Can you help me with some ideas on porting my barrel?

S

Super-Dave

New member
I now have a drill press and I have been thinking about porting one of my shotgun barrels. Why you ask? Because I now can and because I can determine for myself whether or not porting makes a difference.

I have 2 remington 870's one 18" the other 28". I am going to port and cut the 28" down to 18". I will practice and cut the 28" several times untill I am doing a good job and then move it down to 18".

My questions are,

What angle should I drill the holes? 30 degreees from centerline of barrel or what?

How many holes should I use?

What size holes should I drill?

Should there be some pattern to the drilled holes?

Your input will be appreciated.
 
How do you plan to eliminate the possibility of burrs inside the barrel from the drilling process, or remove them once you have drilled the barrel.
 
This may help a little, here's how my R-1100 target barrels are done. None of the holes is angled. They are in target length barrels, I don't have a clue what will happen with an 18-incher -- I suspect it will be very loud.

As I recall, an automotive brake cylinder hone was used after the drilling was complete. Have you constructed your barrel vice and indexer?

1100ported.jpg
 
I understand not to angle the holes, however how far away or at what angle to the centerline of the barrel should I begin drilling?

What size holes and how many should I drill?
 
Zippy13's picture gives you the number and pattern to follow. Be fore warned that porting a barrel, any barrel brings the muzzle blast closer to the shooter. A 18 inch barreled gun could be very unpleasant for the shooter and any bystanders. Even with ear muffs on.

Also note some trap ranges will not let you use that rig because no one will shoot on the same range with you.
 
Last edited:
This discussion has come up many times - if you go to Shotgun World.com, you'll find a near universal disdain for porting and its lack of effectiveness.

That being said, most of the best shop use EDM to do the job, not a drill press. You'll need lubricant so you don't overheat the metal while drilling. If you do not keep an even pattern, your attempt to keep the muzzle rise even and on target will not occur
 
Porting is obnoxious. I frequent shotgun world and there is indeed disdain and I have personal disdain. Buy a 28 gauge if you can't take the recoil of your 12. There is nothing worse than shooting a line with some guy shooting a ported gun.
 
Touching off a ported 18" shotgun in a hall or in a room during a defensive situation is going to probably cause some serious hearing loss. Also - you should look at the Vang-Comp system for a ported barrel if that is really what you want. If you don't like it - then you could sell it and put back on your longer barrel.
 
He's working on two Remington 870's barrels can be had from many vendors. So if porting the first two barrels doesn't work out, replacements can be bought.
 
I use ported barrels on my slug guns and I like them. Maybe its in my head but the do seam to work. Loud ? yes . But the deer dont seam to care.;)
 
Many years back I knew a guy who fancied himself as a gunsmith. He “ported” (drilled holes) in a 20 inch pump. Every time he shot it from the hip it blew his hat off. It was loud and unpleasant to shoot. Under a covered range it was worse.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top