Of the few BFDs at the last NRA Annual Meeting and Convention this year was the official announcement by GLOCK, Inc. that they had designed a steel magazine for the G43X/G48 9mm pistols that holds 15 rounds of ammunition. For those who have been following the GLOCK pistol line for decades, that announcement was akin to the first seal breaking and the trumpet sounding.
Way back in the 1990s, when GLOCKs were “those new polymer guns,” rumors abounded that using steel magazines in polymer-framed guns would somehow ruin them. Yes, people actually said that. Of course, thirty years later, every polymer-framed pistol maker, except GLOCK, designs their guns around metal magazines.
There were many valid reasons for the original GLOCK 17 to be designed the way that it was. If you want to talk history, the first G17 mags were made so as to not drop free, requiring the shooter to pull them out. That’s why the OG GLOCK pistols had the cutout in the front of the mag well…so Austrian soldiers could get a grip on the empty mag and pull it out.
Of course, pistol magazines that didn’t drop free when you pushed the mag release button were a non-starter for American law enforcement. GLOCK redesigned the second generation magazines to drop free. Yes, I was there Gandalf, back when then-new G17 magazines were being advertised as “drop-free” models. We learned by looking at the steel liner inside of the magazine to determine whether it was a drop-free version or not.
Making the GLOCK 19 Obsolete
Not surprisingly, as soon as the new magazine announcement was made and folks got their mitts on samples, all of the smartest the gun pundits were making videos declaring that the GLOCK 19 was now, for all intents and purposes, a “dead model.” Why would you buy a G19 when you could have a G48, or a G43X, that held the same number of rounds as the larger pistol?
For my part, I’ve owned a G19-style pistol since 1993. It’s actually a G23 converted to shoot 9mm. That size handgun has been the Goldilocks for concealed carry and EDC for thirty years now.
My good friend, James Yeager, never got official credit from Austria for being the top GLOCK salesman for well over a decade. About twenty years ago, James opined that, “All guns should be GLOCKs, all GLOCKs should be 9mm, and all 9mm GLOCKs should be 19s.”
His thinking was simple; the gun is compact enough to carry every day, but large enough to fight with. Of course, James said that before every gun maker in the world was producing a polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol.
Regardless, let’s consider the assertion that the G19 is now somehow a “dead model.” The GLOCK 19 is 21 ounces (empty), has an overall length of 7.36 inches and a height of 5.04 inches. The barrel is 4.02 inches.
The G48 by comparison is 18.48 ounces (empty), has a barrel length of 4.17 inches, overall length of 7.28 inches, and a height of 5.04 inches. The selling point of the G48 is the fact that it’s a “slimline” version with the slide width being 0.87 inches. The G19 slide width is 1.00 inches. The G19 frame width is 1.34 inches and the G48 frame is 1.10 inches.
So, when we compare the two, the G48 is 2.5 ounces lighter when empty and a fraction of an inch slimmer. The fully loaded weight between 15 rounds of 9mm versus 10 rounds of 9mm is an ounce or so, give or take. However, now that we are putting 15 round steel magazines into the G48, the weight difference will be essentially negligible. So, both a G19 and 48 — both with 15 round mags — weigh nearly the same and have almost identical external dimensions, save the “slim” part.
Coke Classic and New Coke
For those under 40 years old, allow me to offer an example of marketing genius. In 1985, Coca-Cola introduced New Coke, a redesigned formula that tasted more like Pepsi. That set off a firestorm of free advertising for Coca-Cola.
News stories ran on TV, OpEds were written, letter-writing campaigns were launched, people actually debated with one another as to which version they preferred. People began hoarding “Old Coke” and re-selling it on the black market.
It didn’t matter which version a person liked, Coke created a marketing campaign where they weren’t competing with Pepsi, they were competing with themselves. When you’re competing against yourself, you always win.
When GLOCK was deciding to release the G45 as a replacement for the G17 as a police duty pistol, the fact that people were now going to prefer the G45 over the G17 didn’t stop them. Law enforcement agencies looking to upgrade their older G17 and G19 pistols didn’t have to look somewhere else, they looked to GLOCK for a new model. If sales of the G19 slow because sales of the G48 increase, guess who wins? That’s right, GLOCK does.
I’ve been carrying a G48 as an EDC pistol for about four or five years now. The gun has been infinitely reliable and as accurate as any factory gun can be. The only alteration I made was to ditch the cheap plastic sights and install the Night Fision Accur-8 tritium versions. However, I didn’t sell my G19/23 to a pawn shop. That gun is still very enjoyable to shoot and it will take all G19/G17-sized magazines.
Big Men With Big Hands
We teach a lot of students and have had many full-sized humans comment that they tried the slim version of the GLOCKs, but the regular versions “felt better” in their hands. Many of them are men, but not all. Last year we had a woman take our P201 Martial Application of the Pistol class with a G43X. After the two-day course, she decided to move up to a G19. Now she practices with that gun and that’s what she carries. By the way, the woman in question is all of 5’4” and not a large person at all.
That’s the great thing about being an American and having choices. You can try out different sized pistols and decide for yourself which one is right for you. Of course, participating in actual training is a much better way to decide what works for you rather than just standing in a gun shop holding pistols.
As all GLOCK fans know, when they announced the 15-round metal magazines, demand immediately outpaced production. That situation has finally changed. Before I sat down to write this piece, I scored the last two 15-rounders on the shelf from my local store.
Testing the New Steel GLOCK Mags
Within 24 hours of purchasing the G48 15-rounders, I was at the range with a can of 9mm. I found that I could stuff the first ten cartridges into the steel magazines with just my thumb, but the new LDR2000 loading tool from XTech Tactical helped with the last five rounds. I made sure to test the G48 in a “topped off” configuration; that’s a single round loaded and then a full 15-round magazine inserted on a closed slide. Not to worry, the pistol ran without issue.
I launched somewhere between 100 and 150 rounds from the G48 divided between the two new steel magazines. No issues were encountered. It’s not that I thought there would be problems, but it’s always better to test new gear for yourself.
I didn’t really need to test my G19/23. That gun has at least 10,000 rounds through it in the 9mm configuration and likely had as many back when it was a .40 cal. I ran factory G19 and Magpul magazines and a new XTech Tactical magazine extension in the gun. No problems.
Parting Shots
Am I partial to one GLOCK design over the other? The G19/23 pistol holds a good amount of sentimental value as I have had it for over three decades. However, I feel like I can shoot the G48 every bit as well.
Is the 15-round G48 a “G19 killer”? Time will tell. The good news is that you have options and whichever one you choose, if you train with it, you win.
Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.