crghss wrote
Secondly, some people confuse porting with muzzle brakes. As I understand it porting puts downward pressure on the barrel where muzzle brake releases pressure to reduce recoil which reduces muzzles flip.
So we don't confuse ourselves, let's call an opening in the barrel other than the breech and muzzle a vent. Is what you call a "muzzle brake" general venting, typically horizontally opposed close to the muzzle (like on artillery barrels)? I have a gun with horizontally opposed vent slots, but they are set well back from the muzzle -- would you still call these a muzzle brake? I always thought they were referred as "ports," perhaps I'm mistaken.
There are other vent schemes, in the same general location (well behind the choke), that are a series of holes that are in the upper portion of the barrel. They usually are associated with proprietary names like Pro-Port or Mag-Na-Port. They claim to aid recoil reduction (by the same physics as other porting) and provide additional control of muzzle jump because of the "jet" effect from the size and distribution of the holes. I think these are generally called "Pro-port-type" porting. Again, I might be mistaken, in your area they might just be called "ports".
oneounceload,
Anecdotal evidence indicates that after a bushel of oysters, porting would be the last thing on your mind.
Does porting help in muzzle jump? I'd say a little. Does it help in recoil? (This is where Zippy/Big Jim and I disagree - I say no.
To reduce muzzle jump without reducing recoil, you probably subscribe to the theory that general porting doesn't reduce sufficient energy to alter recoil, but the jets can work to offset muzzle rise. My friend, this is were we've agreed to disagree. Perhaps you've had too many oysters or I've had too few.
The top tier sporting guns - Perazzi, Kreighoff, Blazer, Beretta, Fabbri and nauseum typically do not offer it as standard. There must be a reason........
See XD Gunner's comment. And, porting can always be added, but it's hard to remove. If your looking for a new top tier gun, and your sport prohibits porting, then you'll skip any guns that are pre-ported. If you're adamant about having ports, they can be added on a custom order.