How Larry Kelly and Mag-na-port revolutionized recoil reduction and changed the handgun industry forever.
There will never be another Larry Kelly. His life was truly an example of the rags-to-riches American Dream fairytale, proving that you can succeed with a sharp mind. While necessity is the mother of all invention, you need an innovative idea to follow-up on. Larry’s business success allowed him to hunt around the world. With improvements in transportation, his keen abilities to make friends wherever he hunted and generous bag limits of the day, no one will ever be able to duplicate the number of trophy animals he killed with a handgun.
Larry was constantly invited back to various hunting camps and to game depredation operations by heads of African game control. To say Larry lived a charmed life would be an understatement in the largest sense, because before his successes, he lived a meager life, barely getting by.
Humble Beginnings
Larry loved to hunt. He spent as much time in the Michigan woods as humanly possible as a kid. His hunting obsession grew to include trapping and firearms. So much so, he dropped out of school in the eighth grade to pursue his life’s calling. As time passed, he worked any odd jobs he could find, including guiding hunters. Along the way, he met his wife, Barbara, and before you know it, they had three children. The family lived in a cinder block A-frame garage Larry built on an acre of property he owned. The garage was without running water or heat, making it cold, damp and wet for much of Michigan’s long, tough, cold winter. Barbara and the kids were sick much of the time from exposure to the elements.
A few years later, Larry had the opportunity to improve his meager living when guiding a recently transferred businessman from the New England area. The man wanted a local guide to take him rabbit hunting. Larry’s name kept popping up. The hunt was a huge success, and Larry impressed the businessman with his work ethic, friendly demeanor and hunting skills. When asked what he did for a living, Larry told him pretty much what they did today, as well as any odd jobs he could find.
Larry explained he didn’t have the education or training to really do anything else. The businessman offered Larry a job at his plant, where he’d eventually be trained as a machinist, and later, in Electrical Discharge Machining (EDM). This was probably the most significant break Larry ever received.
Spark of Genius
In its simplest form, EDM is defined as electrical spark erosion, where interrupted supercharged electrical pulses are directed from a piece of carbon graphite, which has been machined to the desired shape, to make a hole or indentation, and through basic machining skills, is stopped at the proper depth or until it goes entirely through the given object. The process doesn’t disturb the metal’s finish up to the edge of the hole, nor does it leave burrs. It’s a more precise process than regular machining.
Larry’s skills continued to improve, and he eventually worked on rocket-fuel control-valve technology for the Redstone missile and the Apollo Space Program. He eventually realized that EDM technology might work on gun barrels, creating “ports” that could redirect the muzzle blast, reducing felt recoil and muzzle flip. He started experimenting.
You can’t say Mag-na-port isn’t rocket science, because that’s where the very idea of barrel porting stemmed from. The first gun Larry ever ported was a Ruger Blackhawk .44 Magnum that he bought for $89. He didn’t know what to expect when test-firing it, wondering if the barrel would break in two or blow up. But he would have nothing to worry about. The experiment was a huge success, and he began porting barrels part-time.
As business picked up, he eventually ported barrels full-time in 1971. Mag-na-port International was up and running and continued to grow not only by reducing recoil on handgun, rifle and shotgun barrels, but also by building custom guns that highlighted its porting, as well as limited-run guns for Mag-na-port collectors.
It Works!
Mag-na-port has been tested many times since its inception. In fact, H.P. White Laboratories’ findings confirmed a reduction of 20.8 percent in measured free recoil. Shooters say it feels more like 40 percent. Basically, the more gases there are to vent out, the more those same gases work with the ports to reduce recoil and muzzle flip.
Now remember, Larry’s life obsession was hunting. What better way to market his Mag-na-port recoil reduction porting and custom guns than by hunting worldwide with them? And that’s precisely what he did. He spent months in Africa hunting big game. In fact, he was in Africa so often that the local game control officials invited him on cull hunts to help with the work. Obviously, Larry was happy to help as he continued testing his guns with different bullets and factory ammunition. He was a big fan of Ruger, Freedom Arms and Thompson Center firearms, and of his best friend JD Jones’s business, SSK Industries, which produced custom barrels and cartridges. Larry was particularly a fan of the .375 and 6.5 JDJ cartridges.
His African trips allowed him to take cape buffalo, elephants, lions, kudus, hippopotamuses, crocodiles and several species of plains game, all with a handgun. Besides Africa, Larry hunted in Alaska and the Rocky Mountains, taking grizzly bears, mountain sheep and lions, as well as whitetail and mule deer. Larry hunted hard, and often, always using his Mag-na-ported custom handguns. As his hunting pictures appeared in magazine ads and articles, everyone wanted to be like Larry. His hunting accomplishments were the best advertisement for his growing business.
