Glock: Why That Cutout Exists In The Grip
By Gregory Kielma
Glock: Why Does That "Cutout" Exists
Glock: Why Does That "Cutout" Exists
Gregg Kielma-Tactical K Training and Firearms
2/16/2026
The open cutout at the rear of the magazine well on many Glock frames is a deliberate design feature. Its purpose is simple:
Let's Take a LOOK
That hollow opening is there because (contrary to popular opinion) Gaston Glock really did try to make a pistol that was intended to be held in a human hand. It is a dead-air space meant to add girth and more ergonomic curves to the grip of the pistol to make it more comfortable for a person to hold.
A pistol grip serves two purposes: to give the user an interface to hold the pistol, and to serve as the receptacle for the ammunition magazine. But in most designs, the magazine is usually much smaller than the outside dimensions of the grip.
And if the grip were designed to accommodate only the magazine alone, it would be a squarish, box-like container that the also box-like magazine would simply slip into. And a bare, boxy magazine is not an especially ergonomic and comfortable thing to hold onto.
So Gaston Glock added some extra material to the back of the grip behind the wall of the magazine well to fill up the user's hand a bit and give them something curvier to wrap their palm around.
More Reasons:
1. To help strip out a stuck magazine
If a magazine becomes jammed — usually from a double‑feed or debris — the shooter can hook a finger into that cutout and manually rip the mag out. This isn’t new; early Gen 1, Gen 2, and some Gen 3 Glocks had it for exactly this reason.
2. To assist with flush‑fit magazines
When a magazine sits nearly flush with the grip, there’s less surface to grab. The cutout gives you a purchase point to pull it free if needed. This is the same principle behind modern aftermarket magwells that include side cutouts for stripping mags.
3. It’s not about speed — it’s about reliability under failure
Most Glock mags drop free without issue. But Glock designed the frame so that if things go wrong, you still have a mechanical way to clear the gun. As one source put it, the cutout is essentially a built‑in contingency for magazine retention issues.