The Quiet Gun

Tommy Vercetti · February 21, 2005, 11:01 PM

St. Paul, Minn. — Having never fired a gun in her life, Faamati Winey pulled up on a flying clay pigeon and dusted it with the latest version of the Quiet Gun.

A small audience at the Metro Gun Club in Blaine, Minn., gave an enthusiastic cheer for Winey, who grinned and said, "Hey, this is easy."

Inventor Wendell Diller, who developed this shotgun with its characteristic long barrel, beamed proudly. He then watched as Winey, his boss's wife, broke another clay target, scoring 2 out of 4 in her introduction to shotgunning.

"People look at the long barrel and think it's going to kick or that it's too hard to shoot," he said. "Well, we're here to show that's not the case."

Diller, a kind of shotgunning version of Thomas Edison, proved his point. Three more shooters put the shotgun with a 31-inch extension barrel to their shoulders and dusted clay targets, while the gun emitted a pop slightly louder than a pellet rifle.

The Oakdale inventor hopes to duplicate that success with his first public demonstrations of the Quiet Gun this month. Ten years after the first prototype, the Quiet Gun is becoming Diller's contribution to keeping urban wildlife in check and urban gun ranges open.

The gun is much quieter than traditional shotguns because the long barrel uses a series of holes, or ports, to bleed away the blast-producing gases that come from discharging the shot shell.

Diller began tinkering with the concept in order to hunt crows without disturbing nearby homeowners. Many of Diller's favorite crow-hunting spots were in urban areas where development was creeping in.

"The gun is my way of adapting to a changing environment," he said. "I wanted to continue hunting, but I am not willing to upset other folks in the process."

In addition to free publicity, Diller's invention has gained acceptance among park managers grappling with growing deer numbers.

The Three Rivers Park District, based in Hennepin County, has used the Quiet Gun for two years to help cull deer from three different parks. The park district typically relies on recreational hunting and sharpshooters to keep deer herds under control, but managers were looking for a safe alternative to killing deer in urban parks where gun noise wouldn't be tolerated by neighbors.

"We've used it in places where there might be skiers 75 yards away and they haven't recognized it as a gun shot," said Larry Gillette, wildlife manager for the park district. "We haven't had one (complaint) about it."

Gillette said when he tested the Quiet Gun, he stood about 50 to 75 yards away.

"The sound we were picking up from the gun was not much more than loud talking," he said. "If you were listening for a pellet gun, you could probably hear it."

The Quiet Gun sharpshooters also use another Diller invention: a "frangible" shotgun slug that disintegrates when it hits a hard surface. Made from No. 7� birdshot encased in plastic, the slug will humanely dispatch a deer, but it disintegrates if it hits a hard surface, like frozen ground, thus avoiding dangerous ricochets.

"With a .243 rifle, you never know where the slug might go if it ricochets off a hard surface," Gillette said. "That's not the case with (Diller's) safe slug."

Gillette said the park district has killed about 40 deer with the Quiet Gun and haven't had a single wounded animal. His biggest concern was the accuracy of the gun, but outfitted with special light-gather scopes and the safe slugs, shooters have humanely dispatched deer.

"I don't shoot, myself, but the people who shoot for me have been pleased with the performance of it," Gillette said.

Diller said hunters have killed ducks, geese, pheasants, doves, crows, deer, coyotes and fox with the gun. He's supplied guns to paraplegic hunters and a group that helps disabled sportsmen, Capable Partners, who have successfully hunted geese with the Quiet Gun.

He hoped that Twin Cities municipalities dealing with nuisance geese would use the Quiet Gun and Capable Partners to remove geese, but "they find it's easier politically to capture and remove the geese than use hunters," Diller said.

His latest version of the Quiet shotgun uses a new lightweight barrel. His initial invention put the entire gun barrel length at 7 feet and the barrel was heavier than Diller wanted. After more tinkering, he developed the 31-inch barrel extension made from aluminum and steel. It weighs just 9 ounces.

