WHAT'S SHIPPING: Glock Model 43, 9x19mm

[ST911]

UPDATE

+307 rounds, no malfunctions. Added one new load, Ruger’s 80gr ARX +P from PolyCase. The ARX was POA/POI to 10yds, with a flat and smooth recoil impulse. The new, revised OEM connector installed and discussed a few entries ago has also smoothed out even further.

Number of shooters: 63
Cumulative round count: 4009

Updated ammo list:

Ammunition used (43):
*812rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr FMJ (BHA brass)
50rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr GDHP +P (Starline brass)
30rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr TAC-XP +P (Win brass)
140rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr TAC-XP +P (BHA brass)
12rds Black Hills Ammunition 124gr FMJ Reman
187rds Black Hills Ammunition 124 JHP-XTP (BHA brass)
100rds Black Hills Ammunition 124gr JHP-XTP +P (BHA brass)

26rds Federal 100gr RHT lead free frangible
424rds Federal 115 FMJ (aluminum case)
50rds Federal Champion 115gr FMJ
50rds Federal 124gr Hydra-Shok
*150rds Federal 147gr JHP
50rds Federal 147gr Hydra-Shok
4rds Federal 147 HST
100rds Speer Lawman 115 TMJ
70rds Speer Lawman 124 TMJ
100rds Speer Lawman 147 TMJ
62rds American Eagle 115 FMJ
50rds American Eagle 124gr FMJ
50rds American Eagle 147 FMJ
50rds CCI Blazer Brass 115 FMJ

100rds Corbon 115gr FMJ (Starline brass)
40rds Corbon 100gr +P Pow’RBall
50rds Corbon 147gr FMJ

46rds Remington 100gr Disintegrator lead free frangible
50rds Remington UMC 115gr MC
50rds Remington UMC 147 FMJ

50rds Winchester Mk254 Mod 0 Frangible
79rds Winchester 115 FMJ (WWB)

25rds Ruger 80 ARX +P (PolyCase)
50rds Magtech 115 FMC
50rds Herters (S&B) 115 FMJ
62rds PMC Bronze 115 FMJ
87rds Freedom Munitions 115 FMJ
50rds Herters-Tula 115 FMJ (steel case)
*116rds International Cartridge Company 100gr lead free frangible
50rds Fiocchi 115gr FMJ
55rds Northern Hills Ammunition 115 FMJ reman
25rds Hornady Critical Defense 115 FTX

46rds test load, 3/21
*200rds test load, 6/11
111rds test load, 7/30, 12/17
50rds test load, 7/30

[SeriousStudent]

I'm going to go ahead and grab one of these next month from GT Distributors. Hopefully, mine will have the newish parts.

[ST911]

UPDATE

+236 rounds. I found some Fed 147 JHP (9MS) on my shelf and decided to revisit this load, as it had been previously involved in a stoppage in 2015. A female shooter at the time had a slight out of battery condition and light strike within the first 50 rounds of that load. 200 rounds of 9MS were fired in this session without issue. I also fired 36rds of the 147 HSTs for POI and recoil comparison to the 9MS. I didn’t realize I fired so few rounds of HST as a whole, and will add that to the list of stuff to shoot.

Number of shooters: 63
Cumulative round count: 4245

Updated ammo list:

Ammunition used (43):
*812rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr FMJ (BHA brass)
50rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr GDHP +P (Starline brass)
30rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr TAC-XP +P (Win brass)
140rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr TAC-XP +P (BHA brass)
12rds Black Hills Ammunition 124gr FMJ Reman
187rds Black Hills Ammunition 124 JHP-XTP (BHA brass)
100rds Black Hills Ammunition 124gr JHP-XTP +P (BHA brass)

26rds Federal 100gr RHT lead free frangible
424rds Federal 115 FMJ (aluminum case)
50rds Federal Champion 115gr FMJ
50rds Federal 124gr Hydra-Shok
*350rds Federal 147gr JHP
50rds Federal 147gr Hydra-Shok
40rds Federal 147 HST
100rds Speer Lawman 115 TMJ
70rds Speer Lawman 124 TMJ
100rds Speer Lawman 147 TMJ
62rds American Eagle 115 FMJ
50rds American Eagle 124gr FMJ
50rds American Eagle 147 FMJ
50rds CCI Blazer Brass 115 FMJ

100rds Corbon 115gr FMJ (Starline brass)
40rds Corbon 100gr +P Pow’RBall
50rds Corbon 147gr FMJ

46rds Remington 100gr Disintegrator lead free frangible
50rds Remington UMC 115gr MC
50rds Remington UMC 147 FMJ

50rds Winchester Mk254 Mod 0 Frangible
79rds Winchester 115 FMJ (WWB)

25rds Ruger 80 ARX +P (PolyCase)
50rds Magtech 115 FMC
50rds Herters (S&B) 115 FMJ
62rds PMC Bronze 115 FMJ
87rds Freedom Munitions 115 FMJ
50rds Herters-Tula 115 FMJ (steel case)
*116rds International Cartridge Company 100gr lead free frangible
50rds Fiocchi 115gr FMJ
55rds Northern Hills Ammunition 115 FMJ reman
25rds Hornady Critical Defense 115 FTX

46rds test load, 3/21
*200rds test load, 6/11
111rds test load, 7/30, 12/17
50rds test load, 7/30

[3ACR_Scout]

Lots of great information in this thread as I consider the G43 - thanks for keeping it going. Any chance you could run some Gold Dots through it? I normally use 147gr GDHPs but also keep some 124gr on hand. I see that you put some Lawman through it but also noted that someone mentioned a failure to feed (I think) with GDHPs on the previous page.

Have you tested any of the aftermarket mag extensions, or are you sticking with factory mags for testing purposes? I'm particularly interested in the Pierce +1 and Tango Down +2, as I've seen positive reviews of both. Thanks!

