Ported Handgun Question
- Thread starter shankbone
- Start date
blinddog
New member
Only if you will ever be shooting at night, the muzzel flash can cause you to temprorily lose night vision. But that is more a tactical SD issue. From what I understand the ports do tend to keep the muzzel down in rapid fire. Shooting cast can cause some leading issues but it can be cleaned with a stiff brushing.
deadeyerichard
New member
I have a Tracker in .41 mag and my b.i.l. has one in .357. I'm a big fan and have really enjoyed shooting them both. The only negative, I can think of, with the porting is it makes these pistols LOUD!! Do NOT shoot your pistol without hearing protection. I did it one time and couldn't hear anything but that high pitched tone for almost ten minutes. I thought I was deaf forever. I don't have experience with the cast bullets, but believe blinddog is correct in that the ports would be easily cleaned. The holes are large enough to get a brush into without much trouble.
GC
Well-known member
Hate ports, especially on handguns. They are very loud. They are very bright and may cause you to lose your night vision. They allow extremely hot gasses to vent upward toward any part of your body near the short barrel of the handgun. This can definately be a problem in any sort of close retention shooting. They are more difficult to clean. They may rob a bit of velocity - maybe... Any supposed plus of recoil reduction may be questionable, especially with a .357 level of recoil. I don't see any real advantage and plenty of drawbacks.
IDBob
New member
I have the stainless 41 mag tracker with a four inch ported barrel. I also shoot both a Ruger Redhawk 5.5 inch 44 mag and a 7.5 inch Super Redhawk 44 mag. The ported tracker is a handfull with factory loads even with the porting. 34 ounces is pretty light for a magnum handgun. The porting makes it come straight back with little muzzle lift making follow up shots very fast and effective.
Like deadeyerichard said this gun is very loud, much louder with factory ammo than both my 44 mags. However it's a great gun to carry and very accurate. I cast and shoot Lee's 210 grain tumble lube bullet for this gun and you do have to clean around the ports once in a while, but I can't tell a lot of difference between factory loading and my handloads as far as getting the gun dirty.
I do load this down to the 850 to 950 fps levels simply because it's much easier to shoot. I do a bunch of plinking and simply don't need barn burner loads to do that.
With my mild 41 special handloads this gun is very pleasant to shoot and accuracy is excellent. The porting though loud works very well. For a pack in the woods carry gun it has plenty of power for about any use and controlled follow up shots are quick and accurate with the porting and at 34 ounces for the stainless model it's a very nice belt holster carry gun.
If your looking for something to hunt big game with I'd recommend something heavier such as the big frame Rugers or N frame Smiths or the big framed Taurus's, but for a light carry in the woods powerhouse the Trackers are excellent.
Here's what mine looks like.
Like deadeyerichard said this gun is very loud, much louder with factory ammo than both my 44 mags. However it's a great gun to carry and very accurate. I cast and shoot Lee's 210 grain tumble lube bullet for this gun and you do have to clean around the ports once in a while, but I can't tell a lot of difference between factory loading and my handloads as far as getting the gun dirty.
I do load this down to the 850 to 950 fps levels simply because it's much easier to shoot. I do a bunch of plinking and simply don't need barn burner loads to do that.
With my mild 41 special handloads this gun is very pleasant to shoot and accuracy is excellent. The porting though loud works very well. For a pack in the woods carry gun it has plenty of power for about any use and controlled follow up shots are quick and accurate with the porting and at 34 ounces for the stainless model it's a very nice belt holster carry gun.
If your looking for something to hunt big game with I'd recommend something heavier such as the big frame Rugers or N frame Smiths or the big framed Taurus's, but for a light carry in the woods powerhouse the Trackers are excellent.
Here's what mine looks like.
SodakJim
New member
+1 for what IDBob said!
Any short barrel 357 with magnum loads is going to have considerable muzzle flash and be very loud even without porting. The 357 has a nasty crack even with an 8 3/8 inch un-ported barrel. If your in a situation where you need your handgun fast, I doubt you will have your hearing and eye protection ready.
