I am looking at buying a BFR or Freedom arms in 475/480 and am trying to decide if I should have it ported or not. I have never owned a 480 or 475 nor have I ever owned a ported gun. I am not sure if this one would need it. I have a 45-70 with a 10" barrel that is ok to shoot but this gun would be a 7 1/2" barrel. For you guys that have one what did you do and why. Are there any +'s or -"s to doing or not doing it aside from the obvious?
Thanx
Dave

If you can handle heavy .45-70 loads, you'll be fine with an unported .475 BFR.

Lee Martin
www.singleactions.com

I agree with Lee. Forget the porting. It only increases the noise level you have to put up with and is not good for hunting unless you wear ear plugs. The .480 does not kick as bad as you think.

Barefoot,

In my opinion, there is no question that you should NOT port the 480/475.

On standard power level rounds, porting can be effective in keeping muzzle jump to a minimal level. From talking to my customers concerning porting heavy recoiling revolvers, it is about a 3 to 1 ratio that dislike porting over non ported revolvers.

Most say, and I totally agree, that on heavy kickers, it is much easier to control the vertical jump of a non porter revolver then take the full force of the recoil in the web of your hand which is what a ported revolver will do.

In your case, if the 475 loads bother you, you can simply shoot the VERY useful 480 Ruger until you train your mind to handle the heavier 475 recoil.

To put it simply, DO NOT GET YOUR REVOLVER PORTED!!!!!

Good Shooting!!!

50

I would agree with the others that porting is a bad idea, for many reasons. The muzzle blast and noise are bad enough in a sixgun, no need to increase them. A single action should roll in recoil, and porting will make the gun recoil straight back. I've fired a braked John Linebaugh 475 bisley and didn't care for the recoil at all.

The 480 doesn't recoil that bad, even with the heaviest of loads. The 475 can definately get your attention though