Sig P938 vs Glock 43

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What a time to be alive! Some of the guns we have access to these days are awesome and if only John Browning and Samuel Colt could see some of the creations today they would be in awe. Today we are taking a look at two fantastic guns the Sig P938 vs Glock 43.

These two pistols compete for the same target market: the concealed carry market. They both feature small overall sizes and are chambered in 9mm.

Let us take a quick look at the table of contents and then dive in!

Sig P938 vs Glock 43 Size Comparison

The Sig P938 and the Glock 43 are both extremely close in size. The biggest difference in the size of the two guns in the Glock 43 is slightly longer in comparison to the P938.

The Glock also comes in slightly lighter than the P938 largely due to its polymer construction.

MetricsSig P938Glock 43
Weight17 oz16.23 oz
Height (Inches)4.3 in4.25 in
Length (Inches)5.9 in6.26 in
Width (Inches)1.1 in1.06 in

Sig P938 vs Glock 43 Concealed Carry

If you are in the market for the Sig P938 or the Glock 43 clearly you have concealed carry on your mind.

sigsauer p938 stockphoto

Sig P938

Glock43 stockphoto

Glock 43

These two guns are small and compact, and both have a fantastic feel in your hand.

If you want to pick the best-concealed carry between the two pistols you are gonna have to get your hands on them.

Picking the best overall gun for your needs starts with how it feels in your hands.

Both guns are extremely easy to conceal because they have such a small frame and slide. But knowing which is truly best is going to largely come down to personal preference.

In this comparison, I am going to try to explain some nuances and opinions based on my experience with both guns.

Ergonomics Overall

All right, we’ll start with the SIG P938. It is actually a pretty lightweight gun considering its nearly all-metal construction.

It’s very compact and actually feels really good in your hand, especially when you use the magazine pinky extension.

The ergonomics of the P938 are quite good. It almost feels like a minified 1911.

Feels great at first grab. It’s a relatively thin frame, so it is extremely easy to grip.

Next, we’ll take a look at the Glock 43.

Upon first grabbing, it feels really good in your hand, especially if you’re using the extended magazine.

Very lightweight. It does obviously have a polymer feel versus the metal frame of the P938.

So if you like metal in your hand, this isn’t going to feel as good to you, but it’s definitely a solid gun.

It’s more square in a lot of places, but definitely a solid feeling gun in your hand overall.

Frame

Starting with the frame on the P938, it’s an all-metal frame, which is the obvious difference between that and the Glock 43.

It has a beavertail same as the Glock 43. In my opinion, this beavertail isn’t quite as good or nearly as protruded as the Glock 43, but it still feels really good in your hand.

P938 Frame

Also, holding the P938 really feels like you’re holding a quality, solid firearm due to its metal grip frame.

It feels like it’s going to function like it’s supposed to, even with any cuts, nicks, bruises, drops. You’re not going to really hurt this gun. It’s going to stand up to the elements.

Moving on to the Glock 43.

The Glock 43 frame, like I said before, is all polymer.

Glock 43 Frame

It feels good in your hand. I like the beavertail on it a little bit better because it sticks out and allows you to establish a master grip a little easier.

I say beaver tail lightly. Neither of these guns has an extreme beavertail.

I do like how the Glock 43 feels in your hand. I’m very much a Glock 19 carrier, so this is a really good gun to me. But with that being said, it does give the P938 a run for its money.

When it comes to the frame of these two guns, I don’t think you can necessarily pick a winner.

I see where the Glock 43 is somewhat better in certain areas of the frame, but overall, I think they are pretty much tit-for-tat, and that’s going to be very subjective to your hand size as well.

With larger hands, you’re probably going to default to the 43; it’s going to feel better due to its slightly larger frame size.

But smaller-handed shooters will like the P938’s frame more.

sigsauer p938 stockphoto

Sig P938

Glock43 stockphoto

Glock 43

Grip Length

The grip length is actually really interesting on these two guns because of their size.

While the Glock 43 is obviously a larger gun overall, the grip length is nearly the exact same as the P938 and the Glock 43.

p938 vs glock43 grip

Now, the one thing that does differentiate the two is how protruded the magazine’s pinky attachments are.

The Glock 43 has a larger pinky attachment than the 938, but if you were to line up the frames, they are almost identical in length.

So as far as grip lengths go, they are going to get about the same.

As I said, if you have a larger hand, the Glock 43 may feel better because I feel like your pinky might slip off of the P938.