"When I put this 31-inch extension on the 24-inch gun barrel, it weighs just over 2 ounces over standard 28-inch shotgun barrel. It's deceiving when you look at it because it looks so long and unwieldy," he said.

Diller has built Quiet Guns for friends and wildlife managers, but he hasn't produced them commercially. (A version of the barrel is being produced by a commercial manufacturer, but not under Diller's guidance. He is seeking a separate patent.) Diller's primary motive isn't making money with the Quiet Gun.

"I wouldn't mind making money. I'm not against that," said Diller, who works as a marketing manager for a company that makes high-end speaker systems. "I'm well-fed, I get to go hunting and I have gas for my Volare. How much more do I need? I guess I'm more interested in social issues."

By that, Diller said he means he hopes the Quiet Gun might help stave off the future demise of hunting and gun ranges. He thinks the gun might have applications for shooting ranges that are encroached by development by giving shooters a quieter alternative. He worries about land development and its impact on accessibility to hunting areas. He sees connections between all those issues.

"If a gun range goes out of business, people stop shooting and take up golf," he said. "Then hunting pursuits suffer. Then fewer people care about the environment or land-use issues. As it is, land-use issues aren't high enough on our radar."

Diller's mind is awash with such issues and ideas. He's developed other shooting aids, such as a cheap and portable sound muffling system that could be used on rifle ranges. He's also developed a new product that he said will "improve people's shooting" and has the interest of an ammunition manufacturer.

He admits, though, that the Quiet Gun, because of its long barrel, won't catch on quickly with the sporting gun public. He's not deterred, however, from introducing it to as many people as possible.

"I wish this concept were a total flop," he said, "but it may be the gun your great-grandchildren will have to use if they want to continue hunting."

http://entertainment.news-leader.co...n,f-262365.html

Tommy Vercetti · February 21, 2005, 11:06 PM

http://www.dillerdesign.com/quietgun/

Nuts590 · February 25, 2005, 12:48 AM

Either that guy has the upper body strength of popeye or that barrel is made of some lightweight material. The page states "... barrel that is 1.6 lbs heavier than normal and requires more forward allowance..." but all that length and only 1.6 lbs???

Ok, I did some digging to see if this might actually work... seems hastings makes a similar product:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te..._A&_DAV=search

Either way I can't imagine it being of much, if any, use to me. I like my shotgun barrels short with minimal to no choke...

chris in va · February 25, 2005, 01:01 AM

Extensive porting is heavily used in the paintball world too. It can really quiet things down. Interesting they are using it with shotguns...

Wraith · February 25, 2005, 09:43 AM

All because silencers are hard to get ahold of.

Who wants such an unwieldy weapon? I don't care what you're doing, that thing is just too akward.

jdberger · February 25, 2005, 06:34 PM

But one of the neatest things is that no one at the range - or in the field - is likely to sweep you with the muzzle of that thing. Now, if I could only get it into my duck blind (quack-quack...must be safe to land, I only see a HAM radio down there)

GLM · February 27, 2005, 01:58 AM

Seems to me it is a very good solution to the problem for which it was intended. I'd like to give it a try.

FirstFreedom · February 28, 2005, 11:13 AM

cool, except that the deer-culling use it's employed in gives more ammunition (so to speak) to the anti-hunting crowd. "Why, we don't need sport hunting when such items exist, which used in the hands of trained professionals from wildlife depts., create no chance of richochet dangers, lessens noise pollution.", etc., etc., blah, blah.

Clark · October 12, 2006, 03:51 AM

If they are 32" long, then the inventor is using two of them in the picture.

Omaha-BeenGlockin · October 12, 2006, 05:12 AM

More is better-----right??

FirstFreedom · October 12, 2006, 09:41 AM

Just add a bayo and stab the deer when he gets in range.

Seriously, I could see it being useful with crotchety neighbors who don't like to hear gunfire.

Quote:

and requires more forward allowance..."

Ya think?

Yap, all because our idiotic government regulates suppresors so tightly.

