Henry Rifle Forums

Magna port is it worth it for a 44mag big boy rifle.

No and really not worth it on a pistol. Escaping gases will soot up your front sight and base in short order. in a handgun held at waist level and tucked close to the body. Could blow residue in your face...........Barrels with aftermarket holes in the barrel will bring less than and original firearm.

rkh405 wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 22, 2024 10:25 pm

Magna port is it worth it for a 44mag big boy rifle.

I think your question would lead to me asking another question in response. What do you expect the Magna porting to do?

I know people that had their Trap shotguns magnaported, but the shotgun process is different. Shotguns get a series of holes on either side of the top sightline on the barrel, just beside the vent rib. They're done in a kind of a proprietary orientation, and I never understood why, so maybe just for brand recognition. They do help a little with muzzle rise, and one friend told me that when he's had a squib from loading damp hulls, the wad never left the barrel, it stopped in the choke while the gasses vented through the ports. In ATA Trap, that means he got to take that shot over because the wad didn't leave the barrel.

The handgun ports are these weird trapezoidal slots, and again, I never knew why they were shaped like they were. I had a buddy that had a .375JDJ Contender all done up by JD Jones, and that thing recoiled way less than I thought it would. Same guy had a short barrel revolver that he wore in a chest rig when he fly-fished out in bear country, and that was all tricked out by SSK with the magnaports too, although I never shot that gun.

If I planned to port a rifle, it would be to reduce muzzle rise, and maybe help lessen recoil, neither of which are all that much on the .44 Big Boy. So this long winded response is really in agreement with The Happy Kaboomer, although I will say that Magna-porting, with it's proprietary slots or holes, has never seemed to diminish the value.

I have used magna ported barrels on heavy recoil specialty pistols with scopes, such as an Encore 30-06, 444 Marlin and so on. Oh, yeah, it really helped. Made the difference between being not shootable and shootable. I've also used ported 44 mag barrels on my Contender pistols with scopes, BUT the Contender is relatively light, compared to an Encore, so 44 mag recoil is considerable.

In the Marlin 1894 44 mag carbines I've had, porting would have helped in those light carbines. They jumped like a bucking bronco with those light, trim barrels. (A delight to shoot in 357, though.) The 44 mag Big Boy rifles I've seen are heavier, especially the octagon barrel version, so not sure I would bother porting one of those. Personal call, though.

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Tue Jul 23, 2024 10:40 am

I have used magna ported barrels on heavy recoil specialty pistols with scopes, such as an Encore 30-06, 444 Marlin and so on. Oh, yeah, it really helped. Made the difference between being not shootable and shootable.

I couldn't agree more .... Mag-Na-Porting is designed to help with barrel jump and I can attest that IT WORKS .... I've had it done to 3 thumpers .... our 300 WBY mag. rifle (first picture below), 44 mag Redhawk revolver, (second picture) and our Henry 45-70 rifle .... in addition to other mods, it makes them much more pleasant to fire ... as to having it done to a Henry 44mag, while it will help I haven't found the recoil to be sufficient to need it

My S&W 686 is one that came from S&W with a port in front of the front sight. I shoot it well.

I've shot some comped, ported, Hybrid ported, etc. firearms, but only a couple with the actual Magnaport process. Those were a 12 Ga. shotgun and S&W .41 Mag revolver. It definitely moderated muzzle rise on both, but recoil became more linear. I found the more straight back recoil of both guns to be unpleasant.

FWIW, I've had a 16.5" .44 Mag rifle for years. I've never been the least bit tempted to have it ported.

Thanks to all for the feedback. Magnaport is off the table.

Don't forget the extra NOISE/blast from ported barrels.

Rock185 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2024 4:54 pm

It definitely moderated muzzle rise on both, but recoil became more linear.

as noted, Magna Porting helps with barrel jump .... to help tame the linear recoil from our thumpers we had a gunsmith install top quality recoil pads and insert mercury recoil suppressors in the stocks .... in combination with the Magna Porting the results have been outstanding .... as an example, it has been many years but my 120 lb wife has fired our 300 WBY Mag from a seated bench rest with out recoil issues .... as noted in another post, regular porting can cause some serious blast directed back into your face .... the old Browning BOSS porting system is a good example

My S&W 500 mag came factory ported for obvious reasons. It's punishing to shoot even with them.

rkh405 wrote: ↑

Wed Jul 31, 2024 8:08 pm

Thanks to all for the feedback. Magnaport is off the table.

I think thats the right call for a Henry .44 mag rifle. Really not needed there.