I have wondered if a 6" barrel on a Glock or 1911 shoots 50+ FPS faster than a 4.5" or 5" stock barrel, how would a threaded barrel at 6" with a comp added do in relation to a non comped 6" barrel, and how would a comped 6" barrel do compared to a 6" barrel that is ported being actually shorter than the 6" in relation to where the gases escape? Has there been any you tube testing done like this???
I'm not a fan of ported or comped barrels, places too much more noise and blast next to the shooter... ???
I'm planning on a conversion to 460 Rowland for my XDm 45, so it is either a comp or ported in order to keep slide speeds down. THis setup is maller with many more cartridges in the magazine for back country bear repellent...
I'm not sure about You Tube but in competition race guns, their has been A LOT of testing over the last 25-30 years. Generally, you can gain up to 50 f.p.s. in a 6" over a 5" barrel. (in my 10's, it's closer to a 35 f.p.s. average gain) Comps are better than porting cause you first, don't lose any velocity, and you can better tune them to totally eliminate recoil.
With the right combination of projectile, powder and compensator, you can literally have almost no recoil, with only a slight sharp push, straight back, with no muzzle rise.
The drawbacks to a comp are:
Really good muffs or double hearing protection is required. They are REALLY LOUD! Noise levels can be anywhere from extremely annoying to down right brutal.
The extra length can make finding holsters difficult.
They generally only work well with one load.
For me, if it requires a comp to work, it's strictly a range toy. I would never consider relying on a comped gun for serious self defense. Their are just too many other better choices out there.
Jeff
Thanks fr the great details...
I run a ported lone wolf barrel on my Glock 29, and have been tossing around the idea of a comp for my glock 40. But one thing to note at lease in glock world, is that ported barrels retain the same ease of disassembly procedure. Compensated rigs often have a set screw or just threaded on with loctite to make them stay in place and require removal to completely take down the pistol. 1911's mostly negate this because how barrel is removed is different, but not always. There are a lot of proprietary bushing systems in 1911.
My gun will be an XDm so it would require the removal of the comp to remove the barrel. However I can't see any reason to need to remove the barrel. It can be cleaned in place or just hanging off the slide and i'm not a weekly shooter, so my handgun gets practiced with maybe once a month and then generally less that a box of cartridges. As stated this gun will be a camping protection piece.