Abstract: For a pistol having a hollow pistol grip in which a magazine for rounds which is insertable from below is held, a magazine catch is provided which is realeasable from either side, offers a maximum of safety, is user friendly and has relatively few parts. The magazine has a lug on its front wall; in the front part of the pistol grip a sliding block is arranged so as to be displaceable in transverse direction, which is held in its middle position by at least one spring, in which position the lug rests on the sliding block. The sliding block has a vertical groove on either side of the lug, which can be brought into the path of movement of the lug during insertion of the magazine by displacement of the sliding block in either one of the two directions.