splitime Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 First off... I'm new here still and new to the sport. I'm working on dryfire practice and the biggest new thing in that for me is magazine changes. I'm not having a ton of issues with mag/gun positioning (nothing that tons of repitition won't help with), but i am finding that even with the small grip on my M&P I have to adjust to release magazines. When I begin the split second weak hand pull back and go to release/reach with my weak hand, I have to soften my strong hand grip to rotate it a hair to reach the release. As was mentioned to me, I could also do a weak hand release right as I pull it away to reach for a new magazine. I'm going to be getting started in Production, so I'm right in thinking that I can't muck with the relase at all right? No extending etc.. So what do people think is better, hair longer weak hand on gun time or slight shift/reshift of strong hand grip to release? Or is it normal for the release to not be right at thumbtip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctay Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 May not be the best but I actually prefer to break my grip to release the mag as it forces me to make sure many finger is out of the trigger guard. Maybe as I improve I may want to change that but for now the time difference is negligible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitime Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 That is what i've been leaning to just because I get that extra travel time for my weak hand mag pickup. I guess all I can do is keep focus on one for now and see how it works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38supPat Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Google any videos by Rob Leatham. He flips the gun to hit the button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leewhiskey Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I do the same, can't reach the release otherwise. With practice you'll hardly know you do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitime Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 Ok, so I'm not alone with this, good to know. Back to practicing with the grip soften/reach and hopefully lock back up in time for the mag feed/weak hand regrip. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniperfrog Posted February 24, 2012 Share Posted February 24, 2012 (edited) I only know of a small handful of shooters that don't have to flip the gun to reach the mag release. I never saw it as a problem. I shoot an M&P but every pistol I've ever shot I have to flip the gun to hit the mag release. I also insert the new mag before I bring the gun back into firing position. This way I can reach the slide release (I have small hands). I use my support hand to help line the gun back up into a firing grip. I don't think about any of that at all it just happens. Lots of practice. I have pretty speedy mag changes so it doesn't hurt anything. Trying to hit the mag release with the support thumb I think would be very awkward and slower. Edited February 24, 2012 by sniperfrog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitime Posted February 24, 2012 Author Share Posted February 24, 2012 I'm one of the lucky ones I guess, both my M&Ps help me out on mag reloads. When they are seated with a little force the slide stop releases itself and takes care of that for me. I'll be continuing the practice format of slight grip release to drop the magazine and see how it all goes. First event ever went fairly well I think, still probably at the bottom of the pack, but it felt good none the less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniperfrog Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I'm one of the lucky ones I guess, both my M&Ps help me out on mag reloads. When they are seated with a little force the slide stop releases itself and takes care of that for me. Your talking about auto-forwarding. M&Ps are known for this. Some guys love this about M&Ps and others hate it. One of the problems with auto forwarding is that it may not always pick up a round leaving you with an empty chamber. It's happened to me a few times and some other M&P shooters I know. If it will consistenly pick up a round then it probably is no big deal but one of my M&Ps wouldn't. I sent it back to S&W and they installed a new slide stop. Now my gun no longer auto forwards and to me that's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 A picture is worth a thousand words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sin-ster Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 I honestly can't think of a single super star name that doesn't "flip the gun" (or at least shift it a little bit) during a mag change. You will want to figure out just how much (or more importantly, how little) you need to shift the pistol in order to achieve a reliable drop, as flinging the thing like crazy will be both problematic and inconsistent. I also shoot an M&P and discovered that there's very little movement required at all in the process, unlike the Glock I previously shot (which still didn't require much in the grand scheme of things). