This is video of the shootout between Houston PD and a suspect back in January. I tried to cue it to 1:09 where you get to see one of the officers responding to the incoming fire and losing his gun’s magazine twice in the middle of shooting back.
I have seen that happen before at IDPA matches and I am going to hazard a guess and say the gun has an extended magazine release button. If you are shooting relaxed and without any stress, you will have a wicked fast mag change time. But if you are under adrenalin, a small shift of the grip and you are pushing the release accidentally and the mag disappears into the Oh Crap swamp.
I am not saying you cannot trick your gun; I am all for shaving a fraction of a second if that keeps you alive. But make sure the gun does not go Tango Uniform because of it. Suddenly having a short stick in a firefight sucks and is dangerous to your health.
Oh yes, carry a tourniquet.
I’m surprised that a red dot would be allowed for duty carry.
Seems to me that the magazine release should, ideally, be one of the most difficult to use buttons on a service weapon. Not difficult as in hard-to-operate, but difficult as in hard-to-operate-without-intent. Likewise the safety should be designed in a way that makes it difficult to engage or disengage without intent.
Mind you, I’ve never been in a shootout (and gods willing, never will be) so take this as the armchair musings that they are.
My Sig safety is so difficult to operate, that I haven’t found it yet. But I’ll keep looking. ;-))
On the original SigSauer pistols there are so many levers an the left side of the gun, that it takes a while to figure these out.
Would be a funny scene in a action comedy movie 😀