Shooter's holster engaging mag release

[mreed911]

Question for the RO's out there: You have a new competitor with a new gun and new holster.  The competitor has issues with the firearm retaining the magazine, typically falling out on draw, which he rectifies by reloading from his belt.  You and the competitor determine that the holster in use is engaging the magazine release either on holstering or  if they holster then ensure the magazine is seated, engages on their draw.  They don't sweep themselves, but the change in holster/draw causes them to come closer to doing so several times.

 

No rule is violated.  The firearm itself isn't unsafe.  It's simply poorly fitted equipment, and the only impediment is to the competitor's time.

 

The rules allow for physically injured/disabled shooters to use a different start position with the imposition of a special penalty, but this isn't disability-related - purely equipment.

 

Aside from talking to the competitor (who's now well aware of the issue and intends to fix it before the next match), what do you do?

 

We opted to ensure the competitor knew of the issue, reminded him of the sweeping rules and penalty, and ensured he wasn't going to try to overcompensate for the problem by going faster than he safely could... but it felt awkward.

[JFlowers]

As an RO, I would have to think on it for a minute, but off the cuff, I see no rule allowing any change allowed to the shooter nor any safety violation.

 

As a shooter, I would either load my barney mag and make an immediate reload on the draw or take my knife to the holster in the safety area.  However, with most of the place I shoot, I bet a few holsters would get offered to the shooter.

[George Jones]

Well done!

[RJH]

I'm looking at this from a USPSA standpoint, so I don't know if it correlates exactly with steel challenge.  In uspsa you can sweep your lower extremities while drawing without penalty,  so if this is the case in SC, I would just tell the shooter he might get a better holster or modify his current one before the next match 

[mreed911]

2 hours ago, RJH said:

I'm looking at this from a USPSA standpoint, so I don't know if it correlates exactly with steel challenge.  In uspsa you can sweep your lower extremities while drawing without penalty,  so if this is the case in SC, I would just tell the shooter he might get a better holster or modify his current one before the next match 

 

In this case, he was choosing to use two hands to holster, which was putting him very close to sweeping, so we discussed "holster, seat mag, draw and deal with it then."

 

As for other holsters, it wasn't for a common gun.  Unless you had a generic Uncle Mike's, it probably wouldn't work.

[bigdawgbeav]

Just for curiosity sake: what gun was it?  Maybe there is a way to reduce the size of the mag release.  Or, if it's not that common then they might need to go the custom kydex route.

[mreed911]

3 minutes ago, bigdawgbeav said:

Just for curiosity sake: what gun was it?  Maybe there is a way to reduce the size of the mag release.  Or, if it's not that common then they might need to go the custom kydex route.

 

Some kind of Keltec.  I don't remember the specific model.  New shooter, new gun, new holster.  

[bigdawgbeav]

4 minutes ago, mreed911 said:

 

Some kind of Keltec.  I don't remember the specific model.  New shooter, new gun, new holster.  

Would have to be the PF9.  That is the only 9mm pistol KelTec makes.  So they were shooting a sub-compact?  Unless it was one of the .380's which is not a legal cartridge for SC...  After that the only other guns would be .22lr and you don't need to draw.  All their other pistols are not SC legal based on ammunition.

Edited April 26, 2021 by bigdawgbeav