Finally.... A Glock That I Can Like

[sandog]

I happened upon a Glock 48 9mm recently and really liked the feel of it.
They are really thin and light.
Not really a single stack or a double stack, more like a stack and a half.
It has a nice trigger, and piles the brass about 10 feet to the side, instead of bouncing them off my head like older Glocks.

This is the magwell view of a G43 singlestack, the G48 "stack and a half", and a G19 doublestack.

The G19 is a great pistol, but it's always felt like holding a chunk of 2x2 to me.
The G48 has a "less angled" grip angle, and less of a hump on the backstrap compared to the G19.
To me, it feels more like an M&P or 1911 than a typical Glock.

Here you see, on top, a G19, it holds 15 in it's flush fitting mag.
Next is my G48, holds 10 in a flush mag (factory mags)
And on bottom, a G43 single stack, holds 6 rounds in a flush fitting mag. Or course with any of those you can get mag extensions, or in the case of the G19, you can use G17 mags or even longer ones.

Here is where it gets interesting. You see those two metal mags off to the side above ? They are made by Shield Arms of Bigfork, Montana.
By doing away with the thick polymer wrapping that the Glock mags use, and going with an all steel mag, they can get 5 extra rounds in there, and still have a flush fitting mag. The one on the left has one of their +5 extensions on it. It sticks down 1 1/2" or so but gives you a 20+1 pistol.

In this pic, there is a 15 round SA mag in the gun, and the 20 round mag next to it.

I was O.K. with the silver slide, but in keeping with my FDE theme, today I Cerakoted the slide in FDE (O.K. it's actually S&W Tan).

The G48 by itself looks like a full size pistol, but when I put my .45 Shield over it, you can barely see the G48.
The barrel on the G48 is a hair longer (4.2") and the trigger reach is shorter and higher up than the deep height Shield.
Grip lengths are very close.

Here you have the G48 on top, .45 Shield on bottom, the G48 is very thin for a Glock.

A 9mm or .40 Shield would have been better to compare size, but I no longer have one, just the .45.
My G48 came from the factory with Ameriglo night sights. I really like how that red ringed front sight stands out in the day.

The G48 is easy to shoot well with the grip being just long enough for all your fingers, and it having a 4.2" barrel.
But it still amazes me when I pick it up, how thin and light it is.
And oh yeah, it holds 15+1 rounds without any extensions !

 

[dmthomp32]

While I have had a large number of Glocks in the past and quite a few variations and calibers I've settled down to two. A G19 and the G48. While they are similar enough in size for me to wonder why I have both, I've only got all of $325 in the 19 so it will stay with me (not to mention it has the best factory Glock trigger I have felt thus far). To the point of the OP, I wasn't sure how I felt at first about the 48 in comparison but it has really grown on me. I'm about 300 rounds into it and thoroughly impressed. Runs like a Glock but the ergonomics are so much better. Like the OP, the 19 and others feel thick and cumbersome but I have managed to train around their form. As a 1911 fan, the 48 just fits so much better in my hand and feels like an even lighter weight commander-length 1911 like my Dan Wesson Guardian. The main difference being a trigger that isn't nearly as good. That being said I shoot a standard Glock trigger well because for me it is about having a wall that I can recognize. The weight isn't as big of a deal as I love shooting DA revolvers. I plan on getting a weapon light for the 19 (reserving it for home defense) and holstering up the 48 for carry now. It's light and thin. It has decent factory capacity but the shield mags send it into a whole new realm as a defensive pistol without any sacrifices. I'd encourage others to give it a try. As a 1911 guy, I've been let down by the ergos of most Glocks and even had some that choked. But the 48 might very well be the sweet spot and should serve as the replacement for the 19 in terms of how all other compact pistols are compared. Just my thoughts! Nice pick up OP!

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[AppStFan]

Congrats on your G48. I have carried Glocks both on duty and off duty for a number of years and the G48 feels the best in my hand of any Glock I have ever held.

 

[hittman77]

Good timing on this thread ..... just yesterday my LGS showed me the 48.

I had never seen one. I like it.

But, I've got a 43 and a 19x so at this moment it's just too similar for me.

Nice write-up and pics!

 

[shocker]

I shot a 48 at a Glock Days event. Looking back, I wish I had bought one at the time but didn't.
Me being a Glock guy when they handed me the gun first thing I did was field strip it. I was aghast by how much crud was caked into the slide, like, this gun has been on the demo circuit and had a zillion rounds fired through it and you guys have never cleaned it.
No matter, it shot great.

 

[Rodan]

I bought my wife a 43X (48 frame/43 slide) earlier this year. She prefers it to her G19, though it does recoil noticeably more than the 19. I've never been a big Glock fan, but I do like the 43X. It's a lot of capability in a small package. I'm planning to order some of the Shield Arms mags... they're not cheap though!

My wife loves the color, BTW...

 

[sandog]

I shot my friend's G19, pictured above next to the 48, and I couldn't notice much difference in recoil, but I didn't like how the 19 felt against my hand.
The 48's grip width seemed to nestle into my hand better.
And it's recoil seems much more manageable than a 9mm Shield.

