What is the Preferred Holster for a Glock 43?

With nearly five years being the undisputed market leader, Glock at long last gave Mr. Gaston Glock a glass of something and got their G42 .380 model in the marketplace. The Glock 42 became a success  on its own, however the market wished for a 9mm, plus they wanted it loudly. With all the success of the G42, the Glock 43 9mm came along in short order ready to stand upon the status of the Glock brand.

The G43 controls are classic Glock, through and through, with a concentration on the Gen 4 architecture. The slide stop is located on the left, though one would argue its now just a authentic slide stop. Its positioning and small dimension aren't conducive to a release. The magazine release is square and reversible for a lefty shooter. The rest is just traditional “Glock” , from the feel of the polymer frame to the Tenifer finish on the barrel and slide. The extractor doubles as a loaded chamber indicator and the sights are standard Glock stock sights. Regrettably, Glock opted not to equip the Glock 43 with a picatinny rail.

The pistol tips the scales at just under 18 ounces unloaded. Its all round length is 6.26" with a height of 4.25" at the rear sight with a factory flat-based magazine is installed. This pistol is listed as being 1.02"  wide, but the only point on it which is actually 1.02"  specifically at the slide lock. The slide itself is only 0.87" wide, even though the frame is between 0.90"  and 0.92"  depending on the measurement location.

The sights are traditional Glock layout with a front white dot and a rear u-shaped sight. On a personal level, I’ve never really been a lover of the Glock standard sights, finding them challenging to rapidly acquire in low-light conditions. I recommend replacing them out for something that is more luminescent in low light.

My one minor complaint on the G43 is the same concern I've got with most every Glock handgun, only more so with the Glock 43, and it's this: the grip texture is pointless. According to Glock“the aggressive texture of the grip lets the shooter more easily operate the pistol”. While I understand the marketing concepts behind the Glock line (of which, I am a big fan), for me personally, I find the grip texture very ineffective. My personal opinion is that the G43 9mm needs either an added rubber or tacky grips, or a stipple job.

It’s a very “shootable” pistol, and I have spent quite a bit of time running drills and smacking steel plates. As with most Glock versions, I have to slightly adjust my grip to the grip angle if I have been shooting other handgun brands.

Listed below are a number of popular gun holster related questions that I've seen asked in several gun discussion boards in connection with the G43:

#1 - Will the G43 work with a holster designed for the G42?

The short answer is no a G43 is not going to fit into a gun holster made for a G42. Even though they are similarly sized, the dimensions on the two handgun versions are too different.

#2 - Does anyone make a holster designed to fit a Glock 43 with a laser attached?

The answer to that question depends on what laser type or laser light version is installed on the G43. At present, Glock isn't offering a factory laser or light choice so all the existing laser or light options for the G43 are aftermarket solutions. The most common aftermarket brands of lasers that are offered for the G43 are Crimson Trace, LaserMax, and Laserlyte. Each one of these brands offers a different laser and each one has unique dimensions so a quality holster will need to be specifically made to fit the Glock 43 and that specific laser to ensure a good fit. There's a link towards the bottom of this write-up that leads to an excelletn location to purchase these types of speciality holsters for the Glock 43.

Glock 43 Gun Holster