by -Raoul Watson, New York
I am about to share a story that’s a little embarrassing, especially since I have been in the law enforcement field for over 16 years (with a Fed agency I rather not disclose at this time).
My personal gun is the Glock 19, and have used it for over 18 years.
My job gun, which I used very seldom, is a Ruger PDAO.
I consider myself an expert with my Glock.. this is why this story is embarrassing.
Recently I participated in fun afternoon doing a close quarter combat match. We were told to be prepared for anything. The surprise scenarios were not revealed until you are on the firing line and timed by a stop watch.
After numerous scenarios, yours truly was up and the range master came with a stop watch and said, “The next course of fire is weak-hand only. Your right arm has been blown by a shotgun blast, it is totally unusable. You are to fire four shots and conduct a tactical reload and fire two more shots” (all with my left hand only).
After I fired 4 shots, my left thumb reached down to eject the magazine. Surprise!! Couldn’t find it.
After 18 years I found out my Glock 19 does not have an ambidextrous eject mechanism!
The stopwatch continued to tick, now I reached with my left index finger the eject mechanism only to find out my finger did not have enough strength to depress the button.
Even though at this time I panicked, I flipped the weapon in such a way that I could use my thumb to eject the magazine. With the help of my thigh in a kneeling position, I was able to insert a new magazine and continued just barely in the time allotted, all with the left hand only.
That day I got home mad. It is totally inexcusable for me to not know my gun that I have used for 18 years. At my job, during firearms qualifications, I have used my weak hand many times (but the Ruger has an ambidextrous eject) and I never had an issue… but then again my right arm was always available as well.
So the advice I am sharing is (especially those using multiple weapons) — know your weapon and know it very well. This knowledge can save your life one day.
