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Shooting a Gun Underwater

AlbertLumAlbertLum Member Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited May 2006 in General Discussion
did anyone see this on mythbusters ? they said the lethal range for a hand gun or rifle fired under water is about 2 ft or less i thik

Comments

  • n/an/a Member Posts: 168,427
    edited November -1
    Are you talking about the one where they fire out of the water into it. If so at a 30 degree angle it was about 3 feet.
  • AlbertLumAlbertLum Member Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    no, they submerged a gun underwater and fired it
  • Supreme OneSupreme One Member Posts: 1,423 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Hello, I have an underwater shooting video, and although the guy doing it is kind of a dope, they do show the guns (all hand guns) shooting underwater and all of them worked. The lethal range is rather short though, as shown by shooting a pumkin underwater.

    Michael
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Saw it - the only one that didn't work was the
    double barreled .12GA - it blew the barrels and
    broke the gun/stock.[:0]
  • AlbertLumAlbertLum Member Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    yeah, but they didnt say why. why would a shotgun explode like that but the other guns didnt ?
  • kristovkristov Member Posts: 6,633
    edited November -1
    I can't think of any reason why a firearm with well sealed ammunition would not fire underwater. I would think that the mass of water inside the barrel (which would be very heavy compared to the bullet) and ahead of the bullet would cause a severe drop off in velocity as well as range. I'm guessing that the shotgun blew apart because it's bores were very large and if the barrels were long enough this would equal a tremendous amount of water which created too much pressure for the thin walled barrels typically found on shotgun to withstand.
  • RamtinxxlRamtinxxl Member Posts: 9,480
    edited November -1
    Thinner barrels?
  • AlbertLumAlbertLum Member Posts: 1,343 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    when i was 13 a friend of mine dared me to shoot one of my guns underwater in his pool. i was going to do it but i didnt think a gun fired underwater in the first place. damn hollywood
  • beantownshootahbeantownshootah Member Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Two points:

    1. Water is a much better conductor of sound than air is. If YOU are underwater, and you fire the gun underwater, the increased sound impulse will rupture your eardrums. NOT fun.

    2. Some guns will function underwater, some won't. In some cases the increased resistance from the water slows down the hammer/firing pin/etc to the point where the gun wont function. In other cases the water filling the barrel can dangerously increase pressures.
  • frankcastle13frankcastle13 Member Posts: 1,182 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I wondered about this after seeing mindhunters.
  • nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 35,988 ******
    edited November -1
    I remember an old TV series, Sea Hunt. In one episode, there were these bad guys that were up to some sort of underwater mischief, and one of them took a .38 revolver along on the job, figuring to use it if he had to.

    During the action, the guy with the .38 did fire it several times, with no apparent ill effects, but the bullets only went a few feet.

    I know, nowadays no live ammo is allowed on TV and movie sets, but this was a LONG time ago, and I don't see how the effect could have been faked.

    I also saw the Mythbusters episodes mentioned. I wouldn't have fired a gun underwater even before seeing the shotgun blow up.
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    eh...dumb question here....why would you want to shoot a gun underwater? are mexicans swimming across the border in scuba gear? Is fishing with a line and a lure loosing it's apeal. is someone going polar bear hunting? I can just hear the next thread....
    Whats the best gun to take while hunting killer whales under water?
    22 if you hit em right/ I think a thompson contender...oh those suck you gotta have a Smith 500 mag...
    what if a great white shark attacked could you kill it underwater with a slingshot?...no wonder we turn to soft core porn on this sight where that remote girl?[:D]heres a good idea, if albert asks a question, just ignore it[;)]
  • AlpineAlpine Member Posts: 15,041 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I did some research on this years ago trying to come up with better power for spearguns. I will not go into the specifics, but firearm cartridges do not work for anything farther than 2 feet away.

    Nothing beat rubber bands (abet special rubber bands), for powering spearguns.
    ?The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.?
    Margaret Thatcher

    "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics."
    Mark Twain
  • yawarakaiyawarakai Member Posts: 2,688 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    They mentioned the 9mm did not eject the cartridges under water, also they had to get all the air out or it would blow up.
  • nunnnunn Forums Admins, Member, Moderator Posts: 35,988 ******
    edited November -1
    What about shark billies? A sort of a bang stick. Anybody ever see or use one? It is a long stick with a barrel on it that holds a 12 gauge shotgun shell. To make it work, you jam the muzzle against the shark ahd the shell fires. Looks like if the Mythbusters' shotgun would blow up, a shark billy would, too.
  • scottm21166scottm21166 Member Posts: 20,723
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by nunn
    What about shark billies? A sort of a bang stick. Anybody ever see or use one? It is a long stick with a barrel on it that holds a 12 gauge shotgun shell. To make it work, you jam the muzzle against the shark ahd the shell fires. Looks like if the Mythbusters' shotgun would blow up, a shark billy would, too.
    those are also called a bang stick the one we keep on the boat exposes the end of the shotgun shell at the muzzle no barrel to blow up
  • HappyNanoqHappyNanoq Member Posts: 12,023
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by AlbertLum
    yeah, but they didnt say why. why would a shotgun explode like that but the other guns didnt ?


    I guess it's because there is a LOT more water in a 12 gauge barrel that you need to accelerate. Hence a higher pressure.

    As you usually have unobstructed barrels and the shotgun-barrels are dimentioned for a lot less pressure - adding about 1/4 lbs of water to the "load" can't be a good thing.
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    quote:nunn
    What about shark billies? A sort of a bang stick. Anybody ever see or use one?

    Yep - we used to make 'em - back when we were teenagers. We made/tested most of the
    normal calibers from ..38 to .12GA. The .45's & .410's were the most popular.

    We made them with 3" stainless steel stock - using a floating star firing mechanism
    - very simple to make and use. The hardest part was turning the barrels - our buddy's
    dad was a master machinist for local Solar Aircraft. We had a full machine shop of the
    BEST and heaviest quality set up in one of his barns (his father's).

    The reason there was no problem with blowing barrels was that the stainless is HARD
    and 3" is much too short for those kinda of problems.

    The mechanics behind bangsticks is simple - hit the shark on the top of the head and the
    bullet opens up the tough skin - the rapidly expanding gasses do the damage.

    100% effective. There were no concussion issues.

    We used to sell them to young naval aviators who were shipping out to the PI and
    quite a few to Kwagelin, at the time. We sold them for $60 each - quite a nice profit in the early 60's![:D]
  • CHGOTHNDERCHGOTHNDER Member Posts: 8,934 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I have the underwater cups in all my Glocks and have not had to use it there yet. I will let everyone know when I do.

    PJ
  • mondmond Member Posts: 6,458
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by AlbertLum
    yeah, but they didnt say why. why would a shotgun explode like that but the other guns didnt ?

    shot guns have a thin walling ,simply just not the same quality if a rifle/pistol barrel & bore.
    i once fell over used a 12g as a walking stick one winter ,a fox ranout & i took a shot, dam thing, the mud froze & the side /side popped open, simply f***ed![:D]
  • zipperzapzipperzap Member Posts: 25,057
    edited November -1
    Did you immediately count your fingers on your left hand!??[:D]
  • mondmond Member Posts: 6,458
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by zipperzap
    Did you immediately count your fingers on your left hand!??[:D]


    opened up like a banana skin, scarry!![:D]
  • Spider7115Spider7115 Member, Moderator Posts: 29,714 ******
    edited November -1
    I tried shooting my trusty hand cannon underwater but it didn't work. Bad matches, I guess. They said "strike anywhere" on the box but that was obviously a lie. [:(!]
    images%5C49942.jpg
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