why can't a gun be fired underwater, is the firing pin slowed down by drag forces?

Question

And how does a Glock make it possible, if you know.

Answer 1

ALL modern firearms CAN be fired underwater, at least once, unless the ammo has become soaked from prolonged immersion.
Glock pistols are no special case in this matter.
As all metallic cartridges are waterproof for short periods of exposure to fluids, ANY firearm WILL fire underwater, but, as water is several times denser than air, the bullet will lose velocity very rapidly, and actually come to a complete stop. Also, a weapon with a longer barrel, a rifle or shotgun, if the barrel is filled with water, may burst its' barrel from hydraulic overpressure when the gas pressure from the fired round impacts on the fluid confined in the length of the barrel, as it would if the barrel became obstructed with mud or any other solid matter.
This also happens if weapons are fired into the surface of water, as well.
In fact, forensics labs and other firearms testing facilities use water tank 'bullet traps' to recover projectiles from test firings, where the bullets are undamaged, or only slightly so, from impact with the contained fluid.
You can see this quite frequently on TV on such such programs as N.C.I.S. and the 'CSI' clones.

Answer 2

A gun can be fired underwater.

The trigger, hammer and firing pin will work just fine. The primer and powder will go off as they burn the air that is inside the shell casing. However, the back pressure from the water in the barrel will act like an obstruction, raising chamber pressures quite high, often above the capability of the chamber. If the gun has a closed breech, such as a bolt action, lever action or single shot, this could cause the firing chamber to blow up. It will not be anywhere near as bad as if it happened in the air because the same thing that caused it, the water, also slows down the explosion around the chamber.

If the gun is a semi-automatic, the opening of the breech may save the gun from damage. If the bullet does successfully exit the barrel it will be slowed down very quickly and probably will not go more than a few feet.

Shooting a gun underwater is something that should be avoided, unless it is a life or death situation.

Answer 3

When I was in the Army, we found out the hard way that an M16A2 can be fired underwater, but won't cycle. The recoil buffer is slowed down too much by water inside the tube, and it won't go back. Since a Glock, along with most handguns, doesn't depend on this, it still will be able to fire under water, but accuracy will suffer greatly. There are some firearms specially built to fire underwater, but the bullets are long and heavy, and not lethal at long ranges.

Answer 4

Some singleshots can shoot underwater as long as the entire gun is submerged and there isnt any air in the barrel.Several years ago i watched a couple guys use a single shot 22 cal rifle to dive under water,next to an old tree that had fallen in and shoot fish that were hiding around it.BUT i wouldnt recomend it, its hard on everything.

Answer 5

The glock "myth" came from the fact that glock advertised its guns as being able to shoot after they had been submerged it in a bucket of muddy water. In the actual firing tests, they took the gun out of the muddy water and shook it off before fring it.

Answer 6

first of all you can fire any gun underwater not for very long (with the exception of a special ops mp-5 equipped for navy seals). and as for the glock question the firing pin probabley moves faster.

Answer 7

Guns can be fired underwater. It strains the barrel, so be sure to have a good gun if you do it. The water is denser than air, so it slows the cycle of a semi-auto or full automatic gun. The Glock has a new sy7stem that is more independent of such things than the older semi-autos. Of course, there were pistols made in the late 1890's and early 1900's that will work well underwater too. Indeed, some work better underwater than in the air.

Answer 8

Most any pistol will fire underwater, but most will not cycle. As long as the ammo has not been soaking for a long time.

The Glock myth is just that...they are no different, no better and in many ways more unsafe than other pistols.

Answer 9

Glocks have cups around your firing pin with holes in them that allows the firing pin to function properly. Guns will fire under water the only problem is that semi-automatics will not cycle correctly. I would not recommend shooting a shotgun under water though.

Answer 10

A gun can be fired underwater. However, the consequences aren't pretty. The water that comes into the barrel acts as an obstruction.