Glock 43 - Single Stack 9mm

[Shami-Amourae]

It's here:
http://singlestack9.com/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQxthaOJ8Dw

http://singlestack9.com/images/glock43-left.png

[steyr_m]

Nice, I want one -- oh, wait... My Gov. deemed that I can't own one.

[Shami-Amourae]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbwxFOuLSfQ

[madfranks]

Why the single stack 6+1? Is it for areas which have laws regarding so-called high capacity magazines?

[Glass]

I think it's to get the width down. Extended mags for cap.

Might be useful to carry another clip and be well practiced in reloading. Single threat in close making every one count?

Pricey. Says some other Glock is not reliable and people might be suspect on this one as well.

[Shami-Amourae]

Why the single stack 6+1? Is it for areas which have laws regarding so-called high capacity magazines?

That size is good for a backup gun. The FBI and possibly the Military are both adopting the Glock 19 currently so it wouldn't be a surprise if they adopt it also as a backup gun.
http://gold-silver.us/forum/showthread.php?82128-Glock-pistols-approved-for-special-operations-Marines
http://universityofguns.com/is-the-fbi-going-glock-9-milly/

It's also good for people who wear very light clothing or people who just want a very small gun.

Frankly I love small guns. The smaller and still effective the better.

[Hitch]

I like small guns and would be tempted by this as well. I know the criticism is on that it only holds 7 rounds, but my thoughts are if you can't either end the threat with 7 rounds, or get yourself to cover to slap in another mag in that time, either you haven't trained enough, or you are in a situation where the odds were very against you anyway. I'd say 90% of the time 7 rounds would be enough, and if not you can swap mags very quick if needed. Thoughts?

I hope Glock comes out with a single stack 40 sw.

[EE_]

I like small guns and would be tempted by this as well. I know the criticism is on that it only holds 7 rounds, but my thoughts are if you can't either end the threat with 7 rounds, or get yourself to cover to slap in another mag in that time, either you haven't trained enough, or you are in a situation where the odds were very against you anyway. I'd say 90% of the time 7 rounds would be enough, and if not you can swap mags very quick if needed. Thoughts?

I hope Glock comes out with a single stack 40 sw.

What took Glock so long?
I like it, I'll want it, but I'd wait to see if the price comes down in a year or so. 7 rounds is fine for a daily carry.

[Hitch]

What took Glock so long?
I like it, I'll want it, but I'd wait to see if the price comes down in a year or so. 7 rounds is fine for a daily carry.

It's supposed to msrp at $589, which isn't bad, but demand might drive the price up too high. I like my glock 27 because it's fairly accurate, for me at least. I'm tempted to get the 43, but honestly am leery of the 9mm. I remember shooting your 9mm and I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. You were nailing targets way out there, so it was me, and not the gun. Like you I'll wait and see, maybe see one in person at a gun shop when they become more available.

[EE_]

It's supposed to msrp at $589, which isn't bad, but demand might drive the price up too high. I like my glock 27 because it's fairly accurate, for me at least. I'm tempted to get the 43, but honestly am leery of the 9mm. I remember shooting your 9mm and I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with it. You were nailing targets way out there, so it was me, and not the gun. Like you I'll wait and see, maybe see one in person at a gun shop when they become more available.

You must not have been used to the trigger? I don't know how you could be leery of 9mm, the perfect pistol caliber. :)

[EE_]

NEW GLOCK 43 A 9MM SINGLE STACK HANDS ON
by MAX ARCHER on MARCH 18, 2015

The New GLOCK 43. A single-stack 9mm.
This is not a conjecture or speculation article, the G43 is here and I have shot it at Glock. After pushing around 150 rounds through the G43 9mm I am in love with yet another ugly Glock. There is more, this G43 single stack 9mm is exactly what “we” the public asked for, begged for, and whined about when the G42 .380 ACP was introduced last year. Everyone said that they would buy a single stack Glock 9mm if it was about the same size at the G42, well prepare to pull out your cash and to fall in love with yet another boringly reliable Glock.


The 43 is the latest, and most anticipated gun in a long line of low-capacity 9mms.
With the introduction of the G43, two wondrous things happened concerning Glock. This is one of the first pistols developed almost exclusively to satisfy US market demands/screams of passion. The G43 introduction also coincides with Glock US giving writers a peek behind its factory doors for the first time ever… and I was invited.

