Compensated vs Ported

[KennyFSU]

I'm a little confused between the two terms as I have seen many people use these words interchangeably. To my knowledge (and please correct me if I'm wrong), something "compensated" is when material is taken out in order to balance the weight of a gun and "porting" is a smaller cutout(s) in the barrel and slide in order to redirect chamber pressure in order to reduce felt recoil.

Your input is appreciated, thanks.

 

[mrray13]

Now this is my rambling, so take it with a grain of salt...

Porting is done to the barrel itself, slide if necessary. It's primary purpose is to fight recoil by diverting gases, without adding anything to the weapon.

Compensating is done by adding a ported device at the end of the barrel. It's purpose is to fight recoil, by not only redirecting gases ala porting, but by the extra weight at the end of the barrel. It's an add on device, either by screwing it on, pinning it on or clamping it on, in most cases. Or by replacing a barrel bushing, ala 1911.

Again, in my own words, so probably not 100% accurate, but for all intents and purposes, pretty darn close, lol.

 

[dayid]

Ported barrels have the "slots" or "ports" at the tip of the barrel and they are parallel to the muzzle. The barrel itself is 1/4-1/2" longer than normal to accommodate these ports.


Compensated barrels have the "slots" in the middle of the barrel and they are perpendicular to the muzzle of the gun. These slots match up with the slots that are in the slide of the compensated guns....designated Glock 17C or Glock 22C where the "C" stands for compensated. You must have the slots in the slide in order to take advantage of the compensated barrel.



Both work great, effectively reducing muzzle flip and felt recoil and both have their place....the ported barrel is for individuals who don't have the compensated version of the gun.

From Here

 

[LordTio3]

mrray13 is right.

A compensator is an addition made to the muzzle end of the weapon (adding something). This adds length, weight, and recoil control to the front of the weapon to assist in recoil control and decrease muzzle climb, allowing for faster follow-up shots.

Compensation:
The Punisher (2004) Colt 1911 with custom compensator attached to the end of the barrel.

It produces this effect.

Porting:
This is when actual cuts are made into the barrel of the existing weapon (taking something away), and can clearly be seen on the top of this revolver's barrel.

It can also be done to a semi-auto like this Glock 22c, while producing this effect.

However, Glock refers to these models as "compensated" which I understand to be a slightly misleading misnomer.


I hope this helps.

~LT

 

[KennyFSU]

Awesome, thanks Ray and LT, that clears things up a lot. I own a G34 and it also states that the slide is compensated. Thanks fellas.

 

[mrray13]

Another reason why Glocks aren't "perfection", lol. They are all ported if done without adding a device to the end of the barrel. Be it at the tip of the barrel, or midway, if all they do is, in it's simpliest terms, drill holes in the barrel and match them in the slide, they are porting the weapon.


Thanks LT3 for confirming my rambling!

 

[LordTio3]

If you do look at the upward gasses expelled from the Colt above, then from the Glock, you can ascertain an important piece of information. While they both direct gasses upward to minimize muzzle climb, the Colt compensator directs them at 90 degrees. The Glock gasses are directed bi-directionally in a "V" shape which allows the user to maintain visual control on his front sight and what is beyond, especially in low light conditions when sudden brightness temporarily affects the eye. The "V" shape should also form a partial "silhouette" of your target instead of occluding it behind muzzle flash.

Just something to think about.

~LT

 

[32 Magnum]

Compensation includes and expansion chamber, either within the barrel or outside the barrel. Porting is merely holes that allow gasses to escape before the muzzle.

 

[HeroHog]

I just added a V-Comp Compensator to my MkIII 22/45 Ruger and was surprised to see the sparks and fire it spit up in front of the sights when fired! Definitely NOT for use in low-light situations! (I was at an indoor range) I must say it was quite effective in reducing muzzle flip and was well worth the expense!

 

[Crosshair]

However, Glock refers to these models as "compensated" which I understand to be a slightly misleading misnomer.

They call it "compensated" for the same reason they call them double action guns, they have to make enough ATF points in order to be legal to import. Most Glocks are just barely legal to import, requiring they be imported with target sights which are then swapped out to the more common fixed sights. Not much of a problem now with US production guns.

 

[skidder]

My Taurus 44 Tracker has a chamber that surrounds the bullet before it leaves the gun. The barrel returns to normal size at the end. The spec sheet says the gun is ported.

 

[8shot357]

As far as I'm concerned a Compensator as an ad on.

Ported is a modified barrel.