Glock Inc's. Slim Line G48

FOG HORN

March 2019 Twobirds Flying Publications

Glock Inc. SLIM Line G48

Glock Inc.’s Glock 48

2019

Glock Inc.’s Glock 48 By: Sal Palma

Late 2018, Glock Inc., one of American’s premier pistol manufacturers announced the SLIM line of Glock pistols the G43X and G48. So, what exactly is a SLIM line? Succinctly stated it’s a slimmer and trimer version of the Glock 43 and Glock 19. Although highly successful, the Glock 43 had limitations that the majority of shooters, including myself, found objectionable. Unless you had small hands, the Glock 43 was not pleasant to shoot and control, and its miserly 6 round magazine capacity sent shooters looking for solutions like Tango Down’s Vickers Tactical +2 Magazine Extension to increase the magazine capacity to 8 rounds and lengthen the grip. Glocks’s 43X addressed all of those shortcomings; meeting Glock customer wants in a subcompact 9x19mm CCW platform. So, why not do the same for the Glock 19; hence, Glock’s introduction of the G48, and subject of my review. The G48 is fundamentally a slim single stack Gen 5 Glock 19 with all of the characteristics brought to market in the Gen 5 platforms.

The first feature is the beveled slide at the muzzle. The G48 also ships with a 4.1” Glock Marksman Barrel or GMB, as designate by Glock. This is a polygonal design with enhanced barrel rifling to improve accuracy.

In addition to the enhanced riffling, Glock topped off the Marksman Barrel with a target crown which also contributes to the pistol’s accuracy.

Glock Inc.’s Glock 48

2019

Over the years Glock listened to a number of shooter complaints suggesting that the magazine release pressure should be increased to prevent accidental magazine releases, In my humble opinion, most of which could be eliminated by improving technique; however, Glock listened and accidental mag releases are not an issue in the G48.

Over Gen 4 and Gen 5 designs, Glock introduced grip changes that continue in the company’s Slim line G43X and G48.

In the G48, Glock carried over, from the Gen 4 and Gen 5 models, the rough textured grip and did away with the finger grooves, both of which translate to a greatly improved grip and overall ergonomics of the G48. The company also dispensed with the exchangeable backstraps opting to mold in a beavertail directly into the frame, which makes complete sense given the pistol’s profile and single stack magazine. This feature mitigates the risk of a “slide bite” and holds the hand to bore axis distance to as short as one can reasonably expect. The G48 sits very comfortably in the hand.

I did experience a couple of failures to release the magazine but that went back to technique. I was allowing my strong hand middle finger to rest against the backside of the magazine release button. While I’m on the magazine release topic, let me mention that the G48 has a reversible magazine release button to accommodate left-handed shooters. Moving forward on the frame, Glock did away with the accessory rail reinforcing Glock’s intent to target the conceal carry customer with the Slim Line pistol. Another nice feature of the G48 that I like a great deal is that I can install a G43 slide on the G48 frame and have a perfectly functional pistol with a shorter barrel, sight radius, etc. So if you have a G43 that’s been tricked out with TruGlo sights or a custom Cerakote job, you can mount Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved

Glock Inc.’s Glock 48

it on the G48 frame and reap all of the benefits of a larger magazine capacity and superior grip.

2019

to controls are outstanding. The trigger has been improved and on my evaluation sample it broke consistently at 5 lbs. (based on the average of 10 measurements). Some shooters may find that a little heavy but keep in mind that the G48 is not a target pistol, it’s a conceal carry platform and 5 lbs. is certainly acceptable to me. Nevertheless, you may want to look at the Glock or Ghost connectors to get the trigger down to 3-5 – 4.0 lbs. Trigger take-up is approximately 0.3” before hitting the wall. The trigger breaks cleanly and the trigger reset is relatively short at approximately 0.16”

A bonus is that your investment in a G48 holster is preserved even when a G43 slide is installed on the G48 frame.

To me, the G48 feels like a pair of properly fitted shoes, there’s literally nothing to dislike except for, possibly, the standard issue Glock polymer sights. How often have you heard “put the drop in the bucket?” Well, it is not as simple as that, but do keep in mind that Glocks are fighting pistols that are ruthlessly reliable, but I repeat myself they’re not target pistols. Glock sights support the fighting application adequately, and the standard issue sight allows you to pick up the front sight post (the dot) quickly, but I have to give it low marks on consistency. Never fear, you can come out of your holster and hit your target at a range of 7 to 15 yards reliably, but if you’re the type that likes to call your shots you may want to consider a set of Truglo sights or something to that effect.

I’ve addressed all of the G48’s key features leaving me with the more subjective section of my review. The pistol is well balanced; sitting low in the hand. Grip geometry, texture and accessibility Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved

Glock Inc.’s Glock 48

This is the proper sight picture for an off the shelf Glock. If you zoom in on the picture you can see that the white bucket does not extend all the way up to the rear sight’s edge; instead you have a black gap that tends to get lost while shooting, so the shooter will invariably bring the dot down to the white bucket resulting in a low POI.

2019

Glock really needs to devote some R&D time and effort to addressing the sight issue. Continuing with physical attributes, If you’ve been carrying the G19 as your conceal carry pistol, you’ll welcome the G48’s slim trim and racy profile.

From my personal experience, Glock’s grip profile and angle tends to push the muzzle up so a shooter naturally responds by bring the front sight down resulting in a lower POI.

With a full 10 round magazine, the G48 comes in at 714 grams compared to the Glock 19, with its larger magazine capacity and larger profile, which weighs in at 837 grams.

Shot with Glock 48 Sights have gone unaddressed by Glock for years driving the aftermarket Glock sight business through the roof. A second complaint, aside from the usual trigger gripes, is the polymer sight set. They can be easily broken and wear down from repeated holstering

Before moving on to shooting impressions I’ll touch on an insignificant issue that I mention simply in the interest of thoroughness.

Glock Inc.’s Glock 48

Glock uses a silver nPVD finish on the G48 that has a habit of picking up Kydex holster residue. Candidly, I don’t know whether it’s a function of its beveled slide or simply its silver color, but if you’re a nitpicker, it could get to you.

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Manufacturer Specifications:      

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Technical Data are rounded and do not reflect tolerances – they may be altered without notice! Subject to technical changes.

So, how does the G48 shoot? Extremely well! The combination of a low bore axis, longer sight radius, greatly improved trigger, and excellent grip minus finger grooves all contribute to recoil mitigation and sight recovery that is the best of any Glock I’ve shot in the past, making the Glock G48 an exceptional pistol for just about any application. Shooters should accept the fact that they’ll need to turn to AmeriGlo, Trijicon, Novak, Truglo, or MeproLight to overcome the Glock plastic sight derangement syndrome (GPSDS) but if its 10 round magazine capacity is a non-issue for you, Glock’s G48 needs no further enhancement. As is, it is the personification of Glock Perfection! -SP

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