[cdesigns]

Since I have been having a lot of people asking me about specs on my porting job, I tried to make a DIY manual on how to do it.

I'm not responsible for any damage to the gun or injury to yourself by doing this modification, it works for me without a problem.

The reason I did it:
1) Different look while keeping it safe
2) Nice flash when firing (if done right the flash goes up and not to your face)
3) Very low recoil = good for follow up shots, accuracy and ladies hands.

Some CONS are:
1) It will lower the velocity of the bullet, but still accurate at 15-20yards (keep in mind self defense is less than 5 yards.
2) It requires a little more cleaning outside the barrel and underneath the slide. (dark smoke residue sometimes)
3) Your friends will envy you

I lost the drill bits I used so I cant recall the exact size, but I measured the holes with my caliper, I recommend GOOD DRILL BITS, that barrel is HARD.

Start drilling with a small drill bit and go thru the slide and barrel on the same pass, then use the proper size drill bit to enlarge the holes, but make sure that when you are drilling the barrel you dont go far and scratch or drill the other end "bottom" of the barrel, you can insert a pencil inside the barrel to stop the drill bit once you pass the metal.

Here is the video of my old ported Ruger LCP, the flash on the p3at is very similar.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPwkpX9M0T8[/ame]

 

[DaveSpud]

That is cool! Congrats on a unique and useful mod.

Question--why did you put the ports more or less in the middle of the barrel, and not closer to the end, and closer together? Just curious.

 

[cdesigns]

That is cool! Congrats on a unique and useful mod.

Question--why did you put the ports more or less in the middle of the barrel, and not closer to the end, and closer together? Just curious.

I put the port the closest to the front as possible without entering into the barrel neck, if you see the second picture with the FILE you see the barrel has a neck of less diameter in the front.

The holes also work better in that area because when the slide action starts to cycle the gases and flash are already out. If I make the port holes more to the front of the gun, by the time the gases are coming out of the port holes the slide will be already in a 20% cycle and it will partially cover the port holes making the flash of fire and gasses hit underneath the slide instead of coming out of the holes.

 

[Mickey]

I have to say this:
Doing this is a very bad idea.

 

[movieman1500]

Definitely a nice job, just not for everyone. If I had an extra barrel and slide I would attempt it But no way am I doing this now

 

[rted]

This sounds like a great project for a range type, target pistol. The P3-AT ain't one of those; I would caution that the last thing you're going to want to have to do if ever having to defend/explain a self-defense shooting is why you modified the pistol from stock (as if just waiting to see how it reacts in the real world). My carry instructor also cautioned against the use of hand-loaded ammo, for the same reason.

Before consulting a gunsmith on the advisability of any non-factory mod, I'd suggest first consulting an attorney who knows how real cases are prosecuted and defended in your jurisdiction unless the pistol is only going to see range duty.

 

[FLT]

This sounds like a great project for a range type, target pistol. The P3-AT ain't one of those; I would caution that the last thing you're going to want to have to do if ever having to defend/explain a self-defense shooting is why you modified the pistol from stock (as if just waiting to see how it reacts in the real world). My carry instructor also cautioned against the use of hand-loaded ammo, for the same reason.

Before consulting a gunsmith on the advisability of any non-factory mod, I'd suggest first consulting an attorney who knows how real cases are prosecuted and defended in your jurisdiction unless the pistol is only going to see range duty.

Can you or your carry instructor give me a example where some one was prosecuted for a modified pistol or hand loaded ammo? I hear this quoted all the time but I have never been able to find a case where some one was prosecuted .

 

[Mikelecka]

yea, I would like to read a bunch of those cases from courts also. About zombie ammo, ported pistols like so many factory ported glocks, and reloaded ammo. Reading those court cases would be interesting.

also court case for the ones about storm lake (ported)and Lone Wolf (ported) aftermarket barrels. And also second carry back-up pistols for police that have had it "tuned"...

wonder if Wolff spring company has been in court for making high performance springs?

Iwas at Jim's guns yesterday and saw a great looking ported glock.

 

[CJP32]

The cases I know of are more related to modifying or cocking the trigger prior to a SD shooting. They are there and usually don't end well for the person defending themselves. Either a conviction or a lengthy, expensive court battle.

Guys lets take it easy on the subject, he went out of his way to post this because people were asking him how he modified his P3. No one is saying you should or need to do this porting job on your gun.