Jackrabbit · October 12, 2006, 10:44 AM

jdberger: (quack-quack...must be safe to land, I only see a HAM radio down there)

That was one of the funniest things I've read in a bit...thanks for the laugh

dakotashooter2 · October 12, 2006, 02:15 PM

Can you imagine trying to take an offhand shot with that thing. 1/16" quiver at the reciever means the end of the barrel probably moves 2". It is supprising what a few ounces of weight extending another 30" from the balance point feels like, The silencing part of the issue is probably that since many shotgun loads border being subsonic anyway the extra 31" of friction is probably pulling down the velocity to subsonic levels. I'd hope you were hunting in an open field cause in any kind of brush it would be a chore just to bring the gun to bear.

Dave R · October 12, 2006, 05:43 PM

If it were available as an aftermarket barrel, or adaptable to existing barrels, I think I would want one.

OTOH, what are the chances the BATFE would declare it a suppressor? It just uses length and parting, rather than baffles, to do the suppressing.

Maybe THAT's why its not commercially available.

Clark · October 12, 2006, 05:48 PM

I have seen the letter, on the internet, from the BATF saying that it is legal.
It looks just like all the letters I have got from the BATF on the legaity of flash hiders vs recoil compenators.

I have one that is a rem choke.
They come in different threads.

Some odd type choke thread is on sale at Cabelas.

skeeter1 · October 12, 2006, 05:57 PM

Um, no thanks. The 26 & 28" shotguns have served me well. I'd be embarassed to be out in the field with that "thing."

chuckrcc · October 12, 2006, 06:38 PM

I ran into a guy at the range last weekend that had something like that on his autoloader. He let me run a few rounds through it. Was good for breaking clays. Could hardly notice the extra weight, and it was quiet enough to hear the bolt working itself.

deanadell · October 12, 2006, 06:52 PM

You could use it to pole vault into your deer stand.......

kb2iaw · October 13, 2006, 02:18 PM

now ...who makes the gun cases for this ???

Clark · October 13, 2006, 05:39 PM

I Think you unscrew the long choke and use the regular gun case.

kozak6 · October 13, 2006, 09:53 PM

Would it be possible to load up some subsonic shells instead?

They woudn't cycle autoloaders, but it seems like a much simpler and cheaper solution.

Clark · October 14, 2006, 12:58 PM

The gas is what makes the noise, and the gas that escapes from behind the bullet must be sub sonic.

The long barrel volume and holes decompress the gas before the bullet un caps the gas.

I have been shooting the loads on Metro website, 13.5 gr Red Dot, and it really works. Kill a grizzly in your back yard without waking up the neighbors.

But, like others pointed out above, I am not used to a 6' long gun, and I am banging the muzzle into everything, especially the cieling

Savage10FP308 · October 14, 2006, 01:10 PM

look in cabelas.

Clark · October 14, 2006, 10:48 PM

There are places $40 cheaper than Cabellas, but I got it there at Cabellas becuase I know they never take orders and then tell me it is back ordered.

Dave R · October 15, 2006, 12:20 AM

Yup. It's at Cabelas. $200 for the Remington version...

