Glock 43 vs 26: The Difference Is The Magazines
Let’s just get what’s obvious out of the way: the biggest difference between the Glock 26 and Glock 43 is the magazines, meaning the width of the guns. The Glock 26 has a staggered (double stack) magazine, and the Glock 43 does not.
That makes the Glock 26 wider, but it also adds carrying capacity.
The Glock 26 is essentially a chopped Glock 19, with about a half-inch of the barrel and about three-quarters of an inch of the grip cut off. The slide is the same width, the grip is the same width, and they shave off a bit of the backstrap.
The Glock 43, on the other hand, has a single-stack magazine. The frame and the slide are slimmer because they would be.
Here’s the numbers on that:
Glock 43 and 26 Specifications
Glock 26 | Glock 43 | |
Barrel Length | 3.43 inches | 3.41 inches |
Overall Length | 6.5 inches | 6.26 inches |
Width | 1.26 inches | 1.06 inches |
Height | 4.17 inches | 4.25 inches |
Weight (unloaded) | 19.4 oz | 16.23 oz |
Capacity (flush magazine) | 10+1 | 6+1 |
Est. MSRP | ~$500 | ~$550 |
The trigger reach (back of the grip to the face of the trigger) is 2.83 inches on the Glock 26, but 2.56 inches on the Glock 43.
A person might also bring up the Glock 26 Gen 5. The Gen 5 Glock 26 reduces the trigger reach to 2.76 inches and overall length to 6.42 inches, but increases overall width to 1.3 inches and unloaded weight to 19.7 ounces…but is otherwise unchanged.
Extended magazines are available for both, the most popular of which are a 12+1 magazine (with pinky extension) for the Glock 26 and a +2 extended magazine for the Glock 43. The Glock 26, of course, can also be used with Glock 19 magazines with a magazine sleeve and a lot of people will carry a Glock 19 magazine in their mag carrier as a spare for the 26.
Source: ALIENGEARHOLSTERS