How bad is the blast from 4" .357s with magna ports?
How bad is the blast from 4" .357s with magna ports?
Originally Posted by 03RN
I can’t speak to a 4” gun, but a 2” Performance Center 640 from many years ago I can tell you about.
It literally felt like I was sticking my hands in a very hot oven with every press of the trigger. The black powder on the hands was a plus also.
I ran a 681PC Quad-Port for a number of years. I pretty much only shot Federal 357B 125gr Magnum ammo through it. Ohio qualification still had 6 from the hip as part of the course. I never noticed any blast. The 9mm guys next to me would cry, especially during the low light stages, but I never experienced any negative effects. Hell, the muzzle flash angled away and practically highlighted the front sight.
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Lots of blast from a 357 and you need the blast to force the muzzle down. If you concentrate on the front sight you'll be ok. Your front sight will "carbon up" after a shooting session and the front night sight or FO will or can become difficult to pick up. That is what MagnaPort porting is that I've experienced.
Not to worry about the carbon issue for at least 25 rounds or more. They create a chore in cleaning, but for recoil reduction on guns with lots of blast and unburnt powder (short barrel 357s) they work as advertised.
More pedestrian rounds, not so much. Hot ammo is needed for optimum performance.
What is your planned use?
I ask because I had a Magnaported 6 inch 629 back pre-IDPA. I primarily used it for whitetail deer with full house handloads. So in that particular use the blast was beneficial and not a concern.
I did also shoot it in Pre-IDPA "Combat" matches and local 2 gun matches, but with attenuated handloads and the porting wasn't a hindrance.
Magnaport did a great job on that gun for me, chamfered and numbered cylinders and a nice smooth action job. I unfortunately had to sell it during some financial hard times. Life does that sometimes.
4" m28. Woods carry, hunting, high volume training, maybe some competition. My last 3 gun I used a shockwave so this might be a necessary companion.
I have three Ruger SP01s which were "Hybra-ported" by Marc Morganti of Gemini Customs years ago (holes at the top of the barrels, not canted to the sides). Two have 2.25" barrels, one is 3". I don't know how Hybra-porting compares to Magna-porting or any other porting.
Shooting .357 Buffalo Bore 158gr JHC produces no discomfort at all related to the porting, nor any obvious particulate discharge. I've actually fired that load in these guns multiple times from a "close to the face retention position" (wearing glasses & hearing protection) and felt nothing at all coming from the ports.
I haven't fired in dim lighting, so I don't know about flash, but none was obvious to me while shooting in ambient range lighting with this load.
The porting does reduce muzzle flip significantly.
The reason I mention the above with respect to Buffalo Bore .357 158gr JHC is that this particular load makes POI = POA, in the only one of the three SP101s that I (very rarely) use for CCW. I haven't done the same sort of testing (holding the gun close to the face, that is) with 125gr or 110gr .357 in these guns. Both of those loads hit low, though felt recoil seems highest of all for the 125gr JHP loads tested.
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And while the sun and moon endure, Luck's a chance, but trouble's sure,
I'd face it as a wise man would, And train for ill and not for good." -- A.E. Housman
I've shot a 4" Model 28 Magna-ported in the past. My current 28 is not ported. I also own and shoot occassionally a 4" Model 629 Magna-ported. These guns have so much blast with magnum ammo, I don't find the porting to increase it enough to be dramatically noticeable, from behind the gun anyway.
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