Knight's Armament Silent Revolving Rifle

Published on December 15, 2025
Duration: 11:11

This guide details the unique Knight's Armament R2 silent revolving rifle, focusing on its specialized sabot cartridge designed for noise reduction and the elimination of spent brass. Expert Ian McCollum explains its development for special operations, its construction based on a Ruger Redhawk, and the technical challenges overcome to achieve its demanding accuracy requirements. The entry covers disassembly and the critical role of precision-machined aluminum sabots.

Quick Summary

The Knight's Armament R2 is a silent revolving rifle developed for special operations, built on a Ruger Redhawk frame. It uses a custom sabot cartridge where the sabot seals the cylinder gap upon firing, eliminating noise and spent brass. Achieving 1.5 MOA accuracy required switching from plastic to precision-machined 7075 aluminum sabots.

Chapters

  1. 00:00Introduction to the Knight's Armament R2
  2. 00:32Design Requirements
  3. 01:43Silencing the Revolver
  4. 03:44External Features and Optics
  5. 05:20Disassembly and Internal Mechanics
  6. 08:06Accuracy Challenges and Production

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes the Knight's Armament R2 a 'silent' revolving rifle?

The R2 achieves silence through a custom sabot cartridge. Upon firing, the sabot slides forward to seal against the barrel face, preventing gas escape from the cylinder gap, which is a primary noise source in conventional revolvers.

What were the key design requirements for the Knight's Armament R2?

The rifle needed to be essentially silent, achieve 1.5 MOA accuracy at 100 yards, be portable enough to fit in a briefcase, and crucially, leave no spent brass behind after firing.

What modifications were made to the Ruger Redhawk frame for the R2?

The R2 is built on a Ruger Redhawk frame but features a custom stock, a specialized handguard with a Harris bipod, a Leupold Vari-X III scope, and a Simrad clip-on night vision device, along with a modified cylinder.

Why was 7075 aluminum chosen for the R2's sabots?

Initial use of plastic sabots proved inadequate for the rifle's accuracy demands. Switching to precision-machined 7075 aluminum sabots was necessary to meet the stringent 1.5 MOA at 100 yards requirement.

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