Telling Tidbits
During his younger years, while living in the garage with his wife and three children, Larry saved enough money to buy a car. On his way to the dealership, he ran into a friend who had two guns for sale. Larry bought the guns with the car money, at a bargain price, but Barbara was less than impressed. She made Larry sell one of the guns so they could buy the car. Larry ended up with the gun he really wanted, though.
Alaskan Ailments?
With his worldwide hunting trips, Larry was constantly exposed to many different local diseases. This is evident from one of his stories: “Closing the tent door with worrisome care, I reached for a bottle of medication, chuckling under my breath that I had to be the only guy in Alaska taking anti-malaria pills.” Larry had spent July and half of August in Zimbabwe, East Africa, and returned home for a quick change of clothes before heading to Alaska for Dall’s ram and caribou.
“Since you start your anti-malarial medicine two weeks before entering an infected area, you must keep taking the pills for six weeks, for possible exposure. Here I was in the frigid Arctic, still munching my weekly pill.”
Stent Stalk
On another hunt, Larry was stalking a critter and started popping nitroglycerin pills. His young guide worriedly said, “Hey, I know what those are, my grandma takes those!”
“Don’t worry, kid, I only took four so far,” Larry responded. When I get up to six, you can start worrying.” Larry took a beautiful antelope on the hunt and was fine. He had over a dozen stents in his heart at the time.
Unruly Bear
One of Larry’s biggest adventures occurred while hunting caribou in Alaska. Poor weather forced him and his guide to hole up in an abandoned cabin. Larry went outside to relieve himself. I’ll let him tell the tale in his own words. “As the bear neared our shack, he ran up the embankment right at us. I pulled my M-29 44 Magnum out of my cross-draw holster. Bob readied his .375 H&H rifle. Both of us were screaming at the bear as Bob shot over his head.
“At the shot, the brown bear then came full-bore right at us. Bob fired a second shot in the sand in front of him as we backed into the shack. He kept telling me not to shoot. We backed into the shack, and when the bear was in the doorway, head and shoulders inside the shack, I shot.
“Bob was having trouble with his gun and had backed up into the table, knocking everything over. I had backed into the stove, knocking it over. I pointed the .44 at the bear’s chest from 3 feet away and fired. I expected the mighty .44 to blow the bear right out of the doorway, or at least to do a little more than get his attention. He only turned his head and looked directly at me as if the muzzle blast had bothered him.
“Bob fired, then I fired again. The bear turned, and I fired two more shots in his shoulder. Bob fired at his shoulder again. I put my last two in his rear as he turned around and started running. Bob stepped out of the door and fired as the bear went bellowing down the beach. My Model 29 was empty, and so was Bob’s .375 H&H. I ran to my cot and quickly grabbed my T/C .375 JDJ and fired my last shot into the bear. He went down.
“Bob reloaded his rifle, and I reloaded both handguns. We approached the bear cautiously to make sure that he was dead, then ran back to the shack to get out of the wind and rain. I have heard many stories about similar problems with bears but have never experienced any until this time.”
Never Give Up
During his last few years, Ken, his son, had a trailer built for his dad. It had windows and a shooting bench. They would tow Larry to a good spot and leave him to hunt, as he would stay out all day in the comfort of the trailer. Larry hunted up until a few weeks before he died.
Family Affair
When asking Ken when he and his sisters, Doreen and Donna, took over the family business, Ken chuckles and says, “Heck, we were running things since the early ’80s when dad was out hunting around the world.” The close-knit siblings gradually took over the business, with dad periodically checking in and making himself available when needed. No matter where Larry hunted, he always sent notes or made phone calls to his family whenever possible.
The sincere warmth of this family-run business is evident and a great tribute to the way Larry raised his family. Family members of the canine variety roam freely during the shop’s daily operations. Doreen and Donna run the front end with friendly smiles and warm demeanors while Ken rolls up his sleeves and takes care of all the shop work. Ken has worked in the shop since age 12, Doreen since age 15. They basically grew up in the shop and take pride in their business.
Ken explains that, in addition to custom work on personal guns, Mag-na-port also performs extensive contract work for Smith & Wesson and Colt, and for several distributors of guns from Sig Sauer, Glock, Kahr, and other manufacturers too numerous to name. Walking around the shop, on any given day, you’ll see rows and rows of factory guns waiting to be ported. Ken was voted Gunsmith of the Year in 1974 by the Pistolsmith Guild.
First Trip
My first trip to Mag-na-port International was indeed memorable. Traveling together with Doc Barranti, we arrived at the shop late in the morning. Walking inside, we were in total awe, seeing all of Larry’s trophies proudly displayed in the main lobby. There are hundreds, ranging from elephants, cape buffalo, kudu, wildebeest, leopards, elk, whitetails, bears, you name it, all taken by Larry with a handgun. There are also photographs, pictures, trophies and awards, as Mag-na-port is also home to the Handgunner Hall of Fame. Skeeter Skelton’s American Handgunner of the Year trophy is on display there.