February 21, 2005, 11:01 PM	#1
Tommy Vercetti Senior Member Join Date: June 26, 2004 Location: Fairhope, Alabama Posts: 1,119	The Quiet Gun St. Paul, Minn. — Having never fired a gun in her life, Faamati Winey pulled up on a flying clay pigeon and dusted it with the latest version of the Quiet Gun. A small audience at the Metro Gun Club in Blaine, Minn., gave an enthusiastic cheer for Winey, who grinned and said, "Hey, this is easy." Inventor Wendell Diller, who developed this shotgun with its characteristic long barrel, beamed proudly. He then watched as Winey, his boss's wife, broke another clay target, scoring 2 out of 4 in her introduction to shotgunning. "People look at the long barrel and think it's going to kick or that it's too hard to shoot," he said. "Well, we're here to show that's not the case." Diller, a kind of shotgunning version of Thomas Edison, proved his point. Three more shooters put the shotgun with a 31-inch extension barrel to their shoulders and dusted clay targets, while the gun emitted a pop slightly louder than a pellet rifle. The Oakdale inventor hopes to duplicate that success with his first public demonstrations of the Quiet Gun this month. Ten years after the first prototype, the Quiet Gun is becoming Diller's contribution to keeping urban wildlife in check and urban gun ranges open. The gun is much quieter than traditional shotguns because the long barrel uses a series of holes, or ports, to bleed away the blast-producing gases that come from discharging the shot shell. Diller began tinkering with the concept in order to hunt crows without disturbing nearby homeowners. Many of Diller's favorite crow-hunting spots were in urban areas where development was creeping in. "The gun is my way of adapting to a changing environment," he said. "I wanted to continue hunting, but I am not willing to upset other folks in the process." In addition to free publicity, Diller's invention has gained acceptance among park managers grappling with growing deer numbers. The Three Rivers Park District, based in Hennepin County, has used the Quiet Gun for two years to help cull deer from three different parks. The park district typically relies on recreational hunting and sharpshooters to keep deer herds under control, but managers were looking for a safe alternative to killing deer in urban parks where gun noise wouldn't be tolerated by neighbors. "We've used it in places where there might be skiers 75 yards away and they haven't recognized it as a gun shot," said Larry Gillette, wildlife manager for the park district. "We haven't had one (complaint) about it." Gillette said when he tested the Quiet Gun, he stood about 50 to 75 yards away. "The sound we were picking up from the gun was not much more than loud talking," he said. "If you were listening for a pellet gun, you could probably hear it." The Quiet Gun sharpshooters also use another Diller invention: a "frangible" shotgun slug that disintegrates when it hits a hard surface. Made from No. 7� birdshot encased in plastic, the slug will humanely dispatch a deer, but it disintegrates if it hits a hard surface, like frozen ground, thus avoiding dangerous ricochets. "With a .243 rifle, you never know where the slug might go if it ricochets off a hard surface," Gillette said. "That's not the case with (Diller's) safe slug." Gillette said the park district has killed about 40 deer with the Quiet Gun and haven't had a single wounded animal. His biggest concern was the accuracy of the gun, but outfitted with special light-gather scopes and the safe slugs, shooters have humanely dispatched deer. "I don't shoot, myself, but the people who shoot for me have been pleased with the performance of it," Gillette said. Diller said hunters have killed ducks, geese, pheasants, doves, crows, deer, coyotes and fox with the gun. He's supplied guns to paraplegic hunters and a group that helps disabled sportsmen, Capable Partners, who have successfully hunted geese with the Quiet Gun. He hoped that Twin Cities municipalities dealing with nuisance geese would use the Quiet Gun and Capable Partners to remove geese, but "they find it's easier politically to capture and remove the geese than use hunters," Diller said. His latest version of the Quiet shotgun uses a new lightweight barrel. His initial invention put the entire gun barrel length at 7 feet and the barrel was heavier than Diller wanted. After more tinkering, he developed the 31-inch barrel extension made from aluminum and steel. It weighs just 9 ounces. "When I put this 31-inch extension on the 24-inch gun barrel, it weighs just over 2 ounces over standard 28-inch shotgun barrel. It's deceiving when you look at it because it looks so long and unwieldy," he said. Diller has built Quiet Guns for friends and wildlife managers, but he hasn't produced them commercially. (A version of the barrel is being produced by a commercial manufacturer, but not under Diller's guidance. He is seeking a separate patent.) Diller's primary motive isn't making money with the Quiet Gun. "I wouldn't mind making money. I'm not against that," said Diller, who works as a marketing manager for a company that makes high-end speaker systems. "I'm well-fed, I get to go hunting and I have gas for my Volare. How much more do I need? I guess I'm more interested in social issues." By that, Diller said he means he hopes the Quiet Gun might help stave off the future demise of hunting and gun ranges. He thinks the gun might have applications for shooting ranges that are encroached by development by giving shooters a quieter alternative. He worries about land development and its impact on accessibility to hunting areas. He sees connections between all those issues. "If a gun range goes out of business, people stop shooting and take up golf," he said. "Then hunting pursuits suffer. Then fewer people care about the environment or land-use issues. As it is, land-use issues aren't high enough on our radar." Diller's mind is awash with such issues and ideas. He's developed other shooting aids, such as a cheap and portable sound muffling system that could be used on rifle ranges. He's also developed a new product that he said will "improve people's shooting" and has the interest of an ammunition manufacturer. He admits, though, that the Quiet Gun, because of its long barrel, won't catch on quickly with the sporting gun public. He's not deterred, however, from introducing it to as many people as possible. "I wish this concept were a total flop," he said, "but it may be the gun your great-grandchildren will have to use if they want to continue hunting." http://entertainment.news-leader.co...n,f-262365.html __________________ "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." Sinclair Lewis, (It Can't Happen Here, 1935) "Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak" Marcus Tullius Cicero

