Thank you for the range report. I am trying to decide which one I want for my next Glock. I currently have a Glock 19.

 

Get the 26, use Glock brand +2 mag extensions, and carry the 19 mags for spares. Easier to conceal than the 19, with 12 + 1 rounds as opposed to 15 + 1 for the 19. The 26 is quite accurate, and the extension makes it as easy to shoot as the 19. This is what I do when I can't carry a full size rig.

John W in SC

 

Thank you for that report. I have had my G26 for just over a month and have found it to be flawless from day one. It's maybe not the most convenient to carry but it's my favorite because I just know it's going to be accurate and reliable. In particular I appreciate your comments on the sights.

 

I was REALLY wanting to get a 43, but since I retired/became self employed a couple of months back, my Glock 26 has become my daily carry in a Galco Miami Classic 2 shoulder rig. It is so comfortable and concealable (wearing the shoulder rig over an Underarmour Tshirt covered by a short sleeved shirt (unbuttoned)), that, at this point, it doesn't seem to make much sense to drop from 31s round of 9mm to 19 rounds of 9mm.

YMMV

Lon

 

Sounds like your G26 is a better functioning gun. Well, give the G43 time,, It may do as you need .

 

Nice report, I have not been impressed at all with the 43. I think there are much better options in the single stack category. The 26 is just so much better for multiple reasons imo. The 26 sets the standard for subcompacts.

 

I have also had the opportunity to shoot the 26 and the 43 together. I don't own both but a coworker let me borrow his to go to the range. I liked both but I shot the 26 slightly better. I had my wife there so I wasn't shooting far, just between 7 to 10 yard. The 43 does have a noticeably heavier trigger pull then the 26.


All in all I wasn't impressed with the size of the 43. It's slightly thinner then the 26 but not by much. Obviously thinner is better for IWB. I think if I didn't already have a 19, the 26 would be the way to go. Plus the 26 can accept mags from the 17 and 19, even a 33 rd mag.

 

The main advantage I see of the G43 is that it will fit in (some) pockets, while the G26 really doesn't. There's too much "me" IWB, so I pocket and/or OWB carry. :embarassed:

 

I took a closer look at the feed path of the G26 vs the G43 this morning, easing a round into the chamber of each gun from its mag. The results were very interesting...

The G26 feeds straight into the chamber (of course the round tilts up), with no left/right motion.

The G43, however, is different. The top round in the mag stack hits the underside of the ejector, which tilts the round to the left, toward the tab for the slide release lever. The round tilts right, and then into the chamber, as the slide comes into battery.

I am willing to bet that, at some point, Glock is going to need to redesign the slide release lever tab, to make it less likely for rounds to hit it on their way into the feed path. For now, I'm going to head to the gun smith, and see what he says about grinding it down and reshaping it a bit.

 

Gun smith at the shop my wife bought the gun at used a dremel to shave the tab back a bit. Will have to wait for the next range trip to see if the issue is fixed.

 

Took my wife to the range today so she could shoot her G43 for the first time. The results weren't too great. She could hardly hit a letter size sheet of paper at 7 yards. Bringing the target back to 3 yards revealed she was anticipating the recoil and shooting low. She got a little better after realizing what she was doing.

More troubling were the two failures we had, in only about 100 rounds. Both were repeats of the slide locking open with rounds still in the mag - once with her and once with me. She is a lefty, so no way she could have hit the slide stop lever. I will be calling Glock Monday and likely will be sending it in for service.

She tried my revolvers too. The SP101 (DAO) was a no go, she couldn't hardly pull the trigger. The LCR .38 was better, but even standard target ammo beat her up. Maybe light target WC loads would be better, but I didn't have any for her to try.

She shoots our G26 and G19 very well, despite her small hands. They are just a tad large for her to carry.

All in all, the G43 has been a major disappointment. If Glock can get it working, and she can learn to shoot it well, we will keep it. Otherwise it's gone. I have no further use for it...I'll take 5 rounds of .357 Mag for sure vs 7 rounds of 9mm maybe any time.

 

Has your wife tried a Shield in 9mm? Might be a good alternative to the G-43. My wife shoots my Shield very well!

 

Sounds like the G43 is less than suitable for carry... I personally do not like guns that small, but my father bought a G43, he likes it alright, and I've shot it when I go to the range with him, without any malfunctions fwiw, but he carries his G42 with mag extensions a lot more often because it seems to just be easier to shoot. The G43 is pretty snappy to me, and I'm a .40 guy...

Hope Glock straightens it out for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Called Glock today. The tech I spoke to said 5 failures in 500 rounds with 115 gr ammo was "not unusual!" :blink: This, after the last tech I spoke to said he never heard of a G43 locking open with rounds still in the mag. He proceeded to recommend 124 gr target ammo, which is next to impossible to find locally. He also said they would email me the return procedure via email - that was 8 hours ago, still nothing received.

He also said that if the gunsmith at the local gun store where I bought the gun (who tried fixing the issue by filing a little off the slide stop tab) isn't a "certified Glock armorer" that they would not fix any issues under warranty.

Needless to say, I am not a happy camper right now. I'm going to wait until tomorrow, call the gun store, and then maybe try my luck with Glock customer service again. Up until today, my experience with them has been great - but this really is piling-on at this point.

:banghead:

 

Spoke to a different tech today...Fed Ex call tag issued. I'll be sending it back to the mother ship. Fingers crossed

 

Good luck! :smile:

I have shot 3 different G43's with Gun Buddies while i wait for mine....over 1000 rounds between 3 guns and no problems. I hope they get yers running as well as the ones I have shot.

That said, SOP is to *never* modify a gun under warranty. Filing on the slide stop by anyone not authorized by Glock should be expected to void a warranty. Glad to see they are extending the fix without making an issue of it. Good stuff!

