One of the highlights of this year's IWA Outdoor Classic (IWA) show in Nuremberg, Germany was the Glock and Aimpoint pistol/optical partnership, particularly the COA Optic of Aimpoint from Glock Pistols.
The IWA took place from February 27 to March 2, 2025, and soon afterwards Breitbart News acquired the Glock 43X with the Aimpoint COA Optic for testing.
Glock has a reputation for durability and perfect functionality, and Aimpoint's reputation is also one of reliability, ease of use and product lifespan. With these things in mind, we took part in the test and reviewed it thinking that the 43X and COA would be a great combo.
The 43X is a single stack Glock 9mm pistol that ships with 10 rounds of magazines, and comes in a 10+1 defensive round capacity.
COA is AimPoint's follow-up to the extremely popular Acro Red Dot Optic Series. So, consumers give everything they have come to love with Acro, but do it with smaller, more compact units. As the size decreases, COA becomes the perfect option for hidden carry pistols. (And that should be noted, COA is also being tested by various agencies around the world for the adoption of law enforcement services.)
To give you an idea about the compact nature of COA, below is a photo with the COA optics on the left and the acro on the right.
Glock is already a firearm for law enforcement agencies around the world, and now many pistols can be ordered in advance with Aimpoint COA.
Certain benefits of COA include simple operations. This means that it includes minimal controls designed to make adjustments easier, even when wearing gloves. Optic emitters are completely surrounded to remove the possibility that bad weather and other outdoor elements can degrade performance and COA will be designed to provide a 5-year period of constant use.
Additionally, if you have time to replace the battery, the COA has a quick access battery tray. This means that users can switch batteries without removing optical from the slide.
Also, winderge and altitude adjustments contribute to zero accuracy, like traditional rifle scopes, click when you actually turn them.
We filmed a variety of ammunition at range, including DoubleTap Ammunition Hollow Points, Hornady Critical Duty +P, and MagTech FMJ range rounds. Through it, all Glock 43X/COA combos were easily targeted, achieving impressive accuracy. This combo was particularly impressive in taking the second and third shots, but both are important when you need a firearm under obsession.
Verdict: The Glock 43X/Aimpoint COA combo has gotten a lot of fanfare. After all, two proven manufacturers (Glock and Aimpoint) worked together to offer hidden carry packages that live up to their promises.
AWR Hawkins is AWR Hawkins, the award-winning second amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the Writer/Kurator of AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focusing on all corrections for Breitbart News. He is a political analyst at Armed American Radio, a member of American Gun Owners, Pulsar Night Vision Pro Staffer and Director of Global Marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He is a visiting fellow at Russell Kirk Cultural Renewal Center in 2010 and received his PhD. In military history. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can lower the range at sunput breitbart.com/downrange. Please contact him directly: awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
