Reversing Magazine Release Button

[Aggieddad02]

I originally posted this under the Factory Pistols thread but I believe this is where it belonged, Mods I hope this is OK. Your thoughts and ideas please

I have read and continue to read about shooters with small hands and how they adapt for mag drops. Being one of these I have adopted using my weak hand thumb for mag drops and continue to work/refine that procedure. This past week I shot a classifier and there was a woman in our squad that was dropping her mags using her strong hand and when I talked to her about it (she was also shooting an M&P) she said her brother had reversed her mag release button. The process of moving is relatively easy so today while cleaning the pistol I reversed mine and worked with it for a while. Started off pretty smooth but the longer I worked at this the more the tip of my trigger finger began to hurt. I guess my question to fellow M&P mshooters who may be using this technique or tried this technique, have you found any cons to it? Any of you using the weak hand thumb for mag drops with any success? Thanks for the time and if there is already a link I apologize for posting the topic again. Just let me know where to find it and I will be off to read.

Edited August 11, 2011 by Aggieddad02

[Shelly76]

Are you right handed? Are you using your right index finger to press the mag release now?

[Chills1994]

On my beretta 92 I have reversed the mag button. I now hit it with my strong hand middle finger. I like it.

[Singlestack]

I would bet that 95% just shift the gun and use the strong thumb. Using the weak thumb is a loser.

[Mohawk Mike]

I am right-handed and switched my mag release. I push it with my trigger finger. 2 advantages to this, my grip on the gun doesn't change, finger is definately outside the trigger guard. Not everyone likes to do it this way, but some do.

Mike

[Aggieddad02]

OK everyone a quick update. I spent a lot of time looking at videos of the grip on the pistol and came to the conclusion that I was wrapping my hands/fingers to far around the grip causing a couple of issues. Once I started working with the right grip the mag release was much easier to address with my thumb and have shot a couple of matches successfully using this technigue for mag drops and changes. I continue to practice 2 or 3 nights a week and seem to be moving forward. Thanks for the replies everyone.

[Ty Hamby]

I'm left handed. I cant imagine using my thumb to release a magazine. I also use my middle finger. It works well for me. index finger always finds it home when sights are not on target. Any gun I pick up, big or small, old or new. the button is right under my finger no matter prone, sideways, weak side barricade. It is the perfect placement for any southpaw. My wife also uses this technique. He has small hands and could not react the magazine release on most guns. She started shooting on a P226 after 6mo. As her skills improved she needed to come up with something better. She switched to an XD (for other reasons) and started using her finger. Every gun after she always reverses the button or moves on to other guns. Reversing the button for right handed shooters has merit.

[Sin-ster]

A pretty good shooting friend of mine is a Lefty and he uses one of the fingers on his strong hand-- the index, IIRC. Playing around with it myself, it actually feels pretty natural. My only concern is ending up with a finger inside the trigger guard under stress, but I'm far from practiced enough in this method to determine whether or not that's a valid consideration.

As to the M&P-- I have relatively small hands, and my M&P 45 is one of a VERY small group that I can actually hit with my strong hand thumb without breaking/adjusting my grip. It is easy with the smallest backstrap insert, barely doable with the Medium and impossible with the Large. If you're not using the Small already, you might experiment with this-- provided it's not a detriment to your grip in general. I actually found the side-to-side swell of the Medium and Large inserts inhibit solid support hand grip for me anyway, but YMMV.

Now, the gun I shoot in Production is a G17. With the standard mag release, I cannot hit it without breaking my grip. (The extended release tears into my support hand, so that's not an option either.) For the longest time, I was almost flinging the gun around in my hand to reach the release, and after a match without a single smooth reload, I decided to reassess my technique. What I found was that it didn't require much of a shift in grip to effectively and consistently hit the mag release. Simply dragging my strong hand fingers about 1/8-1/4 of an inch across the frontstrap did the trick. This not only provided for a more regular motion, but it also made reacquiring the shooting grip that much easier and quicker.

I ultimately figured out that when I drop the support hand to reach for a new mag, if I hook the index finger on the edge of the trigger guard during that motion, it will naturally tug the pistol into position without any effort or change in pressure from the strong hand. According to the timer, I don't lose any speed at all in this manner over my very best "old style" reloads, plus the times are MUCH more consistent as I avoid fumbles and dramatic movements.

My suggestion then is to spend the time to figure out just how much you have to move the gun in order to hit that mag release. You may discover, as I did, that you've been wasting a lot of motion and causing a lot of problems in your current approach. It may very well prove to be a better method for you than flipping the release around and using your strong hand fingers, and it should be a more natural transition for you to practice.

[grapemeister]

A lot of folks, including people with large hands and medium size hands aren’t able to reach and consistently engage the mag release with their strong hand thumb without shifting or flipping the gun in their hand. I think it’s just plain wrong to release the magazine with anything other than your strong hand thumb. It’s certainly the safest technique, and for most folks it’s the most efficient technique.

Do you really want to take the chance of hitting the trigger, or sticking your finger in the trigger guard when trying to do a mag release with your strong hand fingers?

Releasing the mag with the weak hand makes even less since to me. While you’re taking the time to release the mag with the weak hand finger, you could be reaching for a fresh mag or pushing off while moving to another position.

Many of the top shooters, if not most, shift the gun in their hand so they can reach the mag release. Many of those same folks have extended mag releases on their limited or open guns, but they still have to shift the gun in their hand. While I believe in finding what works best for the individual shooter, I certainly put a lot of weight on what more experienced shooters are doing. For example, look at videos of Todd Jarrett, Max Michel, etc. They flip the gun in their hand, but they do it with such efficiency that sometimes it’s hardly noticeable. If nothing else, look at the shooters at your local match. I bet most shift the gun in their hand so to release the magazine.

If you practice enough, eventually you will be able to smoothly, and efficiently shift the gun in your strong hand so you can reach the mag release. But, you have to practice, and depending on the gun, you may have to practice a heck of a lot to get it down, but eventually you’ll be able to do it without thinking about it…just like some many other aspects of shooting.

Sweaty hands can make it difficult to shift (flip) the gun in the hand, so wipe your hands off before it’s time to shoot. Hint…too much or any Progrip on your hands sometimes will not allow you to shift the gun in your hand. I’ve found that loose dry dirt works pretty well. Just wipe off the excess in the general area of your right rear pocket! That’s another way to recognize other shooters at the convenient store, or McDonalds after the match. They have that tell, tell stain near their left or right rear pocket.

Just my opinion, for what it’s worth.