Despite the gun control advocates’ continued collective pants browning over the idea that they may have permanently lost the ability to control anyone’s access to firearms, more and more of Cody Wilson’s children are springing up across the world. Forbes has even devoted an article to some of the better examples. One of the main themes of the piece is that while the gun itself is indeed being printed as-is, more interesting developments are happening as people are improving on the Defense Distributed design and sharing them. One guy is even making a metal barrel insert to let the .38 gun shoot .22LR , something much more practical and less prone to splitting the barrel. And that’s just the start . . .
Travis Lerol, a 30-year-old former military software engineer in Glen Burnie, Maryland, printed his Liberator (shown at right) within days of its appearing online. Unlike the original printed gun, he says he’s altered his to have a rifled barrel, a move designed to avoid the National Firearms Act, which regulates improvised and altered weapons and has a provision covering “smooth-bored” pistols. He’s also built another version of the barrel for .22 ammunition that uses a metal insert for reinforcement, instead of the entirely-plastic barrel for .380 rounds used in Defense Distributed’s original. And he’s cast versions of the Liberator’s barrel in epoxy that take .380 and .45 ammunition, a design he argues will be more durable than the pure ABS plastic Defense Distributed tested.
“When the Liberator came out, I was pretty curious and also surprised that the barrel hadn’t exploded when they fired it,” says Lerol. “I want to progress it from the entry level it’s at now to something more advanced, and then put that information back up to share.”
When the Liberator was first introduced, the reaction from the mainstream media was that the gun (as is) was useless and dangerous. They claimed that it was irrelevant, that it didn’t really matter. They argued that since that iteration was flawed, 3D printed guns were thus proven to be impossible. That was the fairy tale they told to make themselves believe that control was still possible.
As always, the internet has proven the establishment wrong.
If you own guns at home, are you willing to tell your children that guns at home are likely to be used in suicides?
If a gun at home was likely (which means greater than a 50% chance) to be used in suicide, then by definition there would millions of suicides in the US. Instead, we have a rate only half that of the gun-free paradise of Japan.
This guy’s a moron.
“…are you willing to tell your children that guns at home are likely to be used in suicides?”
OK, maybe at your house. In which case, “no”, *you* probably should not have ready-access to a firearm. But the compulsion to transfer the risks of your mental instability to others is obnoxious, stupid, & unjustified.
The comments at the original article almost exclusively disagree with the author. Granted, they’re not as well…snarky as the ones here, but it’s interesting, given the leftist source (Huffington Post).
“If they modified it to fit a quad-copter it would be a homemade weaponized drone” now that’s one hell of a idea I’m sure it will get there eventually.
Good news… Thingiverse has printable quad copters!!…
When the Liberator was first introduced, the reaction from the mainstream media was that the gun (as is) was useless and dangerous.
The same could have been said of 14th Century hand cannons, but by the 15th Century there were matchlocks, and by the 16th Century wheellocks and snaphances. I suspect the timeline for the advancement of printed firearms will be somewhat quicker….
first time I watched the entire clip. Help me understand something. Marion “That B!tch Set Me Up!” Berry has credibility with young people?? WTF?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXyxEQIk_Pw
I can’t wait for a new division in IDPA.
“Are you killing an animal because you are hungry and plan to eat it, or for sport, simply to watch it die?”
I think it is possible to kill an animal for sport and plan to eat it.
My kids have also seen me in a fit of rage. It happens. But they have also seen me not draw a gun and shoot everybody in the room because of it.
eric”pardon me” holder is the poster boy for the constitution trashing grabbers. Hopefully he can be “grilled” all the way to 16, Randy
The men’s rights movement calls such eunuchs as Lee “manginas”.
from the about section on his website:
“has built his entire career on storytelling, working as a producer, writer, director and manager for NBC, ABC, A&E, Disney, Hearst, History Channel, Meredith Corp and other major media groups”
Yup, only a mangina could continue being employed by those companies.
I have had in my possession firearms of all varieties for over 40 years….and not one of them has mysteriously “gone off”. Do you think something is wrong with them?
What example does he give his child when he drives after three scotches, or lights up a blunt with his friends on the weekend and she finds his stash? Good God we could go on, and on, and on.
BTW just picked up a Ruger 10/22; as soon as I can find some ammo I’m gonna take my 9 year old out…
I don’t want to assume anything and I feel like a newbie.
Say I own guns, while getting divorced, my wife and I argue (no threats) but she is afraid of my guns. She files a restaining order. If I want to buy a gun I can’t because of the question on the 4473. Thats federal. Am I supposed to turn in all my guns because of the restraining order?
Am I now “disabled” ?
Depending on where I live, state law may say I have to turn them in but by the check boxes on the 4473, am I prohibited by the feds to possess or just not purchase?
BTW
I was divorced amicably 16 years ago my Sig Other of 12 years carries her PK380, 365, so we’re good.
This is a perfect question to illustrate why Gun Control is bad. Not a newbie one at all.
She filed a restraining order, your future gun rights are now…pretty much gone unless she rescinds it. Under current law that is the end of the story. You are “disabled”.
