What would happen if you were to fire a Handgun or a Rifle under water?
Stupid question from a non gun owner
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The bullet slows down almost instantly ,kind of usless as a weapon.
I believe Mythbusters tried it, you might be able to find the video on the internet.
the blast from the gun would be deafening.
guns have modifications done to fire them underwater, but mostly the modifications are done so that it can be fired instantly after being pulled out of the water.
edit to add links
http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/04/episode_51_myths_reopened.html
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as69-e.htm
the blast from the gun would be deafening.
guns have modifications done to fire them underwater, but mostly the modifications are done so that it can be fired instantly after being pulled out of the water.
edit to add links
http://kwc.org/mythbusters/2006/04/episode_51_myths_reopened.html
http://world.guns.ru/assault/as69-e.htm
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Thanks guy's, I'll try and pull up the mythbusters link. I was wondering if the barrel might split?
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The Navy SEALS have guns with specially ported barrels that can be fired under water.....
Never heard of that one. Would severly compromise the weapon on land.
This has been discussed before. I knew a guy back in the day that fired his Glock 9mm in a swimming pool with no issues.
The Navy SEALS have guns with specially ported barrels that can be fired under water.....
Never heard of that one. Would severly compromise the weapon on land.
This has been discussed before. I knew a guy back in the day that fired his Glock 9mm in a swimming pool with no issues.
What if you fired a Taser underwater?
Illegal (here at least) to shoot fish. It is possible, though the concussion of ignition is as likely to stun them as the bullet is to stop them. If a .22 bbl is placed under water and fired quickly, usually no harm is done. If held under for more time and water displaces air in bore, bbl will often develop bulges. Never knew anyone dumb enough to try with anything larger.
Bob
Bob
I found this on the Mythbusters episode.
I googled Underwater gun
Bullets Fired Into Water
Original Bulletproof Water episode
This time around, they want to test if it was possible to fire ordinary guns underwater. There were to questions in particular they wanted to answer:
Will an regular gun fire underwater?
At what distance is would a bullet (from a regular gun) fired underwater be lethal?
Test setup:
Water trough that the bullets were fired through
Movable ballistics gel target to test lethality
Test weapons:
Colt King Cobra, .357 magnum full metal jacket
Sig Sauer P239, 9mm
M1 Garand/.30-06
12-gauge shotgun
There are Special Forces guns that can fire underwater (Glock 17, Russian SPP-1 underwater pistol), but they wanted to test whether 'regular' weapons could do the trick.
Tory made sure that there was no air in the barrel because, if there was, the barrel could explode.
The first up was the 9mm. Without a ballistics gel target, the bullet went 18 ft. This answered the first question: yes, you can fire a regular gun underwater (confirmed). The 9mm bullet was intact, but the casing wasn't ejected from the gun. Instead, it was stuck in the slide, so you would only get one shot underwater.
Now they had verified that you can fire a gun underwater, they moved onto testing lethality. In the original episode, they found that a 9mm gun fired into water was lethal at 8ft. No so for a bullet fired underwater: the 9mm bullet didn't even come close to penetrating the target at 10ft. They next moved the target to 2ft, at which point they couldn't find the bullet. Same with the .357 magnum: they lost the bullet when fired at 2ft from the target.
Back at the shop they dissected the ballistics gel block and found the 9mm at 4" deep and the .357 magnum at 5.5", i.e. both would be lethal at 2ft.
The other guns didn't fare as well. The 12-gauge shotgun cracked on firing with heavy damage to the barrel and stock. The impressive M1 Garand also fared poorly. The M1 has an exit velocity of 2700 ft/s, 3 times the energy of the other guns they were testing, but in the original Bulletproof Water episode, they had already seen it fail to shoot into water -- bullet shattered on impact. The firing underwater was equally unimpressive: the bullet was intact, but it only went 6 ft, less distance that the 9mm.
You can fire a bullet from a rifle or handgun underwater: confirmed (you can't use a shotgun underwater). However, it is more lethal to fire into water than it is to fire underwater.
I googled Underwater gun
Bullets Fired Into Water
Original Bulletproof Water episode
This time around, they want to test if it was possible to fire ordinary guns underwater. There were to questions in particular they wanted to answer:
Will an regular gun fire underwater?
At what distance is would a bullet (from a regular gun) fired underwater be lethal?
