Shield Arms Glock 48 Magazine

I've talked a lot about my concealed carry firearm choices here at Personal Defense Network for over 15 years. Currently, I've been carrying a Glock 48, and one of the reasons I switched to the Glock 48 from what I consider a Glock 43L, which is the Glock 48 slide with a 43 grip that configuration of a very short grip with a four-inch slide. The reason I switched? One of the main reasons was the shield arms 15 round magazine. This really is a game changer when it comes to the Glock 48.

If you think about the size difference in terms of the grip and how much harder it is to conceal the full length grip, you know, even with a good holster, it's harder for me to conceal the full length grip under an untucked t-shirt or polo shirt like this, and to simply go from seven rounds to 10, not really worth it. Certainly to go from six rounds to 10, makes it a little bit more interesting, but when we think about going from six or seven rounds to 15 or 16 rounds, which is what I can currently carry 15, plus one, that is a big, significant difference. I'm basically going to the same capacity that I had in something like a Beretta 92 when I was in law enforcement in the 1990s in what is essentially a single stack configuration, and it really is a game changer to be able to have 16 rounds inside of this Glock 48. Well, what I really need to know, is it reliable? And I've had three different shield magazines that I have found to be very reliable over several months.

Obviously I tested them before I started carrying them for defensive use, but in the meantime, I've used them a lot during classes, I've done them in my own personal training and a lot of practice with them, and I've seen a lot of other students and friends in the industry who are using these shield magazines and having no problems whatsoever with them. Now I have heard of a couple hiccups, maybe some of the early followers, there's been some issues you can see, this is one of the silver finish ones that apparently there was some rusting going on with the very early black finish ones. I have not had that problem. I did have a little bit of a problem in one of my Glock 48s with the magazine being drop free, the silver one, but in this one, it's been no problem at all, and I think it's probably inside the frame more than it is with the magazine itself. It's also important to note that because this change is to a metal magazine from the plastic magazine that the Glock was originally designed for, there is also a metal magazine catch that you'll get also from shield arms.

Now, the concern is the plastic magazine catch may get chewed up by the metal ledge. Obviously this being a metal ledge, but it's that metal and the thinner walls that are allowed structurally with metal over plastic, and it's that 16 round capacity that I now have with the Glock 48 and the shield arms mag that allows me to be comfortable with the change from the Glock 43 and it's why this is my current choice for concealed carry for defensive use.