Glock 48 Review: Everything You’ve Always Wanted In A Glock. And Less.

The first Glock pistols reached American shores in the early 1980’s. The arrival of the Glock 48’s grandfather, the full-sized 9mm Glock 17, touched off a revolution in what we’ve come to expect in semi-automatic pistols. It wasn’t the first polymer-framed pistol, and it wasn’t the first striker-fired pistol either. The true genius of the Glock pistol is that they combined those elements with a rugged, simple internal mechanism to create a landmark firearms platform. That continues with the Glock 48. 

The Glock 48 continues Glock’s legacy of creating compact polymer 9mm pistols that are simple, rugged, and reliable. The single-stack Glock 48 is approximately the same size as a Glock 19, except it is significantly thinner. That thinness may not seem like much, but as we’ve said before, thinner guns are easier to carry.  It’s the gun’s height that makes it easier to spot under concealment. And the Glock 48 is tall. It’s the tallest out of all the guns in our test. However, that height also means that it can hold ten rounds in a magazine, which is tied for the most in our test. 

The Glock 48 is, in many ways, the bigger brother of the Glock 43. The 48, however, has a longer slide and taller grip. The 43 holds just six rounds, and is more of a pocket-sized pistol than the other guns in our test. The 43X is a variant of the 43 that combines the shorter slide of the 43 with the taller grip and the 10 round magazine of the 48. As the 48 has more features in common with the other guns in our test, that’s the model we’re going to focus on. 

First Impressions Of The Glock 48

I’ll be honest. I like Glocks, but I would not consider myself a Glock fan. The 48, though, is a gun that can warm even the most anti-Glock of hearts. It’s comfortable to hold, and with ten rounds and one in the chamber along with Glock’s legendary reliability, I’d have no issues forgoing my usual spare magazine if I carried a 48 on a regular basis. The 48 I shot in this test had a two-tone slide and frame, but the pistol is also available with an all-black finish. 

The Glock 48’s height may make it a bit harder to conceal, but it means that you can easily get a good firing grip on the gun. The particular model I shot was equipped from the factory with Ameriglo night sights, which I prefer to the standard Glock sights. The trigger broke at just under 5 pounds, which is right in line with the other compact 9mm guns we’ve tested. 

Range Impressions

The Glock 48 is a bit heavier than the other guns in our test. That little bit of extra weight helps the compact Glock 48 easily absorb recoil from the 9mm round. This, combined with its large, comfortable grip make the pistol very easy to shoot, even under rapid fire. 

The Glock 48’s controls are simplicity itself. The pistol uses the standard Glock “Safe Action” system, which has three separate safeties. The first is a blade in the trigger that helps prevent the gun from firing unless the trigger is depressed. The second is a firing pin safety, which moves out of the way as the trigger is pulled, and the third is a drop safety that prevents the gun from firing if dropped. The controls on the pistol were well-placed for me, and I had no issues running the gun during our tests.

Accuracy

The Glock 48 was the most accurate gun out of the ten pistols we tested. Shooting sixty rounds of three different kinds of 9mm ammunition, it turned in groups that averaged just under three inches. The longer slide of the pistol made the front sight pop up a bit more from the rear sight than on shorter pistols, which made the sights easy to pick up, even under rapid fire. Glock pistols have a reputation for accuracy, and judging by our results, the 48 continues to build on that reputation. 

Ammo Test Results

American Eagle 115 Grain FMJ
Average Group Size: 3.1 inches
Minimum Group Size: 2.6 inches
Maximum Group Size: 3.7 inches
Average Velocity: 1162 fps

Wolf 115 Grain FMJ
Average Group Size: 2.5 inches
Minimum Group Size: 1.1 inches
Maximum Group Size: 4.1 inches
Average Velocity: 1083 fps

Federal 147 Grain HST JHP
Average Group Size: 2.89 inches
Minimum Group Size: 2.07 inches
Maximum Group Size: 3.5 inches
Average Velocity: 993 fps

Overall Average Group Size: 2.83 inches

Reliability

The simplicity of the Glock action is part of the reason why they have such a reputation for reliability. The Glock 48 we tested fired 300 rounds from a wide variety of 9mm ammunition, including both full metal jacket (FMJ) and jacketed hollow point (JHP) rounds. There were no issues with any of the rounds we fired. In addition, there were no issues with the pistol’s operation during our tests. All the magazines and other components worked just as they were meant to work. 

Wrapup

Accurate, reliable, and slim. The Glock 48 is one of the most popular concealed carry pistols available today. It has a wide variety of accessories available on the market, so it can be configured to meet your specific needs, from holsters to sights to aftermarket barrels. Easy to shoot and comfortable to use, the Glock 48 is popular with American gun owners, and it’s popular for very good reasons.