I was trying to find an old thread where it had been debated about canting the pistol up and left during a reload and whether or not it was unsafe. I haven't found the thread yet, but found this link in another thread.
Apparently, the practice is called "The Rule of 45" and people continue to teach it as a proper method. Note in the text and video that no mention is made regarding muzzle safety. It is presented as if pointing the gun up and out is perfectly normal and safe.
http://ballseyesboomers.blogspot.com...rule%20of%2045
Also see...
http://watch2video.net/handgun-shoot...UvCD3GUpj.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbC5mEc6ipE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXVNypPUGto
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GsmUzSBaUQ
Note that several of the folks in the vids above caution students about having their fingers inside the trigger guard during the reload, but show an apparently complete disregard for muzzle safety. These people are basically training an unsafe behavior and it is a pervasive standard throughout much of the industry...and each and every one of them doesn't appear to have a clue that they are doing something unsafe. Also note that in a couple of the vids, you can clearly see the guns pointed well above the berms around the ranges and the gun handlers don't even bother to look in the direction their guns are pointing to make sure that they aren't doing anything wrong.
In the last to vids, I got a kick out of each shooter noting that the magazines are extracted, held, and inserted with just two points of contact, the meat of the palm and the index finger, though both guys are obviously using their thumbs and middle fingers as well.