The front lobby is one of the most impressive rooms I have seen. It’s loaded with history and is a who’s who of the handgunner world. Pictures of Elmer Keith, Skelton, Hal Swiggett, John Taffin and others adorn the walls. It’s a mecca for the most serious aficionado to the beginning handgunner.
Then, we headed into the shop for a tour. Oh, boy! There’s nothing better than hanging around another man’s shop, especially when it’s full of gun stuff. The atmosphere was laid back and warm. The aroma of EDM oil mixed with a hint of burnt metal, solvents, greases and hours-old coffee wafted through the air, as Ken’s poodle, the notorious Jesse James, scampered around, looking for treats and pats on the head.
Ken’s shop is a “gun guy” dream come true, with overflowing bins, boxes, jars and various containers of old new-stock gun parts, reloading supplies, ammunition, magazines and other paraphernalia. Plus, there’s the “On-Deck” pile of factory guns awaiting their ministrations, along with a mountain of muzzle brakes Ken has machined, and Holly de-burrs.
While drinking coffee, we talk, joke and enjoy ourselves, as Ken takes the rare break from his day to visit with us. We know we’re fortunate to have Ken give us the full tour of both his and his dad’s “stuff.” There is no way of telling you how many memorable things the two Kelly men have accumulated over the years. It’s a treasure trove for gun gurus. We got to dig, dive and devour the history and making of both Ken and Larry’s cache.
The Builds
The first gun I ever had Ken customize for me was a 4-inch S&W Model 29-2. I wanted a Combat Mini conversion consisting of cutting and Mag-na-porting the barrel to 3 inches and round-butting the grip frame for easier, more comfortable concealment. It’s finished in a high-luster, deep blue that Mag-na-port is famous for. Ken knows his way around a double-action (DA) S&W, too. His DA work is the smoothest I ever felt, yet the hammer drops with enough authority to pop the hardest primers. Single-action mode is just as good. Ken also adds a double-ball detent locking system to the gun for tighter lock-up.
The second gun Ken customized for me was a tired 6.5-inch Ruger 3-screw Flattop in need of some sprucing up. Its barrel is ported the Mag-na-port way after being chopped to 4 inches, with a matching ejector rod housing. Its front sight received a See-More orange insert, milled into the original front sight blade for faster target acquisition and contrast, while the whole works got the “high-luster” bluing and the aluminum frame blackened.
I call the conversion “Skeeterito,” as I have a 7.5-inch Ruger FT “Skeeter” gun and a 5-inch FT I call “Little Skeet.” My Skelton clan is now complete by Ken’s handiwork.
Larry Kelly Tribute Gun
A few years back, Ken showed me the work he completed on a Guild Gun he did for auction. A Ruger Bisley Hunter was used, and I really liked what I saw, wanting the same treatment for my Tribute Gun to Larry. First, Ken turned the Hunter barrel down on the lathe until just a hint of rib remained, leaving a classic profile.
Keeping the barrel length to 7.5 inches preserved the nifty Ruger front-sight plunger system and the long sight radius. For sights, a white fiber-optic front sight with a flattop cage was used, maintaining a traditional sight picture with the square-notch rear-sight blade that Ken’s mom hand-painted 20 years ago.
Motor City, home of Cadillacs, chrome bumpers, and high polish, is integral to this culture. It’s only natural for the “Cadillac” of guns to display the same qualities. Highly polished stripes, pins, screws and components, partnered with jeweled trigger, hammer, and cylinder, stylishly accent the gun. Of course, the barrel is Mag-na-ported.
Ken machined his dad’s signature onto the barrel, giving the gun another extra-personal touch. The same polishing on the outside parts was applied to the innards, providing an ultra-smooth action/trigger job for which Ken is known. The trigger broke at a crisp, creep-free 2¾ pounds. The muzzle has an inverted crown, and the whole works was velvet-honed for a beautifully subdued finish.
The Stalker
I had Mag-na-port build me a Stalker, another Mag-na-port option, which starts as a .44 Magnum Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 10.5-inch barrel. The barrels are cut down to 8⅜ inches and ported to reduce felt recoil. They are then given an inverted crown job. Sling studs are added to the barrel and grip frame so that the Stalker can be conveniently carried with a sling. The cylinder chambers are numbered, so tuning and tracking each chamber’s performance is easier.
Ken had an old SSK T’SOB base lying around the shop and recycled it for my Stalker. A black Leupold 2x fixed-power scope was mounted using four Leupold rings. Yes, four! This provides both function and style in the Mag-na-port way. You can’t appreciate the inertia a magnum handgun produces on the scope until you shoot it. This scope isn’t going anywhere.
