Positives/Negatives to Porting??

19 December 2001, 15:17

<dr280>

I will be getting a Ruger SBH Hunter in a week or so and have been throwing around the thought of getting it ported. I used to own a SRedhawk in 44mag that wasn't ported, but didn't really care for the a few things about the looks and handling. Any thoughts about experiences with porting on a SBlackhawk???

19 December 2001, 15:41

<jagtip>

On the plus side,porting reduces muzzle whip,therefore reducing perceived recoil.Since the single action grip of the ruger blackhawk lends itself to a tendency to whip by it's basic design,this may or may not be a factor that will matter much.Many people find the single action grip to roll in the hand in such a way as to somewhat absorb the recoil.Opinions vary.On the down side,it does increase blast,which again,may or may not be enough to matter.Personally,I don't like ported handguns but opinions make horse races.There is technically a very slight velocity loss but not enough to matter.

20 December 2001, 02:43

<Dodgy Doug>

I like porting. Yes it does increase muzzle blast, but you won't, or shouldn't be shooting a 44 without ear protection anyway. If you port, I would say all that would be needed is the basic 2 slot Magnaport. My friend has an original issue Ruger SBH Hunter that has been Magnaported. The muzzle rises about 2 inches. This allows for quicker target aquisition when a second shot is needed. However, the Hunter is more muzzle heavy anyway due to the rib on the barrel, and a 44 with a 7.5 inch barrel really isn't too much to handle for most folks, so you should probably try it first then send it out later if you think you need to. Personally I like to shoot big bore handguns, but never really cared to beat myself up physically. I want to still be able to shoot my 500 Linebaugh when I'm very old. I have read some of John Taffins articles where he cites the pain he endures from many years of shooting large bore handguns. Thats not for me so I'll continue to port or muzzle break mine.

20 December 2001, 16:42

<SlimL>

Muzzle blast vs. Muzzle flip. Practice with any big bore hunting handgun can be made more tolerable on both the ears and the hands by using reduced loads. When hunting recoil and blast is hardly noticed so there is no need for a brake then. IMHO if it needs a brake, I don't need it. I have found other ways to solve the problem. Slim

21 December 2001, 04:46

<Paul Dustin>

Muzzle break and porting are good, it makes some gun easy to shoot. I have muzzle breaks on my 45/70 and 375 JRS. Some people like them on 44 Mag and larger calibers. It is great for a quicker 2nd shot.

21 December 2001, 11:13

Paul H

quote:
Originally posted by SlimL:
Muzzle blast vs. Muzzle flip. Practice with any big bore hunting handgun can be made more tolerable on both the ears and the hands by using reduced loads. When hunting recoil and blast is hardly noticed so there is no need for a brake then. IMHO if it needs a brake, I don't need it. I have found other ways to solve the problem. Slim

Spot on! With my 480 I practice with a 310 gr over 10 gr unique @ 1000 fps. If I could get the same accuracy at 700 fps, I'd shoot it there, but it really groups at the higher speed.

While I can shoot a cylinder full of max loads w/o much of a problem, more then that and I start flinching. I have the gun sighted for the heavy load, but practice with the mild one. I just don't like enhancing the muzzleblast of short barreled guns, and in the field, I can't gurantee I'll get plugs in my ears in time.

22 December 2001, 06:59

Jim in Idaho

Positive:
The SB Hunter has a 7 ï¿½ï¿½ barrel so porting will be more effective than in a shorter barrel, i.e. the upward push is farther out from the fulcrum.
Porting will be more effective with slow burning powders where muzzle pressure is higher.
If you are talking about Magna-Porting, then increased muzzle blast is just not that noticeable in my experience. (My experience being a 7 ï¿½ï¿½ SBH and an 8 3/8ï¿½ S&W M29)
It will reduce muzzle flip and perceived recoil by a noticeable amount, how noticeable is very subjective. My .44ï¿½s still kicked, but were brought down to what I thought was about a .41 Mag level.

Negative:
It makes the front sight dirty! If you have a red ramp sight it will become a grey ramp sight after a couple dozen shots. This cleans off, of course.
It will not increase the worth of the gun except to someone who really cares about porting. If you sell it most dealers wonï¿½t give two cents extra for non-factory porting.

IMHO porting is one of the better after market modifications you can make to a .44 Magnum revolver.

22 December 2001, 07:05

Jim in Idaho

I posted this then read your post on the Super Blackhawk Hunter and mounting a scope, and a new thought crossed my mind.

The SBH Hunter mounts the scope out on the barrel. Depending on which scope you get a ported barrel may deposit powder residue on the objective lens.

That's just speculation, I've never scoped a ported revolver. Can anybody corroborate this?

22 December 2001, 15:52

<dr280>

Thanks for the input- like many things- we are all different and have different opinions. I knew the "expertize" of the members would be beneficial to my knowledge. At this time, I am still waiting to get my new toy. I did have the opportunity to shoot a ported redhawk and one unported today. I borrowed a used ported model from my gun store and a buddy brought his unported RH.
After only 5 rounds- I believe I have made a decision-valid for today anyway- I don't plan to port mine anytime soon. The recoil difference is not earth shattering- the noise and mess!! are considerably more evident. My buddy did mention the extra residue left on the scope and lens- if not cleaned just after shooting, will "set up" on the lens and is difficult to remove all traces. Thanks again to all who replied- and good shooting.