No I don't find recoil to be an issue with the G43 at all - but I'm often shooting larger calibers.

The gun is accurate and reliable, my only gripe is that with a modern thumbs forward grip I thumb the slide stop lever, and thus often find myself with a click instead of a bang when I am not counting my rounds fired (training issue).

Also of course not as easy to reload under stress as a compact or full size, but such is life.


-Freq

Sounds like I am glad I went with the Walther PPS M2. No recoil issues at all for me.

I think the G43 recoil is pretty mild. It's about the same as the LC9, PM9 and P938 for me. Nothing on it happens to jab or rub the wrong way or my hands or trigger finger, so I don't find it uncomfortable. I do notice the recoil more than I do with a PPS, Shield or XDS, which I guess makes sense since those are all heavier and closer to the G26's weight even though they're thinner.

Of course recoil is a very subjective thing but I find the G43 very tolerable. As for the Shields, I have the 9mm, the .40 and the .45 and I find them all surprisingly soft shooting for caliber. I have both the G43 and the .45 Shield in my carry rotation along with a Gen 5 G26 with G19 mag and X-Grip. And, now that we’re getting into Winter I will often carry one of my 1911’s. I have a Sig P365 with a Feb 2018 born on date but don’t trust it totally. Spent cases show primer drag but it’s been probably 500-600 rounds with only two malfunctions.

Yeah, it sure lets you know you aren't shooting a G42.

But after shooting it side by side with my Walther PPS, which I initially thought recoiled a lot less, it was very similar and not hard to shoot.

A grip sleeve or tape helps a bit as well.

I love my 43. It is comfortable to carry and shoot. What I am thankful for most of all, is that the tang is slightly larger on it and I don't get slide bite. I had a 42 and was amazed at how little recoil there was to it. Of course due to it's size, you wouldn't expect much but my 43 is not bad at all.

yes my 43 is snappy, I like my 365 much better it's really in between a 42 and 43.

Yeah it can be construed as being a bit snappy, but that's generally the nature of all of the guns that are built like the G43 (9mm/small/light/single-stack/striker). Some soften the blow a bit; to me the Shield is among the best at doing it, but there's still a large part of the gun populace that will describe even the best of the breed as being 'snappy' no matter what. What's surprising to me is the consistent reports about the 365 and how most find it less harsh than the larger G43 (myself having not shot a 365 yet). Then again I also feel that a Shield9 is softer on recoil than the noticeably heavier XDS9 I used to own.

I have a G43 and a M&P shield. I shoot both pretty well, but really prefer the M&P. The G43 is a little snappy. If you haven't tried the M&P shield, I highly recommend it. Before the shield I had a P239 as my EDC. I really like the P239, but the shield carries much smaller and shoots just as well.

Don't find the recoil of the 43 a problem. The problem is the trigger which is the worst of any pistol I own.