So these two guns are pretty much a dead tie when it comes to grip length.

Texture

The texture on the grips are two wildly different textures.

The P938 has grip panels that can be removed and swapped out.

The Glock 43 does not.

You get what you get on the Glock 43, and that is the standard checkerboard pattern that you get on the Gen 4 style Glocks.

On the Sig P938, it definitely has a much more abrasive grip.

Now, this is the stock grip on the Scorpion I’m talking about, so your mileage may vary on that.

But this grip is actually a little bit more textured than the Glock 43. It has more of an ovular style pattern in it.

But with that said, I am more accustomed to the Glock-style grip texture.

So I’m not going to say one win over the other.

I think it’s whatever you get used to and personal preference is going to be the inherent winner.

In my case, it’s the Glock, but I do really like the P938 grip texture. So take that at what you will and choose whatever’s best for you grip-wise.

Slide

The slide on the P938 is different than the Glock 43.

First and foremost, the P938 is actually a shorter firearm, so the slide is going to be shorter than on the Glock 43.

The P938 has rear serrations and a few front serrations, but I really wouldn’t harp on the front serrations too much because they’re pretty weak in the serration world.

But overall they work. But I wouldn’t grab a P938 from the front to rank the slide, I would always grab it from the back.

Now, one obvious difference between the P938 and the Glock 43 is the P938 has a hammer.

The hammer is at the rear of the slide, so you have to keep in mind when you are grabbing the slide so you are careful, with the hammer so it doesn’t pinch you.

I don’t think you have to worry about it falling or doing anything crazy, but just keep in mind you do have a hammer back there.

It is important to note, but at the same time, you want to make sure that you can grab your slide, rack, release it, and you can do that relatively easy on the P938 and with its all-metal slide.

Now moving over to the Glock 43, this is a Gen 4.

It only has rear serrations and front serrations. So I’ve become extremely accustomed to Glock slides.

This is a standard Glock slide but in a smaller form.

You can obviously grab it, and pull anywhere on the slide, to chamber a round.

Like all Glocks, there’s no hammer, so naturally, and you can pretty much beat, bang, throw around a Glock slide and nothing is going to catch on the hammer.

Personally, I really like the Glock slides.

Again, this is another situation where if I had to pick a winner, it’s going to be the Glock slide.

The P938 is a smaller slide. There’s less to grab, and so in my opinion, the Glock slide’s going to win out just on the sheer fact of it’s easier to grab, and put into battery, and roll on.

sigsauer p938 stockphoto

Sig P938

Glock43 stockphoto

Glock 43

Sights

So now I’m going to talk about the sights on the Glock 43 and the P938.

I’m going to talk about the Glock sights first.

A lot of Glocks nowadays either come with Glock night sights or Ameriglo sights.

Unless your Glock comes with one of those two sights stock, I think the Glock sights are absolute garbage.

That is one thing that Glock just doesn’t get right.

99% of the time the Glock night sights aren’t too bad.

Glock 43 Aftermarket Sights

However, the stock sights don’t matter to me, because 9 times out of 10 I am going to replace the Glock night sights with Trijicon night sights.

On this particular Glock 43, I have the Ameriglos.

I prefer the no rear dots and the front orange dot. That is just what I’ve been shooting for so long, and that’s what I’m used to.

Glock 43 Stock Sights

These are, of course, aftermarket sights on this gun, but if your Glock 43 doesn’t come with the Glock stock night sights and just comes with the standard plastic sights with the rear white U and the single front dot, get rid of those things ASAP, they’re terrible.

P938 Stock Sights

Now, the stock sights on the P938 are much better, in my opinion.

So straight out of the box, the stock sights on the SIG P938 are of a higher caliber.

They went out in the stock department.

Now, there are options to change out the SIG P938 with very similar options to the Glock. So in the aftermarket world of these sights, you can go either way.

It’s pretty much up to you what you want to do, but when it comes down to stock sights, the P938’s going to win and the Glock 43’s stock sights are not good.

Controls

So now I’ll talk about the controls of the gun.

That’s really where the guns start to differentiate from each other, so it’s very important that we cover these sections thoroughly and individually.

To begin, well are going to start with the trigger.

Trigger

One of the most important controls on any firearm is the trigger. How it functions and feels can make or break a gun.

p938 vs g43 trigger

Sig P938 Trigger

The trigger on the P938 is very similar to that of a 1911 style pistol.

