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Thread: Two handed magazine release?

  1. #11
    Or he could just keep shooting the gun he has, and when he shifts his grip to press the magazine release, he could shift his hand back to his optimal grip. Seems the easiest option.

  2. #12
    Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I shoot well with both platforms (currently M&P and Glock) so I’ll be sticking with those for now. I’ll keep working on shifting my right hand grip. I don’t want to instill any bad habits, especially since I’m a relatively new shooter. All the feedback is appreciated!

  3. #13
    Site Supporter Hambo's Avatar
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    It's possible that you discovered fire, i.e. doing something differently than every other pistol shooter. It's also possible that if there were a better way Ben Stoeger would have done it by now. Since every serious competitor and firearms trainer teaches strong hand to hit the mag release, you probably haven't discovered something new. Do a few thousand reps and it will feel so natural you'll be able to do it blindfolded.
    "Gunfighting is a thinking man's game. So we might want to bring thinking back into it."-MDFA

  4. #14
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    It’s obvious that whenever possible, it’s best to learn to be able to drop the mag with your dominant hand.

    On the other hand, I knew plenty of M9 shooters in the Army with small hands/short thumbs who, on the balance of things, were better off just using their support hand to release the magazine, rather than trying to rotate the grip, hit the mag release, and then reacquire a good shooting grip.

    But this was a circumstance of 1) issued “this is all you get” pistol with a fattish grip; 2) small hands; 3) very limited training time; and 4) using the support hand to release mag is not significantly slower than using the dominant hand for a mediocre (at best) shooter anyway.





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  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rex G View Post
    I had long thought that the reason the mag release button is a bit beyond the reach of the normal grasp of the thumb, is to lessen the likelihood of an unintended release. I cannot cite a source, but believe I learned it decades ago.
    This is what I've always been taught as well. You're intended to have to shift your grip to reload the pistol.

  6. #16
    Site Supporter LOKNLOD's Avatar
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    If you have to rotate the pistol 45deg to hit the release, then yeah that’s an issue.

    A slight tweak to hit it with your thumb is no big deal. You can reacquire your grip with more efficiency than doing some oddball manipulation with the off hand in 99.9% of cases.

    Since you mention being a new shooter, I would at least consider the thought that the importance of not breaking your grip EVAR during the reload may have been far over-emphasized by either a poor instructor or through self-education (which is a noble thing but often leads new folks down some odd paths until experience intervenes).
    --Josh
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  7. #17
    Member Sal Picante's Avatar
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    Here's a good slow-motion video of the "hand jiggle" for the reload:


  8. #18
    Site Supporter LtDave's Avatar
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    As a left handed shooter, I've been using my index finger to actuate mag releases for a long time. The dirty little secret is that it is easier to maintain one's grip using the index finger than using the thumb. I think folks should try a gun with an ambidextrous or switchable mag release to see if that works better for them. Personally, I prefer the paddle style mag release ala HK.
    The first indication a bad guy should have that I'm dangerous is when his
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  9. #19
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    I switched the mag release on my M&P and ran it for a year hitting the mag release with my trigger finger, and after a year of practice on a timer it was much slower for me, so I abandonded it.

    One thing I stole from the Magpul Pistol DVD, and I think I remember Todd G demoing in AFHS, was before breaking your two handed grip hook your support side hand's index and middle fingers under the trigger guard, and pull your support hand palm away from its position and move your strong side thumb into position over or slightly behind (depending on the length of the digit) the mag release and use the support hand to rotate the pistol's mag release into your stationary dominant thumb. The support hand access the new mag, inserts it fully and can then either go over the top, or operate the slide release. Then as the propper two handed grip is regained the support hand can make any final adjustments ensuring the pistol is properly aligned in the strong hand grip.

    It is much easier and less complicated than it sounds, it keeps two hands on the gun during the grip shifting (both breaking the grip and reacquiring it), and for me on a timer it is faster than using the trigger finger. I stole because while my fingers are big enough to run my guns I have to teach/qualify many smaller handed/shorter fingered cops and everyone so far has done well with it, just many have not put in the practice time to make it reflexive.

    This strikes me as the safest way to shift the pistol during a reload, since all the shifting is controlled rather than juggled.

    pat

  10. #20
    So I'm an HK guy, so I'll recommend an HK to fix your problem. They're the fastest gun for me to run, I prefer the HK45/P30/VP9 style mag release. It's just faster. You keep your thumb, index finger, and fat part of your hand welded to the pistol by using your middle finger for reloads. Some guys use their index finger.

    This has also prepared me to run the issued M9's here at my current assignment. I can't tell you how many times I've been given a left handed gun. All the time on HK's helped me out here. I just used my middle finger like always and there's zero issues. If you have a Gen 4 I'd switch it like Todd G did to his and give that a shot. If the support hand mag reload is faster FOR YOU then keep doing that. You've gotta run the gun. It may not be the fastest or most efficient out there. Or the most trained, but I've seen it done. If you just can't adapt to how everyone else is doing it, do it the way that keeps your reloads fast and efficient for you.

    Also when you get a chance take a look at the VP9 series if you so choose. But running the paddle mag release might be what you need. I don't have an issue with either the paddle or the button personally, but I've run into people with the issue you're talking about OP.

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