Got my fingers crossed for ya!

VooDoo

 

Yea, I get that. But the slide stop lever is like a $5 part. If I replace it with a new one, will it make a difference, in terms of the warranty? I can understand the warranty being voided by non reversible mods like chopping on the frame...but filing an easily replaced part? Baloney.

And the issue happened both before and after the filing was done, so it had zero impact either way.

Will see what happens...

 

Goes to show that it is just the nature of the beast with small super compact platforms. Everyone disses on Kahr, but my CM40 shoots as well as my full size Sig. Never one issue, over 1000 rounds now. Here we have a Glock "perfection" new sub compact having issues. Hopefully Glock can get it working.

 

good report..I like Glock is coming out with these single stacks though.. the big thick Brick/bad grip angle "regular" guns just dont fit my hand they are always canted off to the side in a natural grip..im always having to reposition the gun..(this is the ONLY gun currently on the market ive shot that does this to me lol). BUT that said the newer single stacks(and the slightly older Glock 36) actually fit my hand pretty decently..at least enough that IF I was in the market(and im not..dont gun buying for a while except for a SD gun for the wife ) id highly consider the single stack Glocks..so if your like me and glocks worst in industry grip+grip angle is a no go for you..actually TRY the single stacks they may change your mind .

 

Fed Ex confirmed it's back as of this morning. Will see what the Glock folks can figure out...

 

Hopefully they get it fixed soon. Mine has run everything I have put through it so far including plus p stuff. I have run 115s, 124s, and 147s. The 147s poa is a little high, the 124s have been low and the 115s have been dead on. I like a 6 oclock hold so I carry the 147s..

 

Well - if she's a lefty - how about the Walther PPS?

It's got a paddle mag release - fully ambidextrous - you can both use it.
It's thinner than the 43 - it'll fit a small or a large hand. If you have really big hands - throw on the big back strap.
You can use 8rd mags - or you know, 7. Or the 6. 6 makes it just a tad taller than your G26.
The pistol has been around for a long time - it's tested.

I really like my PPS for carry. I like my G26 too - but not in the summer. Good luck.

 

It would require serious retraining for both of us to get used to that style of mag release. Also, I don't like that the gun is disabled if the backstrap on the grip comes loose. It's a failure point I don't want on a defensive gun.

 

Glock 42.

Reliable and soft shooting.

You or her might not like .380 power, but it's better than a 9mm that won't run 100% with even
practice ammo.


I still think that a G26 is better than the G42 or G43 for belt carry, but am also considering the Glock 39...

as I love the Baby Glock sized guns and that BIG hole in the end is pretty cool looking.


I already have a bit of .45 GAP ammo that's sitting idle

 

I'd keep the 26 and use glock -17 magazines with the extension.Makes the 26 the exact size of Glock-19 .Two pistols for the price of one.

 

Our G26 isn't going anywhere.

 

Meanwhile, the trigger on my 43 is indistinguishable from the triggers on my two 19s, 26, and 30.

My experience too. Lots of people say the G43 trigger is heavier than other Glocks, but to me, it feels the same as my G26 and G19. I still carry the double stack guns quite a bit, but the G43 is just so easy to conceal under a t-shirt. I have about 500 rds through it so far and it has never missed a beat. I will say, that I decided a long time ago, that small 9mms don't like 115 grain ammo as much as heavier stuff. I shoot mostly reloads and I stick with 124 grain and 147 grain ammo.

10thmtn, I hope your G43 comes back good to go, because it's great little carry gun if you can get it to run like it should.

 

Well, the good news is that our G43 came back today.

The bad news is that there is absolutely nothing in the box to indicate what they did. I think they replaced the mags, as the followers show no wear and they seem really clean and new, but I cannot be sure.

Worse, is I fear the gun might not have been put back together correctly. With the slide open, the striker can move back and forth quite a bit, with the tip being able to protrude from the breech face. I checked all the other (three) Glocks we own, and none of them do that. So, if you have a G43, do me a favor and check if the striker has that much play normally when the slide is locked open...I just do not recall the gun rattling like that before.

I'm going to call Glock again tomorrow, and ask if they can tell me what they did, and if the gun was test fired (doesn't look like it...or they did a great job cleaning it).

Grrrrr.....

 

Worse, is I fear the gun might not have been put back together correctly. With the slide open, the striker can move back and forth quite a bit, with the tip being able to protrude from the breech face. I checked all the other (three) Glocks we own, and none of them do that. So, if you have a G43, do me a favor and check if the striker has that much play normally when the slide is locked open...I just do not recall the gun rattling like that before.

I'm going to call Glock again tomorrow, and ask if they can tell me what they did, and if the gun was test fired (doesn't look like it...or they did a great job cleaning it).

Grrrrr.....

10thmtn, Checked my G43 and have the same play in the striker when slide is open. I have around 1,000 rounds of 6 different brands of ammo through it and have not had a single issue with it. Comparing to my G26 Gen4, I like the G43 but, love the G26. The vast majority of G43 owners have reported similar results, that it runs flawlessly. Good luck as you work through the issues with it.

 

Ah, mystery solved...

The G43 frame has a vertical plastic protrusion that pushes up on the striker safety block when the slide is open. That's why the striker is moving freely. The other Glocks I have (30, 26, 19) don't have this. This probably explains why the striker safety block is different on this gun, versus the round shape of the other models.

Why this would be, I have no idea. But at least it would appear normal.

Still gonna call to find out what they did to it.

 

Called Glock, they replaced the mags and tested it by firing 24 rounds. The new mags are more tapered at the top, presumably to address the issue of the mag hanging up when being inserted.

Will have to to wait for a time I can get my wife back to the range to see if the new mags really address the issue of premature slide lock.