Popple holes, how much do they help?

[user293]

well in a few months im probably gonna be able to get my hands on a Dawson super-tuned Trubor set up for .38 super comp, and i was just thinking about it, and im pretty sure that the Trubors dont have Popple holes in the Bbl. so that got me thinkin, is there a big significance in gun that have the popple holes? i see alot of the high end Non-production line, fully custom gun running with these holes and was just wondering if the difference is very big, and would it be possible to have them machined into the gun? and would it be worth it to do this? im new to the open class, and fairly new to these guns, but ive done alot of reading on them so im not totally in the dark. any info would be good to satisfy my curiosity! thanks.

[HI5-O]

I have open guns with and without the holes. The holes help some but when I get my next open gun it'll be without those holes.

With those holes, I had to use more powder, put up with the lens getting smoked and sometimes I feel the extra gas being pushed back in my face (only during slow fire).

Try it without the holes and I'm sure someone you shoot with might have a similar setup with the holes and you can ask to try and shoot their gun.

Once you drill it, you can't go back.

[Whoops!]

If you want them put in, find a smith who will EDM them so that they don't affect accuracy. As others have said, the holes will lead to a barrel with a shorter life as they will eventually elongate, lessoning accuracy. It just depends on the comp combination and powder used as to rather or not they will make a difference, I have no experience with a Trubor.

[Brazos Custom]

As others have said, the holes will lead to a barrel with a shorter life as they will eventually elongate, lessoning accuracy.

I have cut ports in hundreds of barrels and have never seen this happen. I have seen accuracy degrade slightly at 75,000 plus rounds in 38 super but I don't think this is a function of the barrel ports.

[38supPat]

I gotta agree, my old open gun has probably 100,000 rounds through if and the accuracy has not really been reduced that much over the years despite having holes drilled into it from the original build.

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: The barrel holes don't help at all in a Tru Bor I had my Frankingun setup with a Tru Bor with the old style comp(type 1) in 9mm. I tried the pistol and looked at the dot movement with minor and major loads. I then drilled in 2 " Benny Hill Hell Holes" and tried the same loads. I then made the power factor the same as it was before the holes so that I was comparing apples to apples. The dot had 1/3 less movement even with more powder. The pistol also felt alot flatter and even softer with the holes. I'd say try it without holes first and then decide if you want them or not. like I stated above this is with the type 1 comp. Thanks, Eric

[user293]

thanks for the replies! i have actually got a chance to shoot another open gun for a full match. a guy that shoots open here in MN has twin custom Dawson Precision STI framed open guns for his primary and backup pistols(hes sponsored by dawson) he let me use his backup AND his ammo for the whole match, and a CR speed rig as well. the dude even let me keep the mine AND his super comp brass we both shot, so i have a start on reloading when i get my gun. his gun (he said was 6 grand) shot rediculously good and smooth, i had a blast. its my only experience with an open gun so i will compare that to my trubor ill be getting hopefully soon.

[Full mag]

I will add my 2 cents and you can take it for what is worth, but I was in your shoes about 6 months ago. I had been shooting Limited until a good friend let me use his open gun and that's all it took, I was hooked. I searched all the classifieds and found a use STI Competitor with some slide lightening done to it for a good price. I sold everything I could to gather the money and bought the gun, best move I ever did, I love shooting Open. I worked out a deal with my buddy to do all the loading for the 38 super-comp since he has a Dillon 1050 and we shoot together 95% of the time. The only problem is that his custom built Dawson gun has a bigger comp then my gun so his gun shot a lot flatter. I tried different loads before and never found anything that really was that flat so I settled on my friends, don't get me wrong the gun shot good but not as tame as his gun. Then I read a thread of a Enos member and things all changed, it was about popple holes and a competitor. Cocobolo sent me the info about his gunsmith so I sent my gun down and had a hole drilled, what a world of difference. That hole tamed that gun so much, I fell in love with the gun all over again. The only problem was I had to learn the gun all over again because there wasn't as much dot movement and I was still pushing it like there was. The gun is great and I only lost about 20ft per sec on the chrono with the hole. We run about 173 power factor and again it runs great, little louder but again it made all the difference in the world. I hope this helps and good luck with your quest....

