G43 Review

Test firing the G43

[NOTE:   This review is from the point of view of:

1) a petite female living in a desert climate
2) do NOT argue with me about the stopping power of .380 vs. 9 mil.  I can place a .380 in my attacker's temple or eye socket and it has PLENTY of stopping power compared to a 9 mil in the chest when shot that way, so I teach my women to shoot that .22 or that .380 in their attacker's eye socket or temple to stop them (I am being facetious to a point....I understand adrenaline rushes and losing fine motor skills and the point of training Mozambique drills - I just am VERY tired of men arguing with women about .380, SOMETHING is better than nothing and if that is what I am comfortable shooting, that's what I'm comfortable shooting).
3) i prefer to bra holster or IWB, so I need a SMALL gun because I am short waisted and wear tight clothing.

So keep all this in mind when reading MY review of this firearm.  These things may not and probably do not apply to you but there are other women out there like me and these factors matter to us a LOT]

As a self proclaimed Glock Girl who ccw's a G42, I have been anxiously awaiting Glock to release the G43.  In my active imagination I had convinced myself Glock was making THE ccw gun of all ccw guns and it was going to be the Messiah of ccw guns for women......It was going to be:

1) as small as the G42
2) as fun to shoot and have a trigger as light as the 26

Sadly, it is neither of these things.

SIZE MATTERS

G42 left, G43 center, G26 right

G42 left; G43 right

So if you have read my previous blog when the 42 appeared last January, you know that it is already at the outer limits of being "flashbang-able", or able to be comfortably and safety carried in a bra holster.....which I used to ALWAYS do.  Recently I have begun corset holstering (Dene Adams) or IWB'ing (inside the waistband leather/kydex combo)

Here is that blog.  http://twawyuma.blogspot.com/2014/01/glock-g42-380-vs-ruger-lcp-380-womans_8275.html

The 43 is EVEN longer than the 42, which to me eliminates ccw'ing it in a bra holster altogether since the 42 already becomes very uncomfortable in a bra holster after a few hours. First drawback to the 43.

For a shortwaisted woman like me, I suspect that even in an IWB kydex/leather combo it is going to poke me in my hip bone, but I will wait to see until I get my own gun and have my own holster made to report back to you on this whether I'm correct or not.  STAY TUNED.

Second suspected drawback.

So that means I can corset holster this.  Only comfortable option for me with this gun....still suspected...to be confirmed.

RECOIL / MUZZLE FLIP

I was very surprised by the recoil and muzzle flip of the 43.  My video is too large to post, I will try to get it up on Youtube, but I had to regrip after every shot.

John Correia, aka Mr. Active Self Protection, described what I experienced this way after I 1st shot it:

"This is just physics. It's functionally the same size as the 42, and the 9mm has more boom than a .380. So more recoil than the 42. But the grip width on the 26 is beefier than the 43, which will make the 26 easier to control."

G26 top target - G42 bottom left target - G43 bottom right target

 Looking at my targets was very revealing about my lack of grip control on the G43.

So second confirmed drawback.









DEAD HORSE

I'm not going to beat a dead horse.  So am I disappointed?  Yes.  Will I still buy one?

It's a Glock.

It's a small Glock.

It's a small 9 mil Glock.

So the answer is yes.

Am I going to replace my G42 with the G43 for my main ccw?   Absolutely not.  The 42 IMHO is the best ccw gun for a petite female like me who prefers striker fire guns that can be easily broken down into only 4 pieces and thrown in the dishwasher.

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Nicolle Griffin is an NRA Certified Chief Range Safety Officer, Basic Pistol Instructor, and the founding Chapter Leader of the Well Armed Woman Yuma Arizona chapter, one of the largest woman's shooting and empowerment organizations in the US.