MagNaPort and Lead Bullets

[FISH4BUGS]

I don't know why this is bothering me but I have to ask those that are far more knowledgeable than I. I bought a 3" HB S&W SB Model 36 that has been MagNaPorted. Will shooting a lot of cast bullets build up any lead in the ports? What about lube? Anyone shoot a ton of lead bullets out of a MagNaPorted gun?
Just wondering..........

[bobthenailer]

hi i i have 5 pistols ported and shoot just about only cast through them on the these pistols the only problem anything above the port will build up with a black build up of bullet lube/carbon/lead. on most pistols this is the sides of the front sight base, which can easiley be removed with a lead wiping cloth and in more sever cases after alot of shooting use a copper penney to remove the excessive build up . good shootin ! bob

[44man]

Iv'e been giving it some thought. I never shot a magna ported gun but I don't see where it would be a problem. This must be based on the idea that a boolit would expand into the slots as it passes them. Since a booit does not expand at the instant it leaves the confines of the muzzle, why would it go into the slots?
I could see a problem with soft hollow based boolits where the skirt would blow into them, sort of like a Minnie ball driven too fast from an Enfield where the skirt blows out when leaving the muzzle.
I think using a hard boolit with a gas check should be no problem and the leading would be no worse then in the rest of the bore.
If the slots had burrs inside they would be a problem, this will not be the case since they are so well made.
I might be wrong so we have to wait for those with experience.

[Beau Cassidy]

In my .450 Marlin, the ports are clean as a whistle. There is a light lead deposit under the edge of the front sight hood. As best I can tell, anything that gets into the port (IE- lead), it gets pushed THRU the port from pressure behind the bullet.

Beau

[Bass Ackward]

The big .... problem, if you will, to PB bullets is always molding, sizing, loading and shooting in a manner that keeps the base square. The square base is like a square crown. If high pressure gas is released on one side first, this gas is going to accelerate passed the bullet and kick the base to one side destablizing it. Which is why we see some loads shoot well at 25 yards before they go wild somewhere down the line.

I sometimes wonder if a magna port that released the high gas pressure before the bullet exited, might not be better for PB bullet flight. Even if the base got nicked up a little upon passage of the vent, there would be no pressure to divert it upon barrel exit anyway.

And all lead can be removed. Shoot it.

[44man]

Bass, interesting thoughts and I agree that he should just shoot the gun. Not worth worrying about.

[MGySgt]

The only ported gun that I am aware of that the manufacturer warned NOT to shoot cast through was the Dan Wesson ported pistols.

Not because the ports would get clogged up, but the barrel nut would get 'soldered' on inside the shroud.

A friend of mine has one and he shot a LOT of cast out of it, he just took the barrel off and cleaned the treads on the barrel and the barrel nut each time he shot. That could be 50 rounds or 200 rounds. By the way, this was a 44V 8 inch barrel. Bullet was Lyman 429421 and about 11 grains of Unique.

Drew

[44man]

A little off topic, but anyone that has a Dan Wesson and can't get the barrel loose, try this; Put a hose in the forcing cone, put a small funnel on the other end and pour boiling water through the bore for a while. The barrel will come right off.

[Cherokee]

Never tried nagna-ported but did try the Rossi 357 ported. Shot great with jacket bullets but cast bullets went all over the place and gunked up the ports real fast. Gun replaced with SW 686, much better!!

[chunkum]

I've had two FA .454 Casulls,both factory magnaported, since the mid 80's. I shot a variety of cast bullets ranging from a 198 gr swc/wc to the Lyman 300 gr GCFN they made up special for the FAs, and also used several different powders. There was never a noticable deliterious effect on the accuracy of either revolver. And they were/are exceptionally accurate.

I do wish I had read the information on the DW barrels a month of so back. I acquired a new DW 744 with the ported barrel (6") and did encounter some difficulty in removing the barrel the first time. I put a copious quantity of Gibbs penetrant inside the barrel shround, walked off and left it for a day or so, and that made the barrel nut more amendable to a reasonable amount of torque. There was a significant amount of debris inside the circular area of enlargement around the ports though it was not at all difficult to clean up at this point. I have no idea how long it had been since the barrel was removed or how many cast loads had been fired through it, but I guess considerable. I'll put the "boiling water" method in my notebook for any future such difficulties, and though I do plan to shoot mostly cast in it, I'll remove/clean the barrel after each shoot. I talked to the new DW tech people about this and, though they don't make the design anymore, they agreed with the post on this thread that suggested the regular barrel removal and clean up would prevent further trouble. You never know for sure what new information you'll encounter where on this forum and I've learned a lot in the short time I've been reading it regularly. Thanks to all concerned for sure.
Best Regards,
chunkum

[David R]

A friend of mine had a ported 8" 744 Dan, he just about soldered the barrel to the shroud using factory lead 44 mag loads. We did get it apart, but almost destroyed the gun. :(

David

[454PB]

My experience matches the others, my Taurus Raging Bull in .454 has ports. There is no build up of lead, although the lube does grud up the area around the ports. I was anal about it at first, but now clean it thoroughly about once a year.

I never was a fan of muzzle porting, and the Taurus has not changed my mind.