Weapons Wednesday

Tupperware Regatta-

By Pudge

I’m going to start with a disclaimer: yes, I have tupperware guns, yes, I can shoot them quite well, no, I still don’t like them but they do have their place. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the subject at hand. I picked up a butchered G17 the other day for an absolute steal so I figured since I’ve always disliked Glocks but understand their merits, why not try my hand at shaping plastic or what is called ‘gunsmithing’ on real guns. After I finished perfecting perfection, I decided to do some hillbilly testing between my NAG19 (my G19 sized P80), my SpaceNag (G19 sized P80 with Agency Arms 417 Compensator), and my new tinkered on chopped grip G17 with (G17c) and without a ported barrel. I really just wanted to see why everyone talks smack on ported handguns. I also figured if I had questions and was wondering some of these things then there had to be others out there with the same questions. We’ll discuss my ‘scientific’ findings and then discuss some compensator and porting myths.

The finest tupperware party gathering.

 

I did my testing with 115, 124 and some 124+P ammunition. Another disclaimer: I know that the testing may be slightly askew because I don’t have all factory guns to test but sometimes you’ve just got to do what you can with what you got, just like my man Burt Gummer. And if anyone wants a more exact test, please let me know and I’ll gladly take your money to purchase stock guns. On to the testing. The first thing I did was shoot all handguns in no particular order with 115 gr. After initial thoughts I essentially put them, based on what I thought, into a bracket to compete. Then I conducted the same side by side comparison with the 124 gr followed by the 124 +P.

I really just wanted to know how effective the porting and a compensator actually are on these guns. I know 9mm is already a sissy caliber and some people will call me a wimp for wanting to make them softer shooting, but if you could shoot a 9mm like a .22 then why in the world wouldn’t you. I’m pretty darn good at what I do but I still like to stack the odds in my favor whenever possible. I never try to go into a fair fight because that’s just dumb. Anyway, after this first test, I would put them from harshest muzzle flip to least in this order: G19, G17, G19 with compensator, then G17c. However, if using +P I would switch the G17c and the G19 with compensator. It appeared only the +P ammunition was engaging the compensator to the fullest. There was still a difference with the other ammo, just not as noticeable.

Now that I had tested the recoil impulses, I decided to test them by running them as fast as I could to see any difference they would have during rapid fire. The porting and the compensator didn’t really change the recoil, but greatly reduced muzzle flip allowing for an easier time tracking the sights. I ran a few timed drills with each handgun and the porting didn’t make me any faster, the average split times were actually the exact same on all but the SpaceNag. (more on this in a little bit) But it did perceive to allow me to remain a little more target focused, due to lack of muzzle flip, which is a very good thing. The G17c definitely ran flatter with the ported barrel. I was able to achieve faster splits with the SpaceNag but only because I wanted to experiment with a flat trigger and it definitely made a difference. Thank you Serpico Performance (read Monday's post for the review on this trigger). Prior to changing the trigger though, I’ve ran this same drill and had the exact same split times as I got today with the other handguns.

On to some myths and BS about ports and compensators. The first is that they will ruin your night vision. False! I’ve ran low-light competitions and I train extensively in dark environments whenever I can with my SpaceNag and I’ve never once been blinded by the excess flames. Just think about all those guys running giant brakes on the ends of their rifles and for some reason no one tells them they are going to blind themselves. There are other reasons to not run them on your rifle but that’s not the topic today. Second, retention shooting is going to maim you. Wrong again. I’m not saying I want to do it a lot or that I’m going to choose it all the time. What I am saying though is even though you may crisp your side ever so slightly more than a regular barrel, you will be ok and it will heal. Let’s think about wheel gun shooters. You understand some of that blast comes out between the cylinder and barrel, don’t you? Hmmm, so why all of a sudden is it bad to shoot something similar the same way? Third, the extra slide cuts and porting or compensator are going to get full of gunk and cause your gun to seize up at an inopportune time. I’m going to call BS. I’ve ran mine in some really dirty/sandy/wet/muddy conditions and haven’t had issues due to the extra slide cuts. I’ve carried a worn-out Beretta in A-stan and even with its exposed barrel it ran fine in some crappy situations. Lastly, the loss of velocity with a ported barrel. (Doesn’t really apply to compensators.) I didn’t have a way to test this one but have done a lot of research on the subject. Yes, you will lose some velocity. However, it is not very much in the scheme of things. A G17c and G19 will run the same ammo at about the same velocity. So, if it is ok in a G19 then why would you worry that it is ever so slightly slower than a standard G17. If it was effective ammo in your G19 then it will be effective in your G17c.

After all that blathering on, I am extremely confident in throwing both my G17c and SpaceNag into my grab in case of emergency column. I wouldn’t worry about using them in the harshest or darkest conditions. (The red dot on the SpaceNag actually allows me to run it with night vision very effectively with no need for white light. Even with the compensator on it. Who would’ve figured?!) Me and my blow your face off ported and compensated handguns are going to keep on shooting the way we do without worry so you should too no matter what you carry.