Sidearms & Scatterguns Glock 43x MOS vs G19

[redneckbmxer24]

I would be my life that they could appropriately engineer the G43x to hold 15 rounds (or close to it), if the desire to do so was there.

I just can't stand products that could be better. Scrape every ounce of potential out of the system. Leave nothing on the table.

They did that first and it’s called the G19. Glocks work the way they do and the mags work as well as they do because of how they’re designed. No they can’t shrink the grip width while maintaining the same grip length but also maintain the same amount of rounds with the same design, it’s not possible. The mags are very robust and hold up because of how they’re made, changing that would be retarded. If Glock could have made it hold more rounds in that size they would have.

If you have it in your head that 15 rounds is the amount of rounds that you need to have in a mag then the G43X isn’t for you unless you want to run unreliable aftermarket mags.

 

[gigamortis]

Be careful what you wish for with aftermarket glock magazines that hold more rounds than factory design. If the internal width is increased to hold more rounds, the angle of how one round bears against the one above it will add more sideways force at the expense of upward force. This makes more friction against the sidewalls for the rounds to slide against. Add in a little dust and dirt and the rise of the stack of rounds can be a little slower.

 

[UpSideDown]

Glock chose a 10rd capacity vs a 12-15rd capacity likely because of the brand. It’s glock, it’s seen as the ultimate in reliability. It’s really hard to mess up with a Glock. It’s a lot easier to mess up loading the magazine in certain other pistols and stick a round vertical, or drop a magazine in practice and have the spring go slack and round turn in the mag. Sure it is ideal to load attentively and to know they a dropped mag can have issues if not unloaded/reloaded, but people still do it, and by probably playing hard on the margin of reliability and making other sacrifices glock ended up at this solution.

There’s lots of handgun options out there now for different preferences.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

Glock chose a 10rd capacity vs a 12-15rd capacity likely because of the brand. It’s glock, it’s seen as the ultimate in reliability. It’s really hard to mess up with a Glock. It’s a lot easier to mess up loading the magazine in certain other pistols and stick a round vertical, or drop a magazine in practice and have the spring go slack and round turn in the mag. Sure it is ideal to load attentively and to know they a dropped mag can have issues if not unloaded/reloaded, but people still do it, and by probably playing hard on the margin of reliability and making other sacrifices glock ended up at this solution.

There’s lots of handgun options out there now for different preferences.

What you just posted makes absolutely zero fucking sense.

 

[UpSideDown]

What you just posted makes absolutely zero fucking sense.

Glock could fit 15rds into that gun, Shield proved it. Glock chose to err on the side of reliability instead of maximum capacity.

 

[912173]

The glock 19 came out in 1988 (Yes there are different generations of it). I'm not a glock fanboy, but I bought one because I approached it as emergency life saving equipment and the track record gives me the warm fuzzies. The best gun in the world will jam if the magazine is little off, although there are plenty of happy Shield mag users. I'm also using standard speer gold dot because of decades of LE use and I will not be messing with triggers or internals. Mostly I'm trying to stack as much reliability in my favor as possible to offset my generally shitty luck . Now I just need go take some more courses and burn piles of 9mm!

 

[Milf Dots]

I've said it before- the 43x is a very good subbish- compact pistol and holds ten rounds. It competes directly against the 12+1 rounds p365xl in size, and the 10+1 rounds S&W Shield Plus.

The smaller G43 is the competition for the P365 in size. If the 43x/48 doesn't have enough mag capacity one can step up to the great, proven G26- which gains you the benefit of G19/G17 mag compatibility.

I don't remember a time when it was okay to use the specs of an aftermarket mag to prop up a particular pistol's mag capacity to make it seem more appealing.

 

[jeffl838]

I seriously doubt that it's an issue with heat (any quality spring material should withstand temperatures that would cause problems for the gun's plastic bits), but it's quite possible that there is simply too much strain occuring in the spring wire due to the amount of travel required to pack 15 rounds in a narrow(er) magazine.

It's often wise to remember that:
1) OE engineers aren't dumb and limited the stock magazine to 10 rounds for reasons
2) There's no such thing as a free lunch

I've yet to encounter problems with the S15 magazines, but if/when I do, I'll look at the spring first - thanks for the tip.

Also worth noting:

Shield Arms - Shield Arms Spring for Life Program

Shield Arms Spring for Life Program - free replacement magazine springs for your Shield Arms Magazine Extension, for life.

shieldarms.com

The spring for life thing is cool and I wouldn’t mind it but I was wearing them out so fast where I would have been playing musical springs once a month or so. I was shooting this gun a lot though, I really wanted to make it work. To SA’s credit, they gave me a set of springs so that I could rotate them when I turned a worn set in for replacement. This wasn’t acceptable for me since I’ve had mags for other guns that I’ve had in there for several years with a similar if not higher rate of use with no need for replacement

 

[tucaz]

Thanks for the writeup.

