Silencing a Revolver - Is is possible?

S

SixGunner

New member
Anyone here seen "Magnum Force"? In it, one of the "dirty cops" shoots someone with a revolver with a silencer on it. In the proud Gollywood tradition, it only makes a very faint report.

With the cylinder-forcing cone gap, it seems to me that this wouldn't be possible. Am I right? I know you would need sub-sonic ammo in order to do this right. I'm just curious.

6G
 
Don't quote me but......

I seem to remember a revolver made with some kind of seal between the cylinder and forcing cone that could be supressed. I believe it was a Nagant or some other Russian revolver.

I am sure there are others who will be able to correct me. This is just something that sticks out in my head.

Chris
 
All the bad guys on "Get Smart" had silenced revolvers. Those firearms experts at KAOS did a fine job.

You can probably silence a revolver, but it would be a lot of trouble to do so.
 
I was wondering if just slapping a silencer on the end (of what appeared to be a Colt Python) would do the trick.

Sounds like it won't.
 
There was a mention of this once on one of the History Channel shows. Said one of the few revolvers that could be silenced was made by Dan Wesson.
I used to watch all of the "Columbo" re-reruns. Silenced revolvers are quite common there.
 
Specialized silenced wheelguns have been built on a few different base revolvers; Dan Wessons and Ruger GP-100's, among others.
 
Probably the "easiest" (?) way to do this would be to use silenced ammo, like the QSPR did; these had a sliding baffle withing the case that stopped within the case, but pushed the projectile out the mouth of the case. I've also seen a few pictures of a "snap-on" silencer for a Webley-type revolver that had a cup that completely surrounded the barrel, barrel/cylinder gap, and cylinder; these would've worked, but it would have been a real chore to reload after 6 shots.
 
It WAS a Colt Python with 4-inch tube.
I`m a bit sceptical about the ''snap-on'' method the ''bad cop''
used when he mounted the silencer to his Python,as there was nothing on the guns` barrel the silencer could snap onto
(the two ''prongs?'' at the rear of the silencer just slid on the
barrel from both sides,serving as sorta guide).

And,to shoot THAT noiselessly he would have to use .38 Specials
or if 357s some subsonic handloads IMHO.
 
Reed Knight did a suppressed rifle based on a Ruger Redhawk with a folding stock which used special ammo that had a rubber skirt to bridge the cylinder/forcing cone gap. What you see on TV is only part of what you need to suppress a revolver. To finish it, you must enclose the pistol in a box packed with a sound absorbing material. You would stick your hand in the box and fire. Very handy if acting as a delivery person and go to a front door.
 
Hmmmmm

If you wrap your .22Shorts only revo in a pair of sofa cushions..........

Seriously, though, if you had some sub-sonic tricked out ammo, and a very small (<.001) cylinder/barrel gap, theory suggests you could supress quite a bit of the sound.
 
Even silencing an autoloader is difficult. Those nearest the mark have been rendered single shots to eliminate the action cycling noise and the small amount of gas that departs from the chamber. The "Hush Puppies" of the Viet Nam war (myth? reality? I'm not sure) are an example.
 
There are suppressed revolvers, and they usually involve a mechanism that encloses the cylinder gap. A suppressed Smith .45 revolver developed for a European police agency comes to mind.
 
Speaking of Hollywood. In the movie Under Siege with Steven Seagall and Tommy Lee Jones. Seagall wraps an empty 2 liter soda bottle around the muzzle on his semi-auto and uses it as a silencer.

Is there any truth to that and has anyone ever tried it?
 
The soda bottle will provide SOME minor level of sound deadening, but not much. It's a lot more effective with .22s and other small rounds that don't put out much propellant gas.

Some semi-autos I've seen have special latches on them that lock the slide in place while firing supressed to get around the sound of the action cycling, the gas escape, nad the sound of the brass hitting the ground.
 
A friend and I tried the 2liter bottle trick. Worked great on .22, but.. second try (fresh bottle) and the bottle exploded making more noise than the plain .22.

A Potatoe stuffed over the end of the barrel works as well.. one shot silencer...kinda messy though.
 
I saw one in the Mark Trail comic strip a couple of weeks ago. The hit man in the swamp had one.

Where's Hardin/Gunkid/etc. when you need him?

John
 
Once read that the poor man's silencer is the automotive oil filter. Tried it with a Ruger Mk. II. Worked pretty well for a few shots but made the sights useless.

Ain't duct tape a wondrous thing?
 
I have heard rumors of all those improvised suppressors being tried (of course I would not try one myself since that would violate the law) and the results have been pretty much like the rumors I have seen reported here.

A suppressor actually doesn't need to completely silence the gun, it need only make it NOT sound like a gun. The old Hi-Standard silencer (Francis Gary Powers model) is rumored to produce a sound like a cap gun or like a match being struck. The best suppressor ever made, the Maxim, was rumored to quiet a .30-'06 to the point that the firing pin strike could be heard, but I have heard rumors about their complexity and I don't think I can afford one.

Many SMG suppressors are rumored to reduce the sound enough that the bolt slap makes more noise than the shot, and the receiver has to be covered with a sound deadening material to keep the gun quiet. I have heard that egg-crate foam rubber works for that purpose, but that is a rumor.

Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top