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View Poll Results: Do you prefer the Euro Mag Release
Yes 24 36.92%
No and I have had range time with one 33 50.77%
No but I have not had range time with one 8 12.31%
Voters: 65. You may not vote on this poll

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Old January 23, 2013, 10:41 PM   #1
RamItOne
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American or Euro Mag Release

Well I'm a bit upset, looking at a shot show 13 video Walthers M2 PPQ has the American style mag release. I understand they're trying to appeal to more people but I just don't see the downside to the Euro paddle mag release. It's one of the things I know Walther owners like.

Just wanted to see a basic poll for or against the euro mag release
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Old January 23, 2013, 10:43 PM   #2
ScotchMan
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You didn't add a poll. I prefer the Euro style release. But I shoot mostly HKs and Walthers so I am used to it.

I will be picking up the next PPQ I come across, used or new, with the old mag release, because the M2 is a downgrade for me.
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Old January 23, 2013, 10:44 PM   #3
RamItOne
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ScotchMan- come on man I'm on my ipad, it takes a moment to set up a poll and it posts before you set up the poll


My buddy has a PPQ and I have a P99QA

I really would like to pick up a P99cAS
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Old January 23, 2013, 10:49 PM   #4
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Sorry.
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Old January 23, 2013, 10:50 PM   #5
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No harm no foul wasn't upset
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Old January 23, 2013, 11:53 PM   #6
TunnelRat
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Honestly I can use either. That's not me bragging, it's just a statement. I think with enough time with either method it simply becomes muscle memory. For a lot of folks used to "traditional" mag releases, they have a hard time overcoming that muscle memory and it's not worth it to them to try the Euro style. I can understand that. I have pistols with both and in using them I never have to make a conscious decision to make sure I am reaching for the right spot. Brain just figures it out.
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Old January 24, 2013, 12:32 AM   #7
chris in va
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Title is a bit misleading, the 'Euro' mag release is in the heel of the grip.
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Old January 24, 2013, 01:38 AM   #8
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I like the "European" Sig mag release location

Honestly, I don't shoot enough HKs or Walthers to get as familiar with their mag release as I do the others. That is the reason that I don't prefer the "Euro" mag release.

However, if I were to spend a little more time with them, I would come around. It really doesn't make much of a difference to me. Give me some time to practice with each, and I will be good with either.
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Old January 24, 2013, 05:55 AM   #9
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I agree with TunnelRat, in that I don't have a problem going back and forth, but I'd say that I have a slight preference for the paddle release over the button.
I find it to be faster (once I got used to it) because I don't have to change my grip, and it's almost impossible to hit it accidentally or when it's holstered.

I've handled a couple hk's in the shop, and I found the paddle to be a bit short, but I thought it was just about perfect on the PPQ. I don;t know why they changed it - it was one of the things that separated Walther from the pack IMO.
The PPQm2 is really just a g19 with a better (for most people) handle, and a great trigger - which, when I think about it, is probably exactly what a bunch of people want.
You'd think they could at least offer both though...
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Old January 24, 2013, 07:17 AM   #10
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I said Yes, but not for all hand guns. I would really like one on small pocket guns like my KelTec P32. It would make it a bit thinner and reduce the chances of sitting on the mag release.
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Old January 24, 2013, 07:35 AM   #11
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I prefer the american style, since I can drop the magazine one handed (with the thumb of my shooting hand). Especially for a carry/duty pistol. The bottom "euro"-style mag release requires two hands to operate...one to hold the pistol and the other to manipulate the release.
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Old January 24, 2013, 09:51 AM   #12
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No preference - did not vote.
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Old January 24, 2013, 09:53 AM   #13
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Quote:
I prefer the american style, since I can drop the magazine one handed (with the thumb of my shooting hand). Especially for a carry/duty pistol. The bottom "euro"-style mag release requires two hands to operate...one to hold the pistol and the other to manipulate the release.
Skadoosh - I think you are a little mistaken. The OP is not referring to a "heel-type" release. He is referring to the "paddle-type" release used by Walther and H&K, which only requires on hand to operate.
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Old January 24, 2013, 09:59 AM   #14
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yep, I misunderstood...
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Old January 24, 2013, 12:35 PM   #15
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I like the more Americanized version with the button. To be honest I had to look up what you were referring to because I also thought you were talking about the one on the heel. Can't stand the heel one. The one on the S&W 22A sucks also, but not as bad as the heel one. I would say the Euro style paddle one would be my second choice.
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Old January 24, 2013, 12:48 PM   #16
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Actually, I suppose they're rall all European style releases since the Luger had the button in the same place the Colt had it years later.

Anyhow, I rather like the bottom release and I've had two guns that used it. Ironically, the pistol that I like better now is a Walter P99, which has neither but rather the lever on the side of the trigger guard. Both sides, too. It isn't that it's awkward or anything, it's just different. It isn't even an unnatural movement, unlike the (also) Walther-style slide safety that was also used on the S&W Model 39 that works the wrong way. Now, a Makarov slide safety works the natural way and, incidentally, has a heal-type magazine release.

