9mm Major porting or not?

[docscoutjr]

For those shooting 9mm major, thoughts on hybrid barrels or poppel holes/v type porting? 

I know its been kicked around here a bit, I need to give my 'smith an answer ASAP.  Main question being how much of a PIA is it to try and stuff enough 3n38 in case to make it work.  

Currently thinking a KKM hybrid with two holes.....or no holes at all.  

Thanks, 

DL 

 

[jcc7x7]

Go with no and add later if you really think you need them.

 

Only A Class and I don't think I can shoot the difference BUT as always your mileage may vary!

[echotango]

For me the holes made an awesome difference. I'm running 3x 3/16" holes on 3 open guns. Buddy just got 2x 3/16" on his hybrid. Neither of us are running 3n38 though. 

Hard to say which is better, 2 vs 3, as they are set up differently and mine have steel grips. 

Also comes down to personal preference. 

Edited September 12, 2019 by echotango

[Explosiveo]

I'm having a hybrid built with 2 3/16 holes. I think that's the way to go for 9mm.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

[TRPOperator]

Enough 3n38 in a 9 case will be tough poppels or not but I like guns tat them more..I have an akai V6 

[36873687]

Holes for sure

[racer-x]

My full size CK guns have 3 x 3/16" popples in the KKM barrel and Chaos has 2x 3/16" popples in shorter barrel.

170PF loads for them are:

9.3 grains 3N38 for MG124JHP @ 1.185 OAL with CCI-500

170PF 115's not happening with 3N38

 

I like how this 3N38 load performs in these guns and its very clean.

I had a lot of 3N38 sitting around left over from my 38SC guns. Did some experimenting a few months ago and came up with a load that shoots nice, makes PF and isn't much trouble to load. I start having problems with MBF at 9.4 grain charge (5% of bullets falling over from case so full), but 9.2 charge loads easily with MBF... Actually better with MBF since it seats the bullet much more reliably than my fingers can with such a full case. I've loaded about 4000 of these so far at 9.3 grains - no problem.

[zzt]

It depends on how you want the gun to feel.   Poppels make the gun shoot flatter, but rob gas from the comp.  So it hits your hand harder.  You can add more powder to get more gas to the comp, but you have limited case capacity in 9mm.

 

If you insist on using 3N38 in 9mm major, I would go without poppels.  You will most likely be stuck using 124s, so you won't be making a lot of gas.  If you go to slower, denser powders that actually are compressible (like AA7 and Major Pistol), you have more options.  With 9mm major you can make it shoot flat, or soft, but not both.  You can compromise on something in between.

 

FWIW, my latest Open gun wears a custom 3-port comp and two 3/16" poppels.  I load 10.2gr Major Pistol powder under a 115 JHP @ 1.161" OAL.  That gets me 168PF with an SD of 4.  I have injuries that prevent me from gripping the gun hard, so the muzzle rises a little.  When my buddy, a welder, shoots it, it is dead flat.

[theWacoKid]

5 hours ago, racer-x said:

My full size CK guns have 3 x 3/16" popples in the KKM barrel and Chaos has 2x 3/16" popples in shorter barrel.

 

If it's a stock CK they come with 3 1/8" holes.

 

I've had 9mm's with the following: no holes, 3 1/8" holes, 5 1/8" holes, 4 5/32" holes, 5 5/32" holes, 4 3/16" holes, 6 3/16" holes, 2 7/32" holes.  These have been a mix of shorties, modifieds, and full-sizes.  

 

After all that the only thing I know for sure is the guns with no holes and 3 1/8" holes near the comp were the worst and that 3n38 isn't any good.

 

 

Edited September 13, 2019 by theWacoKid

[caspian guy]

I'm like zzt above I like 2 3/16th holes and a good effective 3 port comp with a powder that works the comp/ports and makes major (in my case silhouette)

[MikeBurgess]

I think I am the odd duck here but I'm not a fan of holes. I have shot several guns with them in various configurations and sizes and I much prefer the feel of my no holes large comp setups.

I find the guns with holes to be harsher and at best only slightly flatter, but in reality flatter doesn't actually matter, what matters is the dot returning to where it started, it doesn't matter if it went 6" or 8" above the A, your not shooting till it is back and as long as it comes back to where it left you can shoot just as soon. 

[Whitefish]

9 minutes ago, MikeBurgess said:

I think I am the odd duck here but I'm not a fan of holes. I have shot several guns with them in various configurations and sizes and I much prefer the feel of my no holes large comp setups.

Not as odd as you might think. I am part of that minority as well. My nine major 2011 has a Brazos Thundercomp 2 comp/no holes and does just fine with the dot returning. I have found that the load and grip is every bit as important in where the dot goes. My Dawson 38 SC shorty has two barrel holes and with N105 and 3N38  powders makes a lot more noise and blast, plus a great light show. Yes, it is marginally flatter shooting, but you pay for it. The good part of that is that it generally keeps RO's and specttors well back from me. If the RO is close when I start, you can rest assured he isn't after that first shot!!!

[zzt]

58 minutes ago, MikeBurgess said:

I think I am the odd duck here but I'm not a fan of holes.

 

I tried no holes in the latest gun.  It was soft and effective, but I was hoping for flatter.  So I put two 3/16" poppels in.  The gun does shoot flatter, but it hits my hand a lot harder.  I half regret doing it.  The comp was 99.9% effective in venting all the gas.  Now it is hardly working at all.

