Years ago I bought a Kel-Tec P32 when they first came out. Being left handed I carried it in my left front pocket with a cheap Uncle Mike's holster. This resulted in the mag release button facing outward.

At the time my job was physical, lifting boxes, bending down, climbing ladders, etc. On a couple of occasions when I got home and removed the gun from my pocket, the mag had become unseated. My guess would be something hit or put pressure on my leg right where the gun was and contacted the mag release button. I wound up giving the gun to my brother-in-law and went back to a J Frame.

Fast forward to now, and I've decided to try an auto for pocket carry again. So I bought a Glock 42 and a Ruger LCP II. The Glock has a reversible mag release but the Ruger doesn't, so I'll start with the Ruger.

First, I guess it would be advisable to avoid the thin, cheap $10 holsters?

Second. I'm considering the Desantis Super Fly which comes with a removable pad to further conceal the outline of the gun/holster in your pocket (see picture below) to make it look more squarish like a wallet. I'm thinking the pad combined with the holster itself covering the mag button would require considerable pressure to unseat the magazine?



And finally, I have zero experience with Kydex, but would the hard plastic(?) material better protect the mag button from accidental release if pressure is applied in that area?

Other thoughts/options are welcome, but I don't want to do any modification to the gun (such as grinding down the mag button).

Thank you.

EDIT ADDED: The gun won't be worn during physical activity. Just normal everyday activity. Going out to eat, grocery shopping, getting in and out of the car, etc.

I would make sure the magazine button is covered by the kydex holster. IMHO, Murphy looms large and thats why a lot of people on this forum like J Frames. I am one of those people.

This is the reason why I like stiff heel mag releases. Positive retention of the primary magazine is more important than shaving a second of your reload time.

Easy fix, just grind down the mag release button.

It may have just been an issue with the P32. I've pocket carried a Ruger LC9s and more recently a CZ Rami (heavy) in a DeSantis Nemesis for years and never had a mag come out.

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Or something like that . . .

My P32 has literally thousands of pocket miles..carried loose..and I have never had a problem with the magazine releasing. I did have a P3AT which is the same basic pistol,only in 380..and the mag release was very easy to bump/release. I replaced the mag release catch (available directly from Kel-Tec) and it was cured. It is possible your catch may be not as "sharp" as it once was,especially if you remove/replace your magazines a lot. It is a steel magazine notch engaged by a plastic edge..so it does wear out over time. Not that hard to replace and inexpensive. If you no longer have the gun..disregard my response..

Excellent write-up, OP. I wish I was as articulate as you.
This is one of the reasons I carry a J frame, and not my Colt Pocketlite 380. Twice, that Colt ejected its magazine while in my pocket, while in a stiff leather pocket holster. I'm pretty active. It happened once while I was crawling on my belly. Anybody else change their own oil?
I'm of the belief that reliability is the #1 concern with a CC gun. Semi-autos are all the rage, and I own several, but a revolver fits my lifestyle better. It gives me more peace of mind.

Like someone said, Murphy's out there.

Have the .32 of which you speak and also the .380. Never issue with either. I took was working where labor stuff happened alot those two rotated in my right pocket for years in blackhawk pocket holsters. In right pocket.

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Spin The Wheel

I use a leather wallet style holster to pocket carry my KelTec. Instead of messing with the pistol, I cut a little hole in the holster where the magazine catch would ride, a touch bigger than the catch. Problem solved . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Give it to your brother in law and go back to the J-frame !

I'm a southpaw as well, and the mag releases popping have been a big hassle since I've been carrying semiautos (IWB or pocket_. (Butt releases are great on my concealed guns - I'm not Rob Leatham, I don't carry guns for IPSC and I don't see any reason to pretend I am.) The advent of reversible mag releases has been a real boon to me.



But I can tell you that I've had mag releases pop even with kydex holsters that covered the mag release. Good luck to you - this was part of the reason I ditched my P32 fifteen or so years ago.

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Now go make God proud...

Maybe that's why Europeans insisted in the heel magazine release.

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Expect the unexpected

I've been carrying my Kel Tec P32 for the past several months in a Desantis IWB #106 Sof-Tuck and never had a problem with the mag release.

Side note;

After carrying this lil' thing around for awhile and then picking up a Bodyguard 380, the 380 felt like a "real gun".

