Home made ported barrel

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bkjeffrey

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Has anyone ever attempted to port a shotgun barrel at home? Im thinking of trying it on my 870. I have a drill press and a milling vise, seems easy enough, but I dont know what size the ports usually are. Anybody know? Anyone done this before???? Do the ports have to be angled back towards the shooter? More or less ports?
Thanks in advance.
 
The question is Why would you want to do that? It doesn't help with much except amplify the sound to everyone around you.

You would need some kind of jig to hold the barrel in perfect alignment
 
One word- DON'T.

About all it really does is increase the noise of the muzzle blast.

lpl
===
http://www.shotgunreport.com/TechTech/TechnoidArchive/3-May-08.pdf

BARREL PORTING
Dear Technoid

Please comment about barrel porting and what it accomplishes in terms of recoil and gun movement on an o/u 12 gauge.
Thank you

Donald
---------------

Dear Donald,

I don't favor ported barrels on shotguns. Here's why in a nutshell:

Recoil: In order for porting to push the gun forward to counteract recoil, there has to be
something to push against. Look at the muzzle brake on a tank or field piece. Or even a rifle muzzle brake. Whether steel sheet or a heavy piece of metal, they are all thick. This gives the gas something to push against. A shotgun barrel is thin and doesn't give the gas anything to push against. This leaves the jet effect of the gas. The jet effect alone of the gas isn't sufficient to do much. The gas pressure at the muzzle of a shotgun is very much reduced and it doesn't start out all that strong to begin with- nothing at all like a rifle or pistol.

Muzzle rise: I know that barrel porting combats muzzle rise in some competition pistols. It also works on shotguns, but I don't think it works enough to notice. To optimize the effect of porting in reducing muzzle rise, the ports have to aim straight up. If they aim to the side, they don't do anything for muzzle rise. Due to the top rib on a shot gun barrel, barrel porters run their ports from about 9~11 and 1~3 o'clock. This is hardly ideal. Add to that the relatively low gas pressures at a shotgun muzzle and porting really doesn't do much.

Many people don't like porting, so if you try to sell a ported gun you will have fewer customers.

Some barrel porting (Browning Japan's factory porting is a good example) is very loud and is unpleasant for bystanders.
Porting is often difficult to keep clean due to extreme carbon build up in the ports.
Bottom line: yes, porting works, but I don't feel that it doesn't work well enough to be
worthwhile.

Best regards,
Bruce Buck
Shotgun Report's Technoid
 
The question is Why would you want to do that?
Click to expand...

A couple reasons. From my understanding it helps with recoil and muzzle rise. Why do certain gun manufacturers do it?

Because I like to tinker with things and this old 870 is my project. Id like to try it.

I should help with faster follow up shots and maybe Ill be able to see where my slugs hit instead of looking at the clouds when I pull the trigger.
 
Shoot lower brass ammo, buy a thicker recoil pad and/or consider buying a gun that fits you better for a followup shot.

It would seem to me that, in order to get the holes all aimed the right way to help, it would take so much work, you might as well just send the barrel or gun in and get it done professionally.

If you "do it" wrong, then it just might not recoil as expected. Suppose you end up with some kind of a twisting action during recoil? That might throw you off more than the existing barrel.

However, if you tinker and don't like what you did, I suppose you can always cut off the end you ruined (that is if it is LEGAL to cut off the barrel THAT MUCH!).
 
BK - See Bruce Buck's reply in Lee's post above.

It's a nice marketing gimic, I have guns that came that way, and I have shot their cousins without porting - no noticeable difference. Now overboring and longer forcing cones will do more to reduce recoil, but even that is minimum compared to shooting light loads in a heavy gun with a good recoil pad or system on the stock. If you shoulder the gun properly, and it fits you properly, you won't be looking at the sky for your second shot.

BTW, Lee - I shoot with Bruce here in FL - he is a font of history and knowledge when it comes to scatterguns.........
 
Some years ago I did comparison testing with a Beretta 390 switching between a standard barrel and a ported barrel of the same length and weight. The porting had been done professionally by a well known company.

I shot loads of various weight and velocity and could not tell the difference in recoil or muzzle rise between the two. The only difference was the noise.
 
I shoot 12ga sabots out of a 20 inch rifled and ported barrel. I think they help with muzzle rise a little and maybe a little recoil but when 3inch sabots are screaming down the tube it hurts regardless of what the barrel porting is doing.:D
 
I ported the barrel on my savage .22lr and it has no recoil or muzzle rise...
Brent
 
Factory porting is done to appease the tacticool market. If people proclaim to want it they will do it. Plain and simple. It sells guns. I know it sells more Mossbergs. I see the eyes light up when they notice the porting holes. Probably reminds them of the muzzle brake on an M4 and they think they can make their 12 bore into one if they think about it hard enough.
 
if nobody had ever done it at home then porting wouldnt be available now.
i dont know much about tool and die work i wouldnt try it but thats me.
 
i wouldnt sell a gun with a barrel that i ported myself unless it performed as it was supposed to.
if all it does is make the gun louder just keep it or give it away.
 
Quote:
I ported the barrel on my savage .22lr and it has no recoil or muzzle rise...
Brent
22lr really doesnt have recoil or muzzle rise to begin with
 
If porting didn't work I imagine Vang Comp would have been out of business long ago. Supposedly the porting vents the pressure immediately before the shot exits the barrel so the propellant gasses don't disrupt the shot pattern. There was a pretty convincing article about it in one of the gun rags. That said I would never try to drill holes in the barrel of any firearm. I won't pay the prices Vang Comp charges for a fully tricked out barrel either. IIRC it was nearly $250 with your barrel. So $250 for an 870, and $250 to have it comped, equals $500 for a shotgun that is worth $150. no thanks
 
Well i guess the work was all for nuttin' then?
seriously I was being sarcastic. I have no reason to have a muzzle brake on any normal size weapon. while it takes a bit of work and practice, I see no noticeable rise when practicing my CCC shooting skills. 6 for 6 in the COM section rapid fire from 15 feet.
Brent
 
I am not in favor of porting shotgun barrels. BUT for the cost of a barrel if you would like to try it, go for it. I would suggest starting with smaller holes and not a lot of holes. You could always make them bigger and you could always add more. As noted above here is where a jig or fixture would come into play. realigning the barrel to add more holes.
Good Luck and let us know how it comes out.
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