Quiet Gun creating a buzz among shooters

ST. PAUL, Minn. — “People look at the long barrel and think it’s going to kick or that it’s too hard to shoot,” said inventor Wendell Diller. “Well, we’re here to show that’s not the case.”

Diller, a kind of shot gunning version of Thomas Edison, proved his point at a Minnesota gun club recently as four shooters, including woman shooting a shotgun for the first time, tested the latest version of the Quiet Gun.

They put the inventor’s 31-inch extension on a gun with a 24-inch barrel and dusted clay targets, while the gun emitted a pop slightly louder than a pellet rifle.

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, Minn., 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.”

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 1/2 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.

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.”