The Glock G43 vs G43X

If you’re having the Glock 43 vs. 43X dialogue with a buddy, your partner, or the individual behind the gun counter, what you’re actually speaking about is handgun ergonomics. And to have a civilized dialogue concerning the deserves of each fashions, you must perceive why they had been created within the first place when, technically, other Glock models already do what they do. 

Gun-design improvements are available in waves, and the micro-compact handgun surge of the 2010s wasn’t tidal, however it was fairly shut. It modified the best way folks thought of concealed-carry handguns. Nearly everybody who carried needed to at the least check out this ultra-concealable, high-capacity class of pistols just like the Sig Sauer P365. Glock predictably entered the market, however the firm was just a bit late to the social gathering.

Glock 43 vs. 43X Specs

The Area of interest Stuffed by the Glock 43

Glock has supplied tiny 9mm handguns for a very long time. The stumpy, chunky, double-stack Glock 26 was launched again in 1994, which is in the end a cut-down Glock 19 with a 10-round, flush-fit journal. 

The sub-compact has been standard — each as a backup gun and a concealed-carry pistol — with regulation enforcement for years as a result of it has an absurdly brief grip and may also use Glock 19 or Glock 17 magazines. It has been an enormous vendor on the civilian CCW market, too. Glock launched the up to date G26 Gen5 in 2018, and the corporate continues to be cranking them out. Due to that double-stack magazine, nevertheless, some clients contemplate the G26 a thick brick of a gun that’s simply an excessive amount of to jam right into a waistband.   

And whereas a G26 is much better than no gun or a jammed gun, most individuals discover that mannequin isn’t very comfy to shoot for very lengthy, particularly while you’ve acquired giant arms and snappy ammo. Should you don’t need to practice together with your gun as a result of it’s uncomfortable, you in all probability received’t, and that’s not good, both.

So, as Glock is wont to do, the Austrian gunmaker waited till 2015 to provide the a lot thinner Glock 43 single-stack in 9mm. It sacrificed Glock’s legendary magazine capability for a trimmer body and slide. (The gun was launched on the heels of the Glock 42, a single stack micro-compact in .380 ACP, which was in vogue on the time.)

Certain, the G43 is skinny and concealable, however the magazine solely holds six rounds plus one within the chamber for a complete capability of seven. Even when the Glock G43 debuted there have been loads of weapons about the identical measurement with much better capacities than that. Right this moment, there are much more. 

The Glock G43 vs the G26

Nonetheless, the G43 is nice for concealment. And regardless of the brief body (which continues to be a bit longer than the G26), a deep beavertail offers that good, excessive grip Glock shooters are used to. Due to this, the G43 has fame for accuracy, particularly for such a small and light-weight 9mm.  

And that’s actually what the G43 vs G43X was, and is, promoting: its ergonomics and concealability. However the pistol’s purposes are restricted and, as a result of it’s a single-stack, it will probably’t use any double-stack Glock mags, so it’s locked into that 6-round capability.  

Let’s simply examine the Glock G43 vs. the G26, which might run a 33-round Glock magazine if wanted. Other than the capability capabilities, the variations are minute:

• The barrels are nearly an identical: The G43 barrel is 3.41 inches lengthy, and the G26 has a 3.43-inch barrel.
• The G26 is a bit heavier at 25.75 ounces with a loaded magazine. The loaded G43 magazine weighs in at 20.64 ounces because of much less polymer and, sure, much less ammo.  
• The slide on the G43 is slimmer by lower than 0.2 inches. Total, at 1.06 inches, the G43 is strictly 0.2 inches narrower than the G26. 
• The Glock G43, has a shorter size total however is barely taller than the G26

The G43’s benefits are sufficient that it grew to become an enormous hit for Glock among the many ever-growing variety of hid carriers within the U.S., and for Glock followers who just about purchase something and every little thing the corporate produces. 

The Sig P365 vs. Glock 43

The concept behind the Glock 43 is good in idea (once more, an try to provide a extra concealable, comfy model of the G26) however that paltry 6-round capability is an excessive amount of of a sticking level for lots of oldsters. Plus, there’s no MOS model of the G43, which suggests you possibly can’t top it with a red-dot until you’re keen to get it milled.

In the meantime, alongside got here the Sig P365 in 2018, which has since spawned a super-successful line of modular CCW pistols. It did every little thing the G43 did (and didn’t do), however higher. 

The P365 is greater than a quarter-inch shorter total than the G43, and it manages to try this with a barrel that’s simply .3-inches shorter.

It’s additionally the identical width as a G26, however the P365’s extra ergonomic grip feels slimmer and positively longer whereas holding a 10-round flush-fit magazine. It might additionally rock 12-, 15-, and 17-round magazines with grip sleeves. This implies you have got the choice of a low-profile carry with a 10-round magazine inserted and, say, two 17-round mags on the belt. It might even run 32-round prolonged mags and 50-round drum mags. 

The primary P365 mannequin wasn’t optics-ready, however that quickly modified, and a lot of grip body choices and slide choices are actually accessible from Sig and third-parties. 