February 21, 2005, 11:06 PM	#2
Tommy Vercetti Senior Member Join Date: June 26, 2004 Location: Fairhope, Alabama Posts: 1,119	http://www.dillerdesign.com/quietgun/ __________________ "When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross." Sinclair Lewis, (It Can't Happen Here, 1935) "Orators are most vehement when their cause is weak" Marcus Tullius Cicero

February 25, 2005, 09:43 AM	#5
Wraith Senior Member Join Date: July 22, 2004 Location: The Free State Posts: 498	All because silencers are hard to get ahold of. Who wants such an unwieldy weapon? I don't care what you're doing, that thing is just too akward. __________________ June 23, 2003 GRATZ et al. v. BOLLINGER et al. The day America died. Never Forget 9/11. Cold dead hands...

February 25, 2005, 06:34 PM	#6
jdberger Member Join Date: July 23, 2002 Location: SF Bay Area Posts: 85	But one of the neatest things is that no one at the range - or in the field - is likely to sweep you with the muzzle of that thing. Now, if I could only get it into my duck blind (quack-quack...must be safe to land, I only see a HAM radio down there) __________________ "Dulce bellum inexpertis." -Erasmus-

October 12, 2006, 05:12 AM	#10
Omaha-BeenGlockin Senior Member Join Date: December 13, 2001 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 1,183	More is better-----right?? __________________ I take the leech that's bleeding me Can't stop to save my soul I take the leash that's leading me -------Metallica

February 25, 2005, 12:48 AM	#3
Nuts590 Member Join Date: January 16, 2005 Posts: 28	Either that guy has the upper body strength of popeye or that barrel is made of some lightweight material. The page states "... barrel that is 1.6 lbs heavier than normal and requires more forward allowance..." but all that length and only 1.6 lbs??? Ok, I did some digging to see if this might actually work... seems hastings makes a similar product: http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te..._A&_DAV=search Either way I can't imagine it being of much, if any, use to me. I like my shotgun barrels short with minimal to no choke...

February 25, 2005, 01:01 AM	#4
chris in va Senior Member Join Date: December 26, 2004 Location: Louisville KY Posts: 13,806	Extensive porting is heavily used in the paintball world too. It can really quiet things down. Interesting they are using it with shotguns...

February 27, 2005, 01:58 AM	#7
GLM Member Join Date: February 6, 2005 Location: East Tennessee Posts: 46	Seems to me it is a very good solution to the problem for which it was intended. I'd like to give it a try.

February 28, 2005, 11:13 AM	#8
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	cool, except that the deer-culling use it's employed in gives more ammunition (so to speak) to the anti-hunting crowd. "Why, we don't need sport hunting when such items exist, which used in the hands of trained professionals from wildlife depts., create no chance of richochet dangers, lessens noise pollution.", etc., etc., blah, blah.

October 12, 2006, 03:51 AM	#9
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	If they are 32" long, then the inventor is using two of them in the picture.