It has very, very little take-up.

It’s not like a 1911 in that it’s on a slide-rail-type system.

It does have an upward take, but it has a clean wall and it is clearly defined, but the break is somewhat spongy. Little hard to find the break on the P938.

Once you do hit the break, the release is smooth and only back to the wall.

It’s all the way just back to the wall, and then you can fire again. Overall, the trigger’s pretty good. I’m not going to harp on it too much. The big loser on SIG P938 is the fact it has a thumb safety.

This brings us to one of the biggest differences in the P938 is that it has a safety.

The Glock 43 being sticker-fired it does not have an external hammer.

Glock 43 Trigger

Now moving on to the Glock 43 trigger

This is a stock Glock 43 trigger. The take-up is smooth but somewhat long. You hit a wall. There’s a little bit of sponge in the wall and then a crisp, clean break. The release is back to the wall, and of course, a crisp, clean, predictable break.

So overall on the triggers, the Glock 43 is going to win.

While the P938 has a nice trigger, the safety and hammer are what’s going to cause it to lose the trigger battle.

Overall, triggers are what you get used to so don’t harp on that much, but keep in mind that if you had thumb safeties and external hammers the P938 isn’t gonna be your favorite gun.

sigsauer p938 stockphoto

Sig P938

Glock43 stockphoto

Glock 43

Slide Lock

The slide lock on the SIG P938 is pretty much what you’d find on a 1911.

It’s a standard bar with a protruding edge.

The pull-down on it is easy. Sends the slide forward.

slide stop comparison

The only thing about it is, it is directly in the middle of the gun above the trigger.

If you don’t have long thumbs, you will have to kind of move your hand around the gun to get to it if that’s how you want to release your slide.

I don’t recommend that. Always grab your slide to release it, and send it to battery.

But obviously, bad habits die hard and that is one way to do it.

The actual use of it, is quite simple. Push up, locks into place. I have no issues with the P938 slide stop.

The slide stop on the Glock 43 is your standard Glock slide stop.

I know I keep saying standard Glock, but there are a million and a half Glocks out there, maybe a billion and a half, I don’t know.

I’ve always had beef with their slide stops. They do make aftermarket slide stop/releases, I guess it is not really aftermarket if Glock makes it, but they make one that protrudes out more than the stock.

You can actually push it up to lock the slide pretty easily. It’s easier to get to with your thumb.

It sits further behind the trigger, and I can get to it with smaller hands. It’s not ambidextrous, but neither is the 938.

No big deal for me, I’m a righty. Sorry if you’re wrong-handed.

But overall, the slide stop works on the 43. It is harder to use. You have to put more force and power into it to send the slide home.

So in this case, the easiest to use stock slide stop is the Sig P938.

Magazine Release

The magazine release on the P938 is a small circle, sits behind the trigger well.

It’s textured, it’s metal.

Functions well. It doesn’t necessarily shoot out the magazine when you press the release.

The magazine can get hung from time to time, but overall the release button itself works well.

The only real complaint I have with the button is for it to work the best you need to press and hold the magazine release until the magazine clears the magazine well before releasing the button.

Overall the Sig P938 release is going to be your standard 1911 style circle magazine release.

The magazine release on the Glock 43, is very nice. It’s oversized

The only downside for it is that its polymer.

Again, sometimes the magazines don’t slide all the way out with the Glock so they’re on the same page on that portion, but as far as size and ease of use go, the Glock 43 is probably going to win out just because of the size and the shape.

It’s more of a square and much easier to press quickly under stress. So in this particular category, I would say Glock 43 wins.

Magazine Well Sig P938 vs Glock 43

All right, so the magazine well on the Glock 43 is substantially larger than it is on the P938.

The Sig P938 has a small mag well with a very little flare, so getting it in is somewhat difficult, but not incredibly.

You do have to send it home, it’s not just going to slide in. The Glock 43 mag well has zero flare and the magazine does seat a little easier.

I’m going to say this is the one category where both of these guns probably lose.

Magazine Well Comparison of the Sig P938 vs Glock 43

I wouldn’t pick one over the other.

I believe when it comes to magazine wells and mag changes, it’s just whatever you get used to.

Personally, I would pick the Glock 43 only because I’m used to the Glock magazine well, but I can’t say that it’s a definite winner because it doesn’t do anything above and beyond what the magazine well is there to do.

