nitrohuck Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 So I am coming to the inescapable conclusion that my thumbs are too small for own hands... hold your hand up, "knife hand" style, how far does your thumb go up alongside your index finger? Most people have thumbs that reach, or almost reach their middle index knuckle... mine barely meets the halfway point between the first knuckle and second knuckle... So this little "disproportion" shall we call it, is manifesting itself negatively in my reloads with my XDm. I cannot reload without changing my grip, or "coming out" of my grip to be more exact. I have to cant the pistol in my hand so my thumb can successfully depress the mag release. If I keep my grip as is, my thumb can barely reach the release button, and has zero strength to reliably depress the release. Am I correct in assuming that learning to reload by canting the pistol and exiting my grip is going to be counter productive down the road as progress gains and times drop? I have a feeling this will probably add a good bit of time to those who are in the M and GM levels, Relieving material is a possibility, but I don't really know how much material I can honestly remove from an XDm before opening up a huge hole in the grip... Any thoughts are much appreciated, Cheers, ~Nitro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChuckS Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 If you are shooting in the USPSA Production division. you should go read appendix D4-22.2 in the USPSA rule book... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HI5-O Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 I believe you will find more people with "short" thumbs than people with thumbs that reach their second knuckle. With practice, you will find changing your grip to hit the mag release will not negatively affect your reload time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakobi Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 I have to shift my grip to hit the mag release but that's not what slows down my reload times. -Jake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gooldylocks Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 (edited) Looking at my hands, which aren't very big to start with (quarter for reference), I would say probably very few people have a thumb that extends all the way to their second knuckle, thats a pretty long thumb....Anyway, I have to release my grip on basically any gun I shoot, and flip it in my hand up and to the left. As soon as I hit the mag release and it starts to fall I get my shooting grip back with my strong hand so I am ready to go as soon as the fresh mag is seated. Edited April 30, 2014 by Gooldylocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonoma820 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 It is normal to have to change your grip to reach the mag release. Especially with a double stack mag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mgardner Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Hit the mag release with your weak hand thumb and see if that helps. Your strong hand keeps the grip and is undisturbed. I use this method because my strong hand thumb has enough arthritis that it really doesn't move much anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbarian Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Hmm, I have fairly large hands, and my thumbs just barely reach the line through the base of my middle finger, just past the base of my index finger. You must have very long thumbs, or I misunderstood what you meant about the knuckle. My hand oddness is my pinkie, which is shorter than the last joint of my ring fingers, but luckily I haven't run into anything where that was a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrohuck Posted May 13, 2014 Author Share Posted May 13, 2014 I think the solution is for me to just pick up the extended mag release from either Canyon Creek or Powder River, apparently I'm not the only one who isn't a fan of the factory mag release for the XDm. I just can't seem to operate it reliably enough, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjb45 Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 Talk to Springer Precision. He did the work on my XD. On my 1911, I relieved part of my wooden grips so I could just slide my thumb down, the pistol still slightly rotated in my hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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