^^^YUP^^^

https://youtu.be/nAsj0DZJdW4

quote:

Originally posted by cooger:
I guess these are the next big thing for handguns. I’ve seen factory comps and people adding aftermarket ones to guns. Anyone with experience with them care to share your thoughts? Having no experience with them I’m wondering if it’s worth getting on my next purchase.

I think I’m the odd man out. I don’t appreciate the benefits. After watching (almost) all of my shooting buddies add the comp, have reliability issues, resolve those issues via random parts swapping, finding the ammo that works most of the time with that new combo and not necessarily shoot any better.
Witnessing their constant struggles removed my urge to Wick Up my pistola.

I want all of the blast pointed downrange. I don't shoot competition so they don't do anything for me.

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:

The last place you'd want it is in competition. While IDPA won't kick you into Open if your gun came comped from the factory, everyone else will and then you'll be completely outgunned by blaster that look like this:

I see the problem the other way, people won't shoot a match because the gun the Internet Experts recommended for CCW is not the same as what the Other Internet Experts shoot in high level competition. You have to start somewhere and it need not involve spending a lot of money on specialized match gun and gear.

Honestly no. Every time I’ve done it I’ve taken it off. I’ve played with spring and bullet weights and if anything it just doesn’t do enough to make it worth having to use tools to take my gun apart and clean up the threads etc.. maybe an internally comped or ported gun may be worth it but not one that you thread on. I’ve tried it on small and larger guns and every time the comp ends up in my box of misc parts

I have the Radian Ramjet on one of my P365s and on one of my G43X pistols. I find that the muzzle flip and recoil seems less with both. Both worked perfectly from the first moment they were installed and I use factory self-defense ammunition in them.

I no longer shoot competition due to health and age, but back in the "old days" most every one had a comp on their 45acp or 38 Super. They certainly worked to allow faster hits on the IPSC target but, overall, those guns were a lot more expensive than the drop-ins available now.

I have no experience with any of the competitors of the Radian, all I know is my two Radians work well.

Carrying one of the comped guns for self defense is just something I would not do. Other than the sights, all my carry guns are factory stock.

Bob

Yes and no.

Comps on competition guns, Yes.
My FIL has an STI in 38 super comp and runs the rounds past max load to get the power factor he wants. But he leaves those cases on the deck and warns anyone scrounging brass that his stuff is over max and shouldn’t be re used, also marks them with a sharpie.

I’ve shot his gun, it has recoil. W/o the comp it’s a beast, with the comp on it-it’s loud but is easy to shoot as it reduces recoil and make fast second shots super easy

On a EDC or real life gun-no.
Not worth the extra length for concealed carry, IMHO

See my post in this thread here: https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...561/m/8830060015/p/2
The Infinity IMM Open. Original post dated Jan. 25, 2026

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Watson:
I see the problem the other way, people won't shoot a match because the gun the Internet Experts recommended for CCW is not the same as what the Other Internet Experts shoot in high level competition. You have to start somewhere and it need not involve spending a lot of money on specialized match gun and gear.

Depends if you're shooting for fun or shooting to win. If you're shooting for fun or to get better then bring what you want and have fun. If you want to be competitive in class, then you'll have to play the game by their rules.

I’m waiting until a flip to the side magnifier is invented so I can add all 14 things to my carry pistol at one time.

Do champion competition shooters in any shooting discipline generally use ported barrels ?

IPSC and USPSA Open Shooters routinely use ports and comps all the time in their divisions. Jerry Miculek had run magnaported pistols competing in 2-Gun and 3-Gun championships since the 90's if not before.

DSC00737 by cee_Kamp 32ACP, on Flickr

The compensator and porting world has exploded in the last five or so years.

The question of "is it worth it?" is a tough one. Not to be brash, but if you have no experience with comped and ported "normal" guns, your opinion is unqualified. I'm not speaking to anybody specifically, but these types of questions tend to bring in the high opinion, low commitment types.

Since I have made that statement, I have to qualify my own experience. I think I put my first compensator on a Glock 19 in 2018. Since then I have added compensators to or bought another four or five comped guns and a half dozen or so ported guns. I have shot thousands of rounds through comped and ported guns. I have tended to prefer Parker Mountain Machine compensators and porting of all kinds from Monsoon Tactical. There are plenty of other good products out there from other companies. There are also some pretty disappointing ones. I actually have very limited experience with ported "race guns" (like USPSA 38 Super Comp or 9 Major guns), so I would consider myself unqualified there.

Generally speaking, a good compensator or porting solution will return the sights faster for most users. Even with relatively anemic ammunition There are upsides and downsides to this. The rapid return of the gun is a plus, but a potential negative is that the user is more susceptible to forcing a negative return when going from a "normal" gun to a comped or ported one. How much the muzzle is driven down will vary but I have seen high speed video testing showing anywhere from 0.5 to 2 degrees with different guns, comps, ports, and ammunition. While that does not sound like much, consider that one degree is 60 MOA and then apply that measurement to your chosen distance. For example, 60 MOA at 10 yards is 6". If you can make the muzzle rise 6" less at that distance, it is noticeable.