....to pull out your gun and have the mag drop out.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I’m a lefty too and my LCP mag popped out frequently enough that I now carry my no-lock 340PD. I tried the Kydex holster route, along w/many others, to no avail. It’s a shame b/c the LCP is so accurate, reliable and easy to carry but this is a risk I’m not willing to take.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

You guys need to go back and read Mr. Muggin's post. I carried a Kel Tec in my left front Wrangler britches for several years. Instead of a snuff can ring on the outside of my britches, I had a pretty clear silhouette of that Kel Tec pocket holster there. I tried several holsters over the years and all of them would pop the mag at one time or another. I finally wised up and did exactly what Muss recommended. Whether leather or kydex, I made a hole in the side of the holster directly over the mag release button and I made sure it was some bigger than the button. I used a leather punch on the leather holsters and I heated up a 5/16" bolt and pressed it through the kydex on the spot where the material contacted the mag release. Heated the kydex just a bit and then tapped on the outside with a big round dowel on the inside to flatten out the kydex that had been melted and pressed to the inside and then smoothed it all out with a fine half round file. With that hole in the side of the holsters, I never had another issue with the mag release being accidentally pressed and released since it did not stick out beyond the outside surface of the holster.

It's a pocket holster (you do use a pocket holster, right?) and nobody sees it but you. If you will make that hole in the right place and make it a bit larger than the surface area of that mag release, this fix will work. But measure twice and make the hole once. Be sure it's located exactly centered on that mag release. I think you will be pleased with the results!

That said, I tend to carry one of my J Frames mostly these days if I'm carrying in my pocket. But there are still times when the smaller semi auto .380 is called for, so I still have use for those holsters!

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So long ... Ken

Years ago, I bought a KELTEC P-32 and experienced the exact same thing with the magazine being released while carrying in an Uncle Mike's pocket holster. I'm also left handed.

I solved this problem by filing down the magazine release button to the point it didn't protrude where it could be easily bumped. I have since carried it for many years and never experienced an unwanted magazine release.

KELTEC P-32 in Uncle Mike's Pocket Holster (with modified magazine release)

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

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Dave Brown
SWCA #3279

Exactly! Ever see any of those older Browning .380s? Lots of "ex-sperts" thought the magazine release on the heel was dumb. Maybe not so bad an idea if you have to roll around on the ground a bit before drawing your pistol. Oh wait, fights never go to the ground do they?

Can you post a picture(s) of this for us?

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Here’s mine. R J Hedley holster. I’m left handed. That holster is carried in my left back pocket, where a wallet would normally be for a lefty. I carry my wallet left front, so pistol goes left rear when I feel like carrying this particular setup. You can see the imprint of the KelTec, with the mag catch hole right where it needs to be . . .

For those interested in the holster, here's a link to the site. Family run business. As I recall, R J may have passed on, but the family is keeping it going last I heard . . .

Hedley Pocket Holsters

Attached Images

433D3693-93C9-4604-96E3-78036C64E87A.jpg (64.4 KB, 32 views)

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

That's the way to do it. Go to the problem, not the
symptom.

The holster's not the problem, it's the degree of protrusion of
the mag release. You don't need or want anything like an
"extended" release on a carry gun that can be accidentally
actuated, whether by pressure in holster, or pressure from
a hasty grip under stress.

Clearly there are two different schools of thought here. Some take a file to a $300 pistol, some take a hole punch to a $40 holster. Both achieve the same result. I'd rather not take the risk of Dremeling just a tad too much off my pistol, but hey, as Gramma Muggins used to say, there's a lid for every pot. Somebody's gotta keep gunsmiths and parts suppliers in business. Others of us choose to keep holster makers in business . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

True on the two schools of thought. I've filed down the mag release on my LCP to good effect and I've punched divots into holsters for other guns. Whatever works for the particular problem you have. (He types, wearing the P320 Subcompact with the mag release switched over to the RH side.)

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Now go make God proud...

Muss Muggins picture demonstrates the concept of making a hole in your holster at the location of the mag release very well. I could show you mine but it would basically show you the same thing. I tend to agree with Muss also about making the mag release smaller or shorter. When I want to release the mag, I don't want to have to hunt for it or have to make more movement or contortion than absolutely necessary to get a good clean release. I don't want an extended length mag release either, but i prefer not have a shorter one either. The relief provided by the hole in the holster where the mag release touches gets the job done well for me. Now if your mag release happens not to be covered by the holster and is exposed as is the one in the picture above posted by D Brown, then there is no place for the relief hole and so perhaps if the problem exists in that case, your choice would be to file down the mag release or buy a different holster. My choice was to buy a different holster.

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So long ... Ken

Since I only carry my KelTec 380 as a backup i have strongly considered adding some sort of heel catch to it. I haven't quite figured out how yet.

The Savage Pocket Pistols have an excellent latch, in my opinion.

I punched out a hole in my wallet style holster for my P238
also .. it had never released but had heard of it happening and a friends KelTec holster release his mag also ..

So as a precaution I did it in advance of any trouble .. was very simple to do ..