After a single shot from a Gen 3 Glock 17 pistol Courtland Hunt realized that shooting firearms up to 100 feet underwater is very loud. Sound propagates extremely quickly through water, especially ocean water. The gunshot is so powerful even other divers nearby were blasted by the sound.
For most people, this is a non-issue. It’s safe to say that deep water marksmanship is a niche sport. But Hunt saw it as an opportunity to dispatch a troublesome invasive species in his waters: the lionfish. This fish is pushing its way into the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea and other waters around the world. Covered in venomous spines, the lionfish has few natural predators.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has said that the best likely solution to the growing lionfish problem is human hunting. Until now only spearfishers have been able to get the job done. That brings us back around to building a firearm that’s safe to use underwater.
With the help of the Glock specialists at Lone Wolf Distributors, Hunt was able to develop a specialized muzzle device that acts as a gas trap deep underwater. There it neatly contains the gas and muzzle blast of a gunshot. On land the device won’t work — it’s just a big flash hider.
A conventional suppressor won’t work under water. The baffles would fill with water and all the gas will be forced out the muzzle like an extended barrel. The gas would be under slightly less pressure, but it would still be dangerous to users.
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The team tried several designs before coming up with a device that worked well. The first designs were no more effective at making the gun safer to fire underwater than a standard barrel.
The final design uses an outer sleeve that fills with water and an inner sleeve that works like a gas trap. The inner sleeve channels the gas into the outer sleeve, displacing water until the bullet leaves the device. Then the system depressurizes — slowly and safely.
The whole system requires that the device is full of water in the first place. On dry land, as mentioned, it won’t work. Even if you filled it with water the vents would freely drain the device.
It took Hunt and Lone Wolf about six months of development and testing before they figured out a safe working design. The pistol was also modified with an extended, threaded barrel and an extra-power Lone Wolf recoil assembly. With the device and heavy recoil assembly, the gun will only cycle manually. This ensures that the shooter can safely collect the brass to preserve the marine environment they’re working to protect.
They also used lead-free ammo and made sure to never shoot lionfish with any coral behind or beneath them. You can see the whole system explained in Hunt’s follow-up video.
The only question remains, when can we go fishing with them?