Glock 43 Holster Shopping
With almost five years being the undisputed market leader, Glock Inc. finally gave Mr. Gaston Glock a glass of something and got their Glock 42 .380 handgun out on the market. The G42 became a success on it's own, but the Glock fans wanted a 9mm, and they wanted it loudly. With the success of the Glock 42, the G43 came along in short order prepared to stand upon the reputation of the Glock brand.
The Glock 43 operational controls are classic Glock, through and through, using a focus on the Gen 4 design platform. The slide stop is located on the left, though one could argue its now just a true slide stop. Its placement and smaller size don't seem to be ideal for a release. The magazine release is square shaped and reversible for those shooting lefty. Everything else is simply traditional “Glock” , from the feel of the polymer frame to the Tenifer finish on the barrel and slide. The extractor pulls double duty as a loaded chamber indicator and the sights are standard Glock stock sights. Unfortunately, Glock opted not to equip the G43 with a picatinny rail.
The G43 hits the scales at just under 18 ounces unloaded. Its overall length is 6.26" having a height of 4.25" at the rear sight when a flush fitting magazine is used. This firearm is listed as being 1.02" wide, however, it looks as though the only point on it which is legitimately 1.02" specifically at the slide lock. The slide is only 0.87" wide, even though the frame is between 0.90" and 0.92" depending on the measurement location.
The sights are conventional Glock setup with a front white dot and a rear u-shaped sight. Personally, I’ve never been a fan of the Glock standard sights, finding them difficult to quickly acquire in low-light conditions. I recommend swapping them out for something that is more luminescent in low light.
My one minor complaint on the G43 is the same concern I've got with all the Glock pistols, only much more with the G43, and it's this: the grip surface is ineffective. According to Glock“the aggressive texture of the grip lets the shooter more easily operate the pistol”. While I understand the marketing concepts behind the Glock line (of which, I am a big fan), for me personally, I find the grip texture very ineffective. My opinion is that the Glock 43 needs either an added rubber or adhesive grips, or a stipple job.
I really like the G43, and I have spent quite a bit of time running drills and smacking steel plates. As with most Glock models, I have to slightly adjust my grip to the grip angle if I have been shooting other pistol manufacturers.
Listed here are a couple of frequent holster related inquiries that I've seen mentioned in various gun discussion boards concerning the Glock 43:
#1 - Are the holsters for the G42 interchangeable with the Glock 43?
The short answer is no a G43 is not going to work with a gun holster designed for a Glock 42. Though they are similarly sized, the dimensions on the two gun versions are too different.
#2 - What about a holster for my Glock 43 with a Crimson Trace laser mounted on it?
The response to that query is dependent upon what laser model or laser light version is attached to the Glock 43. Presently, Glock is not offering a factory laser or light solution so all the existing laser or light choices for the Glock 43 are aftermarket solutions. The most common aftermarket brands of lasers that are offered for the G43 are Crimson Trace, LaserMax, and Laserlyte. Each of these brands features a distinct laser and each one has different measurements so a quality holster will need to be specifically made to fit the Glock 43 and that specific laser to ensure a good fit. There's a link towards the bottom of this write-up that leads to an excellent location to purchase these types of specialty holsters for the Glock 43.
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