 

[Mikelecka]

good copy CJP32, thanks! he did nice job!

 

[cdesigns]

I have to say this:
Doing this is a very bad idea.

Do you care to explain why? Just wondering.

 

[cdesigns]

I did my porting job because of the looks, a lot of revolvers, 1911's and glocks have them, there is NOTHING illegal about doing so.

After testing it in the range it made my shots more accurate so in a Self Defense scenario my philosophy with a small caliber like the 380 is DOUBLE TAP and I would like them to be as close as possible to the first hit, on the range you have time hold your breath and shoot the target in a real life SD situation , you might never breath again is you take your time to shoot.

In a self defense case it wont matter what type of gun you use or what type of mod did you have, as long they are LEGAL you will not have a problem. If that was the case then a rubber slip on grip will be illegal to prosecutors eyes too, they will ask WHY do you need a comfortable grip? did you plan to shoot a lot of people ????? That would be silly as asking why did you have port holes in your gun, same thing if you have a laser, all this mods and items are there to make you shoot better, is that a crime?

I copied my porting job from this person's p3at who had it ported also.

This is my old Ruger LCP with my first porting job

Video of the Ruger LCP in action
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPwkpX9M0T8[/ame]

And this is a small pistol with factory port holes

 

[Mikelecka]

On the next, would you move holes a lil' forward or not?

yea, your write that double tap is 45 cal...., I like triple tap!

 

[cdesigns]

On the next, would you move holes a lil' forward or not?

yea, your write that double tap is 45 cal...., I like triple tap!

I would not move the holes to the front on this specific gun because the thickness of the barrel is 1mm but its less thick on the RED marked area on the picture and hard to drill to because of the angle.

I will be porting my PF9 too soon, I will try to make a better DIY for that one.

 

[CJP32]

Cdesigns, just an idea but we do have a trading post you can access when you hit 25 posts. If you wanted to you could offer to port member's guns. They could just send the barrel and slide so you wouldn't need to worry about a FFL. Just an idea if your interested.

 

[Mickey]

I said nothing about it being illegal. I said it was a bad idea.
Porting a gun by drilling holes in the barrel(and slide) leaves metal burrs in the bore. Filing does not remove them. "Bubbaizing" your gun on a drill press because it "looks cool" is not justification for ruining a gun. Porting (even when properly done) on a defense gun can blow residue into your eyes because the gun is not always held at arm's length in a defensive shooting.

 

[rted]

Can you or your carry instructor give me a example where some one was prosecuted for a modified pistol or hand loaded ammo? I hear this quoted all the time but I have never been able to find a case where some one was prosecuted .

I never mentioned prosecution on the basis of home modifications. I said it could lead to problems in a trial related to defensive shooting. Another thing that can complicate an otherwise clean shoot is alcohol... even though one was not prosecuted for alcohol.

Here is a source which seems to agree that mods on an intended carry weapon should be considered with caution - http://azccwpermit.com/?p=223 - though I concede that it's no more authoritative than any other voiced opinion.

In the end, it's your call, none of my business really.

 

[224lps]

If you do decide to offer porting jobs make sure you have a boat load of insurance for when some sues you.

And talk to a firearms attorney first.

 

[cdesigns]

I said nothing about it being illegal. I said it was a bad idea.
Porting a gun by drilling holes in the barrel(and slide) leaves metal burrs in the bore. Filing does not remove them. "Bubbaizing" your gun on a drill press because it "looks cool" is not justification for ruining a gun. Porting (even when properly done) on a defense gun can blow residue into your eyes because the gun is not always held at arm's length in a defensive shooting.

The port job I did on my gun doesnt have any burs, its works perfectly and I did not damaged my gun by doing so.

As for the porting in general a lot of companies offer their guns ported from factory and a lot of people take them to gunsmith's and guess what?....They do the porting job with a drill press either with a cheap crasftman drill press or CNC type drill press. On a defense scenario if they shot close to their eyes it will be bad luck, you cant win both ways.

This mod is for those handy with tools and a little gunsmith experience.

 

[cdesigns]

If you do decide to offer porting jobs make sure you have a boat load of insurance for when some sues you.

And talk to a firearms attorney first.

I wont be offering porting jobs so I dont have to worry about that.

And a disclaimer with a signature will take care of any legal problems of someone getting sued. Eitherway it doesnt apply to me