useless gun??? .38 Special, 2" barrel...and PORTED

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Southern Shooter

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I have a very, very solid 2" Taurus 85 that came from the factory with a ported barrel. I have not checked out the velocity it produced with various rounds...never thought there was a need. However, when I went to buy some Speer Gold Dot 135 gr ammo designed for the short barreled .38 Special, a local "gun intellect" indicated that it would not matter what I shot through the gun. Because of the porting the gun would never produce velocity enough to expand even the short-barrel ammunition like the Speer Gold Dot.

Is this true?
How much below the expected 860 fps will I get with this gun?
 
Hmmmm...dunno for sure, but it certainly could have an effect.

I'd shoot some through a chrony to make sure, myself. I do agree that porting a 2" snub 38 (as opposed to 357) is just silly.
 
I read somewhere that you lose about 8% if you are ported on a small gun. Can't remember where so don't quote. In my opinion a self defense gun should not be ported anyway.
 
I'm not a fan of porting handguns at all (not even on the big boys).

Porting a .38 snubby doesn't make much sense to me, but I'd hardly call it 'worthless'! It's going to be far more effective than a sharp stick, as they say :)

Perhaps some of the high tech jacketed ammo won't perform as it was designed to, but I'm sure some soft lead hollow points would open up at the speeds you're going to achieve. Even if they don't, a .38 FMJ is far better than many mousegun calibers, and shot placement is (and always has been) the key to ending a gun battle. I'd take a ported .38 snubby before I'd carry a .25acp or rimfire pistol, in any case.

No, I probably wouldn't have bought it, but I sure as heck wouldn't throw it away!
 
I need to look up the ballistics data, but I recall that .38 Special doesn't seem to lose that much velocity in a snubbie, so porting probably won't make a radical difference in bullet performance.
 
Regardless of velocity loss, I don't believe a ported snubby is a good idea. Here is why: If you have never seen the muzzzle flash and felt the heat produced by a typical handgun, you should troll some of the video sites available. Some people have even posted such pictures on here. With a ported gun, the muzzle flash and heat are directed upward to attempt to control recoil. That means the heat and light are directed upward TOWARD YOUR FACE. If you were attempting to push an attacker away and managed to get your ported snubby out of your holster, or pocket, and pulled the trigger, the muzzle flash and heat would be in your own face.

Now I know there are people on here who think blinded and scarred for life is better than dead, but lets ignore them for this discussion.

If you don't stop them with one shot, it is very likely that you would be on the ground screaming in agony with extreme pain, and a very vulnerable target for further attack.
 
I have a Taurus titanium .38 that happens to be ported... I have never shot it over a chrony; I dodn't realize that porting would reduce the MV significantly.

what does everyone reccomend for a factory .38spcl hollow point load that performs at (relatively) low velocities?
 
"...a factory .38spcl hollow point load that performs at (relatively) low velocities?


The Remington 158LSWC-HP round. Period. Or, roll your own with the Speer 158LSWC-HP. Note that is a lead bullet, typically swaged, or cast with a relatively soft BHN number. It's the basis for what became the fabled "FBI load."

A stout +P, maybe even +P+ reload using this bullet probably will not run over 850 fps out of a 2" barrel. But, you will have adequate penetration and appropriate expansion at lower velocities --if your ported 2" / 38 Special package will only run it at 700 fps, it's still probably the best round for a gun like this.

And, I think that 8% number comes out of the Magna-Port people; they fine-tune porting, so I would not count on the other types of porting to be that low a loss.

Jim H.
 
Because of the porting the gun would never produce velocity enough to expand even the short-barrel ammunition like the Speer Gold Dot.
Click to expand...

No, that is not true. It's nonsense. The velocity difference is minimal, though the fact that it's a short .38 special will slow your rounds down compared with a longer barreled revolver or carbine. And you do need to pick an easy expanding round, but it has nothing to do with porting.

My problem with porting is it has a tendency to toss crudola at me and it's noisy. There's no good reason for it on any handgun. I think it was put there to look tacticool or something and Taurus unfortunately does it a lot.
 
Odd man out again. I think ported snubbies have a place in self defense situations and can be utilized with very little additional training.

