What is the Quiet Shotgun™?
5 1/2 ounces of carbon fiber
The principle is very simple -- a short barrel is louder than a long barrel. By progressively leaking the high pressure down a VERY long barrel (through a series of very small, optimized ports), the result is a dramatic reduction of pressure and noise at the muzzle. A conventional "silencer" operates much like a car muffler and requires a federal permit (including a background check which can take up to 8 months). The Quiet Shotgun vents directly into the atmosphere and is not a controlled device.
What would the sound be if the barrel of the Quiet Shotgun was increased for a total of 9 feet? It is even quieter and has a lower pitched tone.
Obviously, a 9-foot barrel of steel is not practical. The 4-foot version of the carbon fiber barrel weighs a mere 5 1/2 ounces.
The Quiet Shotgun is to hunting and shooting what a fly rod is to fishing. The Quiet Shotgun has proven to be effective on doves, crows, pheasants, ducks, geese, deer and even bull elk (the exception is grouse hunting).
How is that possible? Civil War ammunition is subsonic but very deadly due to the heavy projectiles. (All "silencers" work best with subsonic ammunition which avoids the noise from breaking the sound barrier.) For example, my Safety Slug invention for deer hunting is 2 ounces with a safety feature that eliminates ricochet and prohibits shooting through dense brush (shooting through brush is very dangerous since brush does not allow positive target identification).
My parents came from a Mennonite background. As a pastor of a small community church in Grants Pass, Oregon, my passion for shotguns and bird hunting was not shared with my father. But he enjoyed the wild game that I brought home. I like to think he would approve of the Quiet Shotgun.
Part of my support package for the pilot program will include the specialized subsonic ammunition for all applications from doves to deer.