Langdon Tactical Goes HK

[TheNewbie]

23 years with HK on duty, 17 as an instructor and I've seen some interesting stuff (from shooters) but never an issue with ND's and the paddle release.

What model? Interesting to see agencies that issue them.

[Shoresy]

23 years with HK on duty, 17 as an instructor and I've seen some interesting stuff (from shooters) but never an issue with ND's and the paddle release.

Curiosity kicking in here - are most (or even a significant number) using trigger finger to manipulate the paddle, or some other method?

[TC215]

Shot VP9s almost exclusively from 2015 until earlier this year, to the tune of approximately 75,852 rounds, and habitually used my trigger finger to dump the magazine. Never an issue. I understand the concern about using the trigger finger for something other than pressing the trigger, but I've not experienced any issues in real life.

Pressing the paddle involves pushing down, not back.

The paddle is behind the trigger, not in front of it.

Excepting "tactical" reloads or administratively unloading the gun, the gun is usually empty (or has experienced a stoppage) when I am pressing the paddle. I'm generally not performing tac reloads or unloading under stress or at such speed that I'm going to fat-finger my way onto the trigger when I don't intend to.

Perhaps different hand sizes or levels of dexterity face challenges, and obviously @GJM's anecdote shows that it is possible, but it seems like a rare occurrence.

Granted, I'm also ok with using my trigger finger to activate a WML (again, sweeping down, not back)... I'm just not of the belief that my trigger finger can only be trusted to do one thing when there's a gun involved.

I am of the belief that your trigger finger just has one job.

https://www.rt.com/usa/164840-gun-mo...lice-shooting/

https://www.courier-journal.com/stor...hts/916963002/

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/new...lly-firing-gun


We issued HK’s for 16 years at my old place. Don’t recall ever seeing anyone work the paddle with their trigger finger. I would have said something if I did.

[GJM]

Absolutely not, it's there to keep it covered by the holster so it cannot be accident bumped and result in lost magazine which may go unnoticed for quite some time or just happen at the worst possible moment to begin with like wrestling around with someone. Life is a tradeoff, tools are no different.

It is important to test your holster if you install larger paddle releases, as some holsters cut for the smaller paddles release the magazine with larger paddles installed. I learned this through personal experience, unfortunately.

[YVK]

Absolutely not, it's there to keep it covered by the holster so it cannot be accident bumped and result in lost magazine which may go unnoticed for quite some time or just happen at the worst possible moment to begin with like wrestling around with someone. Life is a tradeoff, tools are no different.

An anecdote: I had in-holster accidental mag drops happen twice in my life, one of them was with a P7.

[spj]

HK USP 45 around 99, 2000ish, shortly thereafter all converted to LEM, to HK45 Light LEM 2011ish, don't recall exactly when we transitioned. Index finger for mag changes. 330 sworn.

[spj]

One thing I have noticed with the LEM is when shooting for time on reloads it can be a bad habit to try and overcome the long trigger pull by starting the trigger pull a little bit early upon registering the target. I know this sounds stupid, but I've experienced it when chasing times. My splits are very close to my VP9 times, but can't really get much more than .04 or so behind splits with a glock, it is what it is.

There is merit about what has previously been said on here regarding a gun that is pointed at people more than shot at people, speaking to the LEM trigger. Environmental controls if you will, like not pulling triggers to break a gun down and covering the hammer during reholstering can add up when scaled, not everyone is a gun guy/gal unfortunately.

[Hstanton1]

One thing I have noticed with the LEM is when shooting for time on reloads it can be a bad habit to try and overcome the long trigger pull by starting the trigger pull a little bit early upon registering the target. I know this sounds stupid, but I've experienced it when chasing times. My splits are very close to my VP9 times, but can't really get much more than .04 or so behind splits with a glock, it is what it is.

There is merit about what has previously been said on here regarding a gun that is pointed at people more than shot at people, speaking to the LEM trigger. Environmental controls if you will, like not pulling triggers to break a gun down and covering the hammer during reholstering can add up when scaled, not everyone is a gun guy/gal unfortunately.

What’s the difference between starting the trigger pull early and staging the trigger on a draw or hard shot?

[TheNewbie]

One thing that would concern me about the larger levers on the P30/HK45 could lead to accidental mag drops. Either when moving around or during recoil.

Where the P2000 and USP magazine releases are smaller and less prone to accidental activation.


This may not be a valid concern.

[Hstanton1]

One thing that would concern me about the larger levers on the P30/HK45 could lead to accidental mag drops. Either when moving around or during recoil.

Where the P2000 and USP magazine releases are smaller and less prone to accidental activation.


This may not be a valid concern.

My one experience with a USP in .40 involved me dropping the mag under recoil with the index finger of my support hand during recoil because of a less than perfect grip, so it’s definitely a thing. I never had that issue with the larger levers on the P30 though because I was aware that it was a possibility if I built my grip in a certain way.