The first week of March, I found myself in the midst of ten other writers invited to this exclusive Glock G43 unveiling plus a behind the scenes factory tour, which I must admit was more exciting to me than the “finally” introduction the new G43. For me, being one of the first editors in the world to step behind the previously closed factory doors for a tour was a legitimate and exciting reason to hop on a plane to Smyrna, Georgia. My take on what I saw behind those doors is another article altogether, but I am sure everyone is more interested in the G43 at this point.

None of us were shocked, surprised or stunned about being handed G43 NDAs (non-disclosure agreements). I mean come on, who was Glock kidding. We had all heard the rumors and speculation two months earlier at SHOT show that something else was coming from Glock. In fact, none of us were particularly surprised or animated when Mike Robinson (head of Glock US Marketing) formally announced the new G43 arrival. I was the smart ass in the room who blurted out “well finally, so when do we start the factory tour?”

We all should have been chomping at the bit to get our hands on the G43 at the range, however we weren’t. None of us wanted to rush to the end of the day to start shooting this glorious new pistol which we knew would feel just like every other Glock we had ever shot. It says something about the confidence a group of cynical writers have in Glock to get it right the first time. Once the pistol was in hand, our gut feelings were confirmed that it was exactly as our minds had imagined it. Boringly reliable that felt and shot like a Glock but in a slimmer single stack design. Image a roughly 1” wide G26 and you have the G43.

At this point I am still waiting on my own testing sample G43, however the two hours I spent with the gun during and after the range time was more than enough for me form an initial opinion.


Just a hair bigger than the GLOCK 42 (which is one of the larger .380s).
SIZE, ERGONOMICS & FEATURES

Upon walking into the GSSF shooting range, most of use immediately noted that in fact the 9mm G43 was indeed nearly identically the same size to the mind bogglingly popular G42 .380 ACP.

The G43 looks and feels like the G42 and G26 hooked up one night. From a size perspective the G43 is just over a 1/16″ wider than the G42, only about a 1/4″ longer and about 1/16″ taller. In the naked hand there is a difference, however I doubt many would “feel” the difference between the two guns unless they had shot both. Actually the guns felt and looked so similar that we all were constantly checking ammo, magazine and gun labeling to assure we did not inadvertently stick the wrong round in a G43 or G42. I did try swapping magazines and I am happy to report from a safety perspective that the G42 magazine will not lock up in the G43 and the G43 magazine will not fit in the G42. Still, with all the 9mm and .380 ACP ammo on the tables, it was easy to get a little confused about whether you were stuffing .380 ACP ammo into 9mm magazines.

Considering that the width difference between the new G43 and the G26 is the same 1/8″ increase as there was from the G42 to the G43, I found a little surprising how much fatter in the waist and in the hand the G26 felt after shooting the G43. The G43 proportionally “feels sized better” than the G26.


Compact, concealable, and still easy to shoot.
Glock G42 was not the smallest .380 on the market by a long shot and the G43 isn’t the smallest micro 9mm either, but its a manageable size. For example, Kahr’s CM9 is still smaller than even the G42, 3/4″ shorter length than the G43 and 1/4″ shorter in height. The size of the G43 is what makes the G43 controllable, shootable, and accurate while still delivering a size that you can comfortably stick in your front pocket. I call it the Goldie Locks principle… its just right.

Much the same as the G42 feels like a Glock, the G43 delivers the same feel. The trigger distance, feel, and reset could all be mistaken for a fatter double stack G26. By my estimate, I ran a little over 150 rounds through the G43 as did all the other writers attending the release and no one had a single jam, but we tried. One writer did an extreme limp wrist test, another shot the gun upside down, and I did a full gangsta sideways shooting test; the net were no jams or malfunctions on any of the three test pistol that we hammer on.

Like the G42, the G43 has significantly less recoil that you would expect from a gun that size. The G42 .380 Glock is a delight to shoot with recoil that seems almost like a rimfire even with hotter loads. The 9mm G43 is a bit snappier however far less than I have experienced with my Kahr CM9 or Walther PPS pistols. I did not have the opportunity to shoot the G43 directly against competitors, my initial assumption is that the higher Glock grip is closer to the bore and delivers more control and less felt recoil.


The long-awaited single stack 9mm keeps with the GLOCK aesthetic.
Like every micro 9mm I have ever fired, I did find that my hand moved around from shot to shot to find a better grip. It became a fat stumpy hand around small thing gripping exercise which inevitably leads to swapping between a thumbs forward, Israeli tucked thumbs, support hand finger guard grip which I liked the best. By contrast all the female writers locked in on the G43 and were hammering out rounds. The guys with bigger and fatter hands seemed to all do the unconscious grip shuffle we all do with tiny little guns.

