I like the way vent ribs look and realize it may make cleaning a little harder. Other than this, what other pros and cons are there? Thanks.

In theory they dissipate heat and reduce the mirage you have to deal with while shooting. I don't see much in the way of cons other than perhaps increased weight, but that would be minimal and they look cool

Pros: Looks super rad.

Cons: Who cares, looks super rad!


This is a little bit of speculation, but it looks to me like the vented rib on revolvers was popularized in the Colt Python. Which is essentially just a production version of a King Super Target.

The original King Super Targets were an upgrade. The vented rib wasn't to look good, it was a necessity for fitting the rib to guns with tapered barrels economically.

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Pro: Gives you an excuse to dress like David Soul (aka: "Hutch") when you go to the range.

Con: You're dressed like David Soul at the range. (Uh, wait. Maybe that's a pro?)

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The King super rib is a big hit anytime I bring it to the range.

Some think its a copy of the python until I explain how old my Kings really are

Only downside I would guess of is that ribbed guns might be more holster specific ?

They look cool.

In some shotguns, the vent rib with the stock both contributed to a more upright stance and better shooting for some.

Kinda hard to appendix carry your Python wearing Angel Flights; however, you’ll likely be the most popular guy at the disco.

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213th FBINA

Practically…vent ribs add little or nothing. Aesthetically…they look bad *****. It also depends on the gun…on a Python it’s iconic. On some it’s an abomination.

Strictly personal preference as far as I can tell. I had two Pythons for many years. I seldom shoot anything but Bullseye style and could never see any advantage whatsoever over a plain barrel. But a vent rib hurts nothing if you like a vent rib.

All this vent rib talk has got me all wound up

My 6" Ruger Security Six with a Marble's rib on it. I think it looks pretty cool. Has Mustang grips. Found the rib NIB old stock on Ebay a couple of years ago.

The 686 PC vented rib is one of my favourite 686' to shoot. I don't think cleaning them is any harder than any other models. There's alot of pros and little cons , for me.

Pros: They look Awesome

Cons: It is hard to find Smith & Wessons with Vent Ribs

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"Acta non verba"

It effectively dissipates pimp blood.

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Rule of law, not a man.

pro: gives you a feature to attach scope mounts to.

Was thinking specifically of the Dan Wessons….nice SuperMag btw.

Con: extra machining cost

Con: 1 They never made a factory..... Smolt or Smython

2 They only come on Colts!

And Smiths & Wessons, and Korths, and BFRs, and NAAs, and Taurus', and Dan Wessons, and Chiappas, and Rugers, and ... anybody knows a couple more?

Another “Pro”, the rib raises the effective top surface of the barrel, so the front blade, necessarily taller than one for non adjustable sights, doesn’t have to be so exposed. With no rib, those front blade look like a shark fin or even a sail.
Froggie

Please don't use them to mount a scope. They can bend under the recoil. Do it right!

Lou, I never knew such a thing even existed. Looks Cool to me!
Larry

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Miss Buddies crsides & fat tom

Remember reading an article in a gun mag years ago where they went to the guy that designed the Python to settle the argument about what the function of the rib was, and “ it looked cool” was the answer.

I think you will find a pipe cleaner will make cleaning you vent rib much easier.
Lots of pros, not many cons. 😁

Looks like the main pro is they look cool.

I'll go with that, because I think appearances count. Despite that my EDC is my Glock 26. In this case I will take utility over beauty because I don't think anything will do the job better for me.

But in other aspects I value aesthetics. To me the SAA is the most beautiful handgun ever wrought by the hand of man. I prefer nickel plated (or now, polished stainless steel) with stag grips, because that is what my heroes carried at the Saturday matinee.

I am also a fly fisherman. I have aesthetic standards there too. The current fashion in fly reels is large diameter skeletonized reels for rapid retrieve. I find them ugly, despite any functional advantages. So all I use are the older traditional reels.

So if the main 'pro' of vent ribs is that they look cool that is fine with me. One of the many reasons I like my python.

Con - they aren’t as iconic as the solid rib on a Reg Mag…..

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Terry Lester

They look good on a shotgun or revolver, but oddly dorky on a semi auto. Llama were fond of them.

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Release the Kraken

Ok on certain shotguns,, Not a fan of them on handguns or rifles.

I only have one shotgun w/a vent rib.
A Remington Model 10T 12ga pump.
The 'T' stands for Target (not Trap as many think)
The Target model came out late in production of the Model 10 and it was their intro of the VR on that Model.
Remington made the VR bbls for the Model 11, 10, & 31 ( and I believe the Mod 17) out of one solid piece of steel. All forged and machined as one piece.
No separate VR bases soldered to the bbl. No separate rib dovetailed into the bases.

