Ported or not?

P

priv8ter

New member
Howdy. Since Christmas is approaching, I am looking pretty hard at getting a snubby for myself(or at least telling my wife what kind of snubby to get me.)

I have pretty much settled on a Taurus, although if I win the lotto between now and then, I could be talked into spending the extra for a S&W or Ruger. Taurus seem pretty solid. My question revolves around porting.

From my understanding as a Semi-auto guy, porting is supposed to reduce felt recoil and improve the time for a followup shot, at the expense of some more noise. Am I correct in the this?

And, most importantly, do you folks prefer ported or not? And before anyone yells at me, I am going to go rent and try before I buy, but last time I went to the local rental place, they didn't have any ported revolvers.

Thanks!
 
Porting does reduce muzzle rise, however the price that is paid is increased noise, muzzle flash directed up across the line of sight and powder debris ejected up through the ports. Personally, I do not care for porting on a defensive type handgun.
 
Porting is a controversial subject, when applied to carry guns. I DOES reduce recovery time, allowing for very fast follow-up shots. I DOES re-direct noise upward, so the percrption is "louder". The force of the blast through the ports is strong, but so is that from the BC gap - neither will cause brush fires or night blindness. If your ammunition is not flash supressed, the fireball at the muzzle will wipe out anything you may see from the porting. If your ammo is flash-suppressed, you shouldn't see more than a couple of errant sparks being blown upward. I've fired everything from the hot 125 gr. Remington, through Hydra Shoks and CorBon though my MagnaPorted 686, on a darkened range, just determine what is true and what is myth, given proper ammo selection. I still regard it as a premier carry gun, with the right fodder.
 
I think Wal has it. It depends on what you are going to do with the weapon--play games or fight with it.

I'm strictly defensive so I don't care for it. Just my $.015.
 
Porting does reduce muzzle flip!!!

If that is really important to you then porting is probably for you. However, as the other posters have metioned porting also causes some muzzle flash, some sound problems, and, for me, ported guns are a PIA to keep really clean. But porting just may be your thing. Good shooting:)
 
I have a ported 357 mag Taurus 617 in titanium (19 oz empty weight). The porting helps control muzzle flip and improves shot-to-shot times for me. The muzzle and port flashes aren't much worse than the flash from my unported wheelguns in similar caliber. I prefer porting on lightweight self-defense revolvers for this reason.
 
thanks

Just want to say thanks for all the advise so far. Seems like I probably don't need the extra expense of porting, especially if am going to be shooting mostly .38's through it with my wife.
 
The one REALLY BIG problem with porting is that it directs gases upward into a place you may not want them... for example, if you're holding the gun next to your waist in a retention position, shooting at someone who's right on top of you. Those gases are pointed up at your favorite face! Likewise, a friend of mine had to shoot a would-be car hijacker across his girlfriend's body as the hijacker opened her door. The gases from his ported snubby went up into her face, searing her nostrils and damaging her nose and one of her eyes. It took six months of treatment, including plastic surgery, to correct things. For this reason, none of my revolvers for potential combat use will EVER have ports...
 
The gases from his ported snubby went up into her face, searing her nostrils and damaging her nose and one of her eyes.
Click to expand...

How do you KNOW it was the ports, and not just the blast from the end of the barrel? What about the cylinder gap? I am sorry to hear about your friend's Girlfriend, but to say that the ports on the barrel caused all this significant damage, and that a pistol without them wouldn't have is sheer speculation. Just the mechanics involved that would have put the gun at an angle that the ports went into her face (assuming he's right handed) are nearly impossible. Now if he's left handed, and has watched too many gangsta movies.....

Porting is just another of the MANY places that hot, sparking gasses escape from a revolver... no more, no less. The fallacy that the ports are somehow flamethrowers causing 3rd degree burns is just silly.

Just my opinion, but I think it's all Glock's fault... :)
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I was concerned about this before I bought a ported Taurus Titanium Model 850 CIA. I went ahead & got it. The range I shoot at is slightly darkened and I could notice an extremely brief flash when I shot it. It was not blinding or distracting to me and not very noticeable except when I was looking for it.
 
I have a Taurus Tracker in 357. The ports are nice for 357 and in a dark room it does not blind me at all. Shooting 38's there is not a real big need for a ported gun. I agree that for a defence gun you might want to stay away from ports.
 
Hi, Onslaught. Yes, it was the ports... the injury involved an insurance claim, and the investigators recreated the incident using a dummy weapon, with both the shooter and the lady seated in the car, confirming how and where it was being held. He was shooting with his right hand out across the middle of the car, so that the revolver was held just below her chin (she's a short girl) pointed at the chest of the BG. The ports were just beyond the mid-point of her body. The side flash from the cylinder gap caught her neck slightly, causing some superficial skin burns, but there was enough distance that it didn't do much damage. However, the upward-directed ports on the barrel scorched the inside of the nasal lining, and particles burned their way into the tip and bottom of the nose, with other particles catching under the left eye and searing the eye itself. The lady concerned is fine now, but still has a few faint pitting marks on the bottom of her nose, below her left eye, and on the white of the eye (they're hardly visible, thanks to a good plastic surgeon, but if you know where to look and how they got there, there's no mistaking them).

FWIW, the snubby in question was a Taurus .357 Magnum: the load was 125gr. JHP, which is a VERY hot load, and this probably contributed to the severity of the damage caused by the ports. I agree that a .38 Special load, even a +P, probably would not have caused damage to the same extent. Nevertheless, I prefer to avoid that potential hazard... and besides, .38 Special doesn't need ports to be controllable, even in a snubby!

Hope this clarifies the situation.
 
Instead of ports, how about considering a longer barrel. This may not be a good solution for a concealed carry gun, but might be worth consideration.
 
My experience with porting is limited to IPSC style 1911 pistols and what I have noticed is that you need high pressure caliber/ammo for the port to make a real difference. For example, a ported 1911 in 45ACP does not make that much difference but with high pressure 38 Super you can really tell the difference.

With a revolver I believe you will be able to tell the difference in 357mag, 44 mag or similar calibers but in 38 Special I don't think it make much difference.

I personally don't care for porting on my handguns as I would hate to have to shoot from retaining position.
 
You have had some good advice. In my experience: The higher the pressure of the cartridge the better the effect of porting. Also- The longer the barrel the better the effect. I woulld not do it to alow pressure or short barrel gun.:)
 
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