FOG HORN March 2019

Twobirds Flying Publications

Glock Inc. SLIM Line G48

Copyright 2019, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.

 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
The first feature is the beveled slide at the
a slimmer and trimer version of the Glock 43
muzzle.
and Glock 19.
The G48 also ships with a 4.1” Glock Marksman
Although highly successful, the Glock 43 had
Barrel or GMB, as designate by Glock. This is a
limitations that the majority of shooters,
polygonal design with enhanced barrel rifling to
including myself, found objectionable. Unless
improve accuracy.
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 In addition to the enhanced riffling, Glock
Gen 5 Glock 19 with all of the characteristics topped off the Marksman Barrel with a target
brought to market in the Gen 5 platforms. crown which also contributes to the pistol’s
accuracy.

Copyright 2019, Towbirds Flying Publications. All Rights Reserved.


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.
Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved
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.
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

it on the G48 frame and reap all of the benefits
of a larger magazine capacity and superior grip.
A bonus is that your investment in a G48 holster
is preserved even when a G43 slide is installed
on the G48 frame.
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
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”
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.

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.
Glock Inc.’s Glock 48
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

Before moving on to shooting impressions I’ll touch
gripes, is the polymer sight set. They can be easily
on an insignificant issue that I mention simply in the
broken and wear down from repeated holstering
interest of thoroughness.

Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved


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.
Glock Inc.’s Glock 48
2019
Manufacturer Specifications:
 Length (Overall)**185 mm | 7.28 inch
 Slide Length174 mm | 6.85 inch
 Width (Overall)28 mm | 1.10 inch
 Slide Width22 mm | 0.87 inch
 Height incl.Mag.128 mm | 5.04 inch
 Line of Sight (Polymer)152 mm | 5.04
inchLine of Sight (Steel)151 mm | 5.94
inchLine of Sight (GNS)150 mm | 5.91 inch
 Trigger Distance**67 mm | 2.64 inch

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

Copyright 2019, Twobirds Flying Publications, All Rights Reserved