None of those things ever entered into a decision about buying something.
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Old January 24, 2013, 01:50 PM   #17
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Skadoosh didn't misunderstand. When someone says "The Euro type mag release" the only possible meaning of that in common parlance is the butt heel release. The one that requires two hands. The one Ruger used on their MkI and Mk II .22s for years and changed with the Mk III and the 22/45. For over 100 years that's been what has been understood, since, well, the 1911.

The paddle type release is called just that, a paddle type. It's the type that the P99 has at the rear of the trigger guard.

The "American style" is the push button type in the familiar location. In American style guns the mags drop free, but I suppose that's another topic.

Doesn't matter how many times the media calls a mag a clip, a mag is still a mag. Same with "American style" mag release and "European style" mag release.

This is the right way and if you do it some other way birds will stop singing and all babies will start smoking cigars.

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Old January 24, 2013, 02:02 PM   #18
Fishbed77
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Quote:
Skadoosh didn't misunderstand. When someone says "The Euro type mag release" the only possible meaning of that in common parlance is the butt heel release.
Tipoc, you might want to re-read the original post again. The OP clearly states he is referring to a "Euro paddle mag release" as used by the Walther PPQ.

By the way, there have been many American pistol designs that have used heel releases, and many European pistol designs that have used thumb releases, so calling them "American" versus "European" is a misnomer anyway.
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Old January 24, 2013, 02:20 PM   #19
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I like the paddle style more. I haven't had more than 100 rounds through a gun with it but that was 10 mag changes in that one session.
The only problem I could see myself have a problem with it would be when I had on thick gloves, which I never wear because thick gloves suck
I can use either without a problem though.

I'm with some of you in my confusion on the "Euro" part of the question but after reading the original post, it was pretty clear what he meant.
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Old January 24, 2013, 02:44 PM   #20
tipoc
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The OP was wrong.

Quote:
By the way, there have been many American pistol designs that have used heel releases, and many European pistol designs that have used thumb releases, so calling them "American" versus "European" is a misnomer anyway.
You missed the point. I'm not the fella that came up with the terms "American style mag release" or "European style mag release". The butt heal release has been called a European style since decades before I was born. Common nomenclature.

The concept of an "American preference" for a mag release located on the side of the frame rather than the butt heel actually came from European manufacturers. This "American preference" was one of the reason H&K moved the mag release on it's now defunct P7 from the butt to a paddle type beneath the trigger guard and on the frame to form the P7M8 and later versions of the same gun in order to have more entry to the law enforcement market in the U.S.

From wikipedia...

Quote:
The R9 and all of its variants have a 'European-style' magazine release at the base of the grip.
Books dating back to the 30s and 40s reference the same differences in style irregardless of where the gun was manufactured, Europe or the U.S.

Granted newer shooters have begun to refer to the H&K and P99 paddle style mag releases as "Euro style" but this is a mistake and clouds things up as the term "European style mag release" already has a meaning and is taken.

So the more folks call the paddle type mag release a Euro Style mag release the more babies will smoke cigars and the people who wheel their kids around in $900. strollers while jogging will get upset.

tipoc

Last edited by tipoc; January 24, 2013 at 02:58 PM.
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Old January 24, 2013, 02:49 PM   #21
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Color me confused also. I voted with the heal release in mind, but the vote would have been the same if I read the op with a reading level above the 5th grade level

I do like the paddle style better than the heal, but like the traditional location the best for my taste.
YMMV

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Old January 24, 2013, 02:52 PM   #22
wild cat mccane
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might be a 1 in a 1000 chance for a button release, but you have zero chance of accidentally dropping a mag on a paddle release.

You also don't shift your grip to release a paddle.

Paddle wins.
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Old January 24, 2013, 03:01 PM   #23
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Button or Paddle releases might be a tossup, but the HEEL-type release on some European guns (like older SIGS) certainly gets in the way of a FAST reload.

Back when I had a SIG P-210-6, I practiced with it a good bit and tried it in IDPA, and found it slower than I liked.
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Old January 24, 2013, 03:35 PM   #24
RamItOne
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My bad

Was not referring to the old style on the butt. Sorry to those that I confused. Didn't even consider that butt option. Thanks to those who voted.

Shot a friends new glock, yeah paddle mag beats the glocks mag release IMO hands down. The button on my M&P9 and Sig 1911 work great no issues.

Walther must think that people stay away from the paddle otherwise they'd stay with the paddle. I just can't swallow that someone wouldn't buy a walther because of the mag release.
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Old January 24, 2013, 03:58 PM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RamItOne View Post
Was not referring to the old style on the butt. Sorry to those that I confused. Didn't even consider that butt option. Thanks to those who voted.

Shot a friends new glock, yeah paddle mag beats the glocks mag release IMO hands down. The button on my M&P9 and Sig 1911 work great no issues.

Walther must think that people stay away from the paddle otherwise they'd stay with the paddle. I just can't swallow that someone wouldn't buy a walther because of the mag release.
Many people try to keep the manual of arms of the firearms that they own similar.

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