The G43 is very controllable but a bit snappy. After approximately 150 rounds I was done with shooting the G43. This is quite a bit of shooting for a small pistol and I felt it. Comparing the recoil to the fatter double stack G26, the heavier G26 is more controllable and less fatiguing on the shooter. I have and do train all day with the G26 9mm, however I don’t know that I would put past and hour shooting the G43. As much as Glock has done to mitigate recoil and improve control, the G43 still is shooting a hot 9mm round out of a small pistol so Newtonian physics still apply. I did jump back on the G42 .380 ACP and could have shot that the rest of the day due to the low recoil. Given the size, I think it just comes down to a choice of recoil control between the G43 and G42 Glocks for buyers.


It looks like a GLOCK, shoots like a GLOCK, comes apart like a GLOCK. Must be a GLOCK.
From an accuracy perspective, I was able to deliver a number of brisk 6-round 3” groups on the 7-yard line. More conscious target shooting dropped those group sizes down into the 1.5-2” range with the CCI Blazer brass FMJ ammo provided at the range. Across the board, I noted all the writers shot the pistol very well from fast shooting to slow deliberate accuracy shots.

Under the watchful eye of marketing and GSSF range officers, I slipped the G43 into pockets and in the waistband and did a little shooting from concealment. Glock is going to sell millions of these. The G43 is the slim line 9mm we have all been waiting for. Even without a holster it is slim, nicely radiused, and melts into your waistband just like the G42 did. Holster manufacturers will come online fast with options

FINAL THOUGHTS

We live in amazing times of pre-sliced bread, enough technology to product self cooking bacon, and now we have a single stack 9mm from Glock. The Glock 43 9mm will be met with such anticipation and expectation that I will congratulate you for actually reading this far instead of just sprinting to your firearms dealer to place your order after reading the headline. My initial experience with the new Glock single stack 9mm validated that it is everything we all were are hoping for in a Glock produced package, but just like every Glock introduction, I am sure there are many who will wish it was larger, smaller, or offered in a different caliber.



SPECS G43 G42 G26

Length 6.26″ 5.94″ 6.41″
Width 1.02″ .94″ 1.18″
Height Including Magazine 4.25″ 4.13″ 4.17″
Barrel Length 3.39″ 3.25″ 3.42″
Length of Twist 9.84″ 9.84″ 9.84″
Trigger Travel 0.49″ .49″ .49″
Line of Sight 5.20″ 4.92″ 5.39″
Pistol Weight w/o Magazine 16.19 oz 13.76 oz 21.71 oz
Barrel Profile Right Hand Twist Hexagonal

http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/new-glock-9mm-single-stack-glock-43-hands-on/

[Hitch]

You must not have been used to the trigger? I don't know how you could be leery of 9mm, the perfect pistol caliber. :)

Trigger or my grip maybe. I can see why you like the 9mm, you were like Hickok45 with it. :) I'm used to the 40 sw, which I'm competent out to 15 yards or so, center mass hits. Maybe I'll give the 9mm a try though, I do like this glock 43, and with practice I'm sure I can get decent with it.

[Shami-Amourae]

If I'm not going to shoot a 9mm I'm going to a 10mm.

40 s&w is just a pussified 10mm. You can get weaker loads for 10mm and dinosaur killing loads too.

[midnight rambler]

9mm, the perfect pistol caliber. :)

Perfect for over-penetration if one does not use bonded bullets or the Barnes solid copper bullets, either loaded to +P+.

[EE_]

Perfect for over-penetration if one does not use bonded bullets or the Barnes solid copper bullets, either loaded to +P+.

You wouldn't carry/use anything less then bonded +p ammo. Bonded +p 9mm has brought 9mm up to par with .40 and .45. Better imo, because you carry more and the 9mm is more controllable. Let's not forget it's cheaper to practice with.

Gold Dot, HST, Corbon, Golden Saber, pick one...they're all good.