[MikeBurgess]

28 minutes ago, zzt said:

 

I tried no holes in the latest gun.  It was soft and effective, but I was hoping for flatter.  So I put two 3/16" poppels in.  The gun does shoot flatter, but it hits my hand a lot harder.  I half regret doing it.  The comp was 99.9% effective in venting all the gas.  Now it is hardly working at all.

but he real question is was it faster? 

[zzt]

2 hours ago, MikeBurgess said:

but he real question is was it faster? 

 

Yes.  It is faster.  It just hurts my elbows, both of which are shot.  That's why I said half regret. For the first couple of stages I love it being faster.  For the last couple my elbows are killing me and I wish it was softer.

[docscoutjr]

16 hours ago, racer-x said:

My full size CK guns have 3 x 3/16" popples in the KKM barrel and Chaos has 2x 3/16" popples in shorter barrel.

170PF loads for them are:

9.3 grains 3N38 for MG124JHP @ 1.185 OAL with CCI-500

170PF 115's not happening with 3N38

Up 

I like how this 3N38 load performs in these guns and its very clean.

I had a lot of 3N38 sitting around left over from my 38SC guns. Did some experimenting a few months ago and came up with a load that shoots nice, makes PF and isn't much trouble to load. I start having problems with MBF at 9.4 grain charge (5% of bullets falling over from case so full), but 9.2 charge loads easily with MBF... Actually better with MBF since it seats the bullet much more reliably than my fingers can with such a full case. I've loaded about 4000 of these so far at 9.3 grains - no problem.

Thanks! since I am in Canada and pretty much only shoot IPSC, 124's at 160pf are what I am after, so this confirms things a bit. 

[docscoutjr]

14 hours ago, zzt said:

It depends on how you want the gun to feel.   Poppels make the gun shoot flatter, but rob gas from the comp.  So it hits your hand harder.  You can add more powder to get more gas to the comp, but you have limited case capacity in 9mm.

 

If you insist on using 3N38 in 9mm major, I would go without poppels.  You will most likely be stuck using 124s, so you won't be making a lot of gas.  If you go to slower, denser powders that actually are compressible (like AA7 and Major Pistol), you have more options.  With 9mm major you can make it shoot flat, or soft, but not both.  You can compromise on something in between.

 

FWIW, my latest Open gun wears a custom 3-port comp and two 3/16" poppels.  I load 10.2gr Major Pistol powder under a 115 JHP @ 1.161" OAL.  That gets me 168PF with an SD of 4.  I have injuries that prevent me from gripping the gun hard, so the muzzle rises a little.  When my buddy, a welder, shoots it, it is dead flat.

Also very helpful.  Thanks! 

[docscoutjr]

10 hours ago, Whitefish said:

Not as odd as you might think. I am part of that minority as well. My nine major 2011 has a Brazos Thundercomp 2 comp/no holes and does just fine with the dot returning. I have found that the load and grip is every bit as important in where the dot goes. My Dawson 38 SC shorty has two barrel holes and with N105 and 3N38  powders makes a lot more noise and blast, plus a great light show. Yes, it is marginally flatter shooting, but you pay for it. The good part of that is that it generally keeps RO's and specttors well back from me. If the RO is close when I start, you can rest assured he isn't after that first shot!!!

For new RO's especially there is something to be said for putting on a show, and keeping them back.  Thanks! 

[Bravo_Victor]

I have an Akai V6, i use 9.9gr of AA7, no powder spillage and it reach 170pf. Super flat but very concussive. I was using 8.1gr of HS-6 with the same PF but the AA7 worked better imo. 

[racer-x]

23 hours ago, theWacoKid said:

 

If it's a stock CK they come with 3 1/8" holes.

 

I've had 9mm's with the following: no holes, 3 1/8" holes, 5 1/8" holes, 4 5/32" holes, 5 5/32" holes, 4 3/16" holes, 6 3/16" holes, 2 7/32" holes.  These have been a mix of shorties, modifieds, and full-sizes.  

 

After all that the only thing I know for sure is the guns with no holes and 3 1/8" holes near the comp were the worst and that 3n38 isn't any good.

 

 

 

Opened them up to 3/16" - much improved over stock 1/8".

[echotango]

14 minutes ago, racer-x said:

 

Opened them up to 3/16" - much improved over stock 1/8".

The 1/8" holes barely did anything.  The went straight to 3/16" and definitely noticed the difference. Just finished #3 this week, not coated yet. 

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by echotango

[theWacoKid]

2 hours ago, racer-x said:

 

Opened them up to 3/16" - much improved over stock 1/8".

Gotcha.

[Jumprun13k]

I like the way mine shoots with the holes. And it makes the ROs back up. That makes me giggle. 

[jbultman]

On 9/13/2019 at 1:26 PM, theWacoKid said:

 

If it's a stock CK they come with 3 1/8" holes.

 

I've had 9mm's with the following: no holes, 3 1/8" holes, 5 1/8" holes, 4 5/32" holes, 5 5/32" holes, 4 3/16" holes, 6 3/16" holes, 2 7/32" holes.  These have been a mix of shorties, modifieds, and full-sizes.  

 

After all that the only thing I know for sure is the guns with no holes and 3 1/8" holes near the comp were the worst and that 3n38 isn't any good.

 

 

So what’s your powder of preference then?

[Kixx]

I have two guns with the same barrel and comp. One gun has two 3/16” holes and one has no holes. The gun with holes is noticeably flatter and faster for me to shoot but the extra gas coming back into my face makes me blink between shots...  Because of this, the comp only gun is my main gun. I would shoot a gun with holes before you make your decision.