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Port Polishing.

3K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  MrPete 
#1 · (Edited)
What is the correct way to polish the port in a auto loading pistol? Is it really recommended and does it decrease the value of the gun after you alter it? I REALLY want to do this to my SR9 and my M&P.40 soon but I also don't want to screw it up. Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
Sorry, but by the wording of your post, I’m confused as to what you mean by “Port”.

Is it the ejection “Port”, or a “Ported” barrel. Also, are you talking about a blued or stainless port(s).

Iowegan may have an answer, but I don’t cuz I’m confused.

Chris
 
#3 ·
The term "ported and polished" related to the older 1911 pistols that had small ejection ports and a very small ramped chamber mouth. The small ports caused spent cases to get a dent in the body as they were ejected so a popular modification was to enlarge the port (known as "porting"). This would prevent case dents and enhance reloading. The small chamber mouth ramp fed FMJ (GI "hard ball") quite well but did not like semi-wad cutters or JHPs so again, a popular modification was to open the lower half of the chamber mouth and polish the feed ramp (part of the lower frame) to make feeding more reliable with non-round nose bullets. All the newer 1911s are already ported and have much larger chamber mouths than the old GI 1911s.

The SR9 and M&P have very generous ejection ports so there is nothing to be gained by porting. The feed ramp on both guns is built into the barrel so again, there's no advantage to polishing the ramp or enlarging the chamber mouth.

I suspect you really meant "polish the feed ramp" ... not porting. Unless your guns have a defect in the feed ramp, polishing is about a 95% "bling factor" because it really has very little affect on the ability to feed ammo. The three primary things that affect feeding the most are the magazine, breach face, and extractor. If the lips on the magazine have sharp under edges or don't hold the cartridge at the right angle, it will cause feeding problems. As a fresh round is stripped from the magazine, the case head must slide against the breach face until it is positioned properly. A rough breach face will cause feeding problems. The extractor is actually the biggest source of feeding problems in all pistols because it is supposed to hold the case head in position while the cartridge feeds. A loose or tight extractor will not permit the proper position for the cartridge and will result in feeding malfunctions. If polishing the feed ramp enhances feeding, I can almost guarantee the real reason for poor feeding has been overlooked and is one of the three above.
 
#4 ·
IOWEGAN, please forgive my terminology for it is not exactly the best when it comes to the thousands of gun terms and I often get them messed up. You are right. I was talking about the feed ramp and how to polish it. I do not currently have any feeding issues with either gun. I was wishing to do this because I was under the impression that it would smooth the action and lessen the probability of any future feeding issues. After your words of wisdom and advice, I really see no need to polish the feed ramp. They are both perfectly fine the way they are. Thanks a bunch for the education and advice.
 
#5 ·
I would agree with Iowegan about not "fixing" non-existant problems. My SR9 would fail to feed in 1 out of 50 rounds of JHP and I could feel small ridges on the feed ramp; a little crocus cloth to the the feed ramp and it feeds every time no matter what type rounds I give it. However, it was very little polishing with very light pressure and all by hand. Enough to remove those ridges on the ramp.
 
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