Glock 43 in 2023

[ASH556]

I've done some searching and reading on this. Most of the threads seem to be a few years old and "the industry" seems to have largely embraced the 43X and 48. Personally I feel the 43X and 48 seem better suited to those who want a full size gun, but are unwilling or unable to deal with one, so they trade capacity for size. The grip length is still that of a G19, though, so it's not really that much smaller. I got a 43 for the following 3 reasons:

1. To be able to drop in a pocket rather than "belting up" when hunting, fishing, or for a quick run to the grocery store.
2. For introducing newer folks to defensive shooting and potentially bringing a dose of reality to what my friend calls, "gun counter comfortable."
3. Potentially for my wife to carry if/when she really gets there.

I will say as someone who's been "in the industry" for 20+ years, it was a bit of a fun and novel experience to walk into a shop and just buy and gun and a pair of sights. No industry hookup deals, no online orders and transfers, no futzing about with special sight combos. I did take the sights home and put them on myself.

For sights I chose a pair of Trijicon HD XR's with an orange front. They require a "drive-the-dot" sight picture, which is not my personal preference (though I can adjust), but will probably work better for the intended purpose of the pistol.

I'm 50 rounds in so far, a combination of 124gr Lawman and American Eagle with 10 being the 124 +P Gold Dot shown in the group below. I was pleasantly surprised with the shootability of the gun considering its size and weight and the sight picture. I do prefer the mag without the finger piece because my thought is for the gun to be as small as possible. I've ordered 2 more because the local shop stocks only the finger piece mags. Apparently everyone wants those, which to me reinforces the idea that most folks "think" they want a small gun, and then seem to do everything possible to make it "act" like a bigger one.

Anyone still rocking a G43? If so, for what purpose? How do you carry it? Sights and Ammo?

[camsdaddy]

I just bought another 43. I have had several of the micro compacts and I always return to the J frame. I want to run more rounds through it before I want to carry it but it has impressed me once again. I could see this becoming my Summer time Im not carrying a gun gun. I dont know if I will replace my j frame as a pocket gun since nothing draws from a pocket like a j frame but it just may. I find a 43 a lot like an airweight, if I can keep practice to 50 rounds the recoil is fine. There are guns better suited for high round count plinking. Im wanting something a little lighter than my 26 and the 43 fits the bill.

[1Rangemaster]

@ASH556 - dang nice group, sir.
I still occasionally “rock out” with a 43, either in a pocket or the excellent Wilderness ankle holster(complete with spare mag pouch).
I usually am using the finger rest mag as I don’t find it awkward. I’ve had two: the first still has a TLR6 and the second I gravitated towards simplicity with just the Glock BOLD sights. I also added low profile Tango Down mag catch and slide stop lever-no problems with those.
I haven’t done it in a few months, but I have rung a B/C silhouette at 50 yards, consistently. I went through Claude Werner’s Pantreon pocket pistol course and “qualified” with the latest 43. So for me it’s a minimalist piece.
The G43 does make me pay a bit more attention. I learned several years back for me to put my first joint on the trigger. That helped my Glock shooting across models. I run it with Hornady 115 gr. CD or standard pressure stuff.
It’s a piece of the puzzle for my carry.

Edit to add: a 43 has served as a backup/second gun. I also recall Safariland has a neat little IWB with a hook that I’ve used.

[Noah]

I'm in the camp that thinks the G42 is a better gun than the G43 for a tiny gun unless you absolutely need the gun to be a 9mm, tiny, and a Glock.

My dad carries a G43, and I have a G42, G48, and G45.

Both the 43 and 42 feel much easier to be accurate with than a lot of other very small guns I've shot, but the 43 is very snappy compared to the 42 or a 43X/48 IMO.

A P365XL sized, metal mag Glock, slightly smaller than a G43X/G48, with 10 plus rounds and an SCD, would be ideal "everyman" carry gun, IMO. Everyone wants to make a 43 or 365 a pinch bigger, and the 43X/48 are just a pinch long in the grip, especially with factory 10 round mags.

I'm currently experimenting with the PSA 15 round mags, which really change (mentally) the 43X/48 into the "slim full size" 365 X Macro type gun they are, size wize. At 10 rounds, I still pick a 48/43X over other slim guns due to the SCD and Glock-Ness, but it's hard not to be jealous of the size:capacity ratio of the 365 line, even if that's not always critical in CCW use.



