I think this is a QSPR. Is it the same guy in the video clip?

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

I really look forward to it Sir!

One of the most historical Smiths I have read about in a long time. Simply Excellent post & thread.

Kevin, you are my hero! The History Channel folks will not sell their clips and my fear is that the clip I posted may be the only one still in existence that shows a QSPR and that it will be lost in cyberspace some day. Yes it is the same guy! Is there a link to the source for this picture?
regards
Chuck

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SWCA1517 SWHF256
Rangers LTW!

Chuck,

I just sent you an email with a couple of links that may help you.

Regards,
Kevin Williams

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

Great post!

Here's the best I could do on a screen shot:

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Bob

Bob, thanks very much. That is exactly the angle I was looking for.

Chuck

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Thanks for volunteering, we'll be right here when you get back.

AMEN. I cant wait. Dont make us wait to long.....

Thanks again to the many folks on this forum who provided info on this rare Model S&W. You know who you are and it is most appreciated. This will be ressurected in a more detailed article complete with original Army reports and soldier's accounts of using the TG in combat. Quite a story still to be told about the 44 Magnum that had such a short life.
Regards
Chuck

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BTT with Field and Stream reference.

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Just saw this, Chuck. Great job and great thread! Thanks...

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Pace

There was a new show on the "Outdoor Channel" last night called Gun Stories. It was on in another room where I could only hear it. I heard them mention the tunnel rats. I did not get in the room qiick enough to see what they were talking about. May be worth checking out.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

That was all 1911, no revolvers pictured or mentioned. Pretty good show if you like the 1911 btw.

I'll have to go find this program. The 1911 was the standard tunnel gun because it was the standard issued side arm. It was just too loud and so the Army went looking for something quieter and more manageable. Too bad the TG and the Quiet Special Purpose Revolver that it evolved into never had the chance to ultimately prove itself.
Thanks for keeping this thread alive folks, because it really speaks to much more than a revolver/special ammunition. The QSPR story really is about the brave young soldiers of my and many of your's generation who fought and died in the tunnels of a country and in a war that they were drafted to fight in, yet they did so because it was their patriotic duty and their upbringing by the Greatest generation of soldiers before them. Think about these young men and women and those stuck in some hole on earth today while you are celebrating the 4th of July with your friends and family.
Chuck

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Here is a Pic Kevin sent of a soldier from the 25th ID wearing what was known as the Tunnel Exploration kit. I'll start another link on this interesting setup.
Chuck

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BTT for a friend.
Chuck

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Chuck,
Thanks for the most interesting topic I've seen in years!
You've really fleshed-out a historically mysterious weapons system.
Don

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Don, it's been a lot of fun, and I still have a few things more to report about the TG as soon as I get the documentation.
Chuck

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I absolutely cannot imagine the cajones it took to be a tunnel rat. Thanks for an interesting read.

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Member MVGCA, OGCA, NRA Life

I can't find the reference right now, but I think the French suppressed a revolver by adding a shroud around the cylinder.

now this is something you don't see everyday....thank you for sharing

I saw this gun demonstrated at Ft Bragg in 1971 at a symposium for new developments for Viet Nam. Another interesting item seen there was a silent M79 grenade launcher, or actually a silent round for the M79. It used a cartridge case with an accordion folded part of the case that contained all the propellant gasses when fired. I had already done my tour in VN, so don't know if either was ever used.

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Tom
1560

Over 20 years ago, I had an employee who was a former tunnel rat (Marine or Army, I don't remember). He was not much for talking about his experiences, but told me once he used a .38 revolver. What kind, I don't know. He bought a ticket home by running over the edge of a cliff while fleeing a VC ambush and breaking his back. He was about what you'd expect as a tunnel rat, a small, wiry guy. The experience definitely had a lasting effect on his (unusual) personality.

This is a very old thread, I realize but, why would BATF require the barrel plugged on a short barreled model 29? IE: Blauvelt Conversion to exact original specs but false/plugged barrel to meet BATF compliance.
Steve

Thank you for sharing OP!!!

Not the same revolver but gives an idea of the size of some tunnels they might have been in......



Another interesting revolver for what looks like the same mission / use... However you would say that properly.

Hi Steve, the original TG barrels were smooth bore and those are illegal to own unless the gun has been declared a C&R by the BATF. And since there are no known examples outside government hands, getting one declared a curio and a relic will be an effort for sure, if even possible.
Thanks for reviving this old post. It is certainly an interesting weapon but more importantly it brings back to mind those brave American soldiers who fought and died in Vietnam.
Chuck

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Awesome article !

A question popped up -- If the cartridge was .526, why would a M29 cylinder used instead of a Model 25 cylinder ?

Thanks, I thought I'd read entire thread but, didn't see it was a shotgun barrel.
Steve

I assume it had to do with the case hardening on the 44 Magnum components. Also remember the round itself was the actual weapon and the revolver was designed to accommodate the round. Good question.
Chuck

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Forgive me for resurrecting this old post, but it seemed better over starting a new one.

