I'll soon be attending a sporting clays shoot where the club only allows the use of fiber wad shot shells. I plan on shooting a Browning 725 which has ported barrels. Might I experience problems with wad and/or shot shaving in the barrel ports?
Perhaps our English cousins can opine?

Not an English cousin but right next door. Ported barrels are not in great vogue over this way and I would think very few people have ever used the combination you talk about. In fact I have the feeling that ported barrels are not allowed in some disciplines ?
That said I would not foresee any problem with it.

"I'll soon be attending a sporting clays shoot where the club only allows the use of fiber wad shot shells"

Say what?

I doubt the fiber (waxed or otherwise) will be much of a problem.

Even if it shave a little off it will not be significantly different than plastic wads

To my Scottish friend - sincere apology from someone with a paternal grandmother maiden name of McDonald! I need a refresher in my UK geography.

To the other responders - yup this club shoots fiber wads. But at least they aren't using steel shot!

I guess I envisioned - and was more concerned - with the shot shaving on the port holes more than the wad stripping.

+1.

SRH

I have never heard of not allowing a shot cup. I would guess that they won't be allowing ported guns next time. That's special.

I know the club. The shoots held there are for the rich! The club does not want plastic wads going into water. My question is: who sells ammo that use fiber wads. I cannot see the clientele of that club loading their own!

Airborne Sarge and the others - actually this isn't a club for the rich by any stretch of the imagination. It is a small club where the owner hosts no registered shoots, but does a lot for local community events, this charity shoot being one. HE and two others load their own shells using card/fiber wads and provide them to shooters. He will at some point switch over to photo degradable cornstarch wads but he is not there yet.
SO back to the original question please - will shot/wad sheer in the ports?

SO back to the original question please - will shot/wad sheer in the ports?

Personally...I'd shoot them.....and hope it plugged up the ports!

No issue on fibre wads through ported barrels, the Brits have been doing for years.

Cuz
Neither you or the gun are going to have a problem. It's whoever is beside you.

Your porting is polished so no raised metal burrs are present to shave either lead or was material. I use to hunt with a self made millionaire who insisted on doing his own gunsmithing alterations. When porting first became the rage 30 plus years ago he ported an 1100 barrel with his drill press and milling vise. Being careful to get the holes spaced exacted the same distance and in a perfect pattern the job looked well done. We were in a duck blind and after every shot fine plastic spaghetti would float in the air and stick out the sides if the barrel. He failed to hone the burrs inside the barrels. It smoothed itself out fairly quickly after maybe half a box of shells we laughed a certain part of our bodies off with each shot. He finished the job with a brake hone later.

No issues, remember the Cutts and other ported chokes
of the 1930s and 1940s that was all they digested
Mike

"Much ado about ... oh, forget it" I'm not very good about Shakespeare references.

JFI - modern 2-3/4-inch Kent shells loaded with bare 7.5 shot and felt wads. I don't know if they're currently available in the US but they were when I got these. I don't own anything with a ported barrel but the box doesn't have any precautions on it. A friend who has fired many of these shells in his ported o/u guns has never mentioned any watchouts or problems.

Although I seriously doubt you will have any problem, the Cutts doesn't really prove anything. The ported area of the Cutts was larger than bore diameter. The shot & wads actually jumped across a gap between the bore itself & the choke tube, its extremely doubtful they ever actually touched the ports.

Yes, but also Weaver, Poly Vented, Lyman, Herter's, etc chokes

Plus any gas operated shotguns of old

Mike

As I recall the Weaver was pretty much like the Cutts in that regard. I once had a vented Poly, its vents were after it went through the choke so obviously larger than any choke with possible exception of the "Reverse" & I remember it being larger even than it. I believe this would be pretty well true for any of the adjustable chokes. The Gas operated autos did of course have the port deirectly in the bore, but mostly had just 1, so not the chance for mutilation as one having multi ports all the way around. I do still seriously doubt if any probl;em will be incurred though as long as the ports do not have internal burrs.

I don't have a gun with ported barrels, but I do have one with the "Hushpower" sound moderator system that has many holes drilled across the bore close to the chamber (within the shroud) and I only use fibre wad cartridges.

I never hear any bits of shot rattling about in the shroud or see any when I clean it. Same thing with the steel baffles at the muzzle end; no evidence of any lead debris, so I'd guess you won't have any lead shaving problem.

Eug