I have often wondered if there was any advantage to porting a compact 45 for use as a concealed carry pistol. My concern was that the 45 would have a muzzle rise that would make getting the sights back or target harder than it should be. So I bit the “bullet” as they would say and got a Performance Center ported 45 with night sights and a reworked trigger. I also opted out of the manual safety. with the busy holiday season over and a free Friday I headed for my outdoor range hauling my ported 45 and a 200 round box of FMJ ball ammo. Here are my impressions.
The 230 gr ball ammo does push back a lot harder than the 9mm. I don’t carry 230 ball ammo but use 185 gr SJHP instead for EDC. Still I was using ball ammo for the 9mm as well so I thought it was a fair comparison. The first round was low but still in the nine ring. I was able to bring the next six back up towards the X if not right in the Red.
The porting seems to keep the muzzle from heading for the sky much more than the 9 and it seemed as if I could reacquire the target in about the same amount of time.
During daylight I don’t notice any blast coming out of the ports to obscure my vision any. I will have to find a place to test it in the dark to see if the flash is greater. The porting simply seems to be directed upward forcing the barrel down, unless there isn’t that much rise to begin with.
The gun itself ate 200 rounds of Winchester 230 ball without once giving me any problems. But that being said I now realize why I bought shooting gloves. A day at the range with a compact lightweight 45 can be hard on the hands. Compared to a 9mm it is hard anyway. While not related to porting the Trigger pull is pretty nice on the gun as well.
The escaping gas from the ports didn’t blow back on my hands so it seems negligible to me.
Having been a wheel gun shooter for years I doubt there is any more escaping gasses than what comes out of the cylinder after a bullet escapes into the barrel. That is just an impression or guess on my part.
At the end of the day the porting did seem take the edge off of the muzzle rise and smooth out the recoil, in my opinion. Making the follow up shot just that much easier. I don’t believe it would be necessary with anything smaller than a 45. In fact if you had a full sized 1911 it wouldn’t do much. But on a small lightweight 45 it works for me.
It is during cleaning the porting becomes obvious on top and inside of the slide near the front of the weapon. It takes a few more cleaning swabs to clean up before you oil and put the gun away.
My first carry gun was a PC Shield 9mm. I love that gun. I recently switched to a 45 shield without the porting. I love my shield 45. The recoil is bigger, but it feels right if that makes sense .
If the porting works the same with the 45 as it does the 9mm I doubt you’ll have problems. Just make sure you check you’re Manuel for ammo types. I am not supposed to shoot Blazer Brass out of a ported gun (I’ve had a sharp metal piece come put before). I have 100% faith in both of my shields to work if needed in a self defense situation at all times of the day. I did a lot of research with porting and the only two legitimate down falls imho are it’s very loud (not necessarily a problem, but I’ve had people at the range poke their head over because it was so loud ), and I believe if you shoot from close to the body you have the potential to get burned. (Worth it if you save your life).
My wife has the original shield. I can see a substantial difference in recoil compared to my PC shield. Part of that is the upgraded trigger (the original shield trigger is mushy and lacks a good reset), the other part is the porting.
Sorry for the unorganized jargon. I love shields, and I’m too tired to write a concise post
I use Smith wesson MP Shield Performance center 9mm, not a fan of 45 at all. #2- I agree, 9mm is a lot less #3- I have no issues day or night #5- I agree, no issues for me either #6- Ported barrel are designed to reduce recoil meaning faster acquiring target (8 shots, 5 seconds, 7 yards grouping less than 3.5 inch) #7- it doesn’t take me longer to clean it
Conclusion: 9mm Ammo is cheaper, lighter weight, travels more distance and mor importantly has lesse reaction (Recoil). That said, my favorite is Beretta 92FS (my service personal piece) but hard to conceal.
I love my PC shield .45. It’s my least expensive centerfire pistol and the one I carry the most (80% of the time). I went without the safety.
It did take me some time to get used to it–I didn’t shoot it well for about 300 rounds and yes, it does push back more than the 1911.
The one thing that’s both a + and a - is the stippling on the grip. It’s so aggressive that carrying it in the IWB with contact to my skin has rubbed me raw–have to keep clothing between the gun and me. I know-what a wimp.
@Jesse
Like @Aaron25 and @Scoutbob I do like my shield. I got it because it is easy to conceal and is pretty trouble free, I still find the non ported takes fewer patches to clean the front of the slide and barrel.
Now that I am shooting more I may have to buy solvent in bulk and start dipping my parts like we did in the military.
Still as of now I like the ported .45 even if my EDC is a 9mm. The last time I carried a .45 as a service weapon the M9 wasn’t born yet. But then neither was my .45 shield.
@Jesse
No I haven’t tried shooters lube yet. I have seen it advertised but so far it hasn’t been on the shelf when it has been time to get more solvent. (I believe I almost convinced my wife that my aftershave was called #9.)
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), and I believe if you shoot from close to the body you have the potential to get burned. (Worth it if you save your life).