ported or not ported, that is the question

To be clear, Im not talking ported barrels. Im referring to ported chokes which is what the OP is asking about. I do not believe and I have yet to see any evidence that a ported choke that has likely increased the length of an existing barrel by lets say 1”-2” has now redirected the sound of a shotgun blast into someone elses direction making it louder for them. I just dont buy it.
 
For a few years we used Kicks High Flier Ported chokes for big water divers... they just threw really nice patterns with heavy steel... I never held up a decibel meter, but the consensus is that they did not increase the noise or debris laterally, we mostly shot out of boat blinds s and tight rock blinds, and we fired thousands of rounds through them... I suspect that fretting over a ported choke is "much ado about nothing."
 
I shoot a Kicks High Flyer in my waterfowl gun and really like the patterns it throws

I found a test that Field and Stream completed in an underground range. They tested ported vs non ported chokes and found that the ported chokes were 4 db louder then non ported chokes. To put that into perspective, breathing measures in at 10 db and is considered barely audible. I seriously doubt one would even notice the difference of 4 db

https://www.fieldandstream.com/shotgun-choke-test#page-2
http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm

Would be interesting if anyone finds another test that confirms or contradicts this test. Also wonder what the effect would be if performed outside and not underground
 
1963beretta said:
I shoot a Kicks High Flyer in my waterfowl gun and really like the patterns it throws

I found a test that Field and Stream completed in an underground range. They tested ported vs non ported chokes and found that the ported chokes were 4 db louder then non ported chokes. To put that into perspective, breathing measures in at 10 db and is considered barely audible. I seriously doubt one would even notice the difference of 4 db

https://www.fieldandstream.com/shotgun-choke-test#page-2
http://www.industrialnoisecontrol.com/comparative-noise-examples.htm

Would be interesting if anyone finds another test that confirms or contradicts this test. Also wonder what the effect would be if performed outside and not underground
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A 4 Db increase can be more than double the original intensity. It's a complicated subject, but you would definitely notice the difference! Doing a sound test underground completely defeats the purpose of such a test - that of determining if the noise level is higher behind the muzzles with ported than with non-ported. In order to have any validity in this discussion, the test has to be outdoors and the decibel meter even with the shooter. This is the actual situation shooters care about.

Prudent hunters and competitors don't take unnecessary and foolish risks. A previous poster has told about how he, personally, was struck in the face by a pellet from a ported barrel or choke. I've personally witnessed people being hit - one in the leg and one in the face. We are first-hand witnesses, not some remote urban myth. Ported barrels and ported chokes are the same - loud and dangerous.
 
Decibels of sound do not increase at a linear rate for instance even though 10 db is barely audible, 80 db is twice as loud as 70 db and 100 db is 8 times as loud as 70 db. So a 4 db increase can be a significant increase depending on what db range it is in.
 
I agree that doing the test underground isnt realistic for this discussion, but in all fairness, their test wasnt to determine sound differences, it was to test choke performance. Likely because this noise argument is a non issue.

I will also reject your “prudent hunters and shooters” comment because its just plain ignorant. People who choose to use ported chokes are neither more or less likely to take “unecessary risks”. Thats complete nonsense!
 
Falconflyer said:
Decibels of sound do not increase at a linear rate for instance even though 10 db is barely audible, 80 db is twice as loud as 70 db and 100 db is 8 times as loud as 70 db. So a 4 db increase can be a significant increase depending on what db range it is in.
Click to expand...

Very true, and that would be intensified doing the test underground where sound waves cannot escape an enclosed environment. If this test was done outside in a real world hunting situation, what effect would that have on the results? I have not found anything conclusive either way
 
Ports/brakes work best with higher pressures. Shotguns don't create enough pressure to get much recoil reduction from one so I don't see the point.
 
hoytcanon said:
For a few years we used Kicks High Flier Ported chokes for big water divers... they just threw really nice patterns with heavy steel... I never held up a decibel meter, but the consensus is that they did not increase the noise or debris laterally, we mostly shot out of boat blinds s and tight rock blinds, and we fired thousands of rounds through them... I suspect that fretting over a ported choke is "much ado about nothing."
Click to expand...

Ive used both ported turkey chokes and non ported turkey chokes and nobody i patterned with said it was much of a difference for noise. Now that was shooting a mossberg 500 with a ported barrel. You would think a ported barrel with a ported choke would shatter glass buildings listening to some people lol

As for dangers, we never shot anything smaller than 7.5 target shot so i cant speak to what the ports do with smaller pellets.
 
1963beretta said:
Very true, and that would be intensified doing the test underground where sound waves cannot escape an enclosed environment. If this test was done outside in a real world hunting situation, what effect would that have on the results? I have not found anything conclusive either way
Click to expand...

Agreed, just pointing out that db increases aren't linear.
 
1963beretta said:
Jimmy Muller of Muller chokes says that manufacturers port their chokes because the majority of shooters dont like the added weight of extended chokes at the muzzle. Porting or fluting them helps keep their weight down
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Jimmy Muller obviously doesn't have a clue. The amount of weight removed by porting chokes is in the order of a few percent of the added weight of the chokes. I don't know a single shooter who cares about the weight of the choke tubes. Without exception, everyone on the firing line at an an international trap event is familiar with the extra loud retort from ports. We all witnessed injuries caused by pellets flying wild because of them. This is why they're outlawed in international competition. This isn't simply my opinion, these are facts.
 
It matters not if they increase noise, spray stuff like wad pieces or pellets, or even work at all- if people are wanting to buy them as opposed to none ported chokes people are going to build them!
Cat
 
straightshooter said:
Jimmy Muller obviously doesn't have a clue. The amount of weight removed by porting chokes is in the order of a few percent of the added weight of the chokes. I don't know a single shooter who cares about the weight of the choke tubes. Without exception, everyone on the firing line at an an international trap event is familiar with the extra loud retort from ports. We all witnessed injuries caused by pellets flying wild because of them. This is why they're outlawed in international competition. This isn't simply my opinion, these are facts.
Click to expand...

While I agree that the porting of choke tubes amounts to a very a small reduction of weight, any change in weight is significant when it's out on the end of your barrels. And I think that Jimmy Muller knows more about choke tubes than most people.
 
Falconflyer said:
While I agree that the porting of choke tubes amounts to a very a small reduction of weight, any change in weight is significant when it's out on the end of your barrels. And I think that Jimmy Muller knows more about choke tubes than most people.
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Yeah, but the majority of shooters won't notice the difference, and if they did, they wouldn't want to use an extended choke at all, no?
 
straightshooter said:
Jimmy Muller obviously doesn't have a clue. The amount of weight removed by porting chokes is in the order of a few percent of the added weight of the chokes. I don't know a single shooter who cares about the weight of the choke tubes. Without exception, everyone on the firing line at an an international trap event is familiar with the extra loud retort from ports. We all witnessed injuries caused by pellets flying wild because of them. This is why they're outlawed in international competition. This isn't simply my opinion, these are facts.
Click to expand...

I think Jimmy Muller knows a hell of a lot more about his business then you do
 
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