by Glock is really pushing its pending announcement of their new G43 single stack 9mm pistol. They are planning a news conference on Friday at which they will presumably announce the new pistol.
Not to steal their thunder but thanks to publishing schedules a picture has leaked out. In the digital world you have control as to when something hits the newsstands. However, in the analog print world, production and distribution of the magazine takes weeks and sometimes things hit the shelf ahead of the official announcement. It appears that in some places the latest issue of Recoil Magazine is now on the shelf. And in that issue is a feature write-up on the G43 which is seen below.
I had really expected them to wait until the NRA Annual Meeting to announce it as that was the impression I was given at the SHOT Show. I had also received an invitation to a press event on the Thursday before the NRA Annual Meeting from Glock which reinforced that impression. According to the Recoil article, it will debut in Nashville and start shipping after that.
In case you can’t read the dimensions from the photo, the G43 is 3.39 inches tall, 6.26 inches long, and weights 1.12 pounds. A comparison of the relative thickness of the G43 can be seen in the middle of the page shown in the picture. To the left of the G43 is Glock’s .380 ACP G42, while to the right of it is the double stack G26.
I noted on The Polite Society Podcast recorded on Sunday that Glock now has a lot of competition in the small single stack 9mm market from S&W, Springfield, Ruger, Kahr, Beretta, and a bunch of other companies. I think the competitive pressures of the market have forced Glock’s hand on this. Even though there are many other worthy choices, Glock will still sell a bazillion of these G43s just because it is a Glock.