So is there an answer to Glock 43x vs P365?
Glock and SIG Sauer are arguably the two most popular defensive pistol makers on the market. The 43x and P365 are guns that many people will look at when looking for a reliable, concealed-carry or self-defense firearm. Although they appear different in form factor, many people will want to use them for the same purposes.
This is not a comparison of Glock 43x vs SIG P365 to see which gun is better. But instead, a comparison to see which one will better suit your needs. Some differences are great, while others are slight, but they’re all going to make a difference in your experience.
We’re also going to go over the pros and cons of each gun. As well as the more neutral features so you can determine which firearm is the best choice for you and your lifestyle.
Size
Glock 43x vs P365 Concealed Carry
Looking at the chart, you’ll see that there’s not much of a difference between the Glock 43x vs P365. Except for the grip length. The weight is identical as well as the width, but the difference in the grip is substantial.
The SIG P365 is almost three-quarters of an inch shorter than the Glock 43x. When you’re looking at concealing a gun inside the waistband, that makes a big difference. If you’re looking at this gun for something like pocket carry, that difference can be even greater.
I wouldn’t say the Glock 43x would be a suitable pocket carry. At least for anyone that is not absolutely enormous as well as wearing extremely large-cut pants. The SIG P365 can work for pocket carry for a variety of people. With factory magazines, both of these guns hold 10 rounds. The Glock 43x has the ability to upgrade to a 15-round Shield S15 mag and a flush-fit magazine.
Firepower
The Shield S15 series changes things up a bit. With the 15-round Shield mags, the Glock 43x becomes one of the most size-efficient guns in its size class. Just like the SIG P365 is the most size-efficient gun in its class with its grip length and width.
While you can get a capacity advantage with the Glock 43x vs SIG P365, the SIG P365 also accepts 12- and 15-round magazines. Although the 12-round magazine is similar in length to the Glock 43x, you’re still going to get a three-round capacity increase by going with the 43x with Shield mags.
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By changing the P365 magazine, you can get a little more capacity.
You also make the gun a little bit more shootable due to having a longer grip. But, at the same time, it’s simply a more versatile setup. Because by changing the mag, the same gun could work for pocket carry or IWB carry with a 12-round magazine.
With the Glock 43x, there is no change in the length of the grip. So you’re stuck with a gun of that size. On paper, I think there is a clear concealment advantage for the SIG P365. But if you want a little more capacity, then things might start to favor the Glock 43x.
Ergonomics
Frame
The frames on these guns are pretty different. When you start looking at the guns themselves, you’ll notice there is no modularity with either frame. Now, one advantage for the SIG P365 is the frame itself can be removed. You can replace it with a SIG P365 XL frame. Which is a little longer so it’ll hold flush-fit 12-round magazines. That’s a nice feature if you want a longer grip, but still like the short slide profile of the SIG P365.
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Personally, I would say to just get a SIG P365 XL if that’s where you’re looking for. As you’re going to get a few advantages from the longer barrel on the SIG P365 XL. When feeling the grip, the SIG P365 XL feels smaller in the hand, but it also feels very good. You’re able to get a good purchase on the gun, but there are a few points of discomfort.
One is the rear corner on the right-hand side of the gun for me as a right-hand shooter, digging into the center of my palm. That’s not major, but it is a slight discomfort and something worth mentioning.
G43x
The Glock 43x has a longer grip and therefore doesn’t have those issues. I can fit all three of my fingers on the Glock 43x, while half of my pinky hangs off the SIG P365. That said, I can still get a lot of leverage on the SIG P365 for a gun of that size.
I’m very impressed with how Sig designed the frame on that gun because it has a decently high undercut. The undercut allows me to get more of my hand on the gun than any other gun that’s similar in size to the SIG P365. This really gives an advantage when it comes to shooting, which we’ll cover later.
Texture
The texture on either of these grips isn’t what I’d call aggressive. Although I will say the SIG P365 texture feels slightly more aggressive in my opinion. The texture on both grips extends 360 degrees around the grip of the gun. A Grip Sig P365 feels like a fine-grit sandpaper. It’s a good texture, but not great. The Glock 43x has a Gen4 Glock texture. That works well enough, but it’s a little less aggressive. I don’t see any advantages over the texturing of the SIG P365.