Two questions come to mind.

1. Does the gun have a crane lock? Looks like it would need it, unless the “shotgun” ammo alleviated the need for precise alignment.

2. Ammo… Did the cartridge bleed off internal pressure? If yes, I would think the gun would hiss or whistle when fired. If no, I would expect the primer to back out and lock it up. Could this be the “reliability problems” mentioned?

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

Question #2 answered here: The Tunnel Gun's 43rd Birthday

The primer was “internal”; it was covered by a screw-on cap and there was an intermediate anvil. So no backing out; which implies the cartridge was NOT designed to vent pressure.

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MANY years ago I had looked at the TW and the Limited Warfare Laboratory's handling of it. Very interesting stuff.

Whats interesting is that the soviets used a similar captive piston round but in a derringer, thus eliminating some of the complexities needed to make the rounds work in a revolver.

I'd have to look in my notes from back then (at school right now) but I recall there was a Central American assassination where the two entry wounds were spaced the exact same distance apart as the barrels on the Soviet silent derringer and that witnesses reported no audible gunshots when the hit took place.

Captive piston technology needs to explored more; its quite interesting!

Best,
RM Vivas

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RM Vivas
SWCA#1482L, SWHF#837

The cartridge was a heavy steel cylinder that held the gas after it was discharged. That is what allowed the revolver cylinder walls to be so thin. (They were reamed out to 0.528.) That also made the ammo dangerous if it went off in a fire or some other accident so a special ammunition can was used for storage that was line with 1/8" steel.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

I don't have any first hand information about this highly modified M-29 but I did arrive in country about the same time as they did, July, 1969. My battalion HQ was in Cu Chi but my company, the 187th AHC was just a little more out in the bad lands, Tay Ninh. The 25th ID was one of our main customers. We carried them on countless combat assaults and other, more specialized missions, including their CRIP platoon, which I think I've written about here in the past.

The VC tunnel system was wide spread, from the Mekong Delta up through the piedmont terrain and jungles of III Corps. That's not to mention the huge underground complex on the Cambodian side of the border, which were not just spider holes. 25 ID, 9 ID, 199 Light, 5 SFG and others, and the people like us who supported them paid a heavy price dealing with with the VC, and NVA tunnels.

Thank you 29-1 (75th Ranger) for your original post on this very unusual weapon used on a very difficult mission.

saw a good article on these is Man at Arms magazine a while back. Were talking about the Hush Puppies and the M29 Tunnel Gun. Will see if I can find the article.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Yes, please.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

Post #12, Smokey04 is correct.
Earplugs in that situation is a death wish.

I found the article that I was referring to in a previous post.

" "Tunnel Weapon" (later named the Quiet Special Purpose Revolver or QSPR). It was a modified S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum revolver that fired silent shot shells. When fired, 15 tungsten pellets were pushed out by an internal piston that was captured by the case, thereby containing the noise and flash."

Attached Images

Tunnel Gun.jpg (153.8 KB, 51 views)

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Oh yeah, I'm quite familiar with that article. :-)

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

Thought I'd repost a pic of the subject of this thread from about 12 years ago. Good to see this post get revived. It was an interesting concept in 1969 that unfortunately came a little too late to see much use in the VC tunnels of the Viet Nam war. I'll try and round up the rest of the original posting which was lost after the Foto Time disaster several years ago, if there's any interest.
Chuck
Hoover over or click on image to enlarge.

Attached Images

Tunnel Gun and Ammo.jpg (57.3 KB, 50 views)

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The article is from "Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector" Oct. 2016.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

The example in this photo is factory NIB. I would like to see one after or during the test period. I know they lived a short but vigorous life.

I think if you just rifled it you’d have no problems with the ATF. It’s not like you’ll have any of the orig ammo to shoot, and if you want the big chambers there’s nothing else safe to shoot either.

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Uvidíme se později, aligátore.

Here's a great article on the QSPR.

http://https://weaponsman.com/the-qu...pose-revolver/

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Life Member GOA and NRA

Link doesn't work but I found the article. It is pretty good but it says the pellets were depleted uranium. I have all the government reports and not one of them agrees.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

This is the magazine that I referenced Magazine - Mowbray Publishing I guess that you must be a subscriber. To research the site. The funny thing is the magazine shown on their website is the magazine I referenced. The October 2016 issue,it has a seven page article "Smith & Wesson Silenced Pistol" in it. Kevin is that yours?

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

Yes. Since I wrote that almost 8 years ago I'm in the process of revising and updating it. It will be in a future issue of the S&WCA Journal.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

I've got lots of pictures but none of one well used. The Tunnel Weapon was blue and one of the problems was rust on it and the ammo. When it was revised and renamed the Quiet Special Purpose Revolver (QSPR), they started putting a Teflon finish on them. They also added a lanyard loop. The ammo was quite unreliable initially so they tweaked it as well.

I know of one specific incidence of use in the tunnels (NVA was killed) but they were also used successfully on ambush and search/destroy missions.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

I think the lanyard loop would be a "must have" down in the hole.