Slim, Light & Potent

glock

GLOCK’s New 9mm G43 Is Perfect For Packing.

It’s a new GLOCK. Those words, I’m guessing, are almost all needed for about 70 percent of you. For perhaps 35 percent—diehard fans—they mean: “Durable and reliable right out of the box; will suck up abuse, digest virtually any ammo and spit out tactically-accurate if not target-pistol-tight fire; a low-maintenance long-lifespan companion.” For another 35 percent, they mean something like ”Another plastic pistol! More tactical Tupperware! Wouldn’t touch one if ya gave it to me! And they’re so ugly!” The third group, about 30 percent, falls into the less judgmental. “Show me what you got” category. These figures aren’t precise, but close enough, I’ll bet.

To Group One, I say “Yup, it’s all that, in a truly comfy-carry package.” To Group Two, “See that boat on the horizon? It’s the GLOCK boat. You missed it. But if you carry concealed, the new G43 might be your best boarding pass yet. Ugly? If you’re shopping for a junkyard guard dog, does pretty count at all?” And to Group Three, just this: “Read on. I got some nice surprises, and so might you.”

American demand for a subcompact, pocket-size, single-stack 9mm had been gathering steam for years, and when GLOCK announced a new subcompact in January 2014, the dreamers got their hopes up. When it proved to be the .380 ACP G42, many threw their suckers in the dirt and commenced pouting. Yeah, they grudgingly bought truckloads of 42’s and found them, as I did, to be nice, handy, well-behaved little pistols. But they weren’t nines! Finally, in March 2015, the company came through—and after testing it, I’d say it was worth the wait. It’s just a smidge bigger than the G42 and far more suited for concealed carry than the 10-plus-one 9mm G26.

That was my first surprise. I’ve owned and frequently carried a G26 for years, and thought it well suited for concealed carry—not a pocket pistol for any but the biggest pockets—but not bad inside the waistband. Unloaded, the 26 is only 4 ounces heavier than the 43, but a full 1/2-pound heavier when packing 11 rounds. On paper, the girth differential doesn’t seem to be that great. But get the two together, trade them off from pocket to IWB holster to OWB rig, then bend, stoop, enter and exit vehicles, and that little bit of difference suddenly pays huge dividends for the slimmer, flatter, lighter model 43. Then things got even better.

First, this note: Informed sources say the G43 is the first of its brand designed entirely to meet US market demand. That kinda makes it “the American GLOCK,” right? I like that.

Cousin MacKenzie (above) bangs rounds outta the little G43. Connor had to beat
“volunteer testers” off with his cane. The GLOCK is the soul of simplicity
(middle). Like brethren pistols, the G43 easily strips into just a few
strong, simple components. The G43 (bottom) carries like a smaller
pistol and shoots like a bigger one.

The Technical Tour

Stovepipe black with blocky lines, the G43’s appearance is classic GLOCK—a slug-launching tool without even a nod to aesthetics. Its beauty lies in its simplicity and strength. Sights are standard with a white dot on the front post, bright white-lined U on the rear notch. Love ’em or hate ’em, at the distances and in the role intended for the G43, they’re effective. Just put the ball in the U and squeeze, fast. The barrel is only 3.39 inches, and the whole pistol just 6.26, but the sight radius is a full 5.2 inches—excellent for both quick pointing and taking sharp aim.

Overall height is a scant 4.25 inches with the flush-fit magazine, and just over 4.5 inches with the pinky-finger-friendly extended mag. You get one of each type. And slim? The slide is only 0.87-inch wide, and at the frame’s widest point it’s just 1.02 inches. The grip is just 0.90 thick. Like all its brethren, the only projections on the G43’s slab sides are the subdued slide lock and the very slightly raised large-grooved magazine release. The slide lock is protected from accidental engagement by contoured frame molding, and the mag release is neither too sensitive nor too balky. Both get high marks for ergonomics.

The trigger is neither light nor crisp at the break. It’s a perfectly serviceable trigger for a fighting pistol, requiring only practice to master. The manual puts pull weight at 5.5 pounds. My test sample measured 6 pounds even and probably felt a bit heavier because I was pulling it in a very light pistol (1.2 pounds empty, 1 pound, 5 ounces loaded with seven 124-grain rounds. Measured horizontally, trigger “reach,” from backstrap to the sweet spot of the trigger surface, is about a 1/2-inch less than that of the G26 and other larger models. If you have big mitts like mine, it feels even shorter, because of the G43’s slimmer girth. That and the trigger re-set, which is positive, tactile and audible, produced another surprise for me—to be revealed later.