Read this:
ATK is a defense company that the FBI usually awards contracts to for ammunition. ATK consists of Federal and Speer Gold Dot LE ammunition. In late 2012 ATK was awarded a 5 year contract with the FBI and DOJ to supply Speer Gold Dot. 40 cal and Federal 5.56mm ammunition. These contracts are revolving. In 2009 Winchester was awarded a large contract. Consistently over the past two decades, Federal, Speer and Winchester have been the awarded winners in testing and contracts, for a few of the rounds they produce , that meet the testing protocols. Currently the FBI is carrying 40 caliber duty firearms but a move back to 9mm has been rumored as round technology has advanced. It is rumored that new FBI Academy attendees are being issued Glock 17’s. This is following a nationwide trend of departments switching from 40 cal to 9mm. My former department switched from Glock 22’s to Glock 17’s last year and I have been seeing this trend with other department. Most recently Texas DPS switched from .357 Sig to 9mm.
http://looserounds.com/2014/02/02/dutydefense-carry-ammunition-selection/

THE FADING 40
Posted on July 30, 2013 by MAC

I’ve never been a fan of the .40 S&W cartridge and I explained why in my “Teats, Bulls and the .40 S&W” article of June 22nd. While I never jumped on the .40 bandwagon, many police departments across the nation did in the 1990’s. That appears to be slowly changing.

I see regular news stories, some dating back several years, documenting the switch back to 9mm by PD’s nationwide. The reasons given for the switch to 9mm vary, but most PD’s feel the .40 S&W lowers hit probability and are concerned with the reduction in capacity. Back in 2011 the Wichita (KS) police made the switch back to 9mm from .40. Their tactical firearms instructor at the time said that “many officers’ shooting scores have been bad ever since the department armed with the .40-caliber handguns.”

This seems to be a fairly common theme, many departments have seen their qualification scores drop after switching to the .40 S&W. In an article from July 29th of this year, Chief Doug Barthel of the Sioux Falls (SD) PD said “the pistols have better accuracy and the ability to carry two more bullets than the [.40] Glocks.”

Columbia (SC) made a similar switch back to 9mm, swapping their Sig .45 ACP handguns for FN 9mm’s. Assistant Police Chief Ruben Santiago said officers will have improved accuracy with the lighter handgun, which doesn’t have as much recoil as the Sig .45-caliber pistols they’re replacing.

In 2011 the St. Paul (MN) PD switched from .40 back to the 9mm as well. The St. Paul PD started off with 9mm’s then switched to .40 S&W 18 years ago when the .40 S&W craze was sweeping PD’s across the nation. At the time when the switch occurred, 9mm ammo wasn’t performing as well as it does today with modern bullet technology. According to Sgt. Cory Tell “the performance of 9mm ammunition has changed dramatically and it’s much more powerful than it previously was.”

This is something I’ve talked about as well, modern 9mm bullet technology has leveled the playing field. When many of the police departments were jumping to .40 S&W, bullet technology was still in its infancy which helped to fuel the switch-over to .40. PD’s felt bigger was better in the absence of quality bullet designs. Today we have an assortment of modern high-performance 9mm loads that offer better penetration and expansion than loads on the market back in the 1990’s. A modern 9mm easily rivals the best .40 S&W or .45 ACP round in terms of ballistic performance and in real-world shootings. Even the FBI, who lead the charge in developing the .40 S&W, now authorizes their agents to carry 9mm service pistols.

Many people don’t understand how modern bullet technology has benefited the 9mm. Most .40 and .45 hollow points have historically been able to achieve 12″-18″ of penetration in 10% ballistics gel while offering on average 1.75% expansion — the magical numbers necessary to meet FBI standards. For the 9mm, this hasn’t always been the case. It took many years for bullet technology to evolve to allow the 9mm to achieve the same performance as its bigger brothers. Going past 12″-18″ of penetration is considered a bad thing which is why manufactures aren’t trying to increase the penetration capabilities of .40 and .45, just the 9mm.

The 9mm isn’t just making a comeback in police circles, most of the nations top firearms instructors also prefer 9mm handguns. Here’s a list of a few big names in the training world and their caliber of choice. This list is captured from public sources.

Trainer Gun(s) / Caliber
Travis Haley Glock 17 9mm (also 9mm M&P)
Massad Ayoob Glock 9mm (.357 Sig & .45)
Chris Costa S&W M&P 9mm
Larry Vickers Glock 17/19 9mm
Gabe Suarez Glock 17 9mm
Rob Pincus 9mm (recommends a variety of handguns in this caliber)
Paul Gomez (RIP) Glock 17/19 9mm
James Yeager Glock 19 9mm
Andy Stanford Glock 19 9mm
Kelly McCann Glock 19 9mm
Jason Falla Glock 17 9mm
Michael Janich Glock 17 9mm
Dave Spaulding Glock 19 9mm (sometimes Ruger SR9c)

It seems .40 S&W continues to fall out of favor with more people coming to the realization the 9mm offers higher capacity, lower recoil, lower training costs and solid terminal ballistics when compared to the .40 S&W. During the last gun buying craze every caliber from .22LR to .45 ACP was absent from shelves around the country, however most people reported ample supplies of .40 S&W sitting around. Obviously this is a bonus for the .40 S&W since in times of crisis you might have a better shot at finding ammo, but does this single point outweigh the other benefits of using 9mm? That doesn’t appear to be the case as it seems not only the police and trainers are moving away from the .40 S&W but the general gun buying public is too.

