A new Glock pistol has quietly landed on California’s approved handgun roster just three months after state lawmakers banned sales of new Glock models.
The Glock 43X CA appeared on the California Department of Justice list on Sept. 29 without any public announcement from the manufacturer, catching observers off guard and thrusting the state’s own approval system into an uncomfortable spotlight. The compact 9mm handgun carries a 3.41-inch barrel, a 10-round capacity, and a steel-and-polymer frame according to the DOJ listing.
Assembly Bill 1127 took effect July 1 and prohibited retailers from selling new Glock pistols, with authorities targeting the Austrian-made handguns over concerns they could be readily converted to fully automatic fire using a small device commonly called a “Glock switch.” The law specifically singled out Glock designs and similar models for their perceived vulnerability to such modifications.
The 43X CA represents a California-specific variant of a compact design that has been available in other states since 2019. The model had never previously been cleared for sale in California, making its sudden roster appearance all the more notable.
Retailers moved quickly to capitalize on the unexpected opening. Turners Outdoorsman began accepting pre-orders by Oct. 1, listing the pistol at $600 while cautioning that price and specifications remained subject to change. The retailer projected first shipments would arrive in December.
“This firearm has been added to the California Handgun Roster, and we currently anticipate receiving our first shipments by December,” the retailer said. “More information and specifications are coming in the next two weeks.”
The pistol includes the loaded chamber indicator and magazine-disconnect safety mechanisms that California law mandates, features that appear to have helped it navigate the state’s certification process where other Glock models have been blocked.
The roster addition arrives as California’s broader Glock restrictions face a significant federal challenge. The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the state over AB 1127, arguing that the law’s requirement for Glock to fundamentally redesign its pistols runs afoul of the Second Amendment. That litigation is now pending as the state defends its approach to curbing the proliferation of easily modified firearms.
Glock itself has remained silent on the new model, releasing no details about what distinguishes the 43X CA from its standard counterparts or how the company managed to secure California approval while the July ban on new Glock sales remains in effect. The manufacturer has not responded to questions about whether additional California-compliant variants may follow.
The situation leaves California gun buyers and dealers navigating a paradox: the same brand that lawmakers explicitly targeted with fresh restrictions has now, through a technical roster maneuver, reestablished a foothold in the market. How state regulators will reconcile the new approval with the legislative intent behind AB 1127 remains unclear.
The 43X CA’s path onto the roster also raises practical questions about the durability of California’s handgun restrictions if manufacturers can adapt existing designs to satisfy technical requirements without addressing the underlying conversion concerns that prompted the crackdown.
Turners Outdoorsman has positioned itself as an early source for the newly available model, though the retailer emphasized that final specifications and pricing could shift as more information emerges from Glock in the coming days.
The first shipments of the Glock 43X CA are expected to reach California retailers in December.