The hammer, trigger and basepin head were highly polished, along with accent stripes on the muzzle and cylinder. The rest of the gun was velvet-honed to a satin finish. Ken timed and tuned the gun to perfection, giving it a creep-free 2½-pound trigger break.
I had some handloads using 300-grain RFNHPGC (radiused flat-nose hollowpoint, gas-check) bullets loaded over 21.5 grains of H110, fired with CCI 350 large magnum pistol primers. Velocity ran over 1,200 fps, and the Stalker printed them into 1.5 inches at 50 yards with ease, shooting off a sandbag rest. Recoil and barrel flip were noticeably less with the Mag-na-port porting. Simply stated, it works.
The Tanker
Another gun I had built started as the original 5-inch GP100 Lipsey’s Exclusive with a half-lug barrel, which was cut down to 3 inches, leaving a nice, radiused curve from the muzzle to the tip of the ejector rod. Ken EDM’d a pocket for pinning a front-sight blade, in case I ever need to swap it for one with a different height. The blade has a red insert, which my eyes pick up quickly for fast target acquisition.
The rear-sight blade was changed to one with a narrower notch and a heavier, painted white outline, making sight alignment picture-perfect. Ken’s mom hand-painted the sight blades at home years ago while watching TV at night. What a Mag-na-port memory and honor to have one on my gun!
Ken outdoes himself with his EDM work. Carbon pieces are machined into shape for transfer to the metal surface. Electrical current machines the metal away in a burr-free process, not harming the finish up to the edgework. Ken machined three slots in the rib, giving my gun a Colt Python, King Custom look, as well as machining five diamonds into the trigger guard.
The hammer and trigger are highly polished and jeweled, and the hammer spur was trimmed back to improve concealment. The cylinder release, ejector rod, trigger pin, crane pin, and rear sight pin are highly polished and deep-blued for a tasteful contrast with the matte blue finish.
“Mag-Na-Port Custom” is EDM’d into the barrel, as well as the barrel being ported, providing reduced recoil and muzzle flip. Ken states they’re running 7 to 10 days for porting upon shipment, and same-day porting can be arranged by appointment.
Altamont’s “Baby Ropers” grips look perfect on the 5-inch Lipsey’s Exclusive, but the 3-inch Tanker screams for round-butting. Searching numerous sources was futile. I wondered, how hard could it be? The recess inside the grip frame leaves plenty of wood to trim away. A few pencil marks, a little cutting, filing and sanding were all it took. I think they came out pretty good.
The Mongoose
Buster gifted the gun to me years ago, but it had the bad habit of shooting over 2 inches to the left of the point of aim. It would make a perfect project gun, especially with one of Fermin Garza’s new dovetailed front sights. Ken lopped the 4⅝-inch barrel down to 3½ inches, just before the fixed blade sight. He then milled a dovetail for the Garza dovetail front sight. The blade is intentionally high so I can file it down until the point of impact coincides with the point of aim at 25 yards.
Ken removed the factory warning from the barrel and polished the whole works; the bluing gives it that deep, dark look sixgunners love. The trigger and hammer are given the Mag-na-port trademarked high-polish jeweling, providing just enough “bling” to tastefully accent it. Ken also trimmed the ejector rod housing and base-pin knob so that complete case extraction would be possible when working the ejector rod. He milled a small fingernail notch to make it easier to remove the base pin. Lastly, he tuned and timed the action, finishing the works with a creep-free trigger job, breaking right at 2.5 pounds.
Givers
Mag-na-port is very supportive of the Second Amendment. Ken has donated significant time, work and money to various projects with Friends of the NRA, Whitetails Unlimited, The Pistol Smith Guild and numerous other organizations, as well as to smaller local gun clubs. When you support Mag-na-port, you also support these organizations.
Larry was a pioneer in reducing firearm recoil, and his family continues the tradition, doing so in a way he would be proud of. Isn’t it amazing what can be accomplished when all someone wanted to do was hunt with a handgun? Imagine making your living by doing what you love. That’s just what Larry Kelly did as he hunted around the world, taking big game trophies with his custom-ported handguns. I was so excited taking in the whole atmosphere of the shop, showroom, and Handgunner Hall of Fame, all under one roof. And it gave me a newfound appreciation of Larry Kelly.
Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt from the Gun Digest 2027, 81st Edition annual book.
More On Recoil Reduction
- How Greatly Does A Ported Barrel Reduce Recoil?
- How To Manage Big-Bore Revolver Recoil
- Kicked To The Curb: Tales Of Recoil And Pain
- How To Reduce Felt Recoil From The Bench
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