Glock 43 review after carrying for 18 months

[smoke-wagon]

I just wanted to give my thoughts on the glock 43 after its been on my hip for the last 18 months and give some updates on the mods and upgrades i've gone through.

I'm still in love with this pistol but it took a few things to get it to where I want it to be. accuracy is very good, trigger pull is fine for a carry gun, reliability is right there with its big brothers and it almost fit my medium sized hand perfect right out of the box so I knew I had the correct candidate to be my EDC.

the first thing I changed on this pistol, like any other glock i'd purchase, was the plastic sights. out of the box they were perfectly fine as long as you know how to use glock's stock sights, I tend to let the front dot raise out of the rear "bucket" instead on slighty covering the dot so I tend to shoot their sights a tad high. the first sights I chose for this pistol were the XS standard sight set, mostly because they were one of the first sets available on amazon and they were affordable plus i'd always wanted to try them. I tried them for probably a year before I gave up on them, I just couldn't get any kind of accuracy out of them and I didn't want to waste time trying to teach myself a new sight picture so I replaced them with a set of hackathorn sights from ameriglo to match my G19 and I absolutely love them, the bright front sight with blacked out rear is usually the best sight picture for me.

for a holster I really like Phlster, they're a custom kydex company based right here in Philadelphia and if you haven't heard of them please check them out. john is doing great things with his innovative designs. i did add one thing to my phlster access and that's the RCS VG2 holster claw, i installed it using a video uploaded by john (youtube phillyedc) to help users with questions during the install. the holster is rock solid, tuckable and conceals very well so it goes wherever i go. for a magazine carrier i again chose john at phlster and the carrier can be set up to be carried in multiple positions such as pocket carry but i generally keep it configured with the belt loop. ive also carried this pistol in a desantis pocket holster while working as a bartender and server in a fine dining restaurant in center city and I've never had an issue with concealing the little guy.

previously i stated the grip almost fit my medium sized hands perfect and that's because i prefer an undercut trigger guard and stippling like my G19. so far i have undercut the trigger guard with a dremel and i feel it has made a positive impact on the comfort of firing this pistol. i do plan to bust out the soldering iron and try my hand at stippling but for now i have the rubber grip tape on the front and back of the grip frame.

keeping with the topic of shooting comfort brings me to my next modification, the trigger. i bet you're thinking "what does the trigger have to do with shooting comfort?", well, i like to fire a lot of rounds in a range session since i don't make it out as much as id like. with some research i diagnosed myself with finger hurtious and according to AR15.com the best way to deal with the issue was to plug the vagina in my finger and eventually it grows callused. since we live in the year 2016 i was certain there was a better way to deal with the issue. after some more research i found dropping in a smooth trigger helped but i couldn't find a reasonably priced option for the 43 until i found the kinetitech straight trigger. so far the trigger has been a huge improvement over the original and I'm going to pick up another for my G19 soon. the curvature of the original G43's trigger had a tendency to let my finger start to slide down towards the trigger guard under recoil and the trigger guard was absolutely pounding my trigger finger after 100+ rounds. Another plus to the straight trigger is a shorter length of pull since the curve of the trigger shoe isn't moving as forward on the reset.

lastly i added one extra magazine and Vickers +2 base pads to my back up mags, i left the magazine without the extension stock.

ive seen bad reviews about this pistol and it was far from perfect out of the box but the main reason i love glock is i can do most modifications by myself without any gunsmithing skills or tools.

i will upload photos tomorrow, thanks for reading.

here's a short video of a reload on the range: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgLKydueY-w

[TOA]

Very nice review.

I recently bought a G43 as well, Talo edition, has factory installed sights similar to what you have had installed. I am having trouble warming up to the blacked out rear sight. I have only carried it a few times. It's extremely comfortable to carry for sure.

Thanks again for the review, and looking forward to the photos.

[smoke-wagon]

Very nice review.

I recently bought a G43 as well, Talo edition, has factory installed sights similar to what you have had installed. I am having trouble warming up to the blacked out rear sight. I have only carried it a few times. It's extremely comfortable to carry for sure.

Thanks again for the review, and looking forward to the photos.

You're welcome. I didn't find any learning curve going from the 3 dots to blacked out rear with fiber optic/tritium front but I can't adjust back to 3 dots so I always paint rear dots black until I buy new sights.

[Mitch10mm]

I need to get one for "oh my friggin back" days

[smoke-wagon]

Here's a picture that clearly shows the flat faced trigger and trigger guard undercut.





The hackathorn sights are a bright orange front with a green tritium center which really makes the front sight stand out.



