Have these proved to be reliable or just a problem waiting to happen?

If they are anything like the S15 mags, which they seem like they are as I've heard several issues with failures to lock back, they are probably going to be hit or miss.

I understand I would need to replace the OEM mag release with a metal release also sold by S.A. Will the metal S.A. release "eat" the Glock plastic mags?

Yes, they do. There are a number of threads on them as examples of their doing so.

I want to keep the grip length short for CC.

Then why bother with these mags? These are not flush fitting mags by any stretch. If the Pearce +1 is working well with the OEM mags, I would continue to use what works.

 

Z9= Shield arms polishing a turd. Ive had the s15 gen 1&2 mags. They were not very reliable. Your experience may very. I wouldnt waist the money when you can get a modern micro 9mm for $400-$550 range. Just my opinion.

 

I have no experience with SA mags. So I would not know if they are generally reliable or not. But here are a couple of things to consider:

First, the OEM magazine tube and the OEM magazine catch are two critically important parts to help ensure the OEM “feed reliability” that Glock is famous for. Why?
1) The magazine lips very much dictate the feed angle of the cartridges that are loaded inside the mag tube.
2) The mag catch and the notch on the mag tube determine exactly how and where the magazine is positioned inside the grip frame.

Obviously keeping these critical OEM parts intact guarantees that 1) and 2) above are also kept to Glock’s factory specs.

Second, even if you assume that the Z9 mags are all very reliable, limiting yourself to only use largely extended Z9 mags in the G43 all the time still does NOT make as much sense as the flush-fit S15 mags for the G43X, especially if you want to keep the grip length short for your CCW….

With the required steel mag catch, (while you are using the Z9 mags) you are very much giving up the ability to use the OEM flush-fit mags (with MagGuts+1) in your G43 and locking yourself into only using the extended Z9 mags, which would make the G43’s grip length as long as that of the G43X. This kills the sole advantage of the G43 - its superior concealability. Yet the Z9’ed G43 would still hold one less round than the stock G43X…. So you are better off just getting a stock G43X, than using the Z9 mags in your G43.

 

In a word...absolutely not. I use them to train on bc they give malfunctions..which is good.

 

I want to like them, but after reliability issues with both Gen 1 and 2 S15 mags, I think for the G43 the magguts plus 2 kits are still the best way to go.

 

Another vote fopr MagGuts for G43 here.
If you really want to keep the grip length of your G43 short for CC (so you can retain the most important advantage of the 43), your best bet will be MagGuts.

MagGuts+1 does not increase the length of the magazine/grip at all but can still increase the capacity by 1 round. MagGuts+2 extends LESS than the OEM “pinky rest” or Pearce+1 but can still increase the capacity by 2 more rounds.

(8 rounds with MagGuts+2 vs 6 rounds with OEM “pinky rest”)

 

I have 2 z9 mags for my g43. I left the stock polymer mag release and went to range. no loading issues but the slide was LOCKING OPEN with 1 round left in each mag. I emailed shield arms, they said use the METAL mag catch/release, ok I got on and just installed it and back to range for more testing. I'll post what I find. But i have notice if you put a full z9 mag in and rack the slide, sometimes the first round hangs up and doesnt load. Again this was with the stock glock polymer mag release. I tried first mag with the STEEL mag release and racked slide and had another jam loading first round, took mag out, reloaded cartidge and tried again and loaded fine. That VERY first test with steel mag release.

On a side note I DID have a g43x over summer and got 1 single s15 mag and stock glock polymer mag catch and it worked flawlessly in my 3 trips to range and running about 100 rounds thru the 1 mag. I sold g43x to a buddy that luved it and shoots way better with it than I did. I got a p365 and I shoot way better with it then I did with g43x or the g43.

 

I'm in the same situation as "wadebuck". Both of my SA magazines would lock back on the last round, but otherwise function without a problem. After contacting SA they sent me stronger mag springs. These made the problem worse. I noticed that the followers were not moving smoothly in the magazine body. Again, contacted SA and they gave me a label to return both magazines. I had them back inside of a week, but I haven't had a chance to try them out. The followers do seem to move more smoothly. SA advised that one mag was out of spec, but it seems both magazines were tinkered with. I'll post results after shooting.
I bought these as an experiment on after market mags. I have installed the metal mag catch and used both Glock factory mags and SA. I do not see any excessive wear on the magazines. YMMV

 

I have 3 Z9's and the metal mag catch. I can not get even one of the mags to work properly using 115 FMJ. I would get multiple failure to feeds. They are now range mags and I put the oem mag catch back in....very disappointed

 

Have you contacted SA? They seem to be customer oriented. I have given them the benefit of the doubt, But my Sig P365 holds 10 rounds and works all the time. I like Glocks and refuse to give up on the G43.

 

Will the metal S.A. release "eat" the Glock plastic mags?

Yes.