The plug

I don't really care for a plug because you can't get a good hold on your mag if you ever have to rip it out of the gun(main reason the hole is there in the first place) you don't have a exit for junk that gets into the fire control area and I guess I can add what you just posted to the list, makes perfect sense to me, you need an exit for gas to escape in the case of case ruptures.
I figure if it was an issue Glock would have added a plug to the gun from the factory by now so they must leave it open for a reason. As to folks saying they like to plug it to keep lint and stuff from getting into the gun, I really doubt that a little lint will stop a Glock from running. I mean for God sake, they've dunked em' in mud, sand and all manner of crud and they just keep on running like a Timex Watch, a little lint won't hurt em' at all. JMHO, YMMV.

 

It is there so you can clear a type 3 malfunction on the glock. With most other firearms, you will have already tried the "tap, rack-n-roll" then determined that didn't clear the stoppage. You would then lock the slide back (pretty hard to do when the slide is already that far open) hit the mag release, while pulling the magazine out of the gun and throwing it on the ground. Then you would rack the slide 3 times quickly and with some force, let the slide close, put in a fresh magazine, rack the slide to chamber a round, and fire.

With a Glock, the first (and most difficult task of locking the slide back) is eliminated. You would simply put your thumb into the hole in the grip, finger on the front of the mag, press the mag release, and strip the mag. The offending round will drop out of the gun. Then rack the slide 3 times, insert a fresh mag, rack again and fire.

It may not seem like a big difference, but while your hands are in the firing position, to move them to hit the slide release, and hold it up firmly while pulling the slide back that 1/8" is much harder than you might think. If you were locking the slide back with the slide closed, your momentum will carry the slide all the way to the rear. With the slide almost already fully open, the spring is compressed, and that last little bit is a *****.

So, by putting in a plug, you eliminate your ability to put your thumb into that area to grip the mag, and therefore eliminate your ability to quickly and accurately clear a type 3 stoppage.

I personally have a plug with a lanyard loop, Why? Cause I all so have a +4 extinction on my mag and have enough room on that to grab a rip the mag.

 

I can't believe I'm reading this stuff and signed by people.

The area in the grip is just a drain and exit port for debris/water etc.

Oh, and GLOCK did put a high security(HS) key locking system in the cavity at one time. But it was and is just a drain IMO.

Really, there is no need to plug it but if you do, it should still work as designed.

 

Watch his thumb when he strips, it goes into the hole to get a better leverage. It's around the 4:40 mark with the glock.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfyULpEhmug&feature=related[/ame]

 

Great video, love Clint Smith, he has to be one of the most intelligent instructors out there. Watched him a lot on Direct TV before we had to cut back on our TV Package and lost the channel he was on. Anyway, totally agree, it's there for a reason and there's no real reason to block it or otherwise plug it.

 

Malfunctions demand the use of gross motor skills, not fine motor skills to accomplish. Sticking your thumb in a hole I would think is a fine motor skill.

Stripping mags are done in the same fashion from one gun to the next. Besides there is no hole for his thumb on the 1911. So, he would have to learn different skills for different weapons. It appears to me that he is using the same skill to strip each magazine as far as I can determine in the video.

 

You have more of a lip on the 1911 mag for you finger to get a leverage on then you do with a glock mag.

Edit: you whole thumb don't go up into the hole, just the first part.

 

Ok how about this:

You grab like such to rip the mag out:



Notice how there is a notch on the mag side in inside that "hole"? That is were your thumb grabs a hold of the mag. Cause on a 1911 there is more of a "lip" on the front side of the mag to grab to. On the glock the mag has no "lip"



Edit: The hole is there so you can rip mags out and help drain and exit port debris/water etc...

 

My reply to this will be the same I tell people that don't like guns...

"If you don't like it don't buy one".

Personally, I use them as a protection against the rear of the magazine getting snagged or banging up against something. I've had a magazine snag on my undershirt once while drawing from IWB. Hasn't happened since I use plugs.

Same as the two piece extended magazine release. Not only caught the shirt, I ended up ripping the shirt to finish the draw.

Solution? The base piece of that button still adds length to the release. I took off the second piece, filed down the edges and now I'm a happy camper.

 

I always used the plug to safeguard belly button lint I sometimes store in the hole.