Test setup:
Water trough that the bullets were fired through
Movable ballistics gel target to test lethality
Test weapons:
Colt King Cobra, .357 magnum full metal jacket
Sig Sauer P239, 9mm
M1 Garand/.30-06
12-gauge shotgun
There are Special Forces guns that can fire underwater (Glock 17, Russian SPP-1 underwater pistol), but they wanted to test whether 'regular' weapons could do the trick.
Tory made sure that there was no air in the barrel because, if there was, the barrel could explode.
The first up was the 9mm. Without a ballistics gel target, the bullet went 18 ft. This answered the first question: yes, you can fire a regular gun underwater (confirmed). The 9mm bullet was intact, but the casing wasn't ejected from the gun. Instead, it was stuck in the slide, so you would only get one shot underwater.
Now they had verified that you can fire a gun underwater, they moved onto testing lethality. In the original episode, they found that a 9mm gun fired into water was lethal at 8ft. No so for a bullet fired underwater: the 9mm bullet didn't even come close to penetrating the target at 10ft. They next moved the target to 2ft, at which point they couldn't find the bullet. Same with the .357 magnum: they lost the bullet when fired at 2ft from the target.
Back at the shop they dissected the ballistics gel block and found the 9mm at 4" deep and the .357 magnum at 5.5", i.e. both would be lethal at 2ft.
The other guns didn't fare as well. The 12-gauge shotgun cracked on firing with heavy damage to the barrel and stock. The impressive M1 Garand also fared poorly. The M1 has an exit velocity of 2700 ft/s, 3 times the energy of the other guns they were testing, but in the original Bulletproof Water episode, they had already seen it fail to shoot into water -- bullet shattered on impact. The firing underwater was equally unimpressive: the bullet was intact, but it only went 6 ft, less distance that the 9mm.
You can fire a bullet from a rifle or handgun underwater: confirmed (you can't use a shotgun underwater). However, it is more lethal to fire into water than it is to fire underwater.
Glock 17 is a "Special Forces gun". LOL
I've seen a video of a gun being fired underwater and the bullet traveled in a spiral toward the target, not even penetrating the wooden door about 15 feet away.
Some divers still carry the Glock 17 underwater because putting the muzzle to the gills of a shark followed by depressing the bang switch will usually make the shark think twice about what it's doing.
Some divers still carry the Glock 17 underwater because putting the muzzle to the gills of a shark followed by depressing the bang switch will usually make the shark think twice about what it's doing.
dnewton3
Staff member
I've been a Glock certified armorer for 12 years, and it's our duty weapon at the Sheriff's Office. I have some specific info regarding the underwater operation of a Glock; I can't speak about other weapons.
Glock has special features (restricted items, so don't ask for them) that allow the reliable operation of the weapon under water.
It is also imperative that round-nose FMJ be used for reliabiltiy. Further, the round is sealed against water intrusion.
Shooting underwater is a last-ditch effort at survival. The auditory concussion is mind-numbing and often destrutive to part of all of the hearing system.
Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done.
Glock has special features (restricted items, so don't ask for them) that allow the reliable operation of the weapon under water.
It is also imperative that round-nose FMJ be used for reliabiltiy. Further, the round is sealed against water intrusion.
Shooting underwater is a last-ditch effort at survival. The auditory concussion is mind-numbing and often destrutive to part of all of the hearing system.
Just because it can be done, doesn't mean it should be done.
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(restricted items, so don't ask for them)
Must be the rounded corners on the slide for good hydrodynamics...
Or the plastic sights so they won't rust...
(restricted items, so don't ask for them)
Must be the rounded corners on the slide for good hydrodynamics...
Or the plastic sights so they won't rust...
dnewton3
Staff member
Nope. Special spring cups.
You mean like this? (Part #8: http://gunbuilders.info/uploads/images/Diagrams/pd_glock_sm.jpg)
http://www.sbcc.org/rants/2007-01-13 Firing Glocks Underwater.html
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They insure that water can pass by the firing pin within the firing pin channel, thus preventing the creation of hydraulic force within the firing pin channel -- which would slow the firing pin down, causing light primer strikes.
Plausible. Sounds like all you have to do is file a notch in the pieces to allow the water to go by.
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With the special cups, the action will cycle reliably while submersed, if a little bit slower.
What does the firing pin channel have to do with the gun cycling?
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However, any Glock -- even those not equipped with maritime spring cups -- will normally fire while submersed underwater. But doing so may generate excessive internal pressure and may cause the pistol to literally blow up. This is especially true with the use of high-pressure rounds (such as the .40 S&W/357 SIG) or hollow-point bullets.