***Update: ToddG over at pistol-training.com penned a similar article that went live a few hours after this one. He makes some interesting points in his article that I believe are worth consideration.

MAC

MAC is an avid shooter, former MCSF Marine, NRA member, Oath Keeper and is commissioned as a Colonel by the Governor of Kentucky. Known for his videos on the Military Arms Channel, he also writes for The Bang Switch, for Shotgun News (Be Ready!) and freelances for Guns & Ammo. MAC has been a life long shooter who has an interest in all things that go "bang" but gravitates towards military type firearms.
http://www.thebangswitch.com/the-fading-40/

[Hitch]

Good article, EE. A stong case for the 9 mm. We trained with .40 sw in police academy, and it's what I'm familiar with, so that's hard to change. Most of the old timers switched to 45 acp for stopping power, trading their glocks in for kimbers. That was a process for them, having to get re-qualified on everything. Midnight does have good point on penetration though, no doubt the 9mm has more than the 40, but that could be a bad thing as well.

I've found the 40 sw to be accurate and predictable within most lethal ranges, 15 yards and less. Most self defense shootings are within 5-10 yards, and being quick to the draw is the most important life safety skill.

[milehi]

I can hit the 250 yard gong with my HK .40 compact. Can't do that with any of the nines although I've never tried with the XD sub compact or LC9.

[midnight rambler]

Texas DPS switching to 9mm from .357 Sig may have more to do with ammo availability than anything else.

I'm not opposed to practicing with 9mm due to cost however I think getting a pistol that strictly shoots 9mm is a poor choice when there are other options. I have Glocks in .357 Sig and .40 that will take 9mm aftermarket barrels (the Glock 17, 19, and 26 will not accept .357 Sig or .40 barrels). I still prefer the extra energy the .357 Sig offers over the 9mm. The Glocks in .45 and 10mm are just too large for anything except open carry (the single stack Glock 36 being a possible exception).

Back when I was hanging out with my cop buddies over 20 years ago there was no shortage of incidents of where someone would empty a mag of 9mm (ball ammo) into a gremlin and the gremlin would still be in the fight (usually the gremlin was high on something like crank or PCP).

[midnight rambler]

Wanting a small single stack 9mm? Here ya go -

http://picturearchive.gunauction.com/573/10707259/img_1183.jpg_thumbnail0.jpg

[Hitch]

Back when I was hanging out with my cop buddies over 20 years ago there was no shortage of incidents of where someone would empty a mag of 9mm (ball ammo) into a gremlin and the gremlin would still be in the fight (usually the gremlin was high on something like crank or PCP).

lol...gremlins. That's pretty funny. We called them turds. Still, it wasn't uncommon for someone to empty a mag of .40 into a turd and have him still in the fight.

Maybe I'll get that kimber 45 acp now...

[EE_]

Back when I was hanging out with my cop buddies over 20 years ago there was no shortage of incidents of where someone would empty a mag of 9mm (ball ammo) into a gremlin and the gremlin would still be in the fight (usually the gremlin was high on something like crank or PCP).

Like you said, 20 years ago with ball ammo. Apples and oranges.
If you think a perp is high, shouldn't you be placing your shots starting at center mass, finishing with head shots?
Not many have walked away taking two shots to the forehead.

[Hitch]

If you think a perp is high, shouldn't you be placing your shots starting at center mass, finishing with head shots?


Ideally yes, pd trains that way, two to the chest, one to the head. The problem with aiming for the head is it's a smaller target, and the backdrop completely changes as well. More chance of a bullet not only missing it's target, but traveling farther as well. Center mass shots, bigger target, and the bullet trajectory is usually angled downward.

[Shami-Amourae]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V1HtEUC9us

[Hitch]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V1HtEUC9us

LOL, that guy cracks me up. His videos are hilarious.

[Shami-Amourae]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RkVGYZexLY