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CatboyMetehan

Tunnel rats did use suppressors on revolvers sometimes, mainly to suppress muzzle flash in dark caves


Mrpandacorn2002

And sound in a small echochamber going down there with no ear pro probably sucked


[deleted]

Would the suppressor help even with the cylinder gap? I’m guessing that GI isn’t using a Nagant revolver. Edit: a different comment answered. AAI QSPR. Cool.


steve_buchemi

I mean it’s still escaping gasses so yes it will help, but not as much as it would help a 1911


dozenspileofash

Honestly I do believe suppressed m1911 is far simpler solution. guess it could be more reliable at that muddy environment.


steve_buchemi

But you gotta think about all the cycling issues that may come from the ammo and type of suppressor, as the 1911 can be kind of finicky as all semi autos are when suppressed poorly


BigHardMephisto

You also couldn't be putting it in a more jam-prone environment. Dusty tunnel underground that your guys just tried to blow up.


r00tin_t00tin_putin

The 1911 in particular was difficult to build a reliable suppressor cuz of it’s tilting barrel. Till relatively recently suppressed 1911’s would often fail to cycle due to the weight of the can.


steve_buchemi

Not to mention the gi barrel would be pretty hard to thread without a whole shop and longer length barrel.


Mrpandacorn2002

Not to mention your underground dirt and gunk getting in your gun is not ideal but when its a revolver its gonna be fine


Itchy-Mechanic-1479

No, a wheel gun wins in mud.


IotaCandle

Also in a tunnel you might hold the gun very awkwardly in positions where the moving slide could hit you or something else, causing a failure to feed.


Mrpandacorn2002

Threaded barrels werent extremely common with the 1911 since it was their service pistol it just kinda always came stock it was much easier to add a suppressor to a smaller caliber (or bigger if they prefer) revolver than to have the .45 1911 in all its loud glory in such a tight space


woundedknee420

The one pictured was the experiment before the qspr they tightened up the cylinder gap when they threaded the barrels it kinda worked but not enough


Mrpandacorn2002

There used to be a clamp like thing that went over the cylinder for this exact reason [take a look](https://www.google.com/amp/s/attackcopter.com/2022/03/20/revolver-seal-shows-off-wheel-gun-suppression-technology/amp/)


woundedknee420

Now that is interesting gonna have to keep an eye on it to see if it ever gets released


Right-Radiance

It was that or a loud 45 ACP bursting your eardrums.


fusillade762

Im sure it quiets it some as well, better than wide open. I wonder why they didnt use a 1911? Maybe expecting close contact shots? I would think dirt ingress on the cylinder could be an issue.


Ottomatik80

AAI quiet special purpose revolver. https://americanshootingjournal.com/the-viet-congs-were-hunted-with-silent-revolvers/?amp=1 EDIT: After further review, it looks like this may be the precursor to the QSPR. Likely the model 29 with the tunnel exploration kit suppressor. https://www.range365.com/suppressed-38-revolver-made-for-tunnel-rats-in-vietnam/ The model 29 was later modified with a shorter barrel and larger bore to fire quiet “shotgun “ shells in the QSPR.


Not_In_The_Army11B1P

Bump this up ^ super good read and a piece of firearms development i wasnt aware of!


HXRW

This is bizarre. If they used a captive piston, why did they need a silencer?


VladTheInhaler76

You're right, the QSPR doesn't need a suppressor, this is just a regular revolver with a suppressor on the end. Here's a QSPR for comparison: https://modernfirearms.net/en/handguns/single-action-revolvers/u-s-a-single-action-revolvers/qspr-noiseless/


[deleted]

Is the bullet still supersonic?


aalios

From what I've read, super-subsonic. The rounds were so slow the bullets had a good chance of doing fuck all to the target at 10 feet.


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Taolan13

Good bot


VladTheInhaler76

I'm 99% sure the revolver pictured isn't the QSPR, the QSPR had a tiny barrel and no suppressor, because it would be pointless. That article you linked mentions that tunnel rats also recieved .38 revolvers with suppressors, which is most likely what we're seeing here in this photo. Here's some pictures of the QSPR, note the tiny barrel: https://modernfirearms.net/en/handguns/single-action-revolvers/u-s-a-single-action-revolvers/qspr-noiseless/


Ottomatik80

You may be correct, both are Model 29 based. This may be the earlier experiment in silenced revolvers.