Nevertheless it isn’t the pistol’s capability that basically received folks over: It was how good the P365 feels and the way nicely it shoots. The truth is, the pistol’s ergonomics are so standard that the micro-compact 9mm has mainly morphed into one thing like an ultra-trim full-sized pistol. First got here the P365 XL and the P365-XMACRO, and extra not too long ago the brand new P365-FUSE, which ships with 17- and 21-round magazines. 

Glock’s response, which should have been within the works earlier than the P365 dropped, was an replace to the G43: the Glock 43X. Whereas Glock followers beloved it and the model with the chrome steel slide proved visually placing after years of all-black manufacturing facility Glocks, the G43X additionally acquired a whole lot of ridicule for not being very revolutionary.  

Glock 43X: A Single-Stack, Snub-Nosed Glock 19

The Glock 43X’s total dimensions are nearer to that of a P365, with a slide and barrel size an identical to the G43, however with an extended grip that may accommodate a 10-round single-stack journal. This, in fact, makes the gun a bit taller and longer total, however due to the single-stack, it’s nonetheless skinny with a grip that, for most individuals, is way more comfy for capturing whereas nonetheless glorious for hid carry. 

Moreover, clients discovered they appreciated the texture and manageability of a Glock with an extended grip and shorter slide whereas not noticing a lot of a distinction in accuracy at defensive distances. 

For years, clients have been chopping down the grips on their G17s for a full-size slide on a G19 size grip; the G43X’s configuration does the alternative. The Glock 43X is actually a short-barreled, single-stack Glock 19; they’ve the identical precise peak and grip size. For some of us, that additional grip size means the 43X is an excessive amount of to hold, however others thought of it the right resolution — particularly after the optics-ready G43X MOS got here out.

If you examine the Glock G43 vs the G43X, the G43X is so standard that it launched a brand new “Crossover” class of Glock handguns, together with one other essential addition: the Glock 19X. The mannequin extension adopted the identical concept, however on a double-stack scale: a Glock 19 slide and barrel on a Glock 17-sized grip. 

The G19X is a civilian model of the gun Glock submitted for the U.S. army’s XM17 Modular Handgun System competitors. Later in 2018, the Glock 45 was launched; It’s practically an identical to the G19X however with out the coyote end and different military-required options, together with the lanyard loop on the grip. An optics-ready G45 MOS mannequin quickly adopted. 

Efficiency of the Glock G43 vs G43X

Should you can’t get your complete dominant hand on a pistol’s grip, you’re merely not going to shoot it in addition to one with an extended grip. A number of observe may also help you shut this hole, in fact, however it’s a tradeoff: concealability and carry consolation in trade for capturing consolation and proficiency. 

The G43X finds a middle-ground with its middle-of-the-road grip size and by incorporating a big beavertail so as to add stability and assist the shooter management recoil and muzzle flip.

I’ve shot each loads, and may affirm this idea concerning the Glock G43 vs the G43x. The bigger G43X is totally extra comfy and controllable, whereas the G43 makes me really feel like I’m capturing a tiny gun. Nonetheless, I’ve shot small pistols that had been way more troublesome to get a deal with on. 

The Glock 43X can be simpler to reload. That little bit of additional grip size permits the magazine to drop free with out having to regulate my capturing hand. On a G43, I’ve to at the least carry my pinky to permit the magazine to fall free whereas miserable the discharge on the identical time. 

After all, each weapons from the manufacturing facility are constructed to Glock requirements and performance as one would count on. So far as concealability, on a big body, the little additional grip on the G43X isn’t going to make a distinction for most individuals, however on of us with slender hips and no intestine, it definitely might. 

The place Do the Glock 43 vs 43X Stand Right this moment?

Quite a bit has occurred since 2018 within the handgun world. When the G43X was launched, its greatest competitors was from weapons just like the SIG P365, which already boasted a bigger capability with even bigger choices. Quickly after got here the extra inexpensive Springfield Hellcat with an 11+1 capability and a 13+1 option. 

Since then, a number of different choices have been launched at numerous value factors, just like the FN Reflex and the Taurus GX4, which prices lower than $250.

In the meantime, Smith & Wesson’s M&P 9 Defend Plus is definitely giving Glock and Sig a run for his or her cash. As a result of it holds 10 or 13 rounds, it’s been a strong, time-tested alternative. S&W additionally has the smaller M&P Equalizer in 9mm that holds 10, 13, or 15 rounds in its roster, in addition to the usually ignored single action, hammer-fired S&W CSX, plus the not too long ago launched Bodyguard 2.0 sequence in .380 Auto. 

That single-stack restricted capability of the Glock 43X is what’s holding it and the Glock 43 again as micro-compact pistols stay standard. There are 15-round third-party mags for the G43X, however up to now, there aren’t any bigger OEM magazine choices from Glock.

Learn Subsequent: The Best Glocks of 2024: A Complete Guide to Glock Pistols

In brief, the one individuals who will be anticipated to decide on a Glock 43 vs a 43X appear to be a cross-section Glock fanatics who received’t carry some other model, and those that completely need the slim traces of the G43 household versus the Glock 45.

For many shooters who’re keen to choose one of the best pistol relatively than a sure model identify, nevertheless, there are better options.