According to Shield Arms, there were some minor magwell geometry changes made to the 43X platform, which may or may not be true. Who can say without owning probably dozens of frames and having calipers. Externally, they certainly changed between the introductory gun and the MOS configurations, I'm just not sure how (if any) it changed, internally. Between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 S15, there were certainly some improvements made to the mags (different followers at the very least) and I've put thousands of rounds through the Gen 2 design with only maybe one or two failures to feed. There is definitely some play or "slop" between the front and back of the grip, which might be causing feed issues for some people. The dimples and the lip adjustments on the Gen 3 are supposed to minimize that. But to Shield Arms' theory, Glock also produces 100% domestic, Made in Georgia 43X guns, now. So, perhaps there's some variance between the US-made frames and the Austrian frames. I only own the Austrian imports, but I would assume the spec didn't change. I would assume Glock wouldn't change the internal dimensions, as their magazine standards remain the same, combined with the fact that their 10 round mag design, while regrettably low in capacity, is extremely reliable. But who can truly say whether or not there were changes, without having the inside knowledge of a Glock engineer... :P
@@mr.b3132 Theres lots of videos on it dude. School of the American rifle also has a video about the PSA Micro Dagger mags that are similar to the Shield mags and within the first 60 seconds of the video he mentions having lots of problems with gen 1 and gen 2 shield arms mags. SOTAR is as credible a source on this subject as there is. But even without his video, there are lots of other videos of people showcasing their issues... Maybe yours work but many people have had issues and considering the whole point of the G43x is to have a carry pistol with bullet proof reliability I personally am fine with the 10 round mags. They work, they're readily available at many stores and they don't require modification of the firearm for long term reliable function. If your shield arms mags work then good, I'm glad to hear it and I hope they continue to function flawlessly for you. But don't say nobody has had issues because they certainly have.
@@JonConley I doubt there is any significant difference in the US made frames and the Austrian made frames. My 43x is also Austrian and I don't have a Georgia one so I can't check. I do have a Georgia G19 and if I want more than 10 rounds I just carry that. I've got thousands of rounds through my G19 with no problems and mags are cheap.
@@armorers_wrench you won't convince the fans of the sheild arms magazines. They think their short term experience invalidates the thousands of others whom have had failures.
Not to shit on this product, but as a person who carries in a fanny pack fairly often, the issue with me was always the "holster". I've never found a bag with a holster I trusted. My solution, for what its worth, was to take a holster I owned but didnt feel was comfortable, take the clips off of it, add industrial velcro to both the fanny pack interior and the holster, and adjust the retention to what feels good in the draw. You want to have it where you almost need two hands to remove the holster from the velcro. It never shifts, its safe, and its reliable. I've drawn hundreds of times at the range at this point, it has never given me an issue.
Hell yeah, bears and moose are real up here. My first experience with people and my rifle slung was a couple of years ago. It's time we make it normal. I've gone on hikes with my gf, and depending on how far out we go, dictates what I bring.
Which RX shooting glasses are you using these days, Ivan? I'm in the market for some and was curious. It seems the Goldilocks solution (easily swapped lenses, good anti-fog vents) doesn't quite exist from my research. I was leaning towards the Oakley HNBL frames but wanted to get your feedback on what you're using and what's out there. Nice summary on the sack. I suppose one overlooked point: keeping the gun warm(er) and dry, versus something like a chest rig. Seems handy. I use most of their upgrades on the 43X platform, though, I must say that I found the friction lock wedge for the magwell to be pretty disappointing. My magwell wouldn't stay on the frame (the entire assembly could be easily pulled out of the frame with minimal effort) and the wedge threads (plastic) disintegrated on install. They provided no instructions with the kit, but I wrote to them and verified that I had done it correctly. Their solution was to charge me $15+ tax and shipping for a new piece of plastic, so, I laughed and threw the whole mess in a drawer, never to be used again. Besides that, Gen 2 S15s worked fairly well, although, the coatings aren't amazing and I'm starting to see rust after two years of extremely light moisture exposure. Supposedly the Gen 3 has a better coating. Here's hoping, at least.
You could get a eberlestock bando bag and the xl version for the same price as one of these fanny packs.. I have the eberlestock fanny backs in both sizes and I've been happy.. Just saying there are quality opinions for half the price
@@SuspiciousGanymede even OEM can fail if you don't practice with it. Know your equipment and run it enough that you are positive it is reliable. I've had Glocks that didn't run without any modifications to them. I know impossible...
