 of yesteryear that and I figured the G43X would be an easier sell than the G26.5 if I didn't like it, I finally succumbed to the BANG disease. (Buy A New Gun)
WOW.
I didn't really understand how much smaller this gun was just handling it at the gun counter. As soon as I got it home I put on both of my favorite JMCK G19 holsters and it pretty much disappeared.
Since getting skinny a couple of years ago I haven't really been able to hide my old trusty G19.3s very well. I have resorted to carrying my wife's G42 or my old NAA Guardian a lot of the time.
Even with a Graith belt and the excellent JMCK 2.5 Wingclaw or the IWB3. While it wasn't obvious to a non-gun person that I was carrying, I could go to another room put on the gun/holster, come back and my wife would say "I can see your gun". Only the IWB3 and a jacket was really hidden.
I did the same thing tonight, swapping between the G19.3, G43X, nothing to see if she could tell.
She had trouble telling if I had the gun or not in the Wingclaw 2.5. She could tell something was on my waist (or I had a beer gut one time) but she couldn't tell the difference between the empty holster/gun with the G43X but she could always see the G19.3.
With the IWB3 and G43X she couldn't tell the difference between gun/no-gun/no holster she could always see the G19. This with a holster that really doesn't fit the gun!!!
Don't even get me started on the weight difference with a loaded mag.
Color me impressed. I wouldn't have ever thought the difference between the G19 and the G43X on paper would be that big in practice. I am really looking forward to doing a shooting comparison. While I am not expecting the same performance, unless there is a significant degradation in my shooting with the G43X I will be looking to selling/swapping several of my G19s to get my pair and a spare.
As much as I hate getting rid of my G19s and that monstrous stash of G19 magazines, swapping guns is much better than adding 100 lbs back to hide the G19s again.
Thanks to GJM and JHC for opening my eyes to this.
TLDR:Color me disappointed
G19.5
Good
-Ejection was extremely "robust", definitely don't have to worry about BTF.
-Magazine could be dropped without changing my grip
-Sensation of slightly less felt recoil than my G19.3
-No pulling to the left (that I sometimes get with Glock Gen 3)
-Really nice dry fire trigger, no sight disturbance at all (better than with my G19.3)
Not so good
-Accuracy for me was actually slightly worse than my old G19.3 training gun with 115gr UMC, about equal with some old mixed 115gr HP (Rem & Win), significantly worse with Speer GD 124 +P (of which I have a bunch).
-Several failures to lock back on an empty mag, not sure if it was grip related or not (was not using the Gen 5 magazine)
-Shot extremely low for me with factory sights (2" below with a dead on hold at 10 yds, I prefer 6:00)
-Actually had my first experience with "Glock Knuckle", not something I had ever experienced before with Gen 3 having owned 19,34,22,23,27,30,21 in the past.
-Surprisingly enough, I actually missed the finger grooves... A lot.
-25 yard shooting was downright embarrassing. (Maybe wrong sight picture?)
This one will be going on the trade/sale block. I will just stick with Gen3 for now. I have lots of spare parts, armorer's experience, AA Conversion, etc and my training G19 is my least accurate one. Not what I was hoping to see. I would definitely recommend someone who is getting their first G19 to go with the Gen 5 but I would not recommend someone getting rid of good shooting older Gen to "upgrade".
G43X
Good
-I love the way it feels in my hand
-I love the size and shape and weight
-First shots from a draw almost always directly on aiming point (1" dia sticky)
-25 yd slow fire was surprisingly good (almost as good as my G19.3, better on one string)
-Easier to clear holster 4:00 IWB
-Sights regulated for 6:00 hold for me with factory sights
Not so Good
-124gr +P Gold Dot (ouch, not 642 +P level of ouch but definitely 130gr FMJ ouch) I would need to find a different carry load.
-Multiple shot groups opened much more, particularly F2S drills and draw fire 3.
-Some "Glock knuckle" (not as bad as G19.5 surprisingly)
-Mag release is very stiff
-While not a significantly poorer performance than the G19.3 control, it was noticeable to me and I am not that great of a shot
-Noticeably fewer beans with a full magazine in both
I am on the fence about this one. There are things that I really like and things that I don't. Since these guns weren't vetted, I spent the whole day wearing my G19.3 in a JMCK IWB 3 (except when shooting) and it really wasn't that heavy. Using this holster there is no difference in concealability with the G43X both were basically invisible.
Like several have posted in another thread, when I pick a gun I tend to like to use that gun for everything. Changing out my CCW/House/Training guns to all G43X might not be worth the cost (trying to get rid of 60+ G19 mags is a daunting task.)
I need to think about this some more.
Maybe do some more shooting next weekend before making a firm decision. For now I am definitely sticking with my G19.3 for defensive usage.
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