Ported barrel

In firearms the term ported relates to holes that are precision drilled into the forward part of the barrel and slide on pistols, to divert a portion of the gases during shooting in order to reduce the tendency of the revolver, rifle or pistol to flip upwards.

Porting is most commonly used on shotguns, where recoil makes rapid firing difficult. Indeed, even single shots of magnum strength loads alone are uncomfortable for all but the most seasoned shooters.

GLOCK has porting as an option on most of its pistols. Porting has obvious advantages for faster follow-up shots, especially for 3 - round burst operation.

In most instances, porting does nothing to enhance the accuracy of follow-up shots but rather make larger calibers more bearable and reduce felt recoil.

It is a widely propogated myth that firing at night with a ported barrel usually decreases the shooter's night vision because the muzzle flash is redirected through the ported barrel upward into the shooter's face.

It is also a myth that most law enforcement agencies prohibit their officer's from carrying a weapon with a ported barrel.

Both are widely circulated via the internet and the reality is that the image of three flames shooting out the top of a compensated Glock barrel, is fictional. It is for lack of a better term, creative license by Glock's art department.

Most people will probably NEVER be able to recreate that imagery in reality unless one handloads a special batch of high muzzle flash ammo.

The majority of powder used in mass manufactured ammunition has no quality control specifications regarding muzzle flash. Most self defense branded products has relatively low/no flash as compared to mass marketed practice ammunition.

Each law enforcement agency has different standards regarding duty firearms and some departments approve of carrying compensated Glocks.