I have some aftermarket Glock mags that run as hard I can push them but I would not carry them ❤ ets makes a solid magazine for the Glock 9mm. I don't know about any of their other stuff but the Glock 9mm 17 and 31 round mags are great range magazines.
My glock 48 w/Sheild Arms 15rd.magazine with the steel safety release Now I have a Glock 1/2 the width of a 19 with equal fire power. I found it narrow enough to wrap my Left index finger (support hand) around the front of the trigger guard and the control is unreal!
The 48 is only 3/16ths of an inch thinner. For me, the Glock 19 is the way to go. It comes with 15rds oem which are far more reliable than shield mags and recoils less than the 43x and 48.
Not surprising since majority of CO residents are not from CO. Those are people that haven't encountered wildlife yet, or if they do, are the ones who try to pet a Moose.
I've only ever had maybe one or two failures to feed out of thousands of rounds on S15 Gen 2 mags. I have my own gripes with Shield Arms not standing behind their warranty and having somewhat laughable customer service in regards to some of their components (mostly their initial magwell), but I have also sold tens of thousands of the Gen 2 mags and seldom had customers who installed the proper mag catch come back with issues. You can see where there is some "slop" in the fitment of the mag, compared to the Glock OEM design, but it seems to function fairly well for the majority of people out there, still. I used the original metal mag catch for years and then swapped one of the 43X frames over to the No-Going-Back "Premium" catch (which will trap a Glock OEM mag if it ever gets inserted), and haven't noticed much difference, to be honest. After close to four years with the Gen 2 mags, the biggest problem I'm running into now (besides the razor-sharp feed lips chewing up the frame) is surface rust and the weak coatings (which have supposedly been addressed in Gen 3, as they've changed coatings and manufacturers). That said, they did contract out the fabrication to a few different manufacturers, so, perhaps there are variances between them which cause issues. Shield Arms claims Glock's internal magwell geometry changed slightly between unannounced generations; whether that's true or not, it's apparent they also had production issues between the various magazine fabricators, so, that's where I'd put my money, so to speak. Who knows for sure, though...
The shield mags are a good idea that is doomed to fail in the gun eventually. I spent over $2k trying to make them work. The follower is the Achilles heel. Widening it to achieve double stack capacity prevents it from sitting as high in the gun as the Glock mag. This causes slide lock engagement failures at the low end and failure to feed on the high end. This only gets worse over time as the springs settle in. PSA mags are no better in this failure they just don’t require a proprietary mag catch that prevents OEM mag usage. These mags are NOT recommended for life saving applications. As the late great James Yeager used to say, only trust your life to OEM or contract mags.
Guys with shield mags are the same guys who trust pro mag. When you have to say "well mine works" it's not a piece of gear you should trust with your life.
Odd, heard plenty of testimonies where police officers have personally said they had an officer involved shooting where the extra rounds in the S15 saved their life.
@@PartizanArcher what police agency allows the carry of a 43x or 48 on duty? I've never heard of any stagger stack micro pistol being issued for duty. Let alone allowing them to carry an after market magazine with literally thousands of reports of failure.
@@blantant I may have over stepped it with the Promag comment. 😬 But it's still a magazine with so many reports of failure it's foolish to think it won't eventually happen to you.
You can find links to everything here : kitbadger.com/shield-arms-junk-sack-and-g43x/
Get questions answered here : www.patreon.com/KitBadger
You rock man. love your thoughtful insights. Keep it up.
A lot of people have had reliability issues with Shield Arms mags.
According to Shield Arms, there were some minor magwell geometry changes made to the 43X platform, which may or may not be true. Who can say without owning probably dozens of frames and having calipers. Externally, they certainly changed between the introductory gun and the MOS configurations, I'm just not sure how (if any) it changed, internally.
Between the Gen 1 and Gen 2 S15, there were certainly some improvements made to the mags (different followers at the very least) and I've put thousands of rounds through the Gen 2 design with only maybe one or two failures to feed. There is definitely some play or "slop" between the front and back of the grip, which might be causing feed issues for some people. The dimples and the lip adjustments on the Gen 3 are supposed to minimize that.
