Glock 48 vs Glock 19: A Detailed Review

Oh Glock, at one point everyone proclaimed the Glock 19 was the perfect concealed carry gun. Now perfect is relative as its a rather large gun compared to a pocket pistol like the Ruger LCR. However, it was an excellent size compromise. It was a compact gun that offered 15 rounds on tap in an easy to control package. The Glock 19 is by far the most popular Glock pistol, and the Glock 19X sold a 100k units in a year, so that says something. What other differences are between the Glock 48 vs Glock 19?

The Glock 19 is a massively popular gun from a massively popular company. It can’t get better, can it?

Glock could have rested on the Glock 19 as the end-all compact gun, but instead, this year they introduced the Glock 48. The newest Glock is very 19 like, but is much thinner and is a single stack gun. The Glock 48 premiered at SHOT Show 2019 and was at range day and on the floor.

The gun grabbed an immediate cult following of people who saw the benefits of the design. The Glock 48 is almost like an evolution of the Glock 19 but at the same different enough to gain its own number.

Can the Glock 48 upset the natural order of things and replace the Glock 19 as Glock’s perfect compromise for concealed carry? We’ll let’s take a peek at the two and find out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glock 48 vs Glock 19: Fit and Finish

Glock’s are often described as Spartan, and that’s a great way to look at them. They aren’t designed to be sexy or stylish, and they are designed to work and work they do. This isn’t to say the guns are sloppy or aren’t professional. The Glock 19 comes with a standard nitride finish and is available in a stainless steel model.

The finish is evenly applied without odd portions receiving more or less coating. The blackened finish you find on most is well suited for both concealed carry and duty use. The finish is very hard and resistant to wear and tear.

It will resist holster wear as well as contact with sweat and moisture in general.

The traditional Glock finish is well proven and well made. The new Glock 48 is outfitted with a new finish called nPVD. This gives the gun a stainless steel appearance.

It certainly stands out and looks good. Is it tough? It’s not like we’ve seen Glock guns outfitted with the nPVD finish often. The nPVD finish has been used for years on different guns and is quite rugged and tough. The new finish is very nice and speaks to my love of stainless guns.

Each gun has a black polymer frame that’s rather plain and simple. The polymer is cleanly cut without lines or mold marks. The Glock frame is outfitted with simple stippling, and clean cuts to accommodate the gun’s controls. Both guns are clean-cut and well made.

The Glock 48 does have an nPVD finish that gives it the stainless appearance, and admittedly you can hunt down stainless Glock 19s. Both guns look good, are a tad bit boring, but the function is more important than form. In terms of form both the fit and finish are well done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glock 48 vs Glock 19: Specs

Here is where we see a major difference between the two guns. The specs are nearly completely different. All that said, there are a number of specs the guns are similar in. The height of both guns are identical and are each 5.04 inches tall.

They share the same length grip. The guns feature similar trigger distances: the 48’s is slightly short than the Glock 19s, but not considerably.

The Glock 48 is predictably slimmer. The slide is .80 inches thick, and the grip width is 1.10 inches. The 19 has a .13 inch wider slide and a .16 inch thicker grip. It doesn’t seem like a major difference, but when it’s pressed against your body, you feel it.

The biggest difference in these guns is the capacity. The Glock 48 comes with single stack 9mm magazines that hold ten rounds. The Glock 19 comes stock with 15 round magazines but can accommodate magazines up to 33 rounds.

The weight of the guns is considerably different. The Glock 48 weighs 25.12 ounces with a full magazine. The Glock 19 weighs a hefty 30.16 ounces when fully loaded.

The Glock 48 has a shorter overall length at 7.28 inches but has a longer barrel at 4.17 inches. The Glock 19 has a 4.02-inch barrel but an overall length of 7.36 inches.

Each gun represents its chosen role well, and the gun’s specs are on point from what they are and what they do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glock 48 vs Glock 19: Ergonomics

Since the guns both feature very similar ergonomics, it may be hard to declare one or another as better or more ergonomic than the other. Both guns have grips that are perfectly long enough to fill your hand just right. You won’t find a hanging pinky on these guns.

The G48 is basically in its first generation. The Glock 19 is in its 5th generation so it can be tough to compare ergonomics without consideration for the correct generation. Since the G48 came out in 2019, I think it’s fair to compare the ergonomics to the Generation 5 Glock 19s.

Both guns have smooth, groove-less grips which to me are superior to the previous Gen 3 and Gen 4 grips in my opinion. The G48’s thinner grip is likely more comfortable for smaller hands overall. The trigger distance is shorter which makes it much easier for shorter fingers to reach the trigger.

The Glock 19 Gen 5 model incorporates an ambidextrous magazine release, and the Glock 48 does not. The Glock 19 also has a flared mag well for quicker and easier reloads. The Glock 48 does feature a full-sized slide lock that’s common in every other Glock handgun.

The Glock 48 does have forward slide serrations, a feature missing on standard Glock 19 (though not the Glock 19 MOS Gen 5 as seen in the photographs). The front serrations make it easy to rack the gun from the front or to do a press check.