Another downside is that the reliability window for the gun narrows. This may lead to malfunctions when the gun is dirty or dry, when weak ammunition is used, or when the user's grip is compromised. Some people end up playing with recoil spring weights to deal with it. Ported guns in particular also tend to eject debris out the ports. This can be most prevalent with plated bullets (like Blazer Brass) where the plating can be shaved by the ports and ejected towards the user in retention shooting. This is a fairly minor concern and would not stop me from carrying a ported gun. A lot of people talk about issues with muzzle flash. My experience with these guns in low light, particularly with defensive ammunition with low flash powder is that this just isn't a big deal. Sometimes it looks spectacular on video, but in person, it's much less noticeable.

The bigger question is what constitutes a "good" compensator or porting? Look for testing provided by the manufacturer. My experience is that the best manufacturers will public testing data. Also the built-in "comps" from some manufacturers (Sig in particular) that are just a long slide and short barrel with holes in top of the slide are the least effective. It doesn't mean they don't work, but they are much less noticeable.

So...is it worth it? I think there is a tangible benefit particularly on small carry guns. I have a compensator on my 43X (brings it to 48 length) and really like the gun as configured. I think it is overall "worth it" in making the gun easier to control. On the other hand, if your goal is to compete, you might actually find that they aren't worth it. In USPSA, any compensator or porting forces you into open division with true race guns. IDPA allows comps/ports to some degree in their carry optics division (I am not an IDPA guy). There is also a place for the ported/comped "normal" gun in USPSA multigun and PCSL 2 gun.

Just one guy's thoughts...

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
Do champion competition shooters in any shooting discipline generally use ported barrels ?

To answer this question specifically, USPSA open division is dominated by 2011s with multi-port compensators, inline ports, frame mounted optics, and major power factor ammunition (38 Super Comp and 9mm Major primarily). There is NOBODY and I mean N-O-B-O-D-Y (not one swinging dick) competing seriously in USPSA Open division with something like a Staccato XC or a Glock with a compensator or whatever.

quote:

Originally posted by DanH:

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Watson:
I see the problem the other way, people won't shoot a match because the gun the Internet Experts recommended for CCW is not the same as what the Other Internet Experts shoot in high level competition. You have to start somewhere and it need not involve spending a lot of money on specialized match gun and gear.

Depends if you're shooting for fun or shooting to win. If you're shooting for fun or to get better then bring what you want and have fun. If you want to be competitive in class, then you'll have to play the game by their rules.

I am thinking of the entry level shooter. He is, or should be, shooting to explore his interest. But if he has been subject to a hard sell and bought a compensated CCW, he is likely to be intimidated by the dedicated USPSA Open and IDPA ESP guns. He might not stick with it long enough to learn the ins and outs and like it well enough to tool up.

If he had a straight barrel model, he would be in Production or SSP and his gun would not look a lot different from, say, my Burwell Smith.

IDPA allows factory ported/comped guns without kicking you into open.

Depends. On competitive guns, where a hundredth of a second here and there add up over the course of a match to change how you finish in the rankings it makes a certain degree of sense.

If a shooter is already at a high level of skill, those small shaves of time matter. For us mere mortals it matters a lot less

The whole it shoots so flat stuff and it decreases my split time is for practical application inconsequential

Harsh reality is a split second saved between shots fired, or any number of things ( like that extended mag catch that cuts a fraction of a second off my reload time) mean next to nothing from a defensive perspective- hits to the key vitals are what matters.

I recently shot a match that was street focused ( for lack of a better term) that highly penalized misses and strikes on no shoots. I was the only revolver shooter, and one of a handful still shooting irons compared to the red dot comp people. With over 100 shooters I still landed in the top 1/3 of finishers. Other than slower reloads hurting me I feel I kept up just fine, and reinforced my confining my old school equipment that can still get things done

I kind of see both sides of the argument. I have shot compensated guns and it is nice when your red dot doesn’t leave the window as easily and subsequently you can shoot faster follow up shots for rapid strings of fire. This would be applicable, of course, in a competition setting and or a defense scenario I suppose.

I have a Glock 43X that I just set up with a radian ramjet that I have yet to take to the range, but after watching a ton of videos, I have no doubt that it will shoot better with it than without, and I will eat my words if I’m wrong.

Funnily enough though I have seen many videos of non-compensated guns shooting quite flat and just as well when you are trained properly in terms of grip and trigger control. Heck, I saw a recent video of a Gen 6 Glock 17, just ripping up the competition and it looked flat as hell, not much different than shooting any compensated gun I’ve ever seen honestly so I don’t know if it was under powered ammo or if it was a camera trick. I know with my Glock 17, I’ve been able to hit many many times doubles that are touching on paper so if I can do it with my overall limited experience without a compensator, I’m sure someone else can shoot 10 times better.