Question

simone54's avatar

Can guns shoot underwater?

Asked by simone54 (2684 points) | asked June 27th, 2008 | 14 responses | “Great Question” (2 points) | Flag as…
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Answers

waterskier2007's avatar

i would think so, but i dont know about the whole gunpowder thing working too well, if it gets wet. im not familiar with guns, but im pretty sure the gunpowder is contained until it ignites. but if it needs oxygen like a fire then it may not work

xxporkxsodaxx's avatar

No its not able to work because it can’t ignite the gun powder.

bulbatron9's avatar

Glocks can!

As well as some others!

xxporkxsodaxx's avatar

I think it would depend on the ammunition, but I might be wrong.

AstroChuck's avatar

A harpoon gun can. But I don’t think the chamber of a regular gun can produce a spark in water. Still, I wouldn’t recommend trying Scuba Russian Roulette.

petethepothead's avatar

High powered guns can’t shoot from air into water; the bullets explode when they hit the surface of the water due to surface tension. Guns that are not as powerful (guns whose bullets do not travel as fast) can.

I suppose if the gun was completely underwater to begin with (chamber and all) the bullet would travel through water, since it wouldn’t be going from one medium to another, but it would move much more slowly than in air.

Stocky's avatar

Mythbusters did a show on it and you could fire both a handgun and a rifle underwater

Stocky's avatar

I think they said a shotgun would explode because of the pressure inside the large barrel though.

cage's avatar

as long as wtaer doesn’t get into the firing mechanism I don’t see why not. xxporkxsodaxx makes a good point, but, that’s not how modern guns work (i.e. pistols, shot guns – they wouldn’t work simply due to drag) bullets contain gunpowder but they are basically a cartridge with a ‘loose’ head on. Inside there is some gun powder with some other stuff. All that it needs to be fired, is a tap to the bottom of the bullet where it has that circular shape. this is where the pin strikes the bullet, this then causes the gunpowder to ignite WITHIN the bullet. Since all you need is kinetic energy as appose to any external heat, I don’t see any reason why a gun couldn’t work underwater.

Knotmyday's avatar

The propellant in bullets doesn’t rely on outside oxygen to burn; it produces its own. Firing one underwater is a very inefficient and dangerous process, though.

cage's avatar

@Knotmyday
“Firing one underwater is a dangerous process, though.”
As is firing a gun above water, and in fact in any situation! lol

Knotmyday's avatar

Not generally when you’re behind it. Unless you’re underwater.

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