Had a short time after work yesterday to run some different defensive ammo through this thing.
- 21 rds Speer 124 GDHP
- 25 rds Federal Classic Hi-Shok 115 JHP
- 25 rds Fiocchi 124 XTPHP
- 25 rds Rem Golden Saber 124 +P BJHP
- 25 rds Win Ranger T 124 +P JHP



Pros:
- This little thing is surprisingly comfortable to shoot in terms of control and recoil. I was expecting it to squirm around in my hand, due to its relatively slick grip surface. But, that did not happen. Recoil is nothing, even with +P ammo.
- Trigger is noticeably improved over the older Gen Glocks, with less sponginess and cleaner break.
- Accurate enough for a little gun.

Cons:
- The serrated trigger sucks. Why Glock didn't use the smooth face trigger is a mystery to me.
- A few annoying brass to forehead. Don't know what that was about.
- Failure type 1: 1 Fiocchi round mid magazine stove piping.
- Failure type 2: 3 Winchester rounds nose diving hitting the feed ramp. All 3 rounds were the last round in the mag each.

---

Discussion/questions:
Obviously, I need to run more ammo through this thing. Just 121 rounds is not enough to say much. But still, the 4 failures concern me, especially the 3 Winchester Ranger T ones. All 3 identical failures, the last round in the mag hitting the feed ramp. What could be causing this? Weak mag spring? If that were the case, it should have happened with the other ammo, also. But, it didn't. Limp wristing? No, I made sure that wasn't the case.

Give me your thoughts. Thanks.

Serrated trigger does suck for training, agreed. My G43 has one but I swapped out all my G19 triggers to smooth ones.

Failures - were they from the same magazine of the two you have? Usually issues are ammo / mag related, so just something to watch. One of my G45 mags came without the locking plate in the bottom, so mistakes in assembly can happen (it didn't cause any failures, just saying it could be an upside down or kinked spring, etc).

BTF - I get the occasional one or two with my G19.4s. Not systemic, just part of life. The G45 slings brass consistently to 3 o'clock into the next county, however.

It would be interesting to see a photo of all the bullets lined up together if you still have qty of each. Does the Ranger T have a significantly blunter profile? Or significantly shorter OAL.

Please get on this ASAP. We expect a full report with a high definition photo layout within 24 hours.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Serrated trigger does suck for training, agreed. My G43 has one but I swapped out all my G19 triggers to smooth ones.

Failures - were they from the same magazine of the two you have? Usually issues are ammo / mag related, so just something to watch. One of my G45 mags came without the locking plate in the bottom, so mistakes in assembly can happen (it didn't cause any failures, just saying it could be an upside down or kinked spring, etc).

BTF - I get the occasional one or two with my G19.4s. Not systemic, just part of life. The G45 slings brass consistently to 3 o'clock into the next county, however.

The 3 Winchester failures are from both mags.

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter01:
It would be interesting to see a photo of all the bullets lined up together if you still have qty of each. Does the Ranger T have a significantly blunter profile? Or significantly shorter OAL.

Please get on this ASAP. We expect a full report with a high definition photo layout within 24 hours.

Still have some of each. Will get the line-up pic later on this evening. Kind of tied up at the moment.

Sounds like a weak spring but shouldn’t be the case with a new gun. Maybe confirm they are put together correctly. Is the feed ramp smooth and free of burrs/gouges? Is the OAL of the winchesters more than the other rounds?

I never had any rounds fail to feed or stove pipe, but I had a few that felt like they were slower to go into full battery if that makes sense. Functioned like it should, but slow to do so. After that 250 ish mark, it seemed to completely go away. Now it's running smooth as a Glock normally does. I'm curious if it had something to do with the finish on the slide? Just spitballing.

I'm with you on the trigger shoe. Drives me bat shit crazy. I ordered a Kineti-Tech trigger with factory bar to drop in.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
The serrated trigger sucks. Why Glock didn't use the smooth face trigger is a mystery to me.

The serrated trigger is a byproduct of import requirements.

The G43Xs are made in Austria. In order for a handgun to be imported into the US, the manufacturer has to jump through a bunch of hoops, one of which is scoring enough "points" on the ATF's byzantine scoring system. See https://www.atf.gov/file/61591/download

In order to get ATF approval for import, a semiauto handgun has to score at least 75 points, based on the following criteria:

quote:

Length: 1 point for each 0.25" over 6"
Frame: 15 points for steel, and 20 points for alloy
Weight: 1 point per ounce
Caliber: 3 points for 22LR through .380, and 10 points for 9mm and up.
Locked breech: 5 points
Loaded chamber indicator: 5 points
Grip safety: 5 points
Magazine safety: 5 points
Firing pin block: 10 points
External hammer: 2 points
Double action: 10 points
Driftable "target sights": 5 points
Adjustable "target sights": 10 points
Target grips: 5 points
Target trigger: 2 points

Glock's serrated trigger is technically considered a "target trigger". This is why the smaller and lighter imported Glocks have serrated triggers for extra points, while the larger and heavier Glocks have a smooth trigger since they don't need any extra points from the trigger.

Some Glocks are also imported with cheap adjustable "target sights" for extra points, and then swapped out for fixed sights stateside.

^
Maybe they should expand the production facilities in Smyrna, and just build them in the US? No point issues that way.

The serrated trigger is my only gripe on the 43x and mine seems particularly bad. I'll need to take some sandpaper to it soon and know off the edges.

Is it a bondage thing?


Still have some of each. Will get the line-up pic later on this evening. Kind of tied up at the moment. [/QUOTE]

quote:

Originally posted by Ironmike57:
Is it a bondage thing?


Still have some of each. Will get the line-up pic later on this evening. Kind of tied up at the moment.

[/QUOTE]

Don't be judgmental of the man. You don't know what its like until you've walked a mile in his ball gag.

I got rid of the serrated trigger on my G43 after a few thousand rounds, and went with the Precision Overwatch Falx. Much more comfortable.

The Ranger T 147 gr. is the only ammo that gave me problems in my G43 and Walther PPS M2. There’s something about the nose profile that just doesn’t jive with the micro guns. However, it worked great in my 365 until the firing pin snapped.

Apex Blue line trigger on order
Talon grip on order
Vickers tactical slide stop on its way.
I went with the G48.
Came with Ameriglo sites-really like them.

Well not based on anything scientific but if I had to choose a round that would be likely to not feed correctly from a visual inspection only it would be the Winchester Ranger T.

Does the tip of the bullet rub on inside surface of the mag at all?

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter01:
Well not based on anything scientific but if I had to choose a round that would be likely to not feed correctly from a visual inspection only it would be the Winchester Ranger T.

I agree, because you will note the end of its bullet flaring out just a little, in contrast to the other brands curving inward.

quote:

Does the tip of the bullet rub on inside surface of the mag at all?

No.

I'll shoot them some more later to see if the failure continues consistently.

You guys are killing me. Even this not quite stellar initial review makes me want a G48.

The nose profile of that Winchester round is kind of strange. I can't imagine the positives of that profile outweigh the possible negatives.

Thanks for the review and pictures Q.

We had some issues with the 147gr Ranger hanging on the feed ramp in our small 9mm guns (Glock/S&W/SIG). We switched to the 124gr+P and haven't had any issues.

That is why I have stayed with the Federal 9BP shown here. Accurate and reliable. I know there are more technically advanced bullets but I don't want to have to buy and shoot enough to prove The Bullet of the Month in several different guns.