Question(s) on Porting...

[Jay G]

Okay, so here's the scoop... One of my main carry guns is a Smith & Wesson 360PD, the 12 ounce .357 Magnum j-frame. It's a handful. It hurts to shoot.

But having five rounds of .357 Magnum goodness in a package that weighs less than a pound is a damn good thing...

So I've been thinking (ed: Run for the hills!) about getting it ported.

Then I realized that I don't know a damned thing about porting a firearm. Important things like, can I even get a scandium-framed gun ported? Since the 360 uses S&Ws new "sleeved" barrel, will this affect porting?

What type of porting is recommended? Magna-porting? Power-port (I think that's the name of the S&W in-house porting)?

I've got a 629 with the PowerPort, and it seriously tames the .44 Magnum. If I could get a similar reduction in recoil on the 360 it'd be great; however with the lightweight frame I don't know if it'd be worth the expense...

Thoughts? Anyone done this?

Thanks!

 

[Palladin]

I have a 6" S&W586 my father sent to MagnaPort to have done.
think it cost $50 or so...Tames the .357 down to a .38.
I Love it.

 

[Cross-X]

I second MagnaPort. Got it on several of my revolvers.

 

[dixidawg]

Would the porting lead to additional muzzle flash? If so, what good are follow up shots if you are effectively blinded? (Shooting at night/ low light)?

 

[Jay G]

You've never shot a 360, have you?

Once, at the range, I was asked if I had brought a flamethrower...

 

[Scrivener]

More importantly, as this is a snubby, how FAR UP will a port send the flash - and powder and, possibly, even bullet shavings? Nothing you want a face full of....

 

[Mike-Mike]

More importantly, as this is a snubby, how FAR UP will a port send the flash - and powder and, possibly, even bullet shavings? Nothing you want a face full of....

Just what I was thinking. I carry a similar model. With a 1 7/8" barrel including the forcing cone. How much of the rifling do you want to remove? I would see if anyone has a ported one and talk to them before I removed 20-30% of my barrel. Also, you will have an even lighter gun.

 

[drgrant]

I would use a different load before I resort to porting. Try the speer
Gold Dot .357 mag short barrel load. Should be a lot less abusive but still
better than .38 +P in terms of performance. I like it my S+W 640.

IMO porting is for range toys, not serious SD guns... but that's just my
opinion and may be completely and utterly worthless.

-Mike

 

[highlander]

I have a 4 5/8" 44 mag that I sent to MagNaPort that turned a wrist wrencher into a very controllable package. Bought the 44 from FPrice BTW. The price for porting is about $80 less shipping

 

[8thring]

sp101

Okay, so here's the scoop... One of my main carry guns is a Smith & Wesson 360PD, the 12 ounce .357 Magnum j-frame. It's a handful. It hurts to shoot.

But having five rounds of .357 Magnum goodness in a package that weighs less than a pound is a damn good thing...

So I've been thinking (ed: Run for the hills!) about getting it ported.

Then I realized that I don't know a damned thing about porting a firearm. Important things like, can I even get a scandium-framed gun ported? Since the 360 uses S&Ws new "sleeved" barrel, will this affect porting?

What type of porting is recommended? Magna-porting? Power-port (I think that's the name of the S&W in-house porting)?

I've got a 629 with the PowerPort, and it seriously tames the .44 Magnum. If I could get a similar reduction in recoil on the 360 it'd be great; however with the lightweight frame I don't know if it'd be worth the expense...

Thoughts? Anyone done this?

Thanks!

i have a ruger sp101 that kicked like a bastasd with factory loads. had 4 ports from maganaport put on and it lowered the recoil but one third; it is a pussycat with 10% reduced cast bullet reloads.
your gun is lite compared to the sp 101; it will still hurt. use only lite reloads for range work.
lets face it. snubbys are defensive weapons; one shot a 8 feet should do it and you will not be thinking of recoil. save your money

 

[Chuck Would]

Practice with .38's. Shoot a couple of cylinders of .357 to make sure you are shooting POA with those. Clean and reload with your favorite .357 load. Holster and carry.

IF you ever need to use it in a gun fight, you won't notice the recoil at all.

 

[Palladin]

Practice with .38's. Shoot a couple of cylinders of .357 to make sure you are shooting POA with those. Clean and reload with your favorite .357 load. Holster and carry.

IF you ever need to use it in a gun fight, you won't notice the recoil at all.

+1