The Taurus Tracker is really meant to be more of a backpacker or fisherman's gun where it's light weight and size are the top considerations. If your planning to shoot it a lot with full power loads, you would find the heavier frame models more pleasant to shoot. The ports are not hard to clean but the cut outs above the ports show the powder stains on the stainless model, and they are more difficult to clean off.
I have chronographed the same loads in 2 44 mags. (A 7 1/2 Ruger Super Blackhawk and a Taurus 6 in Raging Bull with the porting) The velocities were always higher with the shorter barreled ported Taurus, so you don't always loose velocity. I saw the same results in a magazine article sometime ago where it points to several other factors that affect velocities in revolvers. If you compaired the same gun, ported or un-ported with the same barrel overall length, the velocity loss would reflect the loss of about one inch of barrel length.
Any short barrel 357 with magnum loads is going to have considerable muzzle flash and be very loud even without porting. The 357 has a nasty crack even with an 8 3/8 inch un-ported barrel. If your in a situation where you need your handgun fast, I doubt you will have your hearing and eye protection ready.
The Taurus Tracker is really meant to be more of a backpacker or fisherman's gun where it's light weight and size are the top considerations. If your planning to shoot it a lot with full power loads, you would find the heavier frame models more pleasant to shoot. The ports are not hard to clean but the cut outs above the ports show the powder stains on the stainless model, and they are more difficult to clean off.
I have chronographed the same loads in 2 44 mags. (A 7 1/2 Ruger Super Blackhawk and a Taurus 6 in Raging Bull with the porting) The velocities were always higher with the shorter barreled ported Taurus, so you don't always loose velocity. I saw the same results in a magazine article sometime ago where it points to several other factors that affect velocities in revolvers. If you compaired the same gun, ported or un-ported with the same barrel overall length, the velocity loss would reflect the loss of about one inch of barrel length.
Conventional porting,as seen on factory pistols and revolvers, are more for looks than purpose. For a port to function to any degree,an expansion chamber is necessary along with the ports,as well as a high pressure cartridge to make it work. These types or compensators and ports are mainly for competition type handguns,they jsut aren't really necessary on a field gun. In a .357 revolver, your just not going to realize a perceptable difference in anything except a louder report.
The front sight can also become discolored by the hot gases, even if it's on a ribbed barrel. I don't like the lead build up either at the port.
Remember with cast bullets you shouldn't push them much over 1,000 fps, unless their gas checked. I've gone back to Copper Coated slugs (like Berry's) for milder practice loads, and jacketed for hunting.
Remember with cast bullets you shouldn't push them much over 1,000 fps, unless their gas checked. I've gone back to Copper Coated slugs (like Berry's) for milder practice loads, and jacketed for hunting.
SodakJim
New member
Quote:
Conventional porting,as seen on factory pistols and revolvers, are more for looks than purpose. For a port to function to any degree,an expansion chamber is necessary along with the ports,as well as a high pressure cartridge to make it work. These types or compensators and ports are mainly for competition type handguns,they jsut aren't really necessary on a field gun. In a .357 revolver, your just not going to realize a perceptable difference in anything except a louder report.
I don't want to start an argument here but..........
I'm not sure what porting types your refering to, but the Taurus type on my Raging bull is relieved the last inch of the barrel to get the expansion chamber. It is also effective and very perceptable, in that it has half the muzzle jump of the 7 1/2 in Ruger I mentioned. As far as being "necessary" on a field gun, it all depends on how fast you want to get back on target for further shots. I would not dispute the extra noise and blast from the porting. Full power 357 loads have considerably more pressure than the average competition handgun, and so effective porting would work better for the reasons you mentioned.
As all this applies to the Taurus Tracker, it may make this very light, compact, and specialized hangun work that much better for it's intended purpose.
Conventional porting,as seen on factory pistols and revolvers, are more for looks than purpose. For a port to function to any degree,an expansion chamber is necessary along with the ports,as well as a high pressure cartridge to make it work. These types or compensators and ports are mainly for competition type handguns,they jsut aren't really necessary on a field gun. In a .357 revolver, your just not going to realize a perceptable difference in anything except a louder report.
I don't want to start an argument here but..........