It's kind of annoying to me that it took them 40 years to remember that a solid rib gives the best sight plane. The rib on my model of 1896 is really great, and the old top break ribs are too.

They should have never stopped doing it.

Now THAT'S funny I don't care who you are!

As far as ribbed...I think what makes the COLT look so good is not so much the ribbed barrel but the subtle rise of the rib on the barrel until it meets the front sight. Without that subtle rise, it would look dorky. Like a Lima.

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Forum consigliere

On shotguns it gets your head up a little so you hit better on going away targets. On handguns? Well, it works on shotguns so it must work on revolvers, right? Er?

Yep
Browning Medalist

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Not factory, but still, I like them on a model 41...

I can't say I care for them sitting atop a semi auto slide (Llama style), but they can still look good on some semi autos.

Like them on Shotguns.
Helps with target acquisition, alignment and lead when those birds are flushing.

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Korth Mongoose (imported by Nighthawk), 7.5” barrel .44 Magnum, my personal .357 Magnum w/3” barrel, 6” barreled .357, 4” Silver Mongoose .357 Magnum, 6” Silver Mongoose .357 Magnum.

If I had a ridiculous amount of cash to waste and wanted my wife to divorce me I’d own every one.

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This, above, is essentially correct. From page 402 of R.L. Wilson's The Book of Colt Firearms:



The vented ribs, King and others, were to add weight for target shooting. Same purpose as a heavy bbl. To make a production bbl with a vented rib, when one could simply make the bbl whatever weight one wanted, makes no sense other than for aesthetics. (I've read the heat dissipation purpose theory, too, but I think it is nonsensical.)

That said, I think they do indeed look cool. And I think looking cool is what makes the Python iconic.

(Someone on the forum, at this point probably over 15 years ago, showed us a pic of his 4" Triple Lock Target with a King rib. Extremely cool! I still dream of that one...)

Do I get a Torino?

Here's one, a M57 that had an accessory rib added when I bought it. I kinda-sorta liked it, and kept the gun that way for a couple of years, but more and more wanted the rib gone so the gun would look original. I was worried about damaging the finish if I removed it, but it came off rather easily once I started working on it. Just a strong silicone adhesive.
Before and after:

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I've liked them on two guns, no make that three. The Remington 1100 semi-auto shotgun, (870 pumps too, but I never owned one of them), the Colt Python, and the one I never came close to, the Remington 600 bolt action rifle with the dog leg bolt and vent rib. Man that thing looked like it should shoot laser beams or something. It was COOL! I don't think I've ever even seen one out in the real world, but I can still see the adds in the outdoor magazines of my youth.

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John 3:16 .

It seems to me the biggest advantage is not having a 1" tall front sight just sitting out there on the end of the barrel. The rib allows for a much shorter front sight once a taller adjustable rear was added to the gun. I've got a King Super Target, as well as a few Micro sighted Colts (which don't have a rib). The King's shorter front sight makes for a greatly improved sight picture vs the Micros. Yes, a large front base is used on the Micro sighted guns, but they still has 1/2" of front sight sticking out above them. Just my $.02.

Re the tall front sight, I don't get what that has to do with the sight picture. Tall or short, the sight picture should look like this, right?

I remember that post! I wonder where that rib could be still available : I like it alot!

Maybe Poly-Choke’?

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Taurus actually used the vent rib to hold the scope mounts.

Rosewood

They work and make sense on a Shotgun; specially a Trap or Skeet gun. On a hand gun or even a rifle they are cosmetic only.

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OGCA SWCA NRA

PM me a mailing address and I'll send you the one off my M57. I don't plan to use it. It's in as good a shape as it was on my revolver, just needs the old adhesive removed. The rib is made of aluminum. Fits any 6" N frame that already has a barrel rib.

I have several shotguns with vented ribs, a Mossberg 500 and two Savage/Fox B side-by sides.

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Yes, I suppose that once the sights are aligned the sight picture itself is the same regardless of the height of the front sight. But acquiring the front sight and lining them up seems easier for me with the shorter front sight on the rib, than the tall front sight on a base. Sort of how a bead on a shotgun rib is easier for me to line up than a bead on a pedestal. I'd need a couple of extra hands to get them lined up better, but this picture kinda shows the disparity - Super Target on the left, Micro on the right.

You can even get a lot more "Cool" when it is on a;

28-32" trap gun barrel !!

They are easy on the eye and just put the gun up in the next "Class",
in my book.

REALLY???? I can't believe....

Ohhh! I thought I saw a pu55ycat .... Ropers!

Nope. You get a Yugo.

My only handgun with a vent rib is this RBH .45 Colt. I traded into it, and it already had the rib and the over-sized stocks:

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