Slide
When it comes to manipulating the slides on these pistols, a lot is going to depend on which variation of the Glock 43x you get. The Glock 43x comes with the option of either a black or a silver slide. The silver slide is not very slick when you feel it. So when you’re using the forward serrations or even the restorations on the gun, it’s much easier than the Glock 43x would be.
Texturally, the finish on the SIG P365 is a little slicker than the silver Glock 43x. But it’s not nearly as slick as the conifer block 43x slide that comes in black. Both of these slides are pretty easy to manipulate. I do find the Glock 43x just slightly easier to manipulate. But that’s because it’s easier for me to get my pinky on the bottom of the grip, providing a little more leverage when cycling the slide.
If you have smaller hands, that is not going to provide you an advantage.
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In that case, I’d say these guns will be a tie when it comes to the slides themselves. The SIG P365 serrations are a little more aggressive. But they also don’t extend as high as the serrations do on the Glock 43x. So, again, it becomes a draw. It’d be nice if the serrations of P365 extended a little bit higher from a user standpoint. From an aesthetic standpoint, it would kill the look of the gun and that does matter for selling firearms.
Sights
Stock
The SIG P365 comes with only one sight offer, which is the Siglite night sights. Now, you do have the SIG P365 SAS variant, and that comes with a Meprolight Bullseye style sight which is very different and not something we’re going to cover here. I will say the standard sights on the SIG P365 are much better and have more advantages than the SIG P365 SAS sighting system, at least once you get into it.
The Sig P365 SAS sounds great on the surface.
Once you really dig into how the sights work and what they do, it’s not that great of a setup. We’ll have an article on that in the future. The signal night sights on the SIG P365 are 3-dot night sights. They have a front tritium sight that has a decently bright green ring around it and then the rear side is blacked out with two tritium vials.
The front sight on the SIG P365 is not as bright as I would like during the daylight, and that is probably my biggest complaint about these sights. For a gun like this though, the sights are really good out of the box, and I can’t see spending an extra $100 to replace them with something that’s only going to be just slightly better.
Glock
The Glock 43x has two different sight options. You can get the Glock 43x with plastic slot fillers, which Glock calls “sights.” This really isn’t a great option unless you plan to immediately replace the sights. I do like getting the classic slot fillers because I’m fairly picky about the sights I get on my gun and they allow me to have a lot more choice and not spend the money on a decent set of sights that are just going to get thrown in the trash.
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You can also order the Glock 43x with AmeriGlo sights. The AmeriGlo sights that Glock ships from the factory have a bright orange front side and then a blacked-out rear. These are also 3-dot night sights. The bright orange front is brighter and easy to pick up in the daylight than the Siglite night sights.
I really don’t like the color of green that SIG uses as it’s just not as bright as it could be. If they switched that up, the SIG P365 would definitely have a better set of sights, but I’m going to have to say the Glock 43x AmeriGlo sight options are the best option you can go with when we’re just speaking about factory options.
Aftermarket
Aftermarket sights for both these guns are pretty comparable and there are a ton of options for both. There might be a few more for the Glock than the SIG P365, but the SIG P365 uses a standard stage cut and there are a lot of pistols that accept sights for that. There’s a large asset market there.
The Glock 43x uses the same sights as the Glock 43 and 42 as well as the Glock 48, so there are also a ton of sights for that as well. You could even mount Glock 19 sights on this gun if you didn’t mind the sights overhanging the slide. I don’t suggest that, but know that option is there.
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Red Dot Optics
Mounting a red dot to your SIG P365 can be done if you’re willing to send the slide off and have it custom-milled for a dot. Right now, SIG Sauer does not currently offer a milled slide option from the factory, although I do hope they will in the future.
The Glock 43x, on the other hand, has the Glock 43x MOS (modular optic system) variant. This pistol comes with a light-mounted rail on the bottom of the frame that will affect your holster choice.
This modular optics system isn’t actually all that modular. It doesn’t come with as many plates as the MOS variants for the 19 and 17 do, and it will only work with the Shield RMSC sights. That is a major disadvantage, in my opinion, over most of the guns on the market. That said, it’s still a red dot option that the SIG P365 does not have.
There are companies that will make adapter plates so your Glock 43x MOS will work with optics like the Holosun 507K and the Trijicon RMRc, but those plates will cause the dot to sit higher than you would like.
Controls
When shopping for a handgun you need to make sure the controls work for you. They aren’t talked about as much as they should be and they’re very important for safe us.