Both guns do feature a magazine release that is reversible for both left and right-handed shooters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glock 48 vs Glock 19: Features

We could talk all day about the features of these two guns. The Glock 48 is a very small and ergonomic little gun that is honestly for comfortable and packed with features. This includes the Generation 5 marksman’s barrel. This barrel is match grade and enhances the accuracy of the gun.

The Generation 5 Glock, of course, has this same barrel. Magazine wise both guns also feature witness holes for every round and a bright orange follower that makes it easy to track the round count in your weapon.

Lastly, both guns use the Glock safe action system that provides three total safeties to prevent accidental discharge unless the trigger is pulled. These are all passive safeties, and the guns both lack manual safeties.

The Glock 19 does have an accessory rail that allows you to attach lights and lasers to your gun easily. The rail is a much easier system than the custom made options for railless guns. You can attach lights from any company that uses Picatinny rails, which is all of them.

The Glock 48 is rail-less, but this makes sense since the gun is designed for concealed carry and not for duty use. The Glock 19 works in both roles well.

Both guns are available with a variety of different sight options. This includes the stock Glock sights that are kind of junk in general. Additionally, you can buy high visibility Ameriglo sights and Glock OEM night sights.

The Glock 19 even have a model known as the MOS. MOS stands for Modular Optics System, and this allows you to attach micro red dot sights to your gun.

The Glock 48 also has an MOS version. An in-depth Glock 48 MOS review is available on our blog. Both weapons are easy to use and packed with all the modern features any modern pistol should have.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glock 48 vs Glock 19: Shooting Characteristics

The Glock 19 is one of the easiest-to-shoot stock guns on the market. The big full-sized grip, long sight radius, and good trigger make it easy to hit what you aim at. The Glock 19 has been popular for long because it’s such an easy to handle the gun.

Ultimately the Glock 19’s features are the reason why the Glock 48 will be so popular.

The Glock 48 incorporates a lot of the same features of the Glock 19. The grip is the same, as is the sight radius and trigger pull. The gun is just as accurate and easy to shoot as the standard Glock 19.

When it comes time to put lead downrange both guns handle very well. With proper fundamentals, you will easily hit small targets quite rapidly. From a combat perspective after an hour of instruction, I can have a new shooter hitting a man-sized target at 25 yards.

When it comes time to reload the Glock 19 is slightly easier for a number of reasons. The magazines are thicker and easier to grab. Shoving a fresh one in the wider magazine well is also a little more intuitive. This applies to the Glock 26 as well. If you want to find out how the Glock 19 vs Glock 26 comparison shakes out, it’s available to read on our blog.

The Glock 48 is plenty easy to reload, and in a very short period of time, I can likely get just as fast as with the 48 as I am with the 19.

In terms of control, guns are simple and easy to control. This includes rapid-fire. The muzzle flip and rearward recoil are limited, and the guns are perfect for defensive shooting. Both guns are remarkably reliable, almost to a fault. It doesn’t matter how filthy they are, or how cheap the ammo is these guns will work.

Glock 48 vs Glock 19: Ease of Concealment

Without a doubt, the Glock 48 is the easier gun to conceal. It’s slightly shorter, thinner, lighter, and perfect for smaller people. The Glock 19 itself has long been the gold standard for concealed carry, and it still fits that role.

However, the G48 was what happens when you really no longer have to compromise between ease of handling and size. The G48 is a Glock 19 shrunk down as far as you possibly can.

The Glock 48 is perfect for IWB carry (in the right Glock 48 holsters) and adds a new layer into comfortable and concealed carry. The Glock 19, in my opinion, is better suited for OWB carry, but the right Glock 19 holsters make it an excellent IWB candidate too.

The Glock 19 is a great option if you want a concealed carry gun that’s outfitted with a weapon light and red dot optic.

The Glock 19 offers you those options if you want to go with a slightly bigger gun with more features. I carry a duty worth handgun is your goal then the Glock19 is the way to go.

If your goal is to minimize the footprint of the gun you carry without a performance sacrifice, the Glock 48 is the way to go. This thin, lightweight gun opened up new frontiers in the new concealed carry market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Choosing between the Glock 19 and Glock 48 would be difficult. I tend to glide more towards bigger guns, but my frame allows it. The Glock 19 does offer me the ability to rock both a light and an optic.

However, the Glock 48 will ultimately be lighter and easier to carry and doesn’t sacrifice a lot of the strengths of a Glock 19.

Glock’s new slimline pistols are truly amazing. If you’d like to read a Glock 48 vs Glock 43X comparison, that’s on our blog too.

Best of all the Glock 48 is perfect for states that ban magazine capacities of more than ten rounds. You get a gun that maximizes the ammo you can carry as well as a more efficient platform when you consider weight and width.

Either gun is bound to serve you well. They feature Glock’s amazing record of reliability, as well as their dead-simple controls, and massive aftermarket.

It’s tough to beat a Glock, but let us know what you think below between your Glock 19 vs Glock 48 decision.