But to Shield Arms' theory, Glock also produces 100% domestic, Made in Georgia 43X guns, now. So, perhaps there's some variance between the US-made frames and the Austrian frames. I only own the Austrian imports, but I would assume the spec didn't change. I would assume Glock wouldn't change the internal dimensions, as their magazine standards remain the same, combined with the fact that their 10 round mag design, while regrettably low in capacity, is extremely reliable. But who can truly say whether or not there were changes, without having the inside knowledge of a Glock engineer... :P
Not really
@@mr.b3132 Theres lots of videos on it dude. School of the American rifle also has a video about the PSA Micro Dagger mags that are similar to the Shield mags and within the first 60 seconds of the video he mentions having lots of problems with gen 1 and gen 2 shield arms mags. SOTAR is as credible a source on this subject as there is. But even without his video, there are lots of other videos of people showcasing their issues...
Maybe yours work but many people have had issues and considering the whole point of the G43x is to have a carry pistol with bullet proof reliability I personally am fine with the 10 round mags. They work, they're readily available at many stores and they don't require modification of the firearm for long term reliable function. If your shield arms mags work then good, I'm glad to hear it and I hope they continue to function flawlessly for you. But don't say nobody has had issues because they certainly have.
@@JonConley I doubt there is any significant difference in the US made frames and the Austrian made frames. My 43x is also Austrian and I don't have a Georgia one so I can't check. I do have a Georgia G19 and if I want more than 10 rounds I just carry that. I've got thousands of rounds through my G19 with no problems and mags are cheap.
@@armorers_wrench you won't convince the fans of the sheild arms magazines. They think their short term experience invalidates the thousands of others whom have had failures.
Not to shit on this product, but as a person who carries in a fanny pack fairly often, the issue with me was always the "holster". I've never found a bag with a holster I trusted. My solution, for what its worth, was to take a holster I owned but didnt feel was comfortable, take the clips off of it, add industrial velcro to both the fanny pack interior and the holster, and adjust the retention to what feels good in the draw. You want to have it where you almost need two hands to remove the holster from the velcro. It never shifts, its safe, and its reliable. I've drawn hundreds of times at the range at this point, it has never given me an issue.
That is why the inside is lined with velcro. Set it up and carry how you see fit!
Hell yeah, bears and moose are real up here. My first experience with people and my rifle slung was a couple of years ago. It's time we make it normal. I've gone on hikes with my gf, and depending on how far out we go, dictates what I bring.
Transplants!
Nice intro.
Thought they kicked you off UA-cam....Great to see you back sir. Awesome stuff and thank You.
I have three shield mags (15 ends) for Glock 43x No issues. With metal mag release ? Mandatory it is 100% better than stock 10 round
Amen!
Things I do NOT "jump into"....things called a "junk sack" hehehe 😜
Love the content. Got a Kung Fu grip from Die Free Co last week. Keep it up!
Which RX shooting glasses are you using these days, Ivan? I'm in the market for some and was curious. It seems the Goldilocks solution (easily swapped lenses, good anti-fog vents) doesn't quite exist from my research. I was leaning towards the Oakley HNBL frames but wanted to get your feedback on what you're using and what's out there.
Nice summary on the sack. I suppose one overlooked point: keeping the gun warm(er) and dry, versus something like a chest rig. Seems handy.
I use most of their upgrades on the 43X platform, though, I must say that I found the friction lock wedge for the magwell to be pretty disappointing. My magwell wouldn't stay on the frame (the entire assembly could be easily pulled out of the frame with minimal effort) and the wedge threads (plastic) disintegrated on install. They provided no instructions with the kit, but I wrote to them and verified that I had done it correctly. Their solution was to charge me $15+ tax and shipping for a new piece of plastic, so, I laughed and threw the whole mess in a drawer, never to be used again.
Besides that, Gen 2 S15s worked fairly well, although, the coatings aren't amazing and I'm starting to see rust after two years of extremely light moisture exposure. Supposedly the Gen 3 has a better coating. Here's hoping, at least.
KitBadger, requesting a reliability test video with those magazines. There is not an in-depth video that I have found.
This set up actually sounds great for National Park hiking. Gonna look into this!