Safety
There is no safety on the Glock 43x, so we’re only going to be discussing the external safety on the SIG P365. The P365 can be ordered with an ambidextrous thumb safety that sits at the rear of the gun and a similar position to a 1911. They’re very low-profile and work pretty darn well.
They seem a little bit like an afterthought when you look at the handgun, but they do work and I honestly don’t have any issues with them. I don’t have them on my own personal pistols, but it’s an option that you can definitely order with a gun. If you’re looking for evidential stamp safety, then the SIG P365 is definitely going to beat the Glock 43x.
Glock 43x vs P365 Trigger
The trigger on these guns is very different. The Glock 43x trigger has a light take-up and then you’re going to start feeling just the slightest bit of pressure before you hit a very hard wall. Once you feel that wall, you’re going to have a hard definite break and then a short reset that resets right at the beginning of that wall.
Overall, it’s a decent trigger but not a great trigger. I think a lot of people that complain about Glock triggers will likely complain about this trigger as well. I can shoot it well and I don’t have the problems that a lot of people claim to have with Glock, but if you have this problem with other Glocks you will definitely have them with this trigger as well.
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Sig P365 Trigger
Now, the SIG P365 trigger is completely different. When you go, you’re going to feel some extremely light take-up and then you’re going to hit a wall. From that wall, you’re going to start to feel a lot of creep, and that creep is going to build into a rolling break. That’s very nice. From there, it’s going to have a short, positive reset right at the beginning of that wall again. You feel that before the trigger breaks.
When it comes to the SIG P365 trigger, I personally shoot it very well. The trigger does not sound like it feels as good, but it really is a very shootable trigger. It’s not masquerading, it’s not something that you’re going to be bragging to your friends about, but it works really well. The rolling break really works with a gun of this size.
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Slide Lock
The slide lock on the SIG P365 sits fairly far forward, so it can be a little bit of a reach if you have smaller hands. The Glock 43x, on the other hand, sits just a little farther back. Considering that both these guns might be favored by people with smaller hands, that is something you’ll want to take into account.
The SIG P365 also has very sharp angles on the flat-top that make it just slightly softer and more comfortable to use. The Glock 43x, on the other hand, is well-rounded, but also just a tad slick. I think I’m going to have to give the advantage to the Glock 43x because it seems a little more comfortable to use, but it’s not that much of a good advantage, maybe 5 to 10%.
Glock 43x vs P365 Magazine Release
Now, the magazine release on both these guns works about the same. They’re both easy to reach, but there’s going to be a major difference when it comes to dropping the magazine. With the SIG P365, unless you have really small hands, the palm of your hand is likely going to sit below the magazine itself, so it will block the magazine from dropping free when you press in the mag release.
Now, if you break your hand to allow it to drop free, then the magazine will fall out, but if you try to drop it while keeping your grip, the magazine will not drop free. Just keep that in mind if that’s an issue for you. The Glock 43x, on the other hand, has a long enough grip that your palm will likely not extend below the gun itself unless you have huge hands, so that magazine will drop free easily.
Magazine Well
The magazine well on both these guns is very minimal and not easiest in the world to reload. I will say that with the SIG P365 it’s fairly easy to get the magazine in since your hand almost acts as a funnel around the gun itself. The Glock 43x is also fairly easy to reload and seems to have a similar effect.
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I’ve just always been able to get really good times with the Glock 48 and Glock 43x when reloading them. Your mileage may vary, though — I think there’s an advantage to a longer grip when it comes to getting that magazine in faster because your hand doesn’t have to go from being out of the way back to a very good solid grip.
Glock 43x vs P365 Quality
The quality of these two guns is pretty similar. The quality of the slides seems roughly the same. I might give a slight edge to SIG P365 due to the finish on the Glock seeming a little bit cheaper, but the frame on the safety for the P365 seems a lot cheaper than that of the Glock. You can average those out and get a tie.
Aftermarket
There are a lot of aftermarket offerings for both these guns. Right now, I’d say there is just a little more aftermarket for the Glock 43x, but not by much. SIG Sauer is quickly gaining in the aftermarket for both their P365 and P320 series. I’m not sure if Glock will always reign supreme when it comes to the aftermarket, but both of these guns are going to give you all the options you could ask for.
