I have been shooting a comped 686 at the Bianchi Cup for many years. Won a lot of stuff with it. A compensator is the same as porting with more holes. One of the great things about it is that the recoil of my 140 power factor loads is about the same as a bunny fart wadcutter in a non ported gun.
The best way to get the most out of ports or comps is to use a powder made for that purpose. There are 2 powders I have used for that. One is AutoComp and the other one is Power Pistol. Both are formulated to generate more gas than usual (I think), and so work the ports or comp more effectively. The AutoComp burns hotter than the Power Pistol, so in a revolver you can burn your hand on the cylinder during a reload with fewer rounds than you would with PP. There is more flash and noise than with other powders, which seems logical.
I also have a 3" M65 that is ported with 1/8" holes on either side of the front sight, similar to some Taurus revos. That one shoots about any load from light target to magnum to about the same POI when using the normal POA. I didn't expect that when I ported it, but it's a really nice side effect. Apparently the different gas pressures make it self regulating.
An easy way to make ports and comps stay cleaner and clean up easier is to start out clean and spray the holes with Dillon Case Lube or welder's anti-spatter before firing and about every 50 or 100 rounds.
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