Ambi Slide Release: True Value for Southpaws?

[Corlissimo]

First of all, "Hello" from a pistol (& PTF.com) noob.
Second, a hearty "Thanks" to Todd for for a great site that I am glad to have found.
Lastly, apologies in advance for the long post but I want to provide some of my logic and background since it's my first post here.


I am currently preparing to add a second pistol and have been strongly considering the HK P2000 or the SK in 9mm. I EDC an XD40 Service for the last year and like it, but am at the point where I believe I can benefit from expanding my horizons a bit to see if something else works better for me. Besides, I NEED more than one 'cuz "One is none"!

I've always shot RH guns (pistols, SG's & rifles) with the mindset that if I am used to them then should I ever need to use one that isn't mine in an emergency situation then I will be prepared, having established muscle memory through frequent use.

I've also looked at moving to a G19 and then acquiring a G26 as a BUG. I have shot the G19 but NOT the HK.


My reasons for looking at the HK:
1. full ambi controls on it
2. reputation

Reason for Glock:
1. reliability reputation
2. simplicity (a must for EDC for me)
3. price (relative to HK)
4. aftermarket support


My Main Issue
The thing that keeps me looking at the HK is the ambi slide release. As a LH shooter this seems to be a valuable feature for an EDC piece. My XD40 has been great, but I always use my WH to release the slide when reloading during SH shooting. However, I often feel that being able to use a slide release lever would enhance my speed of reload.

Just how much value would you more experienced folks place on this feature? Is my thinking sound or am I just over-thinking things?

Thanks in advance. :)

[jslaker]

FWIW, I shoot right-handed and I'm increasingly inclined toward ambi guns. Personally, I'd be less worried about having to use somebody else's gun and more about having more options to manipulate your own. The possibility of both needing to use an unfamiliar weapon *and* needing to operate it from slidelock strike me as miniscule. It's something you'll have to decide for yourself, however.

You mention being interested in Glocks; have you considered the M&P series at all? They feature an ambi slide release and the mag release, while not fully ambi, is reversible.

[ToddG]

Ambi controls are a plus. "I might pick up someone else's gun" is a very low priority for me. I wouldn't compromise my ability to shoot my gun as best I can on the off chance that I may have to shoot a different gun instead.

Having said that, a great way to drop the slide on a RH gun for a LH shooter is to reach underneath the gun with your RH after inserting the mag and pulling down on the slide release with a finger. It's awkward at first and sounds/looks even worse. But I've seen students go from awkward to lightning fast using this technique in the course of a weekend.

[jslaker]

Ambi controls are a plus. "I might pick up someone else's gun" is a very low priority for me. I wouldn't compromise my ability to shoot my gun as best I can on the off chance that I may have to shoot a different gun instead.

I think I'm going to have to start calling you "Confirmation Bias," Todd. ;)

[Corlissimo]

Thanks for the responses. I agree, picking up another's weapon is not a thing I anticipate having to do. My approach was simply that it's not a bad thing for me to be able to run RH guns proficiently, as opposed to being used to running only LH weapons, which I know I didn't state earlier.

Commander, I totally agree, more options is better. I haven't tried shooting any M&Ps yet but have fondled them quite a bit in my local shop. I was not able to find a combination of backstraps that felt right to me. I'll have to try to get some time on the range with a couple to see if that's really an issue that will adversely affect my shooting.

Todd, I'll have to try that manipulation to see how it is. It sounds weird to say the least, but I'm game.

So then, reading between the lines, it sounds like you both are saying that having access to the slide release is more than just a nice thing to have. Is that correct?

On a related note, what are your opinions concerning the P2000? I'm not a small guy, so concealing the extra width of the ambi controls shouldn't matter for me. My XD is easy for me to hide, even in summer.

Thanks again for the feedback.