[user293]

I will add my 2 cents and you can take it for what is worth, but I was in your shoes about 6 months ago. I had been shooting Limited until a good friend let me use his open gun and that's all it took, I was hooked. I searched all the classifieds and found a use STI Competitor with some slide lightening done to it for a good price. I sold everything I could to gather the money and bought the gun, best move I ever did, I love shooting Open. I worked out a deal with my buddy to do all the loading for the 38 super-comp since he has a Dillon 1050 and we shoot together 95% of the time. The only problem is that his custom built Dawson gun has a bigger comp then my gun so his gun shot a lot flatter. I tried different loads before and never found anything that really was that flat so I settled on my friends, don't get me wrong the gun shot good but not as tame as his gun. Then I read a thread of a Enos member and things all changed, it was about popple holes and a competitor. Cocobolo sent me the info about his gunsmith so I sent my gun down and had a hole drilled, what a world of difference. That hole tamed that gun so much, I fell in love with the gun all over again. The only problem was I had to learn the gun all over again because there wasn't as much dot movement and I was still pushing it like there was. The gun is great and I only lost about 20ft per sec on the chrono with the hole. We run about 173 power factor and again it runs great, little louder but again it made all the difference in the world. I hope this helps and good luck with your quest....

thanks mag ill keep that in mind for sure.

[larry cazes]

I don't think the holes help as much as they hinder due to noise and blast. Lots of threads here in the archives with detailed discussions concerning ports. Do some reading.

[yuthh]

Comparing side by side with identical gun and load.BIG different.Once you play with the gun and getting use to.NOT much different.It's all about muscle memory.I'll go with hole

[Jeff686]

I don't think the holes help as much as they hinder due to noise and blast. Lots of threads here in the archives with detailed discussions concerning ports. Do some reading.

It may hinder the RO, but as the shooter, I don't notice it at all. (I've got a V-8 Tanfoglio)

[Bob Hostetter]

Note: Merged topics.

What is the general consensus about drilling holes in the barrel in front of the comp? Do they flatten the gun out noticeably?

Edited February 28, 2011 by Flexmoney

[Chris Keen]

In my opinion they only increase noise, increase dirt & oil on your scope, and increase the amount of powder needed to make the same PF.

I've shot guns with and without, & now my current gun has NO HOLES in the barrel, and it shoots flat as can be.

Playing around with different springs (cheap), and powders (more expensive) can provide similar results to putting holes in your barrel.

[Bigpops]

They keep the RO's from crowding you for sure! I love mine.

I can't seem to find it but there was a long thread on this topic a while back. It's just like the Ford vs Chevy debate. Some people like me love them, and other shooters dont see a need.

I would suggest you shoot a few and see what you like.

[Flexmoney]

Moderator note: I merged these two topics, and bumped up a few more as well. There are more topics on "popple" holes to be found with a search.

[eric nielsen]

Might have been mentioned in older threads but in general the same gun @ same power factor after drilling barrel holes will shoot a little flatter - say 15-30% less muzzle rise. Done right the process will not hurt accuracy noticeably, and will produce less noise & concussion than a barrel with true Hybrid holes.

"Done right" can be as simple as putting some sort of probe [like a dental pick with 90-deg bend] down the bore from the muzzle end. Find spots by feel where the rifling lands are NOT at the top of the barrel interior. Mark this length on the dental pick. Repeat for however many holes you want. Then reassemble top end, mark these locations on top of your slide. Drill slide holes. Then mark center of the visible barrel beneath the slide holes. Re-check with probe that these marked locations DON'T have barrel lands underneath them.

