Other pistols with Walther / HK style mag releases?

F

Fargazer

New member
I've grown used to the magazine release on the P99 - enough so, that when I shoot other guns my fingers immediately reach for the release "paddle" underneath the trigger guard. I've also seen HK pistols with this style of magazine release.

Other than Walther and HK, are there any manufacturers with semi automatic pistols using that style of magazine release?
 
i also have a p99 AS and i have come to admire it's qualities so much,that my techniques have changed and been applied to every other gun i own.

it's trigger pull weight,smoothness(especially after the first couple of hundred rounds,now into thousands) and quick reset,is now what i measure against every other pistol(i started out long ago with DA/SA,stuck to it and i don't understand other peoples negative comments on "transition",..and prefer not to give up a sweet SA but prefer a first DA shot with no safety lever,especially when on my body).

anyway,i like using my trigger finger for dropping mags on the p99 and so what i have done is go back to almost all the pistols i already had and switched the mag button from left to right(as for a left handed shooter) and now buy new pistols where it allows me to do this(thankfully,most have this).

as a result of doing this and owning the awesome p99,i have come to a surprising revelation.some pistols,but not all,require that you totally disrupt your grip to drop a mag if the button is on the left side and you use your thumb.this is because of different grip sizes/shapes on different make/models.however,as a general rule,for me,i have found that switching over the button to the right,requires much less changing of my grip when using my trigger finger on all the different pistols i have(and suspect the same for any new ones i get in the future).it also helps,for safety reasons,that my trigger finger is doing only one thing,..it is either on the trigger itself,straight somewhere on the side off the trigger,or on the mag release.it can't do two things at once but with using your thumb to drop a mag,it is at least,at the very minimum,possible.

i thank the p99 for helping me in this regard and have also gone back,after getting used to it's trigger,and have done trigger jobs and/or,at minimum,changed out the hammer/main spring for a lighter but reliable ones. once you have drank from the stock p99 AS trigger goodness,you never want to go back.unfortunately,finding a reset just as good,is another matter but i usually settle.

i should also add,my index/trigger finger just moves slightly more to the rear to press on most other pistols but that doesn't matter,they're all in a slightly different position anyway.
 
Funny, people criticize the HK mag release location. However, it is so perfectly ergonomic it is hard to get used to an inferior location. You have no idea how much I wish my 1911's and other pistols had the same style magazine release levers.

I really don't know of any others, not in experience or reading.
 
I think they are the only two manufacturers to use that format for the mag release. It is quite workable once you get used to it, but it's different enough that I wouldn't want to build up heavy muscle memory if that's not what I was going to carry or use 24/7.
 
With the recent revival of a few old threads, I thought this one needed a boost. We've got a few models from Walther and a bunch of HKs with paddle releases. If you haven't tried this style of magazine release, you really should. I've heard it called "European" and maybe it has to do with what gets imported, but I've only ever seen it on Walther and HK. Has anyone seen it on another gun?
 
Funny, people criticize the HK mag release location. However, it is so perfectly ergonomic it is hard to get used to an inferior location. You have no idea how much I wish my 1911's and other pistols had the same style magazine release levers.
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As much as I liked my HK's, I dont miss finding the mag that was in the gun on the seat of my car or the ground as I walked away, when I got out. Which happened on a regular basis. :rolleyes:

Im sure then, it was more a matter of holster selection, which was minimal at the time, but it happened with both holsters available to me. I suppose its better these days?
 
I would imagine that any holster that properly covers the trigger guard area, will prevent mag drop issues.


I got used to my VP9 mag release after the first couple mags, and now find the standard type irksome to use.
 
Having both a USP and a PPQ M1, I love paddle style releases. I've had zero problems with either. A proper holster will eliminate any release issues.
 
A proper holster will eliminate any release issues.
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I agree, assuming there is one available. At the time I was using them, there were only two available for the P7M13, a Bianchi Pistol Pocket, and one by Desantis. Both allowed the release to be engaged while in the holster. For me, the seatbelt was the number one offender.
 
As much as I liked my HK's, I dont miss finding the mag that was in the gun on the seat of my car or the ground as I walked away, when I got out. Which happened on a regular basis.

Im sure then, it was more a matter of holster selection, which was minimal at the time, but it happened with both holsters available to me. I suppose its better these days?
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I'm guessing the holster had a lot to do with it. I actually had that problem with a push-button release once and I'm sure it was the holster. (Both the gun and holster have long since been traded away!) Being ambidextrous could increase the chances of this happening, since you have two points of activation. (That goes for ambi buttons too.) All things being equal, I'd imagine that the longer paddle we see on the Walthers would be the hardest to accidentally depress while in a holster.

Of course, the main question is if anyone's seen this kind of release on other guns. Is it used outside of Walther and HK?
 
I have several Kangaroo Carry style holsters for my PPS and never had any problems with accidental tripping of the mag release.

I wish every pistol had this style of mag release. Weird only because it's different. I quickly became accustomed to it and appreciate how much better it is.
 
Yep, I wish all of my auto loading handguns had paddle magazine releases. Fully ambidextrous and much harder to have accidental magazine releases. They also allow three different finger options if your hand fits it the right way. I can use my thumbs, index finger, or middle finger if I so choose. Usually my middle finger though.

For me a perfect paddle would have the length of the Walther's, the width, shape, and rigidity of the HK's.
 
I had a USP 40, I have a P30 9mm and an HK45. The paddle mag release is just something you get acclimated to with range practice and it's not a problem.
 
In an earlier post, I said that I find the HK and P99 lever easier to use than the button release.
Well, that was in 2011. I have since learned to dislike the lever on my P99 (older version/small lever). The HK USP lever might still have been OK but I have sold the pistol late last year.
 
Thank goodness it's only two.

I've been shooting with button releases too long to like the HK USP (always had to shift my grip because the lever wouldn't go down with my middle finger snugged up against it), or the Walther 99/PPS releases.

I simply have too much muscle memory invested in the button release to take any other style seriously.
 
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