Firing Under Water

A

atlctyslkr

New member
Let's just say you had to, do you think a concealed hammer would work better than a regular exposed hammer? A concealed hammer will be traveling through a pocket of air while the exposed hammer will be traveling through water possibly causing a misfire.
 
I doubt there would be any difference related to the hammer design. You're assuming that a fully enclosed hammer design (such as the S&W 642) would be watertight. I wouldn't make that assumption.

I'd have greater concerns about the water in the barrel potentially causing issues... the bullet wouldn't be going too far anyway.
 
. . . . . and . . . you're going to keep water out of the barrel how? I am assuming that you are talking about the entire pistol being submerged? Perhaps a better question would be "why would a person want to do this?" Just curious . . . maybe you can be more specific on the scenario?
 
I don't think any of my handguns would fail to fire, except my P.O.S. Taurus .380. ...Not because it's a Taurus, but because of the striker design. I suspect it would act like a hydraulic cylinder (difficult to explain - just the way it's designed), and slow the striker's movement to the point of not having enough inertia to fire. (It suffers from light strikes, when used with hard primers. Hindering striker speed any further would not be helpful.)
 
Why would you want to shoot your revolver under water? We just used to drop grenades off the side of the boat. Works much better... :D
 
I've never really thought of it until now, but I reccon I gotta think about it now. A concealed hammer is just that, hidden, not water sealed. Provided spring strength is adequate, and the weapon has not be submerged for an extended period of time, it will fire. Then we have the obstruction in the barrel, water, that will impede velocity and certainly effect accuracy. If, and I mean if, accuracy is obtained, velocity may be nil. Best bet is if you have to, drag 'em up on shore and shoot 'em iffin you have to.
 
The design of the hammer would have little to do with it since revolvers are not watertight, and water would get inside of either design. The gun would likely fire, since most guns will fire underwater. Semi-autos sometimes don't like to cycle, but a revolver would not have that problem. As per the Mythbuster's episode on the matter, the effective range of a bullet fired underwater is usually measured in inches, not yards.
 
they well fire and the bullet well force the water out of the barrel but at a great loss of velocity and range as i would maybe go five feet or so
 
Many years ago on the old Sea Hunt TV program, there was a scene where Lloyd Bridges was testing a Colt .45 auto under water. The gun worked fine. He was shooting at very close range and was hitting the target with no trouble.

That show was filmed at Silver Springs, FL in fresh water.
 
I've read a number of articles on firing handguns underwater under the years, and apparently the LAST thing you want to do is keep water out of the barrel.

Apparently because of the much higher density of the water, if there is air in the barrel, there is a significant chance that you'll ring the barrel or even split it.
 
I've read a number of articles on firing handguns underwater under the years, and apparently the LAST thing you want to do is keep water out of the barrel.

Apparently because of the much higher density of the water, if there is air in the barrel, there is a significant chance that you'll ring the barrel or even split it.
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+1
I read an article a BUNCH of years ago that discussed this very thing. I believe they were using a stainless Randall 1911, and, long story short, you MUST get ALL the water out of the barrel/gun, and if the ammo is sealed, the gun will fire. If there is any air in the barrel, it tended to act as a bore obstruction, with the expected results. It is also extremely deadly at relatively long distances. I think they were hampered by the length of the pool, but said it would be very easy to kill someone underwater, at a distance, if the whole apparatus was fully water filled. In fact, I think they said don't shoot it across your pool, as it would probably put a hole through the gunite wall of the pool.
It's a different story about bullets being shot into water from out of the water, IIRC. The impact of the water slows the bullet down more rapidly, and they lose their velocity very quickly.
The article might be "findable" on the net... I'll see what I can do with my limited access here at work..
 
"you MUST get ALL the water out of the barrel/gun"

I think you mean you must get all of the AIR out of the barrel.


And I'm thinking the article you read was the one I read, and I think it was in Guns & Ammo in the late 1980s or early 1990s.
 
yep... that's what I meant.

Clear ALL air out of barrel, making sure all parts are fully waterfilled.


Thanks for catching that. I'm gettin old...:(
 
Mike, you'd better get better waterproof batteries.:D
Interesting theories on both sides. Maybe I'll make my own underwater firing tests one day & dispel some of these myths.:)
 
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