What does a port do?? It reduces felt recoil. My pocket gun is a 342PD 357MAG that is Mag Na Ported. I have no adverse affects to shooting full magnum loads from this little hand cannon.

Ammo choice is a big thing with ported guns. I have found least amount of muzzle flash is from International Frangible loads and from Gold Dots. Both work fine in low light and no light situations.

So, Port away :)
 
My Ruger SP101 2.25" .357 Mag is Magna-Ported and my observations are as follows when compared to a Ruger SP101 2.25" .357 Mag STD barrel:

1. Muzzle Rise: Significantly Less -- A big plus for faster more accurate follow-up shots.
2. Felt recoil: Slightly less
3. Muzzle Flash: Significantly greater -- An after Dark issue and a minor one at CCW distances, for me anyway.

The reason I went with the Magna-Ported SP101 was to reduce Muzzle Rise for faster, more accurate follow-up shots with heavy .357 Mag loads.

The results are better than I expected! :)


:evil:
 
I've never found much of a difference. I think you can get the same improvements from working on your stance and practicing. But then again I don't even like these horseless carriages.
 
why is that?

In a self defense situation the gun could be fired at any angle and up close to your body or face which means the smoke, hot gas, debris, pressure, etc might get blown into your face instead of straight out possibly stunning you.

Just my opinion
 
Porting is a not abad thing on hunting and competition guns but Uglyoldpoorman has it right on defense guns. Try shooting any ported gun with the gun hedl below eye level. Be sure you have full face not just eye protection.
 
I have clocked 158gr (FBI) .38 out of a 2" non-ported and it averaged a meager 728 fps. I then clocked one out of a ported 2" (friends gun).. it was anemic at an average of 643 fps. We are talking BB gun speed. That being said, I still do not want to be shot with one.
 
Another point about ported guns is how much louder some of them are. Just because you're shooting for your life, doesn't mean you want to be deaf afterwards, or be rattled by the noise enough to lose your concentration.

And yes, I'm aware that most folks, (myself included...) report not even hearing the sound of the gun going enough in a gunfight......

Another vote against ported guns for self defense.....
 
I just don't see how a port on at wo incher is going to work.

You don't have a long enough lever.

I have a ported 44 with an 8 inch and it is a Godsend for me. But I'm a sissy wimp.

Joe
 
You couldn't sell me a ported hand gun much less a snubby. If I couldn't handle it I wouldn't buy it. That's just me, if that;s what a guy wants it is fine in my book.
That aside, the way to know if your gun will expand this ammo or that, is to take it out and shoot it into milk jugs of water or wet newspaper. Ballistic jell if you can, but the others will tell you plenty.
 
You couldn't sell me a ported hand gun much less a snubby. If I couldn't handle it I wouldn't buy it.
Click to expand...
My theory is a gun barrel should have one continuous hole, running from breech to muzzle. If it needs more than that, I don't need the gun.
 
ported snub .38 Special vs. .380

Well, let me ask this? I can't do anything about the porting in the .38 Special...so, I live with it or dump it. Would this .38 Special loaded with the Speer Gold Dot 135 +P Short Barrel be better than a 3.5 inch barreled .380 loaded with 90 grain JHP?
 
ported 2" 38 Spl vs. 380--

If this were me--

1. If you are feeling rich enough, I would find an enthusiastic buyer for it, then get a 2" package, .38 or .357, without porting. That's assuming, of course, that there is nothing wrong with the function; it's good to go.

2. If you can't / don't want to sell it, then I would do the following:

a. test-fire the Speer 38+P 135-gr round and see if you like shooting it that way. That will most assuredly be the most usable JHP factory ammo readily available. There is a concern, minor I think, that the port will increase the probability of shedding, but you can't change that.

b. go with the Remington 158-gr LSWC-HPs, and simply be prepared to clean the port a lot from leading. This round is going to get you the deepest penetration, which is probably the biggest issue for sure cessation if, heaven forbid, you ever have to shoot it in self-defense.

Personally, I would consider either of the 38 Spl rounds superior to the 380 ACP. But, either round (in this scenario) really needs accurate shot placement to work, and the 380 is generally going to be more impacted by plugging / clothing, whatever.

But, as researchdoc say, one still wouldn't want to be shot with either one.

Jim H.
 
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