So much has been written about the simple manual of arms and remarkable ease of fieldstripping and maintenance that I won’t regurgitate it here. For those in Group One: Same-same, easy-breezy, no? For Group Three: Check it out online or in a gunshop—you’ll like it.

This IWB rig from Comfort Holsters (above) lived up to its name. The secret
is a suede-covered gel patch on the inner surface. It proved secure and fast,
too. Galco Gunleather’s Pocket Protector Holster and Pocket Magazine Carrier
(below) will keep the G43 oriented, secure and ready to rock.

In Hand & On Range

I was short of premium ammo to be chronographed and shot “for the record,” so for function drills—all angles, limp-wristed, etc.—and general familiarization (which rapidly became “for fun”), I used a couple of hundred rounds of mixed “remainders” in grain weights from 90 to 147, running from deep hollowpoints to flat-nose FMJ’s to roundnose NATO ball. Recoil effect differed, of course, but the G43 digested everything I fed it without a burp. I expected that.

What I didn’t anticipate was its mannerly behavior under recoil; the lack of muzzle flip and movement in my hand after a rapid-fire string. I attribute this to two factors. First, the geometry of the grip encourages a high, tight and full engagement with the web and palm of the hand. On some grips, it’s hard for me to get and stay snugged up right under the beavertail. This brings the already pretty low-bore axis closer to my “buffer”—the meat of my hand. Second, I think GLOCK did a great job of matching the slide weight and the staged resistance of the dual recoil spring, to mitigate the force delivered by snappy 9mm ammo. It made shooting the G43 a pleasure, with none of the punishment often associated with light, subcompact 9mm’s.

Given the intended employment of the G43, I didn’t shoot any benched and rested groups for absolute accuracy. Five-round groups were fired free-standing, 2-handed at 15 yards and 1-handed at 10. Ammo used included Hornady Critical Duty 135-grain FlexLock rounds, Speer Gold Dot 124-grain HP’s—both excellent defensive rounds—and Hornady Steel Match 115-grain HAP rounds, a lower-cost training and target load. Check the group data: Accuracy is not a problem.
At 7 yards we ran “mag dumps”—from a low hold, firing seven rounds as fast as we could pull the trigger aimed at the 8-inch center mass circle of a silhouette target. This ain’t just foolin’ around. It’s exactly the kind of shooting you might do if suddenly and violently made to dance with the devil at close range. And, it tests the pistol’s ability to feed and function at highest possible speed. The G43 ate it up, no problem.

I was feeling pretty puffed up after keeping them all inside in 4 seconds. Then my son stepped up and did it in 2.4 seconds. I didn’t whack him because he courteously turned away before smirking. Kids. Hmph.

Backing off to 10 yards with the firing cadence slowed to one shot per 0.75 to one second each, with a 2-hand hold, working the trigger re-set proved amazingly easy—a function of the encompassing grip and very low recoil effect. Keeping full magazine loads within 2 to 3 inches was easily repeatable. By any realistic measure, the G43 proved itself as a fine little defensive pistol.

Wrap & Rap

Bite the fiscal bullet and send lots of rounds downrange to get the feel of this slender lightweight. And don’t baby it! Small it is, but fragile it ain’t. Rack it and handle it just like your big-boy bruiser.

I think this puppy will fit about 90 percent of hands very well, especially smaller hands. It is almost, but not quite too small for my XXL-sized mitts. The new, less aggressive texture of the grip slides well under clothing, but might be too smooth for some folks’ tastes. I would slip on a TUFF1 grip cover and give it a try.

I’ve heard some complaints about the 6-plus-1 mag capacity, and reject them. If you want this small a size, you’ve gotta give up some rounds—and I’ve never felt unarmed packin’ a 5-shot J-Frame revolver. With a spare mag handy the G43 becomes a 13-shot weapon.

GLOCK kindly donated this G43 first, to be evaluated, then sent to my pal Jim Toner at TMT Tactical for a suite of his creative enhancements, then on to be auctioned for a worthy veterans charity. Thank you, GLOCK; we all appreciate that. But dang it, that means I can’t keep it!
Well… that can be overcome.
By John Connor