20 yards

[Leroy Suggs]

I have carried a G43 in my pocket for the last two years. In a PCS Blackbird.
The 43 replaced my J frames

It has about 1300 rounds fired and has been 100% reliable. 60 rounds of BH TacXp 115 +p.

I am all slimline now. 43X for practice. 48 for edc in public The 43 around the rural place. Never not with me.
Shoots almost as good as the 43X & 48 for me..

[fatdog]

a pair of Trijicon HD XR's with an orange front. They require a "drive-the-dot" sight picture, which is not my personal preference

I am not a drive the dot practitioner, but I love those sights on a number of platforms because narrow front, big U notch with air gap. I paint the entire front blade white, then orange, and sometimes come back with a straight pin to liberate a tiny window of the front tritium vial, put dark blue or black sharpie on the rear dots and for me they become a typical notch and square post conventional sight picture, never drive the dot since I eradicate almost any semblance of a dot.

In fact there is a seller or two on ebay selling 10-12 year old packages of those where the tritium is actually pretty dead, and for cheap prices like $50 a set. Perfect for me...

My 43 is an ankle (Galco ankle glove) or pocket (Mika) gun only, rocks a SCD, fed only HST or Gold Dot 124gr +P, and in most cases it is only used as a "drop in the dress slacks pocket" because it is summer and I am not wearing a sportcoat, or second gun on my ankle these days, or as an "only going to the barn" gun.

No matter how carried, I find them much more difficult to acquire a good grip on the draw than conventional full size autos and find the recoil and shot to shot recovery to be acceptable but the worst of any semi-auto I own in any caliber.....they are only useful to me because of the size and weight. Between it and its G42 little brother, it has exiled all my J frames and D frames to the safe for a while now.

I found a guy on arfcom who is selling a 3D home printed grip adapter like an unpinned version of the old grip force adapter for the G43X that works well enough on a 43, it that has helped me a lot and my grip is more stable, he should configure one specifically for the 43.

[41magfan]

I bought this barely used, unmolested pistol some years ago cheaper than I could have bought one Blue Label. It came with a decent kydex holster and was wearing XS Big Dot night sights. On my first trip to the range, I did a simple walk-back drill from 3 to 15 yds just to check the zero with the XS sights. They proved to be more than usable.



However, every Glock I have wears Heinie sights, so the Big Dots were soon gifted to a brother LEO who uses them exclusively. This little gun has proven to be totally reliable (with factory magazines) and it shoots everything from 115 gr Blazer Brass to Underwood 147 gr +P Hard Cast to point of aim. I carry two guns so an LCP is always in my pocket and the G43 is worn in a JM Custom IWB 3. This pistol routinely serves as the biggest gun I carry these days.

[HeavyDuty]

I still carry my pair of 43s, but it’s not as frequent as before. The older iron sighted one is carried in a shoulder holster when I’m driving my Miata due to limited seat hip width, and the newer direct milled RMRcc equipped one still gets occasional IWB carry. I just shoot a 26 better.

[Duelist]

The G42 works better for my wife, so I bought her one. I thought about getting a G43 because I liked it, but decided it would complicate matters just due to holsters and mags not being compatible with either the G42 or G26 we already had, and didn’t find it significantly lighter than the G26 while being a little harder to shoot well. When I found myself snagging my wife’s G42 repeatedly as a workout/gym/bike/run gun, I went out and got a second one.

I still carry a 642/442 most, the G26 next, and the G42 a distant third. The G42 is what I carry for workouts/biking, and when slim and light (but not p32 size) are the order of the day.

[littlejerry]

I have and frequently use a 43. It has Ameriglo CAP sights, some bicycle inner tube on the grip, and SCD, and Taran +1 extension.

The +1 is just enough meat for that extra finger and so far hasn't malfunctioned. The inner tube is just enough girth and grip to keep the gun from squirming too much under recoil.

It's easy to make good hits, it's hard to shoot fast.

I like the gun a lot. I carry it in a JM Custom AIWB 2.5 with DCC monoblock. Super slim, light weight. Great for summer shorts and t shirts. Also slim enough I can fasten a pack belt over it and not be uncomfortable.