I’ve never shot a magnaported handgun. For those who have, can you tell me if there is any significant difference between a ported 357 and an unported 357? Noise or blast differences? Perceived recoil differences?

Thanks for any help.

I feel reduced recoil most in shorter barreled MAGNUM loaded handguns, the bigger the magnum the more you feel the difference. With barrel porting I have a faster followup shot picture especially with longer barrels.
I feel/ see the differences more now as an older shooter, when I was younger, the recoil meant nothing to me and thought barrel porting was a costly un-needed extravagance .. not anymore.
As far as noise or blast it has not affected me, but sometimes a fellow shooter will comment on them!

They are not friendly to the guy shooting beside you. If you buy one all ported, that is one thing. If you have it done, you pay for the modification, and devalue the gun.

Just my .02

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I drank the mag-na-port kool-aid back when the process began and sent several guns for the procedure… My experience was there was minimal recoil reduction but hefty value reduction on my chosen gun. S&W did send a few guns to mag-na-port and those boxes were marked as such. I recall owning a new 696 that had been mag-na-ported. It laid around the LGS until the price was reduced to be considered a deal. Later, the factory would do a single port on top of the barrel behind the front sight. Only owned one of those and no real recall other than I traded it off pretty quick. On ported guns, the report is louder and range buddies will complain… Now, after your first cylinder full, the front sight is black and you no longer get the benefit of the red ramp that so many of us S&W fanatics relish. Given the pros and cons, I will not own another ported gun.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

Louder, no recoil reduction -- but recoil modification. Rather than pivoting the gun upward in the hand, the recoil becomes more straight-back.

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Pisgah

Maybe not relevant but I had a G19 with a ported barrel/slide. It shot flat with a little less recoil but fouled and shot flames up at night. Only time I had a Glock fail to function. Not really useful in a duty/backup gun. I have a variety of compensators on a variety of weapons. Feel bad for the guy next to me when I'm shooting an SBR with an aggressive brake/compensator. It's literally like someone is slapping you in the face. That being said I wouldn't mind having an original Magna-ported magnum revolver, just because. One other note, I have a M41 long slide with a compensator. My father always told me to take it off because I'll start getting flyers as it fouls. I said but it looks cool. I don't think fouling in a magna port revolver would affect function or accuracy.

I have a PC M&P Shield 2.0 which is ported. I've owned other 9mm handguns and I find no appreciable difference in recoil in ported vs. unported 9mm's. Some of these ported guns produce a "V" pattern of flame, but mine is minimal and after shooting 1000s of rounds I barely notice it.

Years ago I purchased a Model 28-2 Highway Patrolman that someone had modified via a "shade tree magna-port"- i.e. they drilled 2 holes on either side of the barrel under the front sight! I contacted Magnaport to see if they could machine the barrel and do an official magnaport, but they said they could not once the barrel was drilled. Oh well. I will say that even the small holes did help to reduce felt recoil slightly, but it wasn't worth how much it devalued the Model 28-2.

I had a PC M&P9 Shield that I traded in last year for a new PC M&P9 Shield Plus- both ported. I noticed a slight reduction in felt recoil on both ported pistols. Not much, but a little...and IMHO it does help to keep the sights on target.

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I did a 3" 65 back in 1986/87.... it was what all the "cool kids" did.

Don't recall ever shooting it without ear protection.

Some reduction in muzzle rise w/ full .357s; not much difference, if any, with any .38 load.... which is what I mostly carry in an urban environment!

The gun was a favorite carry piece for 5-6 years... carried a lot, shot a little... got good qualification scores +95% Shooting out to 50 then 25 .... still have it ... may give it to my eldest son.

All said I'd not do another..... well maybe a long barreled hunting gun!

I have 1 mag na ported gun. A 3 inch 629. The only thing trhe porting has been good for is to turn the front sight gray.

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It's common knowledge that it's a well vetted
marketing gimmick with the only notable
factor is devaluing the firearm.

Back in the mid 80's an action job, polished trigger, finger grooved grips and magnaported barrel was all the rage in a combat revolver. Used model 19's set up like this in my area sold for the same price as a new model 19. This is when the popular choices were either a revolver , 1911 , Browning HP or Walter ppk for SD

I have shot Mag Na Ported guns since the mid 70's. They do exactly what they were designed to do. As the previous poster mentioned, they function off of the internal pressure in the barrel behind the bullet. The higher the pressure the higher the function. The results will be more greater with full power loads. There will not be a great result using target or light loads i.e. 38s in a 357.

