The Glock 43 vs Glock 43X question comes up at my counter about once a week, usually from someone buying their first carry gun. I’m Lance Rankin, owner of Western Sport in Roanoke, Texas, and I’ve sold and worked on plenty of both. The short version: they share a slide length and a slim profile, and the whole decision comes down to the grip. Here’s the longer version.
Glock 43 vs Glock 43X: what’s actually different
The Glock 43 is the original Slimline single-stack 9mm: six rounds in the magazine, a short grip that most people can’t get their pinky on without an extension, and about as little gun as you can carry while still having a real 9mm.
The 43X keeps essentially the same slide and barrel length but stretches the frame. That buys you a 10-round magazine and a full-hand grip. Height is the only dimension that changes in a way you’ll notice, a bit under an inch, and that inch is the entire argument.
Shooting them back to back
Put both on the range and the 43X wins, no contest. The longer grip gives your whole hand something to hold, so the gun squirms less, muzzle flip is easier to manage, and follow-up shots come faster. The 43 is perfectly shootable, but it’s a two-finger gun for a lot of hands, and light snappy pistols punish loose grips. New shooters especially tend to shoot the 43X noticeably better within one box of ammo.
Capacity tells the same story. Six plus one versus ten plus one isn’t a small gap. And no, the magazines don’t interchange; the 43X shares mags with the Glock 48, not the 43.
Carrying them
Here’s where the 43 earns its keep in the Glock 43 vs Glock 43X comparison. In concealment, grip length is what prints, not barrel length. The muzzle points down along your body where nobody sees it; the grip is what pokes through a fitted shirt when you bend over. If you dress light, carry in athletic wear, or occasionally pocket-carry in a proper trigger-covering holster, the 43’s shorter grip disappears in ways the 43X won’t.
For most people in normal clothes carrying inside the waistband, the 43X hides almost as well and shoots much better. That’s why it outsells the 43 at my shop by a wide margin. But “almost as well” isn’t “as well,” and the customer who’s tried both usually knows immediately which trade-off they care about.
Optics, lights, and upgrades
The 43X MOS comes factory-cut for micro red dots and has a short accessory rail for a compact light, and that’s the configuration I’d steer most buyers toward today. A dot on a small pistol is a real advantage once you train with it. The standard 43 makes do with iron sights, though good aftermarket night sights fix the factory plastic ones on either gun.
The two 43X builds that move fastest off my shelf are the Glock 43X COA with the Aimpoint ACRO already mounted, which takes the optic-plate guesswork out of it, and the threaded-barrel 43X Hush Puppy with suppressor-height sights for anyone planning to run a can on it.
One gunsmith’s note on the popular Shield Arms steel magazines that push the 43X to 15 rounds: they work, plenty of my customers run them, but pair them with the metal magazine catch as recommended. Steel mags against the factory polymer catch will wear it. That’s a ten-minute install we do at the shop all the time.
My recommendation
My call on Glock 43 vs Glock 43X: buy the 43X, ideally the MOS, unless you have a specific deep-concealment reason to want the 43. More grip and more rounds beat a slightly smaller silhouette for most people, most wardrobes, most of the time. If you’re shopping for a smaller-handed shooter, both are worth handling first; my best handgun for women guide covers that decision in more detail. Whichever you pick, feed it quality defensive ammo and test it in your gun; here’s my rundown of the best 9mm self-defense loads. And if you’re new to carrying in Texas, start with the Texas carry permit guide.
We stock both models in the online store along with the rest of our pistol inventory, and local folks can handle them side by side by appointment here in Roanoke, north of Fort Worth. Questions: [email protected] or 817-393-4000.
Lance Rankin is the owner and Chief Gunsmith of Western Sport, a family-run Type 07 FFL and Class 3/SOT dealer in Roanoke, Texas, serving shooters since 2007. Born and raised in Texas with over 50 years of experience handling firearms, Lance purchased Western Sport in 2017 and turned his lifelong passion into his profession. He specializes in AR-15 and AR-10 platform rifles, manufactures Western Sport’s own AR-15 line under the Rankin Industries brand, and runs the shop’s in-house Cerakote coating operation. When he’s not behind the counter or the workbench, you’ll find him on his ranch deep into the night, hunting coyotes with an AR-15 and thermal optics. Lance holds an MBA and personally shoots and tests the products Western Sport sells.
