Is there a muffler/silencer for a 357 Magnum revolver Model 28 available for sale? As I grow older I can't handle the sound of my 357 going off. It's cutting into my Range time at the local shop.

Silencers do not work on revolvers because of the barrel/cylinder gap.

Have you tried simply loading down to .38 Spl. velocities, or shooting .38 Spl. ammunition? Do you wear earmuffs or plugs?

Welcome to the Forum.

Regardless of what you see on TV and in the movies, you can't silence a revolver because of the gap between the barrel and the cylinder.

Shoot .38 specials; they aren't as loud.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Indoor ranges can be very loud & not just from your own gun. Supressors are not practical for a revolver since it would require a modified barrel & still there is the barrel/cylinder gap mentioned by others.
Better hearing protection is realitivly inexpensive compared to the cost of a registered suppressor if it's even allowed under your state law. It is a reguated NFA item & requires a $200 transfer tax, photos, fingerprints & ATF approval.
The old trick of using ear plugs under muffs does help some... and is dirt cheap.

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NRA LIFE
Reserve Officer 9yrs

If you are currently using one or the other of ear muffs and ear plugs, you can wear the plugs with the ear muffs and should have a significant reduction over just one or the other.

Give it a try, probably the cheapest way.


Supposedly the only revolver that a suppressor works on is the old Nagant revolver. I guess the cylinder and barrel slide together so the gap disappears, or something like that.

Ramp up the level of your hearing protection.

Revolvers can definitely be effectively suppressed. Here is an ad from the mid 1980's. A short time later the company did indeed offer the service where they would install a new, threaded barrel and set the gap to just a few thousandths of an inch. As far as I know it worked ok. I could only find this ad, not the later one where they were actually offering the service.

Keep in mind that any bullet exceeding the speed of sound will still give a sonic boom. Not good when you are on "night operations"

Also, there is no front sight, which might be a problem.

Best to just double up with ear plugs and muffs and shoot .38 Specials.

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Buy an automatic with a threaded barrel.

If you want it quiet, shoot subsonics, less than about 1050 fps. Best bet is most 230gr 45ACP or 147gr 9mm.

This is the first I've ever heard of such a thing being possible. Do you have any other information on this? Did it require special ammunition? I'm also very surprised to see the Model 12 in the list, I don't think it's easy to install a new barrel on those guns without cracking the frame.

No, that is all I could find at the moment. I do remember seeing the ad later on when they were doing the barrel changes. Later I saw a write-up somewhere saying they did work, and the barrel gap was nowhere as significant as it would seem to be regarding sound reduction.

I don't know if it need special ammo, but I would think jacketed bullets would be a good idea to keep fouling down at the B/C gap.

I will look again later to see if I can find anything else among my old catalogs and such.

Thanks, please post if you find anything.

The only revolver I've ever seen that was suppressor-capable was the M1895 Nagant, which moves the cylinder forward to eliminate the B/C gap every time the hammer is cocked. It needs special ammo (7.62x38mmR) where the bullet is flat with the case for the gas seal. A guy had one at my range (sans suppressor), it seemed like a neat little gun.

I was stationed in this area of Smyrna, Ga in the mid to late 80's and I never remember seeing R.P.B. With the cost of this type conversion and a $200 NFA tax stamp, finger printing, paperwork, etc. along with about a year wait time for said stamp, I believe I would do as others have stated, shoot 38 Special.

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I wear high dB reducing muffs plus ear plugs.

I suppose that a revolver could be somewhat suppressed, even with the cylinder gap. It's just not as effective as a closed barrel.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Wasn't RPB the same folks that made the M10 (MAC10) in the 1980's

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Linda
SWCA #1965, SWHF #245

Aside from all that was mentioned you have to find out if your state allows silencers. If so you have to find a store that sells it and have them help you with filling out the paperwork. You'll need to be fingerprinted and have a passport style photo made. Then you submit all that and wait up to a year for approval

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Suppressed revolvers have been around awhile evidently, these pics from Vietnam of tunnel rats with suppressed revolvers speak to the point.





I can't tell if the revolvers are Smiths or Colts. Maybe someone with much more knowledge on the subject will chime in. I wonder if the revolvers are 45acp loaded with standard 230 grain FMJ which I believe is subsonic right out of the box?

^^^ Ha ha, just wait for the trigger finger Nazi's to start clutching their pearls when they see their fingers are on the triggers in the above photo's!

I saw a suppressor years ago that had holes drilled in the sides of the main body. To use it you filled it with fiberglass insulation, then wrapped it with tape. Even without the tape it was still very quiet.

I think the main thing about sound suptression is to just slow down the volume of gas coming out. It apparently does not matter so much where the gas exits, just that it does so in small volume.

Frankly I bought a threaded 22LR for very little, a $200 suppressor, and a $200 Tax Stamp and when I use CCI Quiet Ammo all I can hear is the bolt cycling. If you want extra range time this is the cheapest and quietest way to go. Even my wife, who has a significant hearing problem, likes this setup.

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Who watches the watchers?

100% accurate prediction! I would rather have these men, and the men I have seen in many old Texas Ranger pictures holding their guns with their fingers on the trigger, on my side in a gunfight than many of the current crowd of recreational shooters that always feel the need to remind us how unsafe the men of old were.

Sure you can suppress just about anything but because of the barrel cylinder gap it isnt as effective as reducing noise as a semi auto handgun, bolt action rifle, etc.

If you want a suppressed revolver you should look into the Nagant revolver in 7.62x38R. The design of the cartridge and cylinder seals the gap and is really quiet!

Yup. I have one . Its just such a pain to load and unload load.

Untitled by Ruben Zamora, on Flickr

Putting a suppressor on a .38 special would have some benefits over the traditional autoloader. First, you could create loads without regard to having to cycle the action. Second the sound of the action slamming back and forth would not exsist. Of course the biggest problem is the barrel cylinder gap. I wonder how small you can get he gap with reliable function - .002 to .004??? If put together correctly I'm sure you could reduce the decibels by a significant amount. However the most effective solution is to simply double up your hearing protection. I've been doing this for a couple years now and it makes a huge difference.

They look like Colt Commandos, WW2 leftovers were quite common in Viet Nam. From the look of one cylinder you can see well, loaded with .38 Special, Ball, M41.

I know what you're saying
357 magnums have always been too loud for my ears, I suffer for days afterwards! Bought my first pair of muffs when
I bought my first model 19.
Steve