My 75 year old neighbor wanted to take his 9mm out last week, it is a Ruger SR9C. He was all over the target, so asked me to shoot it.
It was accurate, I put 3 shots almost touching, but man did that thing have some recoil for a 9mm. Felt like I was shooting a .40.
Made me glad I have a G48 and a 5 inch M&P instead of a Ruger SR9C.

 

[BigBoku]

Congrats on your G48. I have carried Glocks both on duty and off duty for a number of years and the G48 feels the best in my hand of any Glock I have ever held.

I could not agree more, I bought both the 43X and 48, ultimately I kept the 48 and sold the 43X.

I will definitely say that the G48 like all firearms may not be for everyone but in my case the slim profile of the 48 fits my average size hand perfectly.

 

[BigBoku]

Here is where it gets interesting. You see those two metal mags off to the side above ? They are made by Shield Arms of Bigfork, Montana.
By doing away with the thick polymer wrapping that the Glock mags use, and going with an all steel mag, they can get 5 extra rounds in there, and still have a flush fitting mag. The one on the left has one of their +5 extensions on it. It sticks down 1 1/2" or so but gives you a 20+1 pistol.
!

Has the OEM magazine catch been replaced with the recommended SA aluminum enhanced mag catch?

If it has not take a look at the link below as the SA Metal Magazines will wear the OEM Mag catch over time and cause feeding problems.

Shield Arms - S15 Talk: Mag Catches

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

They haven't made one I like yet.

 

[Turn4811]

I am glad you like it. I sold two 9mm's that have been taking up space that were rarely used. With the current demand I was able to get premium price. I am looking hard at the G48 to round out my Blue Label purchases for this year.

I am down to only two Glocks, a G20SF and a G37. The 10mm is the easiest 10mm I have ever shot. The 45GAP has become a boutique caliber but I like its performance.

 

[sandog]

Has the OEM magazine catch been replaced with the recommended SA aluminum enhanced mag catch?

If it has not take a look at the link below as the SA Metal Magazines will wear the OEM Mag catch over time and cause feeding problems.

Shield Arms - S15 Talk: Mag Catches

Boku, the aluminum catches have been getting chewed up as fast, or faster than the stock polymer catches.
There are threads with pics on Glocktalk where the aluminum catches were really worn where they contact the steel magazines after a few hundred rounds.
It didn't take Shield Arms very long to come out with a steel catch to replace the aluminum ones.

The downside to the steel or aluminum catches is then you can't use your 10 round poly mags anymore, as the metal catch will damage those mags.
And there are those that believe the metal catches could, over time, enlarge the frame opening where the catch goes through.

Some, and I am in that camp, would rather just buy a handful of polymer catches @ $4-$5 each and just replace them when they start showing damage. Then you can use both the SA mags and can also use your poly mags without chewing up the mag's notch.
If faced with a $24 aluminum catch wearing out as fast as a $4 poly one, I'll stick with the polymer ones.

 

[BigBoku]

I totally agree with you on the lesser of the evils by just swapping out the OEM mag catches as it’s cheap and easy to do.

I had gotten in on the first pre order of the magazines but decided it wasn’t what I wanted to do so I sold them as soon as they came in and just stuck with the OEM magazines.

Regardless of capacity it is currently my favorite Glock to carry and I really like how the “S&W Tan” looks on your gun.

 

[LCC]

The G48 is superbly balanced, and the marksman barrel is just that. Easily my favorite Glock.

 

[Goldstar225]

I bought my blue label Glock 48 earlier this year. It ended my search for a "full size" semi-auto that lead me through a number of double stack semi's over the past few years. I carried Glock 17/22/23 as a duty weapon for my career but the grip was never right for me. The 48 hits the sweet spot. This is the Glock I wished for all these years.

My Shield 9mm is still my EDC and will remain so. When you lay the shield on top of the 48 the size difference doesn't seem that significant but to me the Shield seems to carry smaller (if that makes any sense).

Now, if they would just make it in .40 S&W.....

 

[BearBio]

Couple of notes: With the sub-compact Glocks, Plus P ammo can cycle the slide too fast and cause stovepipes and FTF problems. Massood told me that 147 grain loads function better that the 118 and 124 gr Plus P and ++P loads.

I concur with the poster on the G20=my alternate "bear gun". My favorite Glock is my EDA G27 converted to 357 Sig. HYVE magazines and tru-glo sights.

 

[shocker]

Couple of notes: With the sub-compact Glocks, Plus P ammo can cycle the slide too fast and cause stovepipes and FTF problems. Massood told me that 147 grain loads function better that the 118 and 124 gr Plus P and ++P loads.

48 is not really a subcompact, with it's 4" barrel. Should you find your stock Glock misbehaving with really stout loads, a stiffer recoil spring assembly is usually the fix.

I told the LGS to hold their G19X today. Non-gouging price tag, FDE, OK give me 24 hrs to change my mind. It may be a Block but I like Blocks.

 

[Vulcannut]

OP - I agree completely the 48 is a really nice gun. I have shot a couple of 43x and it is something I would like to get at some point. My buddy has a 43x with an Apex trigger, and night sights. It’s a real good shooter.

My brother has a stock 43x and he did get 3 of the shield arms mags. He said the cycle perfectly. I was surprised that they were the same size as the stock mags and adding the plus 5 like yours is A+. Nice setup you have there.

Enjoy it.