@DavidM58 I own both a Glock 43 and 17. I use the 17 for open carry, my MCK, and home defense. My 43 is my conceal carry. When I had to range qualify for my LTC I decided to use my 43, since that will be my primary carry. Sure the groupings were not as tight, but I wanted to make sure I was proficient.
I shoot a G17, G43 and G43X. I am working my way up to distances. So far, I have pretty much figured out how to hit (generally) what I am aiming for at 7 yards. When I get more practice there, I will extend the targets out further.
It took a long time and a good teacher to help me fix my grip problems.
@OldGnome@DavidM58 I wasn’t allowed to use this during my LTC qualification, but still passed at 45 feet… may I suggest a Lasermax guide rod laser. I have them on both my 17 and 43.
@OldGnome Great choice. I had a Crimson Trace LG-443 in my Amazon cart for a while. I went with the Lasermax eventually because I didn’t want to buy all new holsters. As most of us do, I already had a drawer full.
@TexasEskimo - yeah…as much as I like my collection of Alien Gear holsters, I had to stop buying from them. They still don’t have holsters for my Glocks and Crimson Trace lasers. CrossBreed does, though.
I can’t usually do 100 rounds with my G43. My hand-size & grip leads to the ring on my ring finger landing exactly on the knuckle of the opposite hand and after a few dozen rounds that knuckle is bruised.
It is likely just more practice needed. Keep in mind the difference in sight radius between a G43 and something like a G17 is pretty significant. So even if you do everything right, there will be some inherent accuracy reduction and that just gets more noticeable the farther you go out.
If you need to shoot the flea off a dogs back at 25yards the G43 is probably not the right tool. So you have to also consider (and everyone is different) what is your acceptable accuracy at a given range.
I am cheap, so I frequently use paper plates as my targets Is hitting that plate at 7yards a must? How about 15yards? How about 25yards? How about 50yards? For me those answers are yes, yes, hopefully, and lol. YMMV
I wont speak for @TexasEskimo but for me, lots of practice. And getting used to a broader sight picture. Realizing that for precision it will take a little longer on each shot to be precise. And maybe realizing that a center-of-mass hit at longer distances is “good enough”.
@DavidM58 What @Harvey said. When I qualified I was pretty tight until 45 feet. Then I just hit within the perimeters of the target. No grouping… all over the place but enough to stay on target and qualify.
Another thing that helped was buying Pearce Pinky Grip Extensions for all my single stack magazines.
IMHO… a Glock 43 is not a fun range gun. But it is a great concealed self-defense firearm. You don’t want to run more than 100 rounds at a time. I usually run 100 and then switch to my Glock 17 or CAA MCK.
@DavidM58 The G43 just kinda drags the energy from me after a while.
An anology… my G17 is like a Cadillac, it seems to float smoothly along at any speed and to actually drive itself. My G43 is like a C2 or C3 generation Corvette, it is a pretty bumpy ride while you are holding on tightly to the steering wheel. (Yes, I have owned several of both). The Vette is fun for short trips… but going coast-to-coast? I would rather take the Cadi.
I agree completely. I have arthritis in my hands, so I can only put about four mags’ worth of G43 ammo down range before I am done. I bought the G43 for concealment, not comfort. I bought my G43X for additional magazine capacity and was pleasantly surprised to discover the additional grip length and modest increase in mass makes it much more comfortable to shoot.
At the range, I shoot the G17 first, then the G43X, then the G43. My accuracy diminishes with each gun, but well within MOBG in each case. My groups are getting tighter with each range visit.
Honest question and not trying to bash glocks. They are good reliable guns. But my question is if it is so difficult/not fun to shoot why not try to find something that is more comfortable? I often carry my p365 and while not as accurate with it as I am with my full size pistols, I don’t mind shooting it at all. I usually shoot 2-3 hundred rounds through it every range trip, as well as the same amount through 2-3 other pistols, and never have hands that hurt. I am fifty with arthritis kicking in so not a youngster with hands that never hurt. Just wondering why you stick with something that causes discomfort. Thanks
@Clinton - I didn’t say it was uncomfortable or unpleasant to shoot in general. In fact, it’s a far cry better than my first concealed carry weapon. I like Glocks - I like how they work and how they feel in my hands, I like the price points, I like the accuracy.
My hands are banged up and any easily concealable weapon is going to leave my hands sore after a few mags - especially at the end of my range time. I purposely work through my guns from heaviest to lightest to give myself the best picture of how I might do under duress with my smallest gun. It’s not a perfect example, but the best I can do by myself at the range.