Porting, does it make a difference?

R

rgillis

New member
I've been thinking I might be interested in a .44 mag, possibly a 629 in 3" or 4", for no other reason than I just want one. I have never shot any handgun that has been ported. I'm wondering if it really makes a difference in felt recoil?
 
I own a Dan Wesson ported. First I can change the barrel out to shoot lead loads. In ported guns you should shoot jacketed bullets. The recoil is a push backwards in contrast to the lift up that you get from an unported firearm. I feels better to me so I would say the felt recoil is less.
 
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Porting helps if you can't handle the recoil of the round you shooting, however porting does make the report louder. Don't not home port a gun as it reduces the gun's value, send it to Magna-Port instead.
 
What was that? I can't hear you. I don't think my usual range likes porting. I don't care to shoot next to a ported gun.

I think more than half the discomfort from shoot a big gun comes from muzzleblast.

Now if it is a bear gun I can understand the need to reaquire the target fast. Otherwise I think it is unwise.
 
Yes it makes a definate, noticable difference, but as stated above it does add noise, but hell your not in a library shooting...
 
For a SRH 480?

What's the reaction to dual Magna-porting a five inch barrel on a Ruger Super Redhawk 480, primarily to serve as bear protection? Would it not help accuracy for the first shot, and possibly allow a second? Or is it not worth the racket and cost?
 
When you are looking for bear protection, you go with a gun chambered for the biggest round you can find. This means alot of recoil. Magna-port and a good trigger job will work wonders. You won't even notice the noise when you got a huge grizzly looking to make lunch out of you ;)
 
I have a Ruger super blackhawk. recoil 7
Taurus 44 mag DAO snubbie. recoil 10.
taurus 44 mag 8" ported . recoil 4
I love ported guns and i'm usually wearing muffs when shooting and i dont notice any more muzzle blast.
 
Let me add my 2 cents...not a fan of porting. The reduction in recoil is negated by the increase in muzzle blast. To me, the blast is more of a factor in flinching than recoil is. I have always shot 44 magnums better than the 357s, chiefly because 357 magnums tend to have more of an obnoxious muzzle report...even though the 44's recoil is harder. I'll take recoil over muzzle blast any day!
 
I have a ported SP101, but I would not recommend it for a gun carried for self defense against people. (If you have to shoot from the hip, you could get a face full of hot gasses).

IMHO, porting seems to do little for recoil, but it does effectively reduce muzzle rise.
 
Maybe on Some calibers

I have two S & W 25-2s; one is MagnaPorted, the other is not. I can tell no difference in the recoil or the muzzle rise of the two guns. .45ACP is a low pressure round and the recoil is not bad to begin with, but this is my experience.
John
 
Porting makes a huge difference.

I own a S&W 629 "Trail Boss" with a 3" ported barrel. You can easily shoot 100 magnum rounds through it during a range session and not have a sore hand. Of course, it is the loudest thing on the indoor range and puts out an impressive "shock wave" - so to be diplomatic and polite, you might not want to burn through those 100 rounds when the range is full of other shooters.

I also own a S&W 629 with a non-ported 6" barrel. After I shoot 6 magnum rounds through it the webbing between my thumb and forefinger hurts!. I use this revolver almost exclusively with .44 special ammo.

I also own a S&W 29 with a 10 5/8" barrel (with an adjustable front sight). I have Pachmeyer "Decelerator" grips on this that cover the backstrap with about a 1/4" of squishy rubber. The longer barrel length, with the increased weight, makes it feel like less recoil - and then with the addition of the Pachmeyer grips - you can shoot magnums out of this thing all day. It is very accurate at long ranges, especially when you consider how much more velocity you get out of the magnum rounds. Eventually, I would like to get this revolver ported and mounted with a scope.
 
Make a Difference??

Yes it does.
My 44 special ported snubnosed revolver feels like I am shooting a 38.
Because the frame is light weight titanium and the firearm is so small it really surprised me the recoil was not very bad.
A big difference.

:) :) :) :)
 
My experience is only with 3" 44 magnums, one of which was ported along the top by Jack Weigand. Recoil per se is unaffected. Muzzle flip, however, is drastically reduced. So while it still whacks your hands pretty good, it feels like you have more control.

Naysayers will tell you that porting will destroy the ozone layer or something (for the humor impaired, this is a joke). They may be right, but I have never experienced it. If this is something to just fart around with, go for the porting. If you feel the need to carry it for self defense, choose otherwise.
 
Ported 38

I recently purchased a Magna-Ported S & W 38 Special. It does make a difference in the amount of bite I feel and helps me get back on target quicker. Given that, I have very small hands and after putting 100 rounds through it I still could use a little cheese with my wine. I use standard 38's for practice but have Winchester 38 Special +P 130 gr. SXT's that I'll load for personal protection.


Practice, Practice, Practice
 
If you are shooting alone get a ported. If you are worried about recoil in the N-frame 629 put some X-frame hogue rubber grips on it and recoil on the 44 becomes a pussycat.
 
Porting...

In short, it can make a difference sometimes.

For instance, I have this S&W PC 629-5 with a removable front end to change out the compensator for an un-compensated barrel. (I realize you asked about porting, and I'm talking about compensators; but they do the same thing, just differently)

As an experiment, I tried several loads both with and without the comp to get a feel for "is it worth it".

For cowboy and special loads, there was almost no difference in felt recoil or muzzle lift. But as the velocity increased into magnum territory, the recoil level increased dramatically in the un-comped set up. With the compensator screwed in, the felt recoil was much milder than not, allowing better follow-ups and longer shooting strings.

This comes at a price however (as mentioned above), muzzle blast is more pronounced (for the blast shy), and jacketed bullets are highly recommended.

Whether it's worth it for you is a personal decision, but this has become one of my favorite range "What kind of cannon is that!?!" guns.

SW629-5PC.jpg


-LeadPumper
 
I don't particularly care for porting. I am always willing to put up with more recoil than muzzle blast. This is why I prefer 158grn .357 loads to 125's or 110's. I had the misfortune of shooting next to a guy with a ported Springfield XD in .357 SIG yesterday and the best way to describe it is loud and obnoxious.
 
I guess it all comes down to personal choice. Porting or no porting sometimes seems almost like revolver vs automatic, there are believers on both sides. I'm a nonporting guy myself, I don't mind the muzzle flip and I don't like the hot gasses shooting up, especially in dim light.
 
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