What's the Best Holster for a Glock 43?

With nearly five years as the undisputed market leader, Glock Inc. finally gave Mr. Gaston Glock a glass of something and got their Glock 42 .380 model in the marketplace. The 42 became a success  on it's own, but the market sought a 9mm, and they pushed for it loudly. With the success of the G42, the Glock 43 followed in short order prepared to stand upon the status of the Glock brand.

The G43 operational controls are classic Glock, through and through, with a focus on the Gen 4 design platform. The slide stop is located on the left, though one would argue its now just a true slide stop. Its positioning and smaller size are not ideal for a release. The magazine release is square and reversible for a lefty shooter. Everything else is just traditional “Glock” , beginning with 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. Sadly, Glock opted not to equip the G43 with a picatinny rail.

The G43 tips the scales at just under 18 ounces unloaded. It's 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 gun has technical specs as being 1.02"  wide, however, it looks as though the only position on it which is actually 1.02"  specifically at the slide lock. The slide is only 0.87" wide, even though the frame is between 0.90"  and 0.92"  depending on the measurement spot.

The sights are conventional Glock setup with a front white dot and a rear u-shaped sight. On a personal level, I’ve never been a fan of the Glock standard sights, finding them difficult to rapidly acquire in low-light conditions. I recommend replacing them out for something with night sights.

My one minor complaint on the G43 is the same concern I've got with most every Glock handgun, only much more with the G43, and it's this: the lack of aggressive texturing on the grip. Glock says that“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), personally, I find the grip texture sorely lacking. My personal opinion would be that the G43 needs either an additional rubber or tacky grips, or a stipple job.

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

The following are a handful of common gun holster related inquiries that I've seen posted in several gun discussion boards regarding the Glock 43:

#1 - Are the gun holsters for the G42 interchangeable with the Glock 43?

The short answer is no a Glock 43 is not going to work with a holster made for a Glock 42. Although they are similarly sized, the measurements on the two weapon models are too different.

#2 - Where can I find a holster to fit my Glock 43 with a laser mounted to it?

As there are a number of different lasers on the market to fit the Glock 43, and each of those lasers has different dimensions, your best bet is to find a place that offers holsters specifically made for the G43 and the specific laser that you are running on the gun.

Glock 43 IWB Holster