[T2C]

Lots of great information in this thread as I consider the G43 - thanks for keeping it going. Any chance you could run some Gold Dots through it? I normally use 147gr GDHPs but also keep some 124gr on hand. I see that you put some Lawman through it but also noted that someone mentioned a failure to feed (I think) with GDHPs on the previous page.

Have you tested any of the aftermarket mag extensions, or are you sticking with factory mags for testing purposes? I'm particularly interested in the Pierce +1 and Tango Down +2, as I've seen positive reviews of both. Thanks!

I had feeding issues with the GDHP. My Glock 43 would have an occasional failure to feed on the last round in the magazine when firing 147g Gold Dot HP. The front of the cartridge would hang up on the inside of the magazine. Everything else fed reliably.

[ST911]

Lots of great information in this thread as I consider the G43 - thanks for keeping it going. Any chance you could run some Gold Dots through it? I normally use 147gr GDHPs but also keep some 124gr on hand. I see that you put some Lawman through it but also noted that someone mentioned a failure to feed (I think) with GDHPs on the previous page.

I had feeding issues with the GDHP. My Glock 43 would have an occasional failure to feed on the last round in the magazine when firing 147g Gold Dot HP. The front of the cartridge would hang up on the inside of the magazine. Everything else fed reliably.

The only GDHPs I've run so far have been the BHA 115 +P GDHPs. I think I have some 147s around here and can shoot them too. In the interim, other 147s to date:

*350rds Federal 147gr JHP
50rds Federal 147gr Hydra-Shok
40rds Federal 147 HST
100rds Speer Lawman 147 TMJ
50rds American Eagle 147 FMJ
50rds Corbon 147gr FMJ
50rds Remington UMC 147 FMJ

Have you tested any of the aftermarket mag extensions, or are you sticking with factory mags for testing purposes? I'm particularly interested in the Pierce +1 and Tango Down +2, as I've seen positive reviews of both. Thanks!

No aftermarket parts at all, and I only plan to consider sights. Extended mags and pinky extensions don't work well for me, so I haven't bothered with those at all other than those jettisoned from the OEM mags.

[ST911]

UPDATE

+150 rounds of Speer Gold Dot 147gr G2, sku 54226. Sorry, I didn’t have any of the legacy GDHPs in 147. There were no malfunctions. Recoil was mild. An audible crack reminded me a bit of the 115gr Lawman and GDHP. Rounds hit as much to POA as I could group them out to 25yds. Visually, the G2 is at or near maximum length for the G43 magazine. I’ll measure and compare to the OAL of some other loads later.

Number of shooters: 63
Cumulative round count: 4395

Updated ammo list:

Ammunition used (44):
*812rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr FMJ (BHA brass)
50rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr GDHP +P (Starline brass)
30rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr TAC-XP +P (Win brass)
140rds Black Hills Ammunition 115gr TAC-XP +P (BHA brass)
12rds Black Hills Ammunition 124gr FMJ Reman
187rds Black Hills Ammunition 124 JHP-XTP (BHA brass)
100rds Black Hills Ammunition 124gr JHP-XTP +P (BHA brass)

26rds Federal 100gr RHT lead free frangible
424rds Federal 115 FMJ (aluminum case)
50rds Federal Champion 115gr FMJ
50rds Federal 124gr Hydra-Shok
*350rds Federal 147gr JHP
50rds Federal 147gr Hydra-Shok
40rds Federal 147 HST
100rds Speer Lawman 115 TMJ
70rds Speer Lawman 124 TMJ
100rds Speer Lawman 147 TMJ
150rds Speer GDHP G2
62rds American Eagle 115 FMJ
50rds American Eagle 124gr FMJ
50rds American Eagle 147 FMJ
50rds CCI Blazer Brass 115 FMJ

100rds Corbon 115gr FMJ (Starline brass)
40rds Corbon 100gr +P Pow’RBall
50rds Corbon 147gr FMJ

46rds Remington 100gr Disintegrator lead free frangible
50rds Remington UMC 115gr MC
50rds Remington UMC 147 FMJ

50rds Winchester Mk254 Mod 0 Frangible
79rds Winchester 115 FMJ (WWB)

25rds Ruger 80 ARX +P (PolyCase)
50rds Magtech 115 FMC
50rds Herters (S&B) 115 FMJ
62rds PMC Bronze 115 FMJ
87rds Freedom Munitions 115 FMJ
50rds Herters-Tula 115 FMJ (steel case)
*116rds International Cartridge Company 100gr lead free frangible
50rds Fiocchi 115gr FMJ
55rds Northern Hills Ammunition 115 FMJ reman
25rds Hornady Critical Defense 115 FTX

46rds test load, 3/21
*200rds test load, 6/11
111rds test load, 7/30, 12/17
50rds test load, 7/30

[Ryster88]

Glad that I stumbled across this thread, been bouncing back and forth between a S&W Shield 9 and the 43 and I think after reading the thread the 43 will be the next purchase.

[BufordTJustice]

ST, I just wanted to take the time to thank you for doing this. I had been rocking the ghost connector in my wife's 43 because it was vastly superior to the factory setup.

This new Glock connector really does optimize the trigger pull and is very nearly as light as the ghost. I mean, it's still heavier than my broken-in G21 gen4 duty gun, but it's now a damn good trigger. Thank you for all of the work you've put into documenting this. Without that work, I wouldn't have paid this connector a second thought.

[3ACR_Scout]

Thanks a lot for following up with the Gold Dots. The G2 line doesn't appear to have very good terminal performance, but I believe the dimensions are the same, so standard GDHPs should function the same. I'm dying to pick up a G43 but blew the budget over the holidays, so I'll have to wait a couple more months.