Porting

[csnider]

After taking my two new SP101's to the range yesterday and putting several rounds of 357 magnums through them in 125 & 158 gr. loads, I am thinking of maybe getting both of them ported. Recoil was not painful at all but any reduction in mussel flip and recoil would be welcomed.

One them is DAO only with a 2.25-inch barrel and came with a Crimson Trace Overmold grip. The other has a Hogue grip and has a 3.5-inch barrel.

I have had one SP101 with the Wiegland Hydra-Port that Gemini now offers and another with the Magna-Port. I wasn't too impressed with either as far as my perceived recoil reduction was concerned. Was wondering if anyone had any experienced with the two style of porting that Pinnacle High Performance's offers. In particular the Tornado Cone porting.

I also tried out my recently acquired Chiappa Rhino with the 2.2-inch barrel. Not only could I tell very little difference in recoil between it and the Rugers, I could barely keep it on the target. I don't think I have ever shot any pistol or revolver that printed so high from the sighting hold. You would have to aim at someone's knees to hit them in the chest.

Thanks for any in-put and comments.

whitewater

 

[Lee Martin]

I've never been sold on porting. My dad and I have identical 458 Devastators. Mine pictured below isn't ported:

His is with 4 ports at 11 and 1 o'clock, and 2 at 9 and 3 o'clock. I've shot both guns on the same day with the same loads and can't tell a difference. Not saying that porting is a waste, just that in my experience I don't see the benefit.

 

[flatgate]

My F.A. .454 was ported. I got a new barrel w/o ports. I don't notice any difference. It still kicks and shoots real well.

Save your money and buy good grips instead.

flatgate

 

[JumpmasterC]

I had mine MagnaPorted. It didn't feel like a big reduction in recoil, but I was able to get back on target much quicker as it reduced muzzle flip. It makes it a whole lot louder to folks around you for sure.


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No one likes to shoot with me when I shoot that particular pistol!

 

[Dale53]

I am not a particular fan of porting. I'm especially wary of porting in a self defense hand gun that may need to be used in unconventional positions close to MY body...

On the other hand, I have a Thompson Center Contender in .375 JDJ (a necked down .444 magnum) that uses in the neighborhood of 48.0 grs of 4895. That puppy has RECOIL. My barrel has SSK's porting system and it makes a dramatic change in recoil. My barrel hardly lifts at all - even off sand bags. This particular porting set up does NOT affect the "come back" at all - but almost totally eliminates barrel rise. Using an unported barrel, the muzzle rise is so bad it nearly damaged my wrist from the twisting motion.

My shooting buddy has the identical barrel with Magna Porting. His is kind of a combination of somewhat less muzzle rise than a plain barrel and somewhat less "come back". He is happy with his choice and I am happy with mine, even tho' they are quite different.

Gas velocity and volume is what ports have to work with. They are not terribly effective with a 850 fps pistol bullet but can be quite effective with 1500 fps, as an example. My .375 JDJ runs nearly 2000 fps with a 270 gr bullet...

Dale53

 

[edlmann]

Ca. '82 I bought a Charter Arms .44 Bulldog. After Magnaporting, the point of impact changed so much that I missed an entire warehouse pallet at 20'. Had to take about 1/4" off of the front sight to rezero.

 

[alkpon]

My experience with 4" S&W 29. MagnaPorted, including their SS Metalife finish. Superb work, recoil reduced "a little", but muzzle flash increases alot and "blast" much greater on ears.
Poor choice in darkness for defense but personal preference for hunting.
My opinion, nah.....

 

[SamV]

This topic comes up from time to time. A friend and I have similar revolvers. His is ported and mine isn't. In .357, I do not like the extra flash and report. I do not think it is a plus in a self defense gun. I would not want to fire it close to my body say at the waist. A lot of stuff coming up at your face and eyes. No, not for me.
OTOH, I have a ported trap gun that I like. It does seem to keep the muzzle down.

 

[Jbrown75]

Porting only really works when there is a good volume of gas to be redirected, and as stated, in a self defense weapon I would not want that near my flammable clothing. At the end of the day it's you who has to shoot it, do what works best for you. If the porting helps you control muzzle flip then by all means proceed.

 

[WESHOOT2]

IMO&E a better choice is more controllable ammo.

 

[Lee Martin]

Just to add to this, recoil reduction seems to work better when it's a full-blown muzzle brake. For instance, when you unscrew the brake on this, you definitely notice a difference:

JD Jones Arrestor also works well (top gun in 416 JDJ);

My 450 Bonecrusher is ported though and I'm not convinced it cuts recoil at all.

 

[dougader]

I had a 454 SRH 7.5" ported and while it really did bring the muzzle back on target quicker, it also increased the "snap" and torque of the recoil/muzzle jump to where I thought it actually made the 454's nasty recoil worse.

