to port or not to port

I will not own a ported firearm. I hate the blast and flash. I will not let anyone else with a ported shotgun hunt over my dog or in my duck blind. If I win the lottery and decide I need a 460 Weatherby, then I might consider a Pendleton muzzle brake.
Obviously a lot of other people love them because they make and sell them by the boatload. I would darned sure shoot one before buying one. If you like it, enjoy.

I've mention this before on this forum,I bought a Ruger SBH 44 mag with a 4 5/8" barrel.
Before porting it was a wrist wrencher,sent it to Magnaport and had it ported and the difference is quite noticeable,especially with 300 gr bullets. I don't see a significant difference in muzzle blast and flash. Does make the front sight harder to clean though.

Porting stinks with 32inch barreled shotguns.......it's loud and obnoxious - how do you think it will be very close to you, in the dark, in an enclosed room????

I will personally never own another firearm with a ported barrel. I had a 7mm stw and a 44m raging bull and the sound was brutal even when hunting. But I would shoot one and see how you liked it and go from there.

I used to have Magnaport done to some of my revolvers, but the recoil reduction did not outweigh the increased blast. The money is better spent elsewhere, and it usually decreases the guns value.

to answer your question directly:


No. Period.

Not even if you are considering a first revolver in one of the big calibers--e.g., .44 Mag and up. Learn to shoot what the revolver-and-its-cartridge is normally. IMO.

Jim H.

The disadvantages definitely outweigh the advantages unless you're going to shoot IPSC or pins with it. For carry use I agree with learn how do deal with the recoil.

In a word, no.

Especially in the tight situations revolvers are called on for. I dont like burns as much as I hate deafening noise.

It all depends on the application. I sent my Ruger Redhawk 5 1/2" in to Magnaport last week and will be getting it back next Tuesday. I don't want it for hunting but what I do want it for is protection against a charging bear. My research has indicated that it will reduce the time to get back on target for follow up shots. I even talked to Randy Garrett of Garrett Cartridges and he has had some of his guns ported by Magnaport. I would be using it in broad daylight so the flash shouldn't be a factor. Who knows maybe it will scare the creature somewhat. Anything I can do to dissuade will help.

And in case you ask, I will have a 12 ga. as a backup. The only reason I want the .44 is for weight. I'll be carrying a 50 lb. camera pack and my wife will hold the shotgun with a rifled barrel and Remington Buckhammers.

The amount of time for a followup shot versus seriously damaging your hearing is, IMO, NOT worth it

how do you think it will be very close to you, in the dark, in an enclosed room????

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Same as any centerfire cartridge, regardless of barrel length, in an enclosed room. If it's life or death, 1- you probably won't notice it, 2- it's always better to be alive and deaf than to be dead.

IMHO, if it's a range gun you'll probably be wearing protection anyway, and you'll probably be able to shoot (and enjoy) it more. If it's a hunting gun, one or two shots in the wide open won't bother you that much. If it's a SD gun, if the porting helps you to practice with it more, you're more likely to come out of a situation alive. So go for it if you want to.

Just for the record, the only ported gun I have is a Sporting Clays shotgun that is only available in a ported barrel.

I do have ported chokes, I can't tell any difference, positive or negative, with them.

Wyman

Porting is fine for a range revolver, but not so hot for a carry gun.

That said, I have three ported firearms: Taurus Tracker .357 Magnum (range gun), Taurus 85 Multi-Alloy .38 Spl (carried this gun a lot or years!!) and a Glock 19C (both a range and carry gun).

Even with +P ammunition, the .38 and 9 mm aren't too bad (IMHO) and I have shot both at night and close in to my body. The report is quite louder then a non-ported gun.
The Taurus 85 was purchased and carried because of it's extremely light weight (10-12 years old now...light weight carry guns weren't as common then). The Glock 19C was purchased at a very attractive price, but I wouldn't pay extra for a compensated 9 mm.
It just happened that both these carry guns are compensated.