October 12, 2006, 10:44 AM	#12
Jackrabbit Junior Member Join Date: September 7, 2006 Posts: 13	jdberger: (quack-quack...must be safe to land, I only see a HAM radio down there) That was one of the funniest things I've read in a bit...thanks for the laugh

October 12, 2006, 02:15 PM	#13
dakotashooter2 Senior Member Join Date: January 13, 2005 Posts: 498	Can you imagine trying to take an offhand shot with that thing. 1/16" quiver at the reciever means the end of the barrel probably moves 2". It is supprising what a few ounces of weight extending another 30" from the balance point feels like, The silencing part of the issue is probably that since many shotgun loads border being subsonic anyway the extra 31" of friction is probably pulling down the velocity to subsonic levels. I'd hope you were hunting in an open field cause in any kind of brush it would be a chore just to bring the gun to bear.

October 12, 2006, 05:43 PM	#14
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 6,073	If it were available as an aftermarket barrel, or adaptable to existing barrels, I think I would want one. OTOH, what are the chances the BATFE would declare it a suppressor? It just uses length and parting, rather than baffles, to do the suppressing. Maybe THAT's why its not commercially available. __________________ I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).

October 12, 2006, 05:48 PM	#15
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	I have seen the letter, on the internet, from the BATF saying that it is legal. It looks just like all the letters I have got from the BATF on the legaity of flash hiders vs recoil compenators. I have one that is a rem choke. They come in different threads. Some odd type choke thread is on sale at Cabelas.

October 12, 2006, 05:57 PM	#16
skeeter1 Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2006 Location: Northeast Ohio Posts: 3,403	Um, no thanks. The 26 & 28" shotguns have served me well. I'd be embarassed to be out in the field with that "thing."

October 12, 2006, 06:38 PM	#17
chuckrcc Junior Member Join Date: June 16, 2006 Posts: 3	I ran into a guy at the range last weekend that had something like that on his autoloader. He let me run a few rounds through it. Was good for breaking clays. Could hardly notice the extra weight, and it was quiet enough to hear the bolt working itself.

October 12, 2006, 06:52 PM	#18
deanadell Senior Member Join Date: April 19, 2005 Location: Upstate, South Carolina Posts: 639	You could use it to pole vault into your deer stand.......

October 13, 2006, 02:18 PM	#19
kb2iaw Senior Member Join Date: October 2, 2006 Location: Oneonta (city of the hills) Posts: 104	now ...who makes the gun cases for this ???

October 13, 2006, 05:39 PM	#20
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	I Think you unscrew the long choke and use the regular gun case.

October 13, 2006, 09:53 PM	#21
kozak6 Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2005 Location: AZ Posts: 3,113	Would it be possible to load up some subsonic shells instead? They woudn't cycle autoloaders, but it seems like a much simpler and cheaper solution.

October 14, 2006, 12:58 PM	#22
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	The gas is what makes the noise, and the gas that escapes from behind the bullet must be sub sonic. The long barrel volume and holes decompress the gas before the bullet un caps the gas. I have been shooting the loads on Metro website, 13.5 gr Red Dot, and it really works. Kill a grizzly in your back yard without waking up the neighbors. But, like others pointed out above, I am not used to a 6' long gun, and I am banging the muzzle into everything, especially the cieling

October 14, 2006, 01:10 PM	#23
Savage10FP308 Junior member Join Date: March 14, 2006 Location: I live in Southern Illinois. Posts: 422	It is available... look in cabelas.

October 14, 2006, 10:48 PM	#24
Clark Senior Member Join Date: December 4, 1999 Location: WA, the ever blue state Posts: 4,678	There are places $40 cheaper than Cabellas, but I got it there at Cabellas becuase I know they never take orders and then tell me it is back ordered.

October 15, 2006, 12:20 AM	#25
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2000 Location: Idaho Posts: 6,073	Yup. It's at Cabelas. $200 for the Remington version... __________________ I am Pro-Rights (on gun issues).