The guy at the LGS told me about Shield Arms 15 round magazines and suggested I look into them.

IMO, waste of time of money with no real potential. I carry a 43X daily in a stock out of the box configuration and have no qualm with it or it's 10+1 rounds.

if I go that route, will the steel release boof up the plastic Glock magazines?

Yes. Metal on plastic has no give and will create wear. Either magazine to catch or vice versa with the wear occurring on the magazine notches. The steel mags are known to even wear aluminum catches.

Also what’s the weight difference using a 15 round magazine Vs. the stock 10 round?

Other than extra supplies of snake oil, you introduce the possibility of mechanical issues.
Your chance of actually needing the extra rounds in SD are quite slim outside of a John Wick film.

There is nothing wrong with the 10 round 43X. If you feel you need more, go with the 19 instead.

 

IMO, waste of time of money with no real potential. I carry a 43X daily in a stock out of the box configuration and have no qualm with it or it's 10+1 rounds.



Yes. Metal on plastic has no give and will create wear. Either magazine to catch or vice versa with the wear occurring on the magazine notches. The steel mags are known to even wear aluminum catches.



Other than extra supplies of snake oil, you introduce the possibility of mechanical issues.
Your chance of actually needing the extra rounds in SD are quite slim outside of a John Wick film.

There is nothing wrong with the 10 round 43X. If you feel you need more, go with the 19 instead.

I swear to god, I saw a Shield Arms thread with one reply, and was like it's Indivi

ETA: Forgot to say: Agreed on all points. Only time I deviate from this ideology is with my 43. I do try to squeeze an extra round or two out with aftermarket stuff. However, many OEM parts remain, whereas with SA, it's an entirely new magazine and mag catch.

 

I recently bought a 43X. The guy at the LGS told me about Shield Arms 15 round magazines and suggested I look into them. He told me that the stock Glock magazine release button will wear out using the steel magazines. He suggested that I also purchase a Shield Arms steel magazine release.
if I go that route, will the steel release boof up the plastic Glock magazines?
Also what’s the weight difference using a 15 round magazine Vs. the stock 10 round?
Thanks

Factory magazine (unloaded): 2.3 oz

Shield arms mag (unloaded): 2.1 oz

The shield arms steel mag catch will most likely cause wear to OEM mags. (see below)

Quote from shield arms:

Our steel mag catch is optimized to work with the Shield Arms S15 magazine. While it remains compatible with plastic OEM magazines, it can cause increased wear on plastic mags with prolonged use, and OEM mags may not drop free. We do not recommend using our steel mag catch with plastic OEM mags. We recommend steel on steel or plastic on plastic.

Shield Arms - Mag Catch / Release for Glock® 43X / 48

 

I have no experience with the SA mags, don't really plan to, but I think you could get by with the OEM catch and the SA mag, particularly if you mostly practiced with the OEM mag and just used the SA mag for carry, after it was vetted. Do this at your own risk of course.

 

The S15 mags run 100% in my 43X. I haven't even used the OEM mags. I run the Shield Arms standard steel mag catch, not the premium. Plastic on plastic, metal on metal. Pick one.

 

I opted to keep my 43x stock, if my mag catch wears out, it is a $2 part I can easily fix myself. So far no signs of wear. I cant imagine how many times you have to insert mag to get it to wear out.

 

My EDC is a G43x with both gen 1and gen 2 shield magazines in addition a shield mag release, no issues so far.
The OEM mags sit in a box some where. IMHO the mags in combination of the size of the G43x is a game changer

 

I have been using the stock mag release for awhile now cause the SA steel release seems to not fit like the OEM one does for my factory mags so I left in the factory mag release. I carry the SA mags using the oem mag release and if it wears out, I bought some factory mag releases from glock for like 3 bucks in case I wear one out. You also can carry the gun with the oem magazine and have the SA mag as a backup mag and then it wont wear out your oem mag release as quickly.

 

IMHO
I have two Shield Gen 1 mags. Never had any issues. However, I only use for range. They will (eventually) damage the OEM mag catch/release. I just bought two OEM mag catches from MGW. $8.50 each to my door and I was glad to get them. These OEM catches can be hard to find.

I decided not to try the Shield steel mag catch - it will damage the OEM mags.

So, I EDC my G48 and want the best reliability I can get. For reliable carry, all OEM parts for me. (My 48 has over 20k rounds through it - not one issue.)

Like others have said, if you want more rounds and Glock reliabilty get a G19.

 

I have over 20 SA mags and the steel release. I've used them enough to trust them.

 

Gotta remember one thing about using aftermarket stuff like higher capacity mags that are not OEM when carrying:
Lawyers will rip into that like a vulture on a road kill deer. And say that you were modifying to look for trouble. Don't put it past them!
I'm sticking to OEM.

 

Gotta remember one thing about using aftermarket stuff like higher capacity mags that are not OEM when carrying:
Lawyers will rip into that like a vulture on a road kill deer. And say that you were modifying to look for trouble. Don't put it past them!
I'm sticking to OEM.

Oh my gosh, the lawyers will _. Get this, they'll be after you for having a gun, hollowpoint bullets, FMJ bullets, why you didn't deescalate, why you didn't run away, and what you had for breakfast. If your at the point of being sued or criminally tried ANYTHING may be used to discredit you.

 

My daily carry for the past year has been the G43x with the S15 mags (3x), with metal mag release. Single clip Kydex holster, IWB. (I have a pocket holster for it also, but don't use it much since loosing weight)

Many hundreds of rounds, zero issue. Lots of range time, mag drops, generally treat them like a GLOCK mag and they are fine.

I have the 10rd stock mags (4x) has a backup.

They don't get used much.

If I was to use them regularly, I'd switch my mag catch back to avoid extra wear..