[WDW]

Look at the M&P, Walther PPQ, P30, P2000(SK), and there are a few P99's out there with ambi-controls. It comes down to which technique you prefer and which one you train with most. I used to be a slingshot only guy. I never used the slide release. I realized it was much faster, so I started and now it's all I use. I personally would go with a PPQ in 9mm as they can be had for the price of a new Glock, they are extremely reliable (similar internals as the P99), very ergonomic with changeable backstraps, and they have the ambi slide release for about $300 less than the HK.

[jslaker]

So then, reading between the lines, it sounds like you both are saying that having access to the slide release is more than just a nice thing to have. Is that correct?

Whatever works best for you is best. I would lean toward easy access to the slide release lever, yes. Todd has a great post about this on pistol-training.com, I'd recommend looking it up.

The P2000 is a great gun; the P30 is similarly so. I'd look at both if you're considering the P2K.

[fuse]

Having said that, a great way to drop the slide on a RH gun for a LH shooter is to reach underneath the gun with your RH after inserting the mag and pulling down on the slide release with a finger. It's awkward at first and sounds/looks even worse. But I've seen students go from awkward to lightning fast using this technique in the course of a weekend.

Mind has been blown. I am not left handed or anything, and I have never heard of this, much less tried it.
It's faster for a lefty in your experience than hand over top powerstroking?

[ranburr]

What is your primary use of the pistol? Is it for competition, defense? If it is a competition/fun gun, why not focus on ambi controls if you want them? For defensive purposes, I can think of much more important considerations. You continue to mention H&K, it should be fine in whatever role you are looking at. Personally, I don't use my slide lock as a release. No reason, just never have. Many people discover in FOF drills that they wind up missing it when things heat up a little. I think that can be overcome with training. But, most people don't train enough as it is.

[ToddG]

Mind has been blown. I am not left handed or anything, and I have never heard of this, much less tried it.

I cannot take credit for it. The first person I ever saw teaching that technique was Larry Vickers.


It's faster for a lefty in your experience than hand over top powerstroking?

Absolutely, once you practice it.

[WDW]

If Todd and Larry say the technique works with practice, I would believe it.

[Shellback]

Having said that, a great way to drop the slide on a RH gun for a LH shooter is to reach underneath the gun with your RH after inserting the mag and pulling down on the slide release with a finger.

When using this technique are you wrapping your support hand (RH) index finger over the LH index finger lying on the frame or moving your trigger finger out of the way? My wife's a lefty so I'm trying to help her develop some basic fundamentals and learning this properly from the get go would be fantastic.

She's normally shooting a G19/3 or G26/3. Also, do you think utilizing a factory extended slide release would help? Currently have the LAV slide & mag releases installed.

EDIT: Are you using the same finger technique as a lefty for the magazine release as well? So far she's been working on using her trigger finger (LH) to release the mag.

[SteveK]

Being a lefty myself, I still prefer to drop the slide release with my trigger finger or inside knuckle of the finger. I'm having fits right now with my new P30 because the grip I prefer leaves my thumb resting on the right side release. The new Vickers slide release has put my G19 back in the running as the perferred gun.

[Corlissimo]

Having said that, a great way to drop the slide on a RH gun for a LH shooter is to reach underneath the gun with your RH after inserting the mag and pulling down on the slide release with a finger. It's awkward at first and sounds/looks even worse. But I've seen students go from awkward to lightning fast using this technique in the course of a weekend.

Okay, so I spent about an hour trying this technique last night after my dry firing practice. Spent another hour+ today working on it as well. It's getting faster, but you're so right about the awkward feeling. As IRISH asked, I tried it without moving my left index finger off the frame, which is where I always keep it when not firing.

I also tried moving my left index finger to the trigger guard during the exercise, which definitely helped it feel less awkward. added ease of access to the release, and helped me gain some speed. The thing I don't like about doing it this way is that I feel like it's just too easy for my finger to slip off the guard and onto the trigger, which is why I always indexed it on the frame so as to reduce any chance of an unintentional reflexive movement to the trigger when under duress.