The .357 Magnum is a different story...those reports are fierce as is the muzzle blast.

I seem to recall a number of suicides last year from survivors of BG encounters that survived with the use of their gun, but were forever depressed by the ringing in their ears that resulted from 1-5 shots without hearing protection...


IF ONLY THEY HAD KNOWN, I bet they would have rathered not take the necessary shots to save their life at the time.


I completely agree with you JWF.

I seem to recall that S&W makes a .357 with a 6" ported barrel. I can't really figure out why when it's just as long & heavy as my Ruger GP-100, which doesn't flip much given how muzzle heavy it is.

Given how loud a .357 is on an indoor range (wearing muffs over ear plugs) I sure don't want to find out how loud a ported gun would be without ear protection.

Insert Say no to porting sign here ------>

I shoot at an indoor range, with hearing protection. .357 magnums are my revolver of choice. I don't notice any difference in noise level or muzzle blast, when shooting my (ported) 586 L-Comp vs. any of my other short barreled .357 magnums (2-1/2" M-19 or 3-1/2" M-27). Without hearing protection, the .357 will hurt your ears, ported or not.

Especially with barrels that short....

I will not own a ported firearm. I hate the blast and flash.

Click to expand...

+1
I like my 4" M500 S&W except for the comp. I'm not saying it doesn't reduce felt recoil but the trade-off (muzzle blast) is not worth it to me.

I got my Ruger back yesterday and went out to the range to test fire it today. The results are in. I am completely happy with it. I first fired six American Eagle 230 gr. FMJ then 6 Garrett Cartridge 330 gr. hard cast rounds. There was obviously a difference in recoil between the two but with the hard cast I was able to recover the target much faster than before porting. I hit an 8" paper plate at about 40 feet 3 out of 6 shots fired about as fast as I could pull the trigger. Granted, I need to do a lot more practice but for the limited number of times I've fired this hard cast ammo in the past (it is quite pricey) I think it was a positive result. By the way, the target that the plated was stapled to was a standard 18x24 and the other shots hit within that area.

Ported guns blow! That said I will never own another ported rifle or handgun, although my 835 is ported but it has a longer barrell. If you think you are gonna get two shote on a charging bear because of porting I would suggest you go over your plan again. But then again maybe you will deafen him and he will turn around and leave.

hogshead, sorry to disagree but my test today between the 230 gr. FMJ and the 330 gr. hard cast while somewhat louder wasn't that much. Granted, I was shooting on open BLM land but the sound wasn't that much different, at least to me. I don't know if the Magnaport porting is the reason but possibly.

As to getting two shots off, as you see on the paper plate photo, I was able to get three shots off as fast as I could pull the trigger. I know adrenalin will be a factor but I'd rather be able to have the option anyway.

Were you shooting both loads in the same gun? While I think that the odds of a bear charging you are somewhere close to getting hit by lightning during a shark attack. I would think if a bear should charge it would proably be from thick cover at a VERY short range. I think you would be very lucky to get one shot let alone more.imho

That's not the point. I just want all the odds in my favor. What ever it takes to do that, within reason, i'll take. I know I could go with a higher caliber but I'm used to this gun and besides, it or other .44's have been used by people in Alaska for years.

I know the most danger is from a close attack, there isn't much I can do about that other than being able to draw the gun from a ground position on my back, but if I do have a chance to draw and fire from say 40 to 50 feet I'd like to be able to get off as many shots as possible.

Yes, I first shot 6 rounds of the 230's then 6 rounds of the 330's in the same gun. The only .44 I have. But don't forget my wife will be with me carrying the 12 ga. with a rifled barrel and Remington Buckhammer. I have a SpecOps stock which has a great recoil absorbing spring. I have shot a fair amount of heavy rounds with it and hardly felt it.

"No" to porting. I'll take recoil over damaged hearing, any day.