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitime Posted February 27, 2012 Author Share Posted February 27, 2012 Good to hear I'm not alone and this is really more common than not. I've continued to practice a slight slip of the grip to get there for the release and I'm guessing it will slowly feel more correct to do. I'm coming from 0 holster/speed reloading background, so I was mostly not sure if this was even normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spideysteve Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 One of the best ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sin-ster Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Good to hear I'm not alone and this is really more common than not. I've continued to practice a slight slip of the grip to get there for the release and I'm guessing it will slowly feel more correct to do. I'm coming from 0 holster/speed reloading background, so I was mostly not sure if this was even normal. You're looking at several tens of thousands of reps before it's second nature, but... it does happen! Within a few thousand, it'll stop feeling so strange and "out of control"-- especially if you figure out how to optimize the movement and eliminate all unnecessary excess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattYvip Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 on the "auto forwarding" of the slide deal... M&Ps Glocks Berretas H&Ks and several other guns are designed to send the slide forward if the mag is seated and pressure is applied at a 45 degree angle to the slide. If you seat it with presure directly perpendicular (90 degree angle) the slide shouldn't go forward. My work gun is an H&K and it does this as well. I like it because I've practiced with it a ton and can get it 90% of the time... But I also know that I have to have a contingency if it doesn't work. If you can do it 90% of the time it's a good technique it just takes practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobS761 Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 I'm struggling with the mag release as well. I decided if the "flip" is good enough for the pros, it's good enough for me. While practicing last night, I estimate I had a clean release a pathetic 70% of the time. But, hey, I'm new. It will come. Now my son, on the other hand, has hands so big I think he may be able to pull the trigger with his thumb B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjts Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 My hands are pretty small and I have to shift my strong hand grip to reach the magazine release. It hasn't been a problem since I was using a Glock 34 for Production and could have an extended magazine release prior to switching to limited. I tried using the support hand to hit the magazine release when I first started, but found that I didn't want to take the chance of accidentally hitting the release during a COF. Shifting the gun and hitting the release has become second nature. After seeing some shooters using a weak hand release, I don't feel that I'm any slower. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
motochris Posted May 16, 2012 Share Posted May 16, 2012 Glad I saw this post... i thought I was just bad at the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
splitime Posted May 16, 2012 Author Share Posted May 16, 2012 Glad I saw this post... i thought I was just bad at the whole thing. Glad it is coming in handy for others. I'm slowly feeling more confident with the grip switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sin-ster Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 You're about 5000 repetitions from being fully comfortable with the process, 15,000 from reasonable competency, and a couple million from Pro status. Probably time to up the dry fire level.., Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poppa Bear Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 A large part of the shift is the ergonomics of the grip. A grip that fits your hand tends to drop back into place when you shift back. You can lose precious seconds and points if you either have to shift your grip again to get it into the proper location, or if you start shooting again before your grip is stable (Hey it's close enough) and get either marginal hits or miss the target entirely. A friend has small hands so he has an ambidextrous mag release. It is quicker and easier for him to shift the gun and use his trigger finger to punch the release than it is to shift it enough to use his thumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmcferro Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 I have small hands and am a lady shooting in Limited division. What I have done is turn my mag release around to the right side. I then use the index finger of my strong hand to operate the mag release. No shifting, left hand free to move to the mag on the belt and as an added bonus the trigger finger is out of the trigger guard. Not all guns are capable of the having the button reversed, but a lot of the newer ones are setup to allow this change. I know that this change is legal in Limited division, but not sure about Production division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chills1994 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 This is for an M and P? And they are touted for their ambidexterity-ness? I would try hitting the MRB with my strong hand middle finger, and forget the whole flip the grip stretch out the thumb contortions to get the mag to drop free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Travis Tomasie fast reloads. He shifts the gun ever so slightly. One thing I'm curious about...Does anyone use their shooting finger to hit the mag release? I've been doing this because I don't have to shift my grip as much and it ensures I'm out of the trigger guard during reload. I'm wondering if I'm training a bad habit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcobean Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 I have small hands and am a lady shooting in Limited division. What I have done is turn my mag release around to the right side. I then use the index finger of my strong hand to operate the mag release. No shifting, left hand free to move to the mag on the belt and as an added bonus the trigger finger is out of the trigger guard. Not all guns are capable of the having the button reversed, but a lot of the newer ones are setup to allow this change. I know that this change is legal in Limited division, but not sure about Production division. I hadn't read your post before I posted previously, but yes, that's what I do. The XDm's have ambidextrous mag release, so no modification necessary. I still have to shift the gun just a tiny bit to get the leverage on the button I want, but it's no different than shifting the other direction to use my thumb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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