Editing Revolver (section)

== Use with suppressors ==
As a general rule, revolvers cannot be effective with a [[suppressor|sound suppressor]] ("silencer"), as there is usually a small gap between the revolving cylinder and the barrel which a bullet must traverse, or jump, when fired. From this opening, a rather loud report is produced. A suppressor can only suppress noise coming from the muzzle.<ref name="M.D.1998">{{cite book|last=M.D.|first=Vincent J.M. DiMaio|title=Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms, Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, SECOND EDITION|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbrDbbHAflsC&pg=PA78|year=1998|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4200-4837-7|page=78}}</ref>

A suppressible revolver design does exist in the [[Nagant M1895]], a Belgian-designed revolver used by Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union from 1895 through [[World War II]]. This revolver uses a unique cartridge whose case extends beyond the tip of the bullet, and a cylinder that moves forward to place the end of the cartridge inside the barrel when ready to fire. This bridges the gap between the cylinder and the barrel, and the case expands to seal the gap when fired. While the tiny gap between cylinder and barrel on most revolvers is insignificant to the [[internal ballistics]], the seal of the Nagant is especially effective when used with a suppressor, and a number of suppressed Nagant revolvers have been used since its invention.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://guns.connect.fi/gow/nagant.html |title=Silenced 7.62 mm Nagant Revolver |publisher=Guns.connect.fi |date=2000-09-18 |access-date=2009-09-16 |archive-date=2020-11-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112030826/http://guns.connect.fi/gow/nagant.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

There is a modern revolver of Russian design, the [[OTs-38 Stechkin silent revolver|OTs-38]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.modernfirearms.net/handguns/hg194-e.htm |title=OTs-38 silent revolver |publisher=Modern Firearms |access-date=2009-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090826010832/http://www.modernfirearms.net/handguns/hg194-e.htm |archive-date=2009-08-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> which uses ammunition that incorporates the silencing mechanism into the cartridge case, making the gap between cylinder and barrel irrelevant as far as the suppression issue is concerned. The OTs-38 does need an unusually close and precise fit between the cylinder and barrel due to the shape of bullet in the special ammunition (Soviet SP-4), which was originally designed for use in a semi-automatic.

Additionally, the U.S. military experimented with designing a special version of the [[Smith & Wesson Model 29]] for [[tunnel rat]]s, called the [[Smith & Wesson Model 29#Quiet Special Purpose Revolver|Quiet Special Purpose Revolver]], or QSPR, that uses special .40 caliber ammunition. It never entered official service.