I'm not sure what porting types your refering to, but the Taurus type on my Raging bull is relieved the last inch of the barrel to get the expansion chamber. It is also effective and very perceptable, in that it has half the muzzle jump of the 7 1/2 in Ruger I mentioned. As far as being "necessary" on a field gun, it all depends on how fast you want to get back on target for further shots. I would not dispute the extra noise and blast from the porting. Full power 357 loads have considerably more pressure than the average competition handgun, and so effective porting would work better for the reasons you mentioned.
As all this applies to the Taurus Tracker, it may make this very light, compact, and specialized hangun work that much better for it's intended purpose.
shankbone
New member
As the gun will riding on my hip on hikes and will be used for informal shooting situations, I think I'm going to pass on this gun (even though it is a pretty good deal . . . $350, SLIGHTLY used, two speed loaders, private party).
Also, I shoot cast bullets in my other guns and the leading issue, although minor, is a minus for me.
Also, I shoot cast bullets in my other guns and the leading issue, although minor, is a minus for me.
nyhounder
New member
I too am not a fan of porting on any gun especially a handgun. I had a Raging Bull 454 and even though i loved the gun and shot many deer with it i no longer own the gun. It was ridiculously loud! If i shot more than 1 shot without hearing protection my ears rang for 2 weeks. And i just can`t get used to hunting with ear muffs. Also it gave pretty bad blow back of powder that would hit you in the face. I want a S&W 460 but won`t buy one until they make it so you can shut the porting.
cjg_beef
New member
I shot deadeyerichard's 41 mag and I don't know why you'd want to shoot it without the porting. It's such a lite gun and you'd probably end up with a broken face if it weren't for the porting. I was really suprised at how much recoil it had. Maybe I'm just not used to shooting pistols... But anyway that being said, IT WAS LOUD!!
Jim n Iowa
New member
For a woods carry gun I would go for a 44 with a 4"barrel, load with 240 lead bullets in 44 sp. I do this, and my 357 Trooper 4" with 158g jhp recoils way more than My 4.75" SBH with the like loads (950fps) in 44sp. Neither are ported.
Jim
Jim
Ported handguns have their place, but not in a light pack gun IMO. Where I appreciate them is slowing the muzzle flip of my 4.5lb 460, so it doesn't give me the dreaded "magnum eyebrow". With the brake/ports on the 460, at full recoil it is still almost vertical in my hands. I can only imagine if it "got away" what the blade sight on the end of that 8" barrel would feel like on my head. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
On the other hand, a light pack gun really doesn't need to be ported, as they don't have sufficient weight to "torque" your hands in the same way. This is especially true for the smaller bores. They recoil more in a fast snap and return just with the weight of your hands on the grip. Ports will still alleviate some of the flip, but its not necessary especially with the added blast and flash too. I have a Smith 329pd, which is a 4" barrel 26oz gun in 44 Mag, about as much of a handful as I care to shoot with full house 240s and 300 grain loads. I did however take the torture device Ahrends wood grips off and install a set that come on the x frame revolvers so that the back-strap is covered. That said the non ported 44 Mag still doesn't flip as much and the 460. It just feels like you are smacking the palm of your hand with a tire iron. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Here they both are
On the other hand, a light pack gun really doesn't need to be ported, as they don't have sufficient weight to "torque" your hands in the same way. This is especially true for the smaller bores. They recoil more in a fast snap and return just with the weight of your hands on the grip. Ports will still alleviate some of the flip, but its not necessary especially with the added blast and flash too. I have a Smith 329pd, which is a 4" barrel 26oz gun in 44 Mag, about as much of a handful as I care to shoot with full house 240s and 300 grain loads. I did however take the torture device Ahrends wood grips off and install a set that come on the x frame revolvers so that the back-strap is covered. That said the non ported 44 Mag still doesn't flip as much and the 460. It just feels like you are smacking the palm of your hand with a tire iron. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Here they both are
17ACKLEYBEE
New member
I have several .357 Magnums. My 3 1/2 inch S&W Model 66 a Lew Horton is ported. The perceived muzzle jump is much less. Yes it's loud but in the case when you really need it you won't notice. As for the night vision problem you'll have that same problem with any real short barrel handgun.