You're the first person I saw that mentioned the SA 15 round mags not being good. Kind of bummed about that. Need to look at them more I guess.

i had a shield arms 15 round mag and the metal catch and had issues with feeding. seems like it was more than just one mag too.

my buddy bought one of the first ones out and has had zero issues and he had more round thru it than me.

 

[treillw]

Wonder how the Sig 365 Macro changes this conversation. Any feedback on them? Any new developments on the 43x aftermarket mag front? There was another brand slated to make 43x mags, but I don't recall who.

 

[415m3]

I might be able to add a little info here for you. I own and carry a 43x, 365XL, and 365 Macro - here are my impressions in a nutshell:

43x: I used to carry this daily AIWB with stock 10rd mags when I wanted a light slim pistol. No optics. The MOS system with a plate and RMRcc just sits too high. I'm actually not a fan of the MOS system but that's another discussion. I didn't like the Shield mags for it and haven't done anything aftermarket. It's reliable, easy to shoot, and easy to wear due to the 10rd capacity. Extra rounds get heavy.

365XL: I love the trigger on this, but never really got comfortable with the grip angle and the grip width (I have large hands). I put Magguts springs and baseplates on the mags so they are 14rds and these have been 100% reliable. I mounted a 507K to it and have been very happy with if for many many rounds. A while back I picked up the Wilson Combat grip module and it was dramatically better. Love the way it feels in the hand and the way it shoots. I thought I was done and had found my EDC.

365 Macro: Then I found one of these. The integral comp really does make it a flat shooting pistol and it's very comfortable in the hand. More comfortable to wear than the G19 (too thick for EDC carry IMHO). The grip is a nice width and angle, but with 17+1 its a little long and prints in light shirts. Thank you SIG for making these modular....In a stroke of genius, I put the Macro slide on the Wilson grip module and it was as if the clouds parted and angels sang. It's light, flat shooting, thick enough for my mitts but not too thick, and carries like a dream. I've got 14+1 and it's been 100% reliable.

The only issue I run into now is holsters. Some index off the slide and some index off the trigger guard so it's been hit and miss to find a couple that fit my franken-gun but I've got that sorted out now. See below.

 

[treillw]

I might be able to add a little info here for you. I own and carry a 43x, 365XL, and 365 Macro - here are my impressions in a nutshell:

43x: I used to carry this daily AIWB with stock 10rd mags when I wanted a light slim pistol. No optics. The MOS system with a plate and RMRcc just sits too high. I'm actually not a fan of the MOS system but that's another discussion. I didn't like the Shield mags for it and haven't done anything aftermarket. It's reliable, easy to shoot, and easy to wear due to the 10rd capacity. Extra rounds get heavy.

365XL: I love the trigger on this, but never really got comfortable with the grip angle and the grip width (I have large hands). I put Magguts springs and baseplates on the mags so they are 14rds and these have been 100% reliable. I mounted a 507K to it and have been very happy with if for many many rounds. A while back I picked up the Wilson Combat grip module and it was dramatically better. Love the way it feels in the hand and the way it shoots. I thought I was done and had found my EDC.

365 Macro: Then I found one of these. The integral comp really does make it a flat shooting pistol and it's very comfortable in the hand. More comfortable to wear than the G19 (too thick for EDC carry IMHO). The grip is a nice width and angle, but with 17+1 its a little long and prints in light shirts. Thank you SIG for making these modular....In a stroke of genius, I put the Macro slide on the Wilson grip module and it was as if the clouds parted and angels sang. It's light, flat shooting, thick enough for my mitts but not too thick, and carries like a dream. I've got 14+1 and it's been 100% reliable.

The only issue I run into now is holsters. Some index off the slide and some index off the trigger guard so it's been hit and miss to find a couple that fit my franken-gun but I've got that sorted out now. See below.

So the macro slide fits on the Wilson xl lower and the macro slide is just a little longer than the xl?

Looks very nice.

Wilson should just make their own gun in this class

 

[415m3]

Actually the 365 XL and 365 Macro slides are the same length. The Macro slide is a tiny bit thicker in overall profile, while the barrel is a little shorter within the slide to allow for the integral comp cuts

 

[SWWI Shooter]

Thanks for the writeup.

You're the first person I saw that mentioned the SA 15 round mags not being good. Kind of bummed about that. Need to look at them more I guess.

I have 3 (one new) plus their mag release. If you want to try them out, I'll give you a good deal. Based on my research, it is the Glock specs that cause some to function flawlessly and some not so much. ( I don't want to argue about this- just what I can gather). In my pistol it was the "not so much". I sent the used ones back to SA and they said there is nothing wrong with them.