What does any of that have to do with the firing pin channel?
The guy I knew fired a factory stock Glock 19 underwater with Hyrashocks with no problems. Not that I encourage the practice.
Interesting how the Navy Seals use Sig P226s...
http://www.sbcc.org/rants/2007-01-13 Firing Glocks Underwater.html
Quote:
They insure that water can pass by the firing pin within the firing pin channel, thus preventing the creation of hydraulic force within the firing pin channel -- which would slow the firing pin down, causing light primer strikes.
Plausible. Sounds like all you have to do is file a notch in the pieces to allow the water to go by.
Quote:
With the special cups, the action will cycle reliably while submersed, if a little bit slower.
What does the firing pin channel have to do with the gun cycling?
Quote:
However, any Glock -- even those not equipped with maritime spring cups -- will normally fire while submersed underwater. But doing so may generate excessive internal pressure and may cause the pistol to literally blow up. This is especially true with the use of high-pressure rounds (such as the .40 S&W/357 SIG) or hollow-point bullets.
What does any of that have to do with the firing pin channel?
The guy I knew fired a factory stock Glock 19 underwater with Hyrashocks with no problems. Not that I encourage the practice.
Interesting how the Navy Seals use Sig P226s...
dnewton3
Staff member
Well - I agree that most "normal" Glocks would likely fire under water. However, the special spring cups are more to ensure the reliability, rather than any servicability issues. Regarding firing the weapon under water, I'll stick with my first comment; what you CAN do is sometimes very different from what you SHOULD or SHOULD NOT do.
You can find special spring cups from aftermarket companies, but you can't get them from Glock unless you're an armorer. Further, I'd never install them unless they were an official agency that provided written understanding of the inherent dangers and implications of firing under water.
What the aftermarket chooses to make is completely different from the views of a multi-national firearms manufacturer. Glock has to worry about lawsuits, defending designs, application intent, and so forth.
There have been some reports of Glocks with home-modified spring cups. There have been problems with some of those home-made spring cups as well.
Typically, operator or ammunition malfunciton is the root cause of most problems. And there really are very few good armorers out there for "tuning" a weapon. Most are just self-promoted basement wanna-be's. That is one reason why I don't "tune" a Glock. I don't know how, I don't want to know how, and there is no reason to "tune" a perfectly funcitonal combat weapon.
For me, I want my weapon to function 100% reliably; after all, my life, and others, are counting on it. Aftermarket or home-made remedies are not worth the risk. Firing underwater, for me, is a likely .000001% risk.
Navy SEAL teams often use different weapons and tools based upon region, deployment and team preferences. I have never personally worked with any of these special people, but I know some of the SWAT team members from my department that have. Some of the SEAL teams come to Indiana Camp Attebury for certain drills; upon occasion in the past, they would allow our SWAT team to "interact" with them. SEAL teams have used Glocks, Sig's, and other brands.
I'll stick with the factory stock Glock. It's quite possibly the best designed and manufactured combat handgun ever made.
You can find special spring cups from aftermarket companies, but you can't get them from Glock unless you're an armorer. Further, I'd never install them unless they were an official agency that provided written understanding of the inherent dangers and implications of firing under water.
What the aftermarket chooses to make is completely different from the views of a multi-national firearms manufacturer. Glock has to worry about lawsuits, defending designs, application intent, and so forth.
There have been some reports of Glocks with home-modified spring cups. There have been problems with some of those home-made spring cups as well.
Typically, operator or ammunition malfunciton is the root cause of most problems. And there really are very few good armorers out there for "tuning" a weapon. Most are just self-promoted basement wanna-be's. That is one reason why I don't "tune" a Glock. I don't know how, I don't want to know how, and there is no reason to "tune" a perfectly funcitonal combat weapon.
For me, I want my weapon to function 100% reliably; after all, my life, and others, are counting on it. Aftermarket or home-made remedies are not worth the risk. Firing underwater, for me, is a likely .000001% risk.
Navy SEAL teams often use different weapons and tools based upon region, deployment and team preferences. I have never personally worked with any of these special people, but I know some of the SWAT team members from my department that have. Some of the SEAL teams come to Indiana Camp Attebury for certain drills; upon occasion in the past, they would allow our SWAT team to "interact" with them. SEAL teams have used Glocks, Sig's, and other brands.
I'll stick with the factory stock Glock. It's quite possibly the best designed and manufactured combat handgun ever made.
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