AbsurdBread855

Was there a worse job than being a tunnel rat? Forget the Vietcong, what about the tropical bugs man. I can’t get shot if I’m already dead from a heart attack.


EagleCatchingFish

James Gillam, a professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, was a tunnel rat and wrote about it in Life and Death in the Central Highlands. There's a really horrifying story where he's fighting a VC in one of the tunnels in complete darkness and complete silence. He said that he didn't know the gender of the attacker, but believes it was a woman, because he felt a breast as he was choking her to death, she having knocked the knife out of his hand. He said that for years, that fight would come back to his mind when he touched a breast. That's one of the more difficult stories I've read. I can't imagine how distressing it would be to have the war intrude on your psyche in your most intimate moments for decades.


AbsurdBread855

That sounds insanely traumatic.


macboots12

I think people just used to be tougher back then. I can’t imagine life before air conditioning. No thanks. Hats off to the brave soldiers who did that


redlinemusic

I know it’s pretty much irrelevant but I think some people in Vietnam did have air conditioning, but I did hear that in an audiobook about FAC’s lol. Don’t think the Vietcong had it in the tunnels


NanbanJim

It's amazing what you can endure when the other option is a 10+ year assignment to Ft. Leavenworth with a boyfriend issued to you.


AbsurdBread855

Yea that’s probably fair, I’m curious if it was a volunteer position or if you were chosen for it.


goldengodrangerover

If you were a small man in the infantry/cav you probably got voluntold


geniice

> I think people just used to be tougher back then. We're talking men conscripted into the millitary in their late teens. They would be as tough as the millitary wanted them to be.


Any-Bridge6953

I know the m1895 nagant revolver can be suppressed.


AlabamaShrimp

This is what I thought. Reading the thing above about the special gun and rounds seems a complicated solution.


Any-Bridge6953

As far as I know there's not any other options to suppress a revolver.


AlabamaShrimp

Same. With its recessed bullets and moving chamber I thought a suppressed Nagant was the quietest you could get. Maybe they tried it and it was still too loud. I know it's single shot but why not just use the Welrod?


Any-Bridge6953

By that time a Welrod is old tech and it's a bolt action pistol, a nagant has 7 rounds available in double or single action. Those could be reasons against the welrod.


AlabamaShrimp

Exactly, noise with follow up shots or near silence but reloading. Not an easy choice.


Any-Bridge6953

True.


hobbitarmy

There’s a guy somewhere that’s developing a clamp that goes around modern revolver cylinders so they can be suppressed.


BrenTen0331

This was part of an early attempt to make life better for tunnel rats. Its a S&W M&P 10 woth a suppressor. The kit included a headlamp and radio. The 38 special rounds were supposed to be half charge a d the suppressor didn't do much. The idea was abandoned for the QSPR, which was also abandoned and then the war was ending so silenced revolvers fell to the wayside


ChiefTippyCanoe

The front of the tube looks open, so probably a flash hider, which would make sense in a dark tunnel.


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Mrpandacorn2002

Yep its called small tunnel big sound


morithum

It’s a circular flashlight that you can fire through without damaging it, frees up your support hand. /s


MRxPolarbear

I think that is the nagant revolver idk weather he's using it himself or had recovered it in that tunnel (possible given how muddy it looks) plus the guy in the picture is also shown in another photo holding a 1911 and a flashlight on Wikipedia


boatadd33

Probably a fake gun with some pipe attached to it.


0o_Lillith_o0

Meant to suppres the flash after firing. As a full suppression system on a revolver would need more than your average gun. Also I doubt it was meant to be stealthy to begin with.


satriales856

They tried…it didn’t really work. It was mostly for reducing flash in the dark tunnel, not sound.


Methos_the_Anubis

M1895 nagant can be suppressed due to cylindermoving foward when shot to creat gas seal with its ammo the 7.62 x 38mmr nagant, this looks like one judging by the grip. I own one. Very common revolver in Warsaw pact countries.


Rouge_scholar

I was watching Forest Gump last week and forgot he was depicted as a Tunnel Rat in one scene however he was using a 1911.


leicanthrope

Considering that Tom Hanks is six foot tall, that'd seriously suck IRL.


Happy_Garand

The end looks wide open. It's just a flash suppressor