You could get a eberlestock bando bag and the xl version for the same price as one of these fanny packs.. I have the eberlestock fanny backs in both sizes and I've been happy.. Just saying there are quality opinions for half the price
I still think with the knife staged like this it will possibly cut the strap on the draw ✍️
I’m a simple man, Kit badger talks about backcountry violence and I take notes
Bought 3 for my 43x none worked 😄
Ask g48 owners if they like shield mags 😂
Very unreliable
Not that I have noticed
@@bigdaddybadgerGoogle it
Stick with OEM unless you wanna practice malfunctions in a gunfight lol
@@SuspiciousGanymede even OEM can fail if you don't practice with it. Know your equipment and run it enough that you are positive it is reliable. I've had Glocks that didn't run without any modifications to them. I know impossible...
Which knife is that ?
Fisher Blades Beckwith Covert fixed blade. $300
To quote the late James Yeager. All aftermarket mags are JUNK. Shield Arms magazines are all JUNK. only use OEM magazines in Glock pistols.
I have some aftermarket Glock mags that run as hard I can push them but I would not carry them ❤ ets makes a solid magazine for the Glock 9mm. I don't know about any of their other stuff but the Glock 9mm 17 and 31 round mags are great range magazines.
Does anyone else think he has a great voice to help you fall asleep?
My glock 48 w/Sheild Arms 15rd.magazine with the steel safety release Now I have a Glock 1/2 the width of a 19 with equal fire power. I found it narrow enough to wrap my Left index finger (support hand) around the front of the trigger guard and the control is unreal!
The 48 is only 3/16ths of an inch thinner. For me, the Glock 19 is the way to go. It comes with 15rds oem which are far more reliable than shield mags and recoils less than the 43x and 48.
Im considering something like this for carrying while hiking in colorado. there are def some people around here that dont like the sight of a gun.
Not surprising since majority of CO residents are not from CO. Those are people that haven't encountered wildlife yet, or if they do, are the ones who try to pet a Moose.
So they made it thinner by having it be all sheet metal, and thus got more rounds in the same space?
More or less, yep.
huh wonder if their own glock actually makes their mags work now
I've only ever had maybe one or two failures to feed out of thousands of rounds on S15 Gen 2 mags. I have my own gripes with Shield Arms not standing behind their warranty and having somewhat laughable customer service in regards to some of their components (mostly their initial magwell), but I have also sold tens of thousands of the Gen 2 mags and seldom had customers who installed the proper mag catch come back with issues. You can see where there is some "slop" in the fitment of the mag, compared to the Glock OEM design, but it seems to function fairly well for the majority of people out there, still. I used the original metal mag catch for years and then swapped one of the 43X frames over to the No-Going-Back "Premium" catch (which will trap a Glock OEM mag if it ever gets inserted), and haven't noticed much difference, to be honest.
After close to four years with the Gen 2 mags, the biggest problem I'm running into now (besides the razor-sharp feed lips chewing up the frame) is surface rust and the weak coatings (which have supposedly been addressed in Gen 3, as they've changed coatings and manufacturers).
That said, they did contract out the fabrication to a few different manufacturers, so, perhaps there are variances between them which cause issues. Shield Arms claims Glock's internal magwell geometry changed slightly between unannounced generations; whether that's true or not, it's apparent they also had production issues between the various magazine fabricators, so, that's where I'd put my money, so to speak. Who knows for sure, though...
@@JonConley Never had an issue with their customer service, very shocking as they stand 100% their product and offer a legit lifetime warranty.
The shield mags are a good idea that is doomed to fail in the gun eventually. I spent over $2k trying to make them work. The follower is the Achilles heel. Widening it to achieve double stack capacity prevents it from sitting as high in the gun as the Glock mag. This causes slide lock engagement failures at the low end and failure to feed on the high end. This only gets worse over time as the springs settle in. PSA mags are no better in this failure they just don’t require a proprietary mag catch that prevents OEM mag usage. These mags are NOT recommended for life saving applications. As the late great James Yeager used to say, only trust your life to OEM or contract mags.
Guys with shield mags are the same guys who trust pro mag. When you have to say "well mine works" it's not a piece of gear you should trust with your life.
Odd, heard plenty of testimonies where police officers have personally said they had an officer involved shooting where the extra rounds in the S15 saved their life.
False. No one ever trusts promag except for range malfunction training.
@@PartizanArcher what police agency allows the carry of a 43x or 48 on duty? I've never heard of any stagger stack micro pistol being issued for duty. Let alone allowing them to carry an after market magazine with literally thousands of reports of failure.
@@blantant I may have over stepped it with the Promag comment. 😬
But it's still a magazine with so many reports of failure it's foolish to think it won't eventually happen to you.