Drive a lead bullet down the bore [requires hammer & squib rod & muscle power]. Drive the lead bullet under the marked barrel hole locations, one at a time. Now when you drill the barrel, the drill head will push steel fragments into the lead bullet & give you a cleaner cut. Follow up by shooting some lead bullets, which tend to squeeze into the barrel grooves [where your holes are] more completely than jacketed bullets. Check bore with a strong light to ensure there's no metal curly-cues still there, they should be gone, and accuracy should be good.

Edited March 3, 2011 by eric nielsen

[RaylanGivens]

On 3/2/2011 at 8:14 PM, eric nielsen said:

Might have been mentioned in older threads but in general the same gun @ same power factor after drilling barrel holes will shoot a little flatter - say 15-30% less muzzle rise. Done right the process will not hurt accuracy noticeably, and will produce less noise & concussion than a barrel with true Hybrid holes.

"Done right" can be as simple as putting some sort of probe [like a dental pick with 90-deg bend] down the bore from the muzzle end. Find spots by feel where the rifling lands are NOT at the top of the barrel interior. Mark this length on the dental pick. Repeat for however many holes you want. Then reassemble top end, mark these locations on top of your slide. Drill slide holes. Then mark center of the visible barrel beneath the slide holes. Re-check with probe that these marked locations DON'T have barrel lands underneath them.

Drive a lead bullet down the bore [requires hammer & squib rod & muscle power]. Drive the lead bullet under the marked barrel hole locations, one at a time. Now when you drill the barrel, the drill head will push steel fragments into the lead bullet & give you a cleaner cut. Follow up by shooting some lead bullets, which tend to squeeze into the barrel grooves [where your holes are] more completely than jacketed bullets. Check bore with a strong light to ensure there's no metal curly-cues still there, they should be gone, and accuracy should be good.

 

People talk about "Hybrid" popple holes...  What are hybrid popple holes and how are they different than standard popple holes?

 

I know this is a somewhat old thread, but I have a new Trubor and have also been wondering about putting popple holes in it...  Have any of the people in this thread added popple holes to their Trubor with good results?  Bad?  Glad you did it?  Wish you hadn't?

 

 

[user293]

Holy crap i started this thread a while ago! Don't shoot 38 super anymore but it actually went a custom order from a local gunsmith at the time. 3 port scheumann hybrid. It was awesome with 3n38 powder. i think the "hybrid" vs "popple" difference is on a hybrid the barrel is made with a rib and it is drilled with bigger ports. Like the barrel was meant to have big holes holes. Popple holes are smaller usually and are drilled right into the barrel with no rib. I'm no expert but that's what I'm think of between both terms. And they do help i think. Two big ports for 9 major and 3 or more 38 super. 

[kneelingatlas]

I believe the term "Hybrid" comes from Schuemann and refers to the rib atop the barrel which protrudes through the slide:

They refer to the barrels with ribs and threads as "HybriComp"

Then they offer the "Hycomp" which has a rib with bigger, square ports:

And the "Tribrid" with holes and squares:

[kneelingatlas]

"Popple holes" loot like this:

[Acsr]

I just had 3 5/32 holes put in my trubor 38 super,  just shoot it today,  only 30 rounds to sight in dot,  I also have added the evo grip, so not much trigger time,  but will shoot a match sat, so hoping to get a real feel.  But that is two major changes to my gun from the last time I shot it, which was mid November,  so can't really get much feel in 30 rounds, but I don't have any regrets. Would post a pic but I guess it exceeds allowed file size,  and am lost as to how to change it

[echotango]

If it is on your phone, screen shot it and crop. It should be much smaller. 

[theWacoKid]

Popple vs hybrid is really just semantics. Hybrid holes refer to holes in a ribbed barrel, which are often larger than what most do for popples. However, there is no reason popple holes can't be just as large. 

 

As for "proper" popple installation, many of us have found that identifying locations of lands and slugging barrel to drill adds no benefit to the final product. Follow sound machining techniques and install barrel holes until you are content. 

[Acsr]

18 hours ago, echotango said:

If it is on your phone, screen shot it and crop. It should be much smaller. 

Thanks