I wouldn't do it again.

I also had a 6" 9x21 barrel in a G17 and the Aro-tek "hybrid" kept muzzle rise to virtually nil, making for very fast follow-up shots. But velocity also took a huge hit, like ~270 fps less with the barrel ported.

Porting? A big No for me. I look at my experiences with porting as expensive mistakes.

 

[Calthrop]

If you port a two inch SP. What you will end up with all the raw power of the .357 Magnum Boom in your fist. As the round goes off in the chamber. Then the loss of energy as the bullet jumps to the forcing cone and the gas goes out the gap. Then the bullet slows in the grooves and looses more velocity as the remaining unburned flashes up and out the ports blinding you and directing most of the report in your face.
How much did you pay for the pleasure?
I do not mean to be rude. I only fired a ported .38 Special snubbie once and left it at that.

 

[JumpmasterC]

...as the remaining unburned flashes up and out the ports blinding you and directing most of the report in your face.

:?: In a 2.25" unported SP the muzzle flash is already gonna compromise your night vision (they do make "low flash" SD rounds tho) & I have yet to see any ports that direct ANYTHING back at the shooter....to the sides yes.....back at the firer...NO! When you only have 5-shots, getting back on target as quickly as possible to make accurate follow-up shots is paramount to the minute loss in velocity suffered...it is already a snubbie . If your able to more easily put those rounds where you want them....then the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages IMHO! So, it may be worth the expense to some!

Take two identical SP's, except one ported vs. one not & do a timed drill, engaging multiple targets... look at your time & accuracy & you will see where the porting comes in handy! :wink:

 

[cruzerlou]

I had a Rossi 971 V.R.C.[ventlated rib compsated ] 2/1/2 .357 .It was a copy of a S&W M 66 and as mentioned it didn't make a big diffrence in felt recoil ,but it did get back on target faster. Also as Dale53 said if you have the gun close in to your body ,like shooting from a"tucked" position like when you've just cleared leather and you've indexed the butt of the gun into your rib cage you will get some powder blowing up into your face .
Also I do a lot of low /no light shooting and with the porting it will blind you with the flash from the porting so your night vison will be gone after the first shot .
My 7 1/2 SBH is Mag-Na-ported ,but it's a hunting gun and my pet load is a Hornaday XPT 300 gr H.P. over 22.7 gr's of H-110 .It's very accurate and super hard hitting and the porting helps a bit for follow up shots or when bench resting the gun with these loads.
Here's a couple pics of the Rossi and you can see the porting .Actualy the last inch of the bbl was overbored to creat the compsator,so it really only had 1 1/2 " of riffling ,but for a close in defencive hand gun it was plenty accurate .The comp/ porting on the rossi was more akin to Lee Martin's bonecrusher but my SBH is the standard two port Mag-na -Port .
On a defencive gun it's a trade off ,quicker follow up shots ,but lots of flast and noise .On the SBH it's just quicker follow up shots,If you do it right the first time you really don't need it anyway,but it is just a bit more comfortable.
Lou

 

[TheDude]

I'm not a fan of porting in any way for the reasons already listed above. Maybe try loading down a bit to find the sweet spot between power, recoil and muzzle flip.

Regards,

Josh

 

[AZshooter]

Long ago, gun writers instilled the ideas that if you didn't get your hand canon Magna Ported, & if you didn't shoot Super Vel ammo, you just weren't up with the state of the art shootists.

Keep in mind that the writers seldom incur any out-of-pocket expenses with the stuff they write about, so they can be quite liberal with the run of the mill Joe schlub gun owner's firearms budget.

I've fired many ported firearms, including a couple of the glitzy Glocks with the cutout slides, & the results just don't warrant any discussion about taming muzzle rise. A Ruger Redhawk in particular, was noticibly more annoying to shoot AFTER the owner got it ported.

For the price of a proper porting job, I can go buy a lot of ammo & Wheaties.

 

[mindustrial]

I find them counter-productive on a non self-defense handgun.

I've got a Springfield comp .45... the compensator bothers my target shooting. After a while, I start to get a flinch from the big poof of light, noise & debris in my face.

It does in fact reduce muzzle flip, I'm sure there is a situation where that would be more important than the distraction it creates- but I haven't needed it yet.

 

[csnider]

Guys,

Thanks for all you input. I have decided to have the 3-inch SP101 ported by Pinnacle with his volcano style cone porting system since it does not eliminate any of the rifling in the bore.

Thanks again!
Charlie

 

[alkpon]

Super Vel....I remember well. For grins.....31.0gr H-110 and 180 gr bullet. This is .44 Mag. Fire at night. Muzzle flash extends out about 12' and, with Magna-Porting, about 4' from ports. This, in a 4" S&W 29.
No, it would not be a good "traffic stop" weapon.