We recently did a test and evaluation of the Elite Tactical Systems (ETS) 7-round magazine for the Glock 43 9mm pistol. People find the idea of getting an extra round in their Glock 43 mags to be an attractive concept. But how does this magazine stack up against factory magazines?
The Glock 43
Several years back, shooters were yearning for smaller and smaller auto pistols. And manufacturers were feeding them what they asked for. Several firearms makers beat Glock to the punch first. And then Glock fired back with their Glock 42 in .380 ACP.
Glock fans snapped them up in large numbers, but the cry for a similarly sized pistol in 9mm became louder among fans. It wasn’t terribly long before those cries of anguish were satiated with the Glock 43. Glock’s first truly tiny 9mm had arrived.
With a barrel length of 3.41 inches and a slide length of 6.06 inches, it is fairly small. It only weighs 16.23 ounces, so it’s light to carry. At 1.06 inches thick, it’s slim enough to be very comfortable to carry.
The Glock 43’s grip is very slim, being a true single-stack magazine pistol. One of the main complaints that people have is that it only carries six rounds plus one in the chamber, for a total of seven rounds. That’s not a lot of shots. On the other hand, it’s two more than most lightweight revolvers hold and even beats most full-sized revolvers.
The Compromises of a Smaller Handgun
Any time we carry a small handgun, there are going to be certain compromises. Sometimes the tiny grip makes the pistol difficult to shoot well. With the Glock 43, that’s not the case, as the grip is large enough to get at least a decent purchase on. Mind you, it’s not a large, hand-filling grip, so those with large hands might think otherwise.
The other compromise factor is capacity, which forces us to look at precisely what we intend to do with the pistol. Will we simply be defending ourselves with it? Or our family too? Do we need an extremely concealable pistol? What environment do we plan on going into?
If you have your entire family out and about, six rounds might not be optimal. If you have to round up your family and herd them out of a crowded store during an active shooter situation, more rounds are better to have.
If you’re out alone, six rounds are probably enough to break contact and get out of danger.
There are times when we might run out to the grocery store or local convenience store, and we don’t want to gear up for war. Grabbing the little Glock 43 might be a more attractive option—slip it into the holster and onto our waistband with a spare magazine and hit the road. Sometimes that convenience is something that we like.
On top of that, the Glock 43 is slimmer and easier to carry than many revolvers. Reloading is faster than it would be to reload a revolver, and it carries more rounds, to begin with. Because of this, the 43 is more attractive to many users than a revolver might be.
Elite Tactical Systems — Translucent Mags
Enter ETS (Elite Tactical Systems). They make magazines for pistols, rifles, and submachine guns, as well as speed loaders. Their list of available magazines is too vast to name each one. However, it includes Glock, Smith & Wesson, Scorpion, Sig Sauer, and Heckler & Koch. There are magazines for AR-15s, MP-5s, and Scorpions.
Their Carbon Smoke colored translucent magazines are popular. It’s a neat feature because it allows you to look inside the magazine and see how many rounds are remaining, what type of ammunition is in the magazine, and all the internals such as the spring and follower. A variety of other colors are also available.
Capacities
Capacities vary, ranging from standard up to 40 rounds for some of the pistols.
For the Glock 43, several options are available, ranging in capacities from 7, 9, and 12 rounds. That’s definitely an upgrade from the standard Glock factory 6-round magazines. For this article, the 7-round magazine was utilized.
Given that there are now magazines with higher capacities available for the Glock 43, it might elevate the popularity of this pistol a bit. I wonder if Glock will take a hint from ETS and begin offering higher-capacity factory magazines of their own.
Granted, these magazines from ETS that have higher capacities will protrude from the magazine well. Carrying one of the higher-capacity magazines as a spare would certainly be an option. Once the bullets begin flying, concealment doesn’t mean anything. And if we have to reload, we’re really in it deep. The fact that the magazine protrudes from the mag well will make no difference at that point.
Construction
These magazine bodies are made of durable, clear polymer that is extremely resistant to impacts. The company website shows the magazines being run over by a vehicle with no damage. No, I didn’t run over this magazine with my car, I just took their word for it. They are also impervious to chemicals and dropping.
Feeding
We gave the ETS 7-round magazine a workout at the range. Non-Tilt magazine followers are utilized to ensure reliable feeding. It functioned and fed well, we had no complaints.
One thing we did notice, though, is that when seven rounds are in the magazine and it is inserted into the pistol’s magazine well, it takes a little extra effort to rack the slide for that first round. It appears that, because the magazine is new, the spring is very strong. This puts extra pressure on the bottom of the pistol’s slide.
That seventh round also takes some effort to get into the magazine. I imagine it will loosen up some with use and after rounds are stored in the magazine. It didn’t prove to be an issue but is worth noting.
Warranty
ETS offers a lifetime warranty on all of its products. An additional plus is that their products are all made in the USA. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Ammo Used
A quick word about the ammunition we used for the test. It included Speer Gold Dot 124 grain +P hollow points. This ammo has an excellent track record for stops on the street and is used by over 3,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States and abroad.
It features a bonded core and jacket that do not separate regardless of which medium it passes through (wallboard, clothing, auto glass, auto steel, etc.). Because the bullet retains its weight and does not come apart, it penetrates well, which hits vital organs and stops attackers more efficiently than bullets that break apart.
Final Verdict
All in all, the ETS 7-round magazine worked well. It adds capacity to the Glock 43, making it a 7+1 shooter. The fact that the rounds can be seen inside the magazine, along with the internals, is helpful and welcome.
Another nice aspect is that the ETS magazine manages to fit an extra round into the 7-round magazine and still have it fit flush with the bottom of the Glock 43’s magazine well.
At some point, I’d like to try out their nine and 12-round Glock 43 mags, as they really raise the capacity.
The price point is excellent too, at $14.49 as this is written. They’re economical enough to buy a few and stock up. Getcha some!