The original Mag Na Port has been supplemented by different designs for shorted barreled handguns. This is to allow better function with lower pressure cartridges and shorter barrels that do not develop full pressure.

This process was an off-shoot of a business making rocket nozzels for NASA. It really is more than holes in barrels. This company has extremely high quality standards and great customer service. If you are curious call them, they are great people and can recommend the process appropriate to your needs. This is also a family owned business that is a HUGE supporter of the 2A community.

Some are concerned that Mag Na Port will hurt the value of a firearm. Keep in mind that this is for top end loads. If you are shooting enough full bore 44 mags or 357 magnums to justify the cost of Mag Na Port, the accelerated wear of the diet of heavy loads will depreciate the gun more than the Mag Na Port. Like almost every custom modification the return upon sale is not there. The value is in the shooting.

I have had Mag Na Port on rifles, shotguns, and handguns. They all worked as designed. I recommend them and their process wholeheartedly.

If you are a collector or occasional shooter I would not recommend Mag Na Port. If you are a handgun hunter, shoot metallic silhouette, or just shoot heavy loads regularly; I recommend it.

It's really loud and there's no recoil reduction.

Magnaport is the reason a lot of guns from a few brands come with ported barrels.

I can’t say anything much about .357s. I have one 4-inch .44 Magnum that is Magnaported and in my opinion it does make the gun more manageable and more pleasant to use. It does foul up the front sight, but the fouling can be wiped off easily, and it does not affect the looks of the gun like a compensator would. As has been said, I think Magnaporting is a useful expense if the gun will be used a lot, or if the recoil is objectionable enough that the gun wouldn’t be used otherwise. My only thought is that I probably wouldn’t spend the money to Magnaport a .357 because there isn’t enough recoil there to bother me.

I bought a 3" 629 (RB) which the Performance Center had had Magna-ported. A year or two ago I finally made an actual side-by-side comparison with my standard 4" 29. Each gun was wearing the best grips that I had for that gun, no-compromise selections that I am sure that I will never improve on. I tried two or three different full-mag selections.

The 629 was the clear winner. It recoiled less (not just muzzle lift; the whole recoil experience was notably milder), made no more noise that I noticed (I was wearing ear protection), didn't blacken my sights or spit in my eye. If I didn't have a sentimental attachment to what was once, and perhaps still, the finest revolver S&W ever made, I would sell the 29.

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Formerly Model520Fan

porting is one of those things that you have to try "before and after" to appreciate the difference..

i've heard "it was a fad that went out of popularity with more disadvantages then advantageous"

and yet most competitive auto shooters use ported/comp barreled guns.

jerry miculek has interesting commentary on his website about magnaport - who knows, jerry might know a thing or two, so..

i have 3 rugers that i have owned since new and have in fact done the "before and after" with each one.

my redhawk (4"/44mag) my super blackhawk hunter (7.5"/41mag) and my gp100 (3"/357) have all been to michigan for magnaport along their lives.

i can attest personally to the effectiveness of the process.

effectiveness in order greatest to least, would be: the 3" gp100; the 4" redhawk and finally - the 7.5" super blackhawk hunter.

an astute observer would note that independent of caliber, the guns are in ascending order of mass/weight - which also has a lot to do with things, physics and all....

everyone that has handled my 3" gp100 with full house loads have walked away saying things like "well, that's not like what i've read" or "so where's the blinding flash?"

this was the biggest surprise of the three: 3" gp100 3" gp100 silk purse/sow's ear | Ruger Forum

while visiting the magnaport shop, i discussed my 7.5" bfr in 475 linebaugh with ken kelly. he was frank and honest pointing out that despite the recoil of that cartridge, even with their recommended 4 port, it might be a " cross-over point" for cost benefit, so..

for this guy, when shooting full house stuff in "ordinary joe" handguns, magnaport for a c note is a "best buy"

I had a 625w/ 5" bbl Magnaported about 30 yrs. ago. That was a really stupid thing to do since most 45ACP ammunition is subsonic and has little impact on recoil. I solved my problem by loading 460 Rowland ammo to use in my ported gun. Loaded hot enough the porting helps reduce felt recoil.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

This is from the Mag-Na-Port website. The main focus is muzzle flip. Dual Trapezoidal Mag-na-porting is designed for shooters using shorter barrels with a minimum length of 3 inches. This style of porting provides greater relief from muzzle lift. Using two trapezoidal ports on each side of the barrel, the primary focus of gas dissipation helps reduce the muzzle lift. Extremely effective on the snub nose magnum revolvers.

Thanks for all of your replies, they were all helpful.

John