I have a Glock Slimline frame sitting around doing nothing. I am going to purchase a complete slide to finish the pistol and was wondering what the board opinion was comparing the 43x to the 48. I have a 43x for my EDC and I am looking for comments from members that have one or both of these pistols. What the Hell, if you only have an opinion, chime in.

Between the two, I picked the 43x for more concealability. Then the P365 caught my attention, and the rest is history.

quote:

Originally posted by JWF:
I have a Glock Slimline frame sitting around doing nothing. I am going to purchase a complete slide to finish the pistol and was wondering what the board opinion was comparing the 43x to the 48. I have a 43x for my EDC and I am looking for comments from members that have one or both of these pistols. What the Hell, if you only have an opinion, chime in.

I went thru that myself and actually wound up with two different uppers - a regular 43 with irons and a 43X MOS that I added an EPS carry and a Radiant Ramjet to. That one is now the length of a 48.

Q, thanks for the comment. The one reason I stay with Glocks over others is the simplicity of care and cleaning. Why I like 1911’s and Glocks over others. My old fingers are not compatible with small parts.

storming, not a true comparison but shooting the 43 against the 43x w/Ramjet, what are your thoughts?

I went G48. The frame size is the same. The 48 applies more “keel” and is more stable carrying the 4 inch barrel is pretty much what every hollow point is designed to work from.

I’ve been extremely happy with my 48.

quote:

Originally posted by JWF:
storming, not a true comparison but shooting the 43 against the 43x w/Ramjet, what are your thoughts?

I never really had any issues shooting an OG 43 or a 43X with the standard slide. The recoil is fine for me and I use a Hogue Handall Jr on my frames, so I’m very happy with my grip.

That being said, I got a PMM barrel and comp a while ago that I used with my OG 43 slide. I was shocked how big of a difference it made - it literally felt like I was shooting a 22 LR. I did absolutely hate the fact that removing and reinstalling the PMM system in the slide is a total PITA because of how you have to re-time the comp. That eventually drove me nuts, so I put the OG 43 slide back to stock and got the Radian system for my 43X MOS slide. It works every bit as well as the PMM does, but now I have the optic and the comp on the same upper. My OG 43 slide is what I usually carry and the 43X MOS slide sees mostly range time.

quote:

Originally posted by cslinger:
I went G48. The frame size is the same. The 48 applies more “keel” and is more stable carrying the 4 inch barrel is pretty much what every hollow point is designed to work from.

I’ve been extremely happy with my 48.

48 for this reason. I think people underestimate the usefulness of a slightly longer slide in keeping the gun from tipping out.

I have both, and I previously had a 43x with a PMM comp (so the same size and approx weight of the 48). If you can conceal the 48, that would be my recommendation. I'm not a big dude and I can conceal both, but of course the 43x is easier.

When it comes to shooting, the 43x is an accurate little gun, but I shoot the 48 better.

I also shot the 48 better and kept it - it carries well for me.

Nowadays, the primary difference between handguns like these with the same size frame but slightly different barrel/slide length is the felt recoil impulse, which is a personal preference thing. Some folks prefer the impulse of the shorter slides, while others prefer the impulse of the longer slides.

(For example, while I haven't shot the G43X and G48 side by side for comparison, I prefer the recoil impulse of the shorter slide P365X over the P365XL and the shorter slide G45 over the G17.)


Concealability is only very slightly different, mainly if carrying OWB with a short cover garment, but the grip length tends to matter more than the barrel length when it comes to concealability and that is identical.

The performance difference from 0.76" more/less in barrel length is negligible. Modern defensive loads will perform well with either barrel.

And when used a red dot, sight radius isn't a factor. Even when shooting irons, 0.76" difference means it's only an extremely minor factor.



So basically, shoot a G48 and your G43X side by side if you can, to see if you have a preference for one recoil impulse over another. Everything else is effectively a wash.

Thanks to all responders, G48 slide is inbound.

Good choice on the 48 slide. I don't have a 48 slide but do have a comped 43 slide, with a dot on it, that makes it 48 length. I also bought a frame and debated which to go with. But as soon as I found out that my regular 43 slide would fit on it, the choice was simple. Get the longer length slide so I can have both.

I have a 43 and 48, for a while swapped the 48 frame with the Talo 43 upper for a home made 43X before the X was a thing.

Both sit in the safe after I got the Ruger LCP 380 Max, more rounds than the 43 and less weight than the 43X....

Got notice from my dealer that he no longer had g48 slides in stock. I found some dealers on the web but one order was stopped by PayPal as a suspected scam and the other was just a little too slick for me to be comfortable with, would not show location on web site.

Might just bite the bullet and order another g43x slide.

Aftermarket slides are an option as well, if you're having trouble finding a factory slide in stock.

You can usually find them all over Gunbroker if there’s nothing locally.

Most after market slides I have seen, with the cutout and such, are (in my opinion) butt ugly. I have looked on gunbroker and others and found that they really value their products.

Before he checked his stock, my dealer offered the g48 slide for $299, a 43x is $339, much more than that and I would buy a whole pistol at blue label prices.

I do appreciate all of the suggestions and comments from all the responders, I will just keep looking to find an OEM slide.