While I can feel it getting better, easier, faster with this exercise, it still leaves me wanting more ease of use. One other negative is that it still requires two hands to accomplish, which I might not have available to me in an SD situation. Looks like I'm going to move to ambi slide release. Thanks to all for the info, and for helping me figure this out. :)

[ToddG]

If your index position blocks access to the slide release, then obviously you won't be able to access the slide release.

I just tried it half a dozen different ways with my left trigger finger in various register positions. As long as the finger is straight and against the gun, I was able to reach the slide release easily with my right trigger finger on a G17. If I curled my left trigger finger in register, I couldn't reach the slide release.

[Corlissimo]

If your index position blocks access to the slide release, then obviously you won't be able to access the slide release.

I just tried it half a dozen different ways with my left trigger finger in various register positions. As long as the finger is straight and against the gun, I was able to reach the slide release easily with my right trigger finger on a G17. If I curled my left trigger finger in register, I couldn't reach the slide release.

Yeah, my left index finger is definitely flat against the frame. The XD's release is pretty flat, and similar to the Glock's, IIRC. I'll have to keep at it some more. It's possible an extended release would help and since I plan on keeping the XD I'll probably install one.

That said, I'm still thinking that my next pistol will have an ambi release anyway just so I can try that out on a more consistent basis. Besides, I want to ads a 9mm and work towards making it my EDC.

I really appreciate all the great info ToddG, et al. Thanks! :)

Sent from my DROIDX

[grimel]

Mind has been blown. I am not left handed or anything, and I have never heard of this, much less tried it.
It's faster for a lefty in your experience than hand over top powerstroking?

Also a new poster here, but, I've shot LH all my life. I doubt it is any faster than just using the LH index finger.

[shep854]

When shooting lefty, I use my trigger finger on the slide release. That way, if I have to shoot one-handed left, the movement is automatic.

[Rex G]

Having said that, a great way to drop the slide on a RH gun for a LH shooter is to reach underneath the gun with your RH after inserting the mag and pulling down on the slide release with a finger. It's awkward at first and sounds/looks even worse. But I've seen students go from awkward to lightning fast using this technique in the course of a weekend.

This. It is a case of a blind squirrel finally finding a pecan, but I figured this out somewhere along the way, in the 1980s or 1990s. As the heel of the right hand seats the mag, my right middle finger trips the slide stop lever; very, very efficient, at least with a 1911. With a Glock, well, I mostly just went with grasping the slide to close it, right-hand or left, during the two years I struggled with Glocks, which just do not fit me. The middle finger release is also OK with my present SIG P229 duty/carry pistols, which have somewhat small, but still find-able slide stop levers.

I would not buy a pistol based on it's having an ambi slide stop lever, unless my weapon hand thumb is actually able to trip the slide while maintaining a firing grip. My thumbs are too short to reach the slide stop while maintaining a firing grip with many pistols, with the 1911 being a prime example.

The right social finger is also a good way for a lefty to trip the bolt release when reloading an AR15.

[zRxz]

I must have nimble fingers (that's what she said) because I've always been able to reach back with my index finger to manipulate the slide stop on a Glock pistol. In fact, for the longest time I resisted the addition of extended controls because the stock surfaces provided enough purchase to positively manipulate them. It might be unusual, but I've always been an odd duck. (I'm also amble to pre-load the slide stop using my index finger.)

[Skyviking]

I've always used my index finger to depress the magazine catch and the slide release when shooting LH. Although I don't own one, I would choose a S&W M&P with an Apex sear kit over a Glock. (I already own a few Glocks and am just not into Plastik Pistolen.) In .45acp plastic pistols, I own an Hk45 and a G21SF. I prefer the Hk45 for a number of reasons, and it is my traveling gun.

Regards,
Skyviking

[Little Creek]

I am a LH shooter. I have shot 1911, Glock, and M&P9 Pro Series. By far the fastest slide lock reload for me with any of these three formats is with an M&P. As I seat the new magazine my support hand goes to its place and my support hand thumb almost automatically goes to the ambi-slide release and pushes it down. If I was going for a F.A.S.T. coin, that is the gun I would use.