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Make the 43 shoot like the 42

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#1 ·
I Love my 42 it shoots so nice and easy it's just a real pleasure to shoot compared to the more snappy 43. Since I reload and I'm set up for 9 mm and don't really want to spend a few hundred on a conversion, I'm just wondering if anyone has shot lighter loads in the 43 to tame it down a bit? what bullet weight powder charge did you use. I know its a carry gun but for the most part I enjoy plinking.

Thanks !!
 
#29 ·
I have had several 42's since they came out and you are right....they shoot real soft!!! The softest shooting .380 I have ever fired...and I have shot several different ones over the years.
But I will disagree with your 'night and day' statement.
The 43 is a little more snappy but nothing a person should not be able to get used to and enjoy. I am 73 and have sold pistols because they kicked more than I liked.
But the 43 is a keeper and I will not be selling it...nor my 19.
 
#7 ·
I agree with the advice you are getting, heavies with faster powders (gamer loads). If you go really light, make sure you really keep a grip on it to give your slide the best chance possible in cycling, maybe consider some grip tape/decal.

PS - or buy some of that Underwood +P stuff for your G42, your G43 might seem more like your G42 then. :)
 
#8 ·
My 4.6/B'eye/115 fmj does a WWB-like 1126, and the 43 isn't excessively snappy with that. Granted, my 42 is a real *****cat, but that 9mm load doesn't bother me. And I'm getting to the age that I'm not a recoil junkie.
Moon
 
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#11 ·
Call me crazy, but I like the other end of the spectrum. Light bullets, 115's or even 90-95's. I use Power Pistol or CFE-Pistol. PP will give an impressive muzzle flash. I've been shooting GSSF since 2009 starting with 147's. I felt like-- please let that slide move faster so the front sight can come back down. With the 95's and 5.9 grs. of CFE-pistol it feels like the sight is right back on target immediately. Shooting a 26 on the plate rack it is like you are taking a sight picture as you scan across the rack but there's brass flying and steel falling. BTW- I do shoot this load in my 43.
 
#73 ·
That's too bad. What you should have done, was move to a lighter recoil spring. That would allow the muzzle to level out faster and end up right back on target.

First choose your load/PF, then tune your slide to the load. Not the other way around. A 160 or 147 with a lighter spring is the way to go.
 
#12 ·
This makes me want to shoot the 42 to compare because I feel the 43 is very nice to shoot with factory 115gr 9mm for it's size/weight I was very surprised now pleasant it is to shoot, but it might just be a perfect fit for my hand/grip too. It's a night and day comparison to the Rohrbaugh R9, now that little guy is snappy. I'll have to try some 147's as well since it sounds like they are even more comfortable to shoot.
 
#21 ·
I Love my 42 it shoots so nice and easy it's just a real pleasure to shoot compared to the more snappy 43. Since I reload and I'm set up for 9 mm and don't really want to spend a few hundred on a conversion, I'm just wondering if anyone has shot lighter loads in the 43 to tame it down a bit? what bullet weight powder charge did you use. I know its a carry gun but for the most part I enjoy plinking.

Thanks !!
 
#24 ·
I Love my 42 it shoots so nice and easy it's just a real pleasure to shoot compared to the more snappy 43. Since I reload and I'm set up for 9 mm and don't really want to spend a few hundred on a conversion, I'm just wondering if anyone has shot lighter loads in the 43 to tame it down a bit? what bullet weight powder charge did you use. I know its a carry gun but for the most part I enjoy plinking.

Thanks !!
"I Love my 42 it shoots so nice and easy it's just a real pleasure to shoot compared to the more snappy 43."

"Snappy" is a term that is used by people who have never shot a magnum handgun in a caliber that begins with the number 4. Snappy describes only recoil that is not painful. Recoil is what real guns are supposed to do.

And if it isn't painful it shouldn't concern you. Just man up and get a good solid grip on the gun and then allow your arms which are slightly bent at the elbows to absorb the recoil. Wear gloves if need be.

And wear good ear protection. It will help you to relax.
 
#26 ·
"I Love my 42 it shoots so nice and easy it's just a real pleasure to shoot compared to the more snappy 43."

"Snappy" is a term that is used by people who have never shot a magnum handgun in a caliber that begins with the number 4. Snappy describes only recoil that is not painful. Recoil is what real guns are supposed to do.

And if it isn't painful it shouldn't concern you. Just man up and get a good solid grip on the gun and then allow your arms which are slightly bent at the elbows to absorb the recoil. Wear gloves if need be.
He never said it was painful, or not. He never said that he didn't expect or couldn't handle the recoil. He is just looking for constructive advice on a creative way to make the 43 shoot like the 42.

I have owned and shot for decades many different pistols, most of them in calibers that start with the number 4 and/or ends with magnum. I have a 45 carry pistol. I also have several 9mms and a couple of 380s. But more to the point, I have owned and shot both the 42 and 43 extensively over the last year and a half and I know EXACTLY what the OP is talking about. The 42 handles recoil very well for a little 380. I was amazed at how quickly it dropped back onto the target. I can fire it as fast as I can pull the trigger. In comparison, the 43, while it's not difficult to handle for a subcompact 9mm, is obviously going to be snappy than the 42. And I think that is all that the OP was saying. Nobody said anything about not being able to handle it. Only that the 42 is a genuine pleasure to shoot in comparison. All that said, the 43 is a great little carry pistol, but it's still a full 9mm in a tiny little package.

The OP was looking for advice. Do you have anything constructive?
 
#25 ·
Like another reply. I don't find any issue with the 43 & recoil.

Disclaimer: I'm not a single stack, sub compact gun guy. My go to carry guns are a 19, 26 or the tried and true J frame 39spl S&W. Then i rented the 43. After a box (50rds) of 115 i went to the gun counter and picked one up. Sad to say (for the double stack pistols) the 43 has been my go to carry piece. Last month, across 5 states sitting comfortably in my IWB, you'd be hard pressed to know there was a gun on my hip.
I suggest a few different loads to see what works for you. Also try a +1 or +2 extension.
 
#27 ·
I Love my 42 it shoots so nice and easy it's just a real pleasure to shoot compared to the more snappy 43. Since I reload and I'm set up for 9 mm and don't really want to spend a few hundred on a conversion, I'm just wondering if anyone has shot lighter loads in the 43 to tame it down a bit? what bullet weight powder charge did you use. I know its a carry gun but for the most part I enjoy plinking.

Thanks !!
I own a couple of Gen 4 G17's. I shoot about 10,000 rounds a year between the two of them. My load is 147 gn X Treme RN plated bullets with 4.1 gn of CFE Pistol and Winchester WSP primers with a COL of 1.15". The load has a MV of 934 fps with a SD of 5.
 
#31 ·
Love the 42, like the 43 (have a 40 and 41, so I am comfortable with high power). The 42 shoots so easy even with the +P Underwood XTPs (equivalent power to 38 special +P). The 43 for me was fine with standard pressure FMJ Federal, Winchester, Remington, CCI, etc. But it was snappy with 9mm +P hollow points and even for regular Federal HST hollow points. Turns out the standard HST has the power of most +P ammo. I tried the 147 grain HST since the power specs are equivalent to standard FMJ 9mm and it tests excellent in gel like the other 9mm HST loadings. Now the 43 kicks ass just like my other Glocks. Try it, you may be similarly impressed.
 
#74 ·
If your 43 ever feels like your .22LR, do not, repeat DO NOT fire the second round. You have a squib and will likely injure yourself when the barrel blows.

The difference between 9mm and .22LR is explained by physics, not the model of the gun.
 
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