Tyrant Designs Magazine Extension – Add +4 To Your G43X Mags –

Have you ever looked at your magazine and thought, this thing needs more rounds? Well, if so, then your options are pretty limited, and outside of bending time and space, you might want to consider a magazine extension. Tyrant Designs makes magazine extensions for several different handguns including the Glock 43X and Glock 48 series. I recently got my hands on a Glock 43X and immediately set out to fix Glock “Perfection.” One upgrade I dived into was a Tyrant Designs magazine extension.

A little extra length, but it lets you tack four extra rounds to your mag — that makes it (at least in our opinion) a solid choice for Glock 48 or G43X accessory.

The Glock 43X offered me ten rounds of 9mm, but I’m greedy, so I wanted more, and I wanted it now! The Tyrant Designs magazine extension grants me +4 rounds. I’ve got near Glock 19 magazine capacity now, in a much smaller package.

The mag extension is made from aluminum, milled, and anodized in a wide variety of colors. Included with the Tyrant Designs magazine extension is a longer 10% power spring to accommodate the now longer magazine design.

The Tyrant Designs Magazine Extension is made entirely from aluminum.

At first glance, the Tyrant Designs magazine extension is well crafted and beautifully milled. The scalloped sides and textured rear allow for an easy and sure grip. The color is evenly applied, and the grey really pops.

Tyrant Designs magazine extension…on a concealed carry gun?

Yeah, I know. At first glance, it doesn’t make much sense. Why would I want a long magazine for a concealed carry gun? Won’t it just give me a Glock 19 sized rear end with a Glock 43 sized front? Yes, in fact, it does.

However, I’m not carrying the Glock 43X with the Tyrant Designs Magazine extension.

I’m carrying the Glock 43X with a standard OEM 10 round magazine and packing my extended model as a backup magazine. I can toss this thing in a NeoMag, a belt-mounted magazine pouch, or pretty much any other practicable spare magazine carry option as a backup.

Boom, it’s easy to pocket with the right carrier.

I figure if crap hits the fan hard enough that I need to reload, I might as well reload with as much ammo as possible, right? Fourteen rounds give me the fighting power of a much larger gun, and I’ll likely never need it, but I feel comfortable having it.

Outside of the extra ammunition it offers, I do find the longer magazines easier to draw when compared to the shorter and thinner OEM mags. That hunk of metal that makes up the Tyrant Designs magazine extension serves as a great grip for reloading.

Who doesn’t want a little extra girth and width?

The extra length and scalloped side provide a rock-solid grip.

The scalloped sides allow you to grip the magazine with a little slip-proof protection. They let you dig in nice and deep when gripping the magazine and allow you to spin it into action. My fat fingers have gripped a magazine minimally and sent it flying, and I gripped and ripped it. A little extra texture provides an awesome amount of grip to prevent people like me from being clumsy monkeys.

• Tyrant Designs magazine extensions in blue. 

• Tyrant Designs magazine extensions in black.

• Tyrant Designs magazine extensions in gray.

• Tyrant Designs magazine extensions in red.

Installing the Tyrant Designs Mag Extension

I still hate the Glock magazine base plate system. Why do they make removing a baseplate so difficult? Every other magazine in the world comes apart with ease, but Glock magazines like to be difficult.

Anyway, once I removed that snug little bastard, I installed the Tyrant Designs magazine extension. It snapped on relatively easily. It stays in place via a spring-loaded plunger. This design makes taking it apart much simpler than the stock Glock method.

Once installed you are ready to rock and roll.

The new +10% spring is a little tricky, but once you get a good grip on it, you can slide the magazine extension into place. Once locked in, the mag extension stays put and has zero wiggle to it. To remove it, press down on the plunger and press the magazine out.

Nothing too complicated, and you can easily revert back to an OEM stock magazine. OEM Glock magazines measure out to 4.25 inches, and the Tyrant Designs magazine extension measures out at about five and 3/16th inches.

• Next up: Tips to make your concealed carry handgun disappear.

Putting In the Work

We got our gun, our magazines, and our Tyrant Designs magazine extension in place. All that’s left is to hit the range and test my theory regarding this being a great spare mag option. I brought out my NeoMag spare mag holder and hit the reload work. Although, first, I needed to make sure the thing works.

Loaded down with some quality brass-cased Winchester White Box, I hit the ground running. I’ve been practicing some Jeff Cooper drills for an article I’m writing, and it seemed like a good time to see if the Tyrant Designs magazine extension worked. I needed to ensure it fed ammo reliably and didn’t degrade the boring nature of Glock reliability.

Reload, Reload, Reload. See also: The Glock 43 vs. Glock 43X explained. 

I ran through multiple incarnations of the Mozambique drill, the Dozier Drill, and the El Presidente without issue. The gun chugged along without issue and functioned just like it would normally. I was pleased by the mag extension’s performance and found it had zero effect on reliability.

Oh, and the Tyrant Designs magazine extension worked perfectly with the Tyrant Designs magwell. I mean, it better work, right? I was happy I didn’t need to remove the magwell to use the mag extension.

One for the gun, one as a spare.

Every time I hit the reload button, the magazine dropped like a rock. That extra weight helps that mag pop out. I’d imagine in a serious malfunction situation, that extra grip area would make ripping the magazine out possible.

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The Reload Theory

The magazine with Tyrant Designs Magazine extension works! It works exceptionally well and fires and functions reliably. How does it work as a spare magazine? Well, it actually works well. With the NeoMag, I worked with both the stock OEM 10 round magazine, and my Tyrant Designs enhanced magazine.

Who doesn’t love an extra 4 rounds?

Without a doubt, the longer, magazine extension-equipped magazine works better for reloads. I can grab that thing like an animal and put it into action. The Tyrant Designs Magazine extension provides so much more gripping surface than the standard magazine. Better yet, the extra grip space makes it easy to retrieve and easy to slam home.

It’s almost an inch longer but conceals just as easily as the standard 10 round magazine. It disappears into my pocket without issue using the same NeoMag I use for my regular OEM magazine.

Gun, Knife, and Spare Mag make an EDC happy.

I think my theory has proven itself fruitful. The Tyrant Designs Glock 43 X magazine extension provides four more rounds and makes the magazine easier to retrieve and easier to reload. It’s a slight upgrade that gives you a little more go-juice when the fecal matter hits the fan. While we’re talking about Tyrant Designs, check out some of their other Glock 43X and Glock 48 gear, like the G48/G43X magwell, extended mag release, and universal 9mm T-comp compensator.

What do you guys think? Does a little extra ammo appeal to you? Let us know below.

• Read more about these and other brands of “Extendo Clip”! 

Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.