There’s no exceptional flare or anything of that nature on either pistol.

sigsauer p938 stockphoto

Sig P938

Glock43 stockphoto

Glock 43

Quality

Both guns come from two highly respected firearms companies.

Glock is well known and is widely used in nearly every segment of the firearms market. They became incredibly popular with Law Enforcement agencies in the early 2000s and now are found in agencies and Militaries all over the world.

Glock sports a high-quality no-fail style polymer sticker-fired pistol. The reliability and simplicity of the Glock are a huge draw for many Glock owners.

Sig is also extremely well know and the “P” series of handguns are also widely used in the civilian, military, and law enforcement markets.

Sig has had some quality blunders in the last few years but they did end up winning the US Army’s handgun of choice with the M18 better known as the Sig P320, which we recently reviewed the Sig P320 X5 Legion.

The P938 is a quality handgun you cannot take that fact away from it. But It is a completely different feeling gun overall.

Sig P938 vs Glock 43 Aesthetics

So starting with the P938. The pictured model is the P938 Scorpion

They also make the Legion, which is all black and gorgeous.

This thing is handsome, for a gun, it’s extremely compact and it has very, very nice lines in true Sig Sauer fashion.

The slide has a nice rounded edge coming to a clean 90 degree.

Just the lines on this gun are somewhat hard to explain in words and text, but it overall is a very well-thought-out, well-put-together gun.

The accents of the Scorpion are really nice. The black accents to the greenish tan-ish color gun are phenomenal.

If you like the look of this gun, you’re going to knock it out of the park as far as aesthetics go.

The Glock 43 is one of those things that it’s just a tool.

It’s not pretty. It’s a Glock, it’s square. It does its job.

The P938 wins all day long on aesthetics.

I’m a Glock guy. I don’t expect them to be pretty, but I do expect them to function.

So I know that this gun’s not going to win any beauty pageants. It’s not a Gucci Glock, it’s not anything crazy, but the Glock does aesthetically look good. It’s all black. It’s got good lines just like any Glock.

But overall, if you’re looking for an aesthetically pleasing gun, if you’re looking for a showpiece, the Sig P938’s going to win.

Shooting Sig P938 vs Glock 43

Both guns feel great in your hand. They present well on the target and they are both fun to shoot.

Typically smaller guns aren’t the most fun guns in the world to shoot but these two really aren’t bad.

The Sig P938 is a little harder on recoil and controllability after the shot due to its extremely compact size.

The positive is the grip texture does provide some mitigation of gun movement in your hand.

The Glock 43 does a really good job of shooting flat and presenting back on target after shooting.

Sig P938 vs Glock 43 Price/Value

The Sig P938 is currently going for nearly $1,000 brand new. You can find some used models for cheaper.

The price is a good bit higher than the Glock 43 and so the value for this gun just isn’t there. If you find one between $500-$700 that would be a good price/value for the P938.

The Glock 43 goes for around $500-$700 in today’s market. Of course, $700 is on the somewhat high end of the price/value for Glocks.

New Glock 43’s should be in the $550-$675 in normal times. Used Glock 43’s seem to be $600 as of this writing which seems high, but availability can be limited during these crazy gun-buying times.

sigsauer p938 stockphoto

Sig P938

Glock43 stockphoto

Glock 43

Pros/Cons

So if you don’t want to read this entire comparison of these two great pistol options, here are the highlights.

Sig P938 Pros

  • Great Size
  • Quality Handgun
  • Metal Magazines
  • All Metal Construction

Sig P938 Cons

  • Hammer
  • Thumb Safety
  • Price/Value

Glock 43 Pros

  • Weight
  • Price/Value
  • Aftermarket Accessories

Glock 43 Cons

  • Larger Size than the P938
  • Polymer Frame
  • Polymer Magazines
Michael Savage
Michael Savage

Michael is the President of Lynx Defense and an avid gun owner and outdoors man. He's passionate about helping find the best bang for your buck and helping others learn about firearms and the industry as a whole.

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2 Comments

  1. I find the Glock much easier to field strip than the P938. I feel I need 3 hands for this Sig. just my opinion. I only like it as I pocket carry now and then, fits my jeans just fine.

  2. Awesome review, thank you! I bought a Ruger Max 9 and love it’s feel and looks and shootability but it has some seemingly small quirks I can’t get over – the slide locks back unless you depress the release and the take down is horrible. The pin release is the worst design and hard. Anyways, looking for another option and this helps!

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