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| I can provide my own "Glock w/malfunction" stock photos. |
When Glock released its 10+1 capacity slimline 9x19mm pistols, the G43X and G48, it didn't take long for the aftermarket to rush a sheet metal 15-round flush-fit magazine to market.
Made by Shield Arms, they're really popular, but I remain dubious. For starters, metal aftermarket mags have been a hot mess in Glocks since the days of the USA-brand ones in the early Nineties. For another thing, Glock already makes a perfectly serviceable 15-shot compact with a 4" barrel, and it's practically the industry standard for reliability and shootability. If you want a compact 4" 9mm Glock with reliable 15-round magazines, why not just get a "widebody 48", a.k.a. the Glock 19?
Nearly every class I've attended or sat in on to photograph over the last couple years has featured someone running a G48 and having issues with aftermarket 15-rounders. At the Rangemaster Instructor Development class here in Indiana back in September of 2020, Tom Givens mentioned that he'd seen numerous students have issues with them (the topic came up because, you guessed it, a student was having issues with them.)
It looks like Dr. Sherman House isn't entirely sold on them, either:
I’m still undecided on the SHIELD magazines for the Glock 43X and 48. I know people that have success with them, but I’ve also seen a number of them fail. I chose to go with, “eleven for sure,” in my 43X, but you’re welcome to use what you like. I enjoy having the availability of a nearly 50 state legal pistol in stock configuration, but that’s my view.If I were to go back to carrying a Glock after my Year of Living Dangerously (with a wheelgun), a Glock 48 might well be my choice...but I'd stick with the factory magazines. "Eleven for sure", indeed.
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