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Glock 43x vs P365 Aesthetics
Aesthetically, the Glock 43x just seems a little long in the handle with a very short muzzle. It doesn’t look proportional in my opinion — it’s not a bad-looking gun, but it’s just not great. The SIG P365, on the other hand, looks cute. That’s the only way I can think to describe it. It’s a very proportional handgun and looks very good.
I think SIG did an excellent job designing the appearance of the gun and might have even done a few things that take away from the design functionality-wise to make it look good and proportional. In my opinion, the SIG P365 is the better-looking gun.
Shooting
Shooting these guns side-by-side, there’s no doubt that the SIG Sauer P365 is the softer-shooting firearm. I personally find that it shoots a lot better if you can get a good grip on it from the holster.
Now (this is one thing that we’ll talk about when you’re drawing the Glock 43x), it’s much easier to get a solid grip on it from the holster because the grip is much larger and it’s longer from the back to the front strap.
That means your fingers don’t have to wrap as far around the grip when getting a hold on the firearm. That is a big deal for speed from the holster and also just when getting a solid grip on the gun.
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If I have time to get an awesome grip on the P365 and start shooting, it does great under recoil. With the Glock 43x, I can get that grip much quicker and with a decent grip as well.
It really just depends on the situation.
For something like pocket carry where you’re going to build your grip straight out of the holster, the SIG P365 is pretty dang good. If you’re just shooting at the range off a bench, the P365 will show the Glock 43x up all day long assuming you can get enough of your pinky on the bottom of that grip.
On the other hand, the 43x just seems to do better for me when I’m drawing from the holster and trying to shoot really fast.
Glock 43x vs P365 Cadence
That speed means the first shot on target, not the cadence. I actually can keep a better cadence with the SIG P365 assuming I get a good grip out of the holster, which is harder to do. Now, that’s speaking more about track/up-close shoot.
If you’re shooting a gun from further away, then you’re going to want to take a look at the P365 due to the trigger, which really comes into its own when you’re doing launches and shooting.
I’ve got video footage of me shooting the last round of the day at 100 yards for the SIG P365 on a steel torso. You can hear the delay on the shots so you know I’m not faking it. The SIG P365 sights really come into their own here. There’s such a big gross sight picture, and even though they don’t work as well when trying to shoot bullseye at 25 yards, they’re great when you’re trying to get a very precise shot at 100 and don’t want to second-guess yourself.
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The shorter sight radius is going to show less movement, so you’re not going to second-guess and cause yourself to overcompensate. This pistol takes away a lot of the mind games you might be trying to fight. For that reason, I really like this gun for shooting extremely long distances, though I don’t know how practical that application is.
Price/Value
There is a price difference when comparing the SIG P365 vs. Glock 43x. A base model Glock 43X with plastic sights can be found for $450 while a SIG P365 will run you $500 but comes with the Siglite night sights that make the P365 a better value.
If you can find the Glock 43x with Ameriglo sights, then that’ll run you about $520. Glock magazines are $25, while SIG P365 Magazines cost $40 or more. If you get the S15 magazines, those run around the same price as the SIG magazines as well. The P365 will definitely fill more roles, so I personally think it’s a slightly better value.
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But a Glock 43x with a 15-round magazine is smaller than the SIG P365 with the same capacity. If you’re going to carry it with a 15-round magazine, then the Glock 43x might be a better value. What the best value is will depend on how you intend to use the gun.
Related Articles
- Glock 43X Review
- Glock 48 vs 43x
- Glock 43 vs 43X
- Glock 43X Holster
- Sig P365 Review
Glock 43x vs P365 Pros/Cons
G43x Pros
- Size with 15-round capacity
- Magazine price
Glock 43x Cons
- Size with 10-round capacity
Sig P365 Pros
- Recoil impulse
- Size with 10-round capacity
- Concealment size
SIG P365 Cons
- Sized with a 15-round capacity
- Magazine price
This is an opinion piece, but I always aim to eliminate bias. Look, we’ve all read them before. Gun reviews that claim to be helpful, but they’re really thinly veiled hit pieces trying to get you to buy something before you’ve even started your research. Or, even worse, a review put together by a content writer who has never even held a gun.
I’ve trained with some of the best in the business to learn various shooting styles and ideologies to better serve our customers. I’ve purchased guns of all price points, calibers, and action types to build the best products for the market. I want you to walk away knowing you have the information you need to make a sound purchasing decision.
