Cast bullets and ported handgun barrels

[Montanan]

Don't know if its fact or fiction but I have read that you don't want to mix the two. So if the porting does get clogged by lead, would it help to use gas check bullets.

[dragonrider]

It' a myth, when you clean your gun you clean the ports and you won't have a problem.

[475/480]

I have many ported handguns DW,SW ,Custom Encores, dont worry about it just clean the ports.

Sean

[klausg]

My SBH is Magna-Ported, I've never had any problems with either plain-base or gas-checked. I do tend to get some lead sprayed up on the sides of the front sight base, but it comes off fairly easily. The ports themselves don't seem to get anything appreciable hung up in them; I think the next round's gas does a good job of keeping them clean. I clean the ports with a pipe cleaner dipped in No. 9 and only ever get a little carbon. I think that possibly some of the newer, more complex ports may pick up more gunk, but I don't feel that it would become a problem.

-Klaus

[Glen]

In my experience, accuracy with plain-based cast bullet in ported handguns stinks, but GC bullets shoot just fine.

[Pop Gun]

PB bullets will have the bases distorted when they pass the port, but if the port is far enough back from the muzzle that the pressure in the bore drops very low, so that little pressure remains when the bullet exits the muzzle, then there is no gas pressure to deflect the bullet base.

Looking at it another way, porting on longer barrels seem to show less effect too regardless of the port position for me than short, ported barrels too. Same principal. Long barrels drop the pressure more just from bore volume, so any location of the port lowers pressure to the point that it matters little upon bullet exit.

So powder speed makes a difference too. The faster the powder burns and peaks pressure, the faster it starts to drop, regardless of how long the barrel is.

Any senario that lowers bore pressure, .... lessens or lowers the effects of a bad crown or a faulty bullet base.

Bass

[GP100man]

Glen

i owned a 4"colt king cobra, that was magna ported& it would spray hot lead out the ports. groups were exactly twice as big as j boolits.

traded for what else but a gp100 4":grin:

[Montanan]

Thanks for the reply guys, twill be loading a Kieth style 240-gr SWC :Fire:

[chunkum]

In doing a lot of shooting during the late 80s with a variety of cast bullet weights and designs, just experimenting to see how well they'd shoot in a couple of factory Magna Ported FA .454 Casulls, one 4 3/4" and one 10", both revolvers demonstrated good accuracy with gas check and non checked designs. All of the bullets were cast with straight linotype, but some of the plain based were pushed along at pretty good speeds and maintained good 50 yard accuracy (from a rest). My notes from back then are kinda sketchy but I was impressed that almost every design shot good groups.
Best Regards,
chumkum

[bobthenailer]

i have 5 pistols magnaported and 6 with compesators, almost all i shoot is cast bullets gas ck and plane base but mostley plane base from 22 lr to 454 casull no problems after at least 100,000 rounds total out of them all. the magnaported guns put some lead on the sides of the front sight base that comes with a soft copper penny and the comp guns you have to scrape out the lead after firing at least 500 to 1000 rounds with a tool made for that purpose or use a dremel tool with a small ball cutter [not the carbide type] to remove the built up lead, i have also used the outers foul out but found that the other ways were alot faster

[Paul5388]

I doubt you're going to be using a DW, but it would probably be advisable to refrain from shooting cast in a ported DW. Sure, they shoot just fine and give good accuracy, but it's a different story when you want to remove the shroud. All the excess/unburnt lube and other crud collects in between the barrel and the shroud, which makes it difficult to remove the shroud. The barrel threads seem to be the main problem area, when they increase to a diameter that doesn't fit through the shroud.

[chunkum]

Paul,
Sounds like the voice of experience to me [:)] !

c.

[Paul5388]

C,

I have had a little problem in the past, but nothing I couldn't handle! [smilie=1:

I'm still working on a "solution", because I sold my non-ported 6" 744 barrel to some guy from around the Mississippi River! I'm almost thinking some non-chlorinated brake cleaner squirted in the port holes in the shroud may be the "solution" I'm looking for, especially since I just got two "new" .429 moulds! :mrgreen: Of course, I do have an 8" non-ported barrel if needed. ;-)