I think I'm done with upgrading it, all I need is some more mags to try idpa with it.

[Hodgie]

Nice write up.

I have been carrying mine for a year now 98% of the time and really enjoy it's versatility and ease of carry. I switched out the factory sights for Ameriglo CAP which is comparable to what you have except for a tiny horizontal line in the rear and the front is a big tritium square. Like TOA said I cannot get used to the blacked out rear so I plan to switch them out for the Truglo TFX which is what I use on all my other pistols.

The under cutting looks good and it's something that I would defiantly benefit from. The grip texture isn't great but when I purchased the pistol which was used from a member here he left a Hogue slip on over mold sleeve with it and while they are kind of ugly they really work quite well so I left them on. The only other upgrade I made to the pistol itself was adding the Magguts Z-spring to one of the factory mags which lets you add +1 to the mag without adding any extension to the magazine. So far I have 100 rounds through that mag with absolutely no issues. Once I get another 150 through it without failure then I will move it into the standard carry rotation.

I have been looking into adding an extension for a back up mag but haven't decided which way to go. The Vickers look good and they are also the most affordable that provides a new spring which is a must regardless of what anyone says especially when adding +2 so I think that's the way I will be headed when I get around to it. My holster choice is the AP holster from Contact Concealment which has always been the best fit for me between comfort and versatility. It sits perfect in any position and can be comfortably worn all day in the appendix position while sitting and driving which is a huge plus for me.

I don't have any issues with the trigger I am used to higher volume shooting with the Glock, I just put 470 rounds through a G17 yesterday at a steel match challenge. I would be interested in seeing if the flat faced trigger changes or improves anything for me so it might be something I would be interested in giving a go if the price was right.

[smoke-wagon]

Nice write up.

I have been carrying mine for a year now 98% of the time and really enjoy it's versatility and ease of carry. I switched out the factory sights for Ameriglo CAP which is comparable to what you have except for a tiny horizontal line in the rear and the front is a big tritium square. Like TOA said I cannot get used to the blacked out rear so I plan to switch them out for the Truglo TFX which is what I use on all my other pistols.

The under cutting looks good and it's something that I would defiantly benefit from. The grip texture isn't great but when I purchased the pistol which was used from a member here he left a Hogue slip on over mold sleeve with it and while they are kind of ugly they really work quite well so I left them on. The only other upgrade I made to the pistol itself was adding the Magguts Z-spring to one of the factory mags which lets you add +1 to the mag without adding any extension to the magazine. So far I have 100 rounds through that mag with absolutely no issues. Once I get another 150 through it without failure then I will move it into the standard carry rotation.

I have been looking into adding an extension for a back up mag but haven't decided which way to go. The Vickers look good and they are also the most affordable that provides a new spring which is a must regardless of what anyone says especially when adding +2 so I think that's the way I will be headed when I get around to it. My holster choice is the AP holster from Contact Concealment which has always been the best fit for me between comfort and versatility. It sits perfect in any position and can be comfortably worn all day in the appendix position while sitting and driving which is a huge plus for me.

I don't have any issues with the trigger I am used to higher volume shooting with the Glock, I just put 470 rounds through a G17 yesterday at a steel match challenge. I would be interested in seeing if the flat faced trigger changes or improves anything for me so it might be something I would be interested in giving a go if the price was right.

Heres the kinetitech trigger, $48 isn't bad to try it out but you do have to break the original trigger shoe to install it. I forgot to mention it so I edited the original post but the flat faced trigger makes the reset feel shorter as well.

http://www.kineti-tech.com/glock-triggers/

[ray h]

For those who like the blacked out rear sight but want night sight capability, take a look at Heinie straight 8 sights. The single dot below the sight is not as distracting as two dots on the sides.

[Hodgie]

For those who like the blacked out rear sight but want night sight capability, take a look at Heinie straight 8 sights. The single dot below the sight is not as distracting as two dots on the sides.

I had those on a Taurus Millennium pro some years back and just count not get used to them either. The only dot the "I" sights that I find are worth a crap are the XS Big dots. I have no trouble making hits at extended distances but others like the OP hate them. Like anything it's it's all subjective to the users personal preference.

[Glockman24]

All great mods for that 43! I run flat faced triggers in all my glocks, absolutely love the way they shoot.

If you guys are looking for some good +2 mag extensions, check out hyve technology. The make high quality aluminum +1 and +2 extensions. I run them on my 43 and my shield. Well worth the money!!

https://hyvetechnologiesbuilder.com/...hp/product/37/