You keep your current guns. If you are caught with a firearm you will get a WUD charge if you were committing another crime. However, even if that is confiscated the rest of your guns are safe as long as you aren’t talking about your extremely large collection and giving probable cause for searching your home. It is the possibility of change to current law that this post was addressing.
Under Gun Control as envisioned and they’re working towards, they want to register your guns so that in the even of a disqualifying event like this…they can come knocking (knock is a loose term for kicking down the door) and come get your entire registered inventory of now illegal firearms because you had a “disqualifying event” and are now a “prohibited person”. California actually has had LEOs knocking on doors to come get firearms after people have had what they deem “disqualifying events” so that is the method that they would use.
You follow?
“That was the fairy tale they told to make themselves believe that control was still possible.
It is still possible as long as one class of human beings ruthlessly arrogates power to itself and the majority of a population accepts that. Authoritarian control isn’t primarily a function of technology, it is a product of the human propensity to accept tyranny meekly and with a shrug of the shoulders. From the Declaration of Independence – “and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed”
Making a gun is one thing. That has always been possible in modern societies with even rudimentary technology and expertise. But few people will make use of the opportunity if it entails risk of large fines, incarceration, injury or death at the hands of The Overlords. The Sheeple will always be cowardly, fearful and mindlessly obedient and it doesn’t matter what kind of technology they have access to.
But….but….but….GUN FREE ZONE!!! Think of the children!
I just finished looking at the defense auctions website a gunbroker killer it is not.when i started looking at the site i soon realized it is a pain in the ass.the site has no guns no ammo just some holsters thats it.the site looks good but its a fail. i have bought some really nice guns from gunbroker they were easy to find like my DPMS AR-15 a MOSSBURG 500 a SBR .223 my trusty 1911 .45 and my S&W 500 gotta love that gun but anyway gunbroker is very user friendly and you can find any gun you want and its a good site to buy ammo in bulk.to sum things up gunbroker is here to stay……………..
You really should not have included the link to Liz Hurley’s neckline; I had a hard time focusing on the story after looking.
A few weeks ago I was making a list of things my son and daughter needed to know in order to be self-sufficient when they leave the nest. My wife has been doing the “indoor” part of the list, and I’ve been doing the “outdoor” list.
My list of things they’re going to do and practice over the summer included things like pounding nails, sawing wood with hand and power saws, planting a garden, running the lawnmower, using various hand tools, shooting bad guys, resetting circuit breakers, fixing a bicycle, jump-starting a car, etc. (They each know some of these things, but they don’t both know know all of them.)
One night at dinner I read them the list, and they listened and nodded silently to every item except one, at which they both burst out at the same time: “We already know how to do that!” My reply: “Then you’d better stay in practice.”
You probably know which item that was. 🙂
I was only half-serious when I put that one in the list, but the point is that we’ve already talked about how these particular tools work, what their benefits and dangers are, and what people (rightly or wrongly) use them for. And we’ve practiced using them accurately and safely in age-appropriate contexts.
Lee Schneider is way out in the weeds with most of his opinions, but he’s right about one thing: If you can handle a gun with dignity and respect for its power, it says a lot to your kid. What says even more to your kid is you teaching them how do it, too.
After teaching many classes and seeing student do the strangest things, I am wondering if the story is partly true. I have seen people who while attempting to rack the slide, pull the trigger. The trigger finger thing is a tough thing to remember.
Mag dumps and a reload (17 round Glock .40s I believe) are the norm around here. But on the other hand, the hit ration tends to be high as well, with only a few fliers in any given incident. Part of this, though, in mindset (or training?) rather than adrenaline. In one incident here, three officers fired 37 rounds at a single subject, with three fliers that fortunately did not hit any bystanders. When I commented to a Marshall (bailiff) at the courthouse that it seemed to me to be an awful lot of rounds fired, he said “Not enough.” Similarly, in a Florida shootout in 2006, with a suspect who had already killed a police officer to get his guns and ammo, police fired over one hundred rounds, almost half of which found their mark. When asked why they fired so many shots, the Sheriff responded, “That’s all the bullets we had.” I have a feeling that the current case as well as the Dorner incident are evidence of the same.
congratulation.
took nearly having my house broken into [twice] to get me out of condition white, so nurture for me 😉
I’m thinking the Obama campaign is going to be low on political capital for the foreseeable future, they used a lot up already in their first failed push for gun control, couple that with the scandals and I think they may have real concerns to worry about, not hyperbolic falsehoods.
Very good write-up, and it highlights a troubling issue that persists with technology and the 1st & 2nd Amendments. The Courts have NOT always ruled in favor of either, especially in the digital age where copies of books and music you buy and have downloaded to your device (such as Kindle, iPad, etc.) have suddenly been removed from their owner’s possession without notice. And if you dare to make digital copies of the hard copy of something you purchased and own – a CD, DVD, etc. BEWARE! Armies of lawyers in the employ of entertainment companies wait eagerly on the sidelines to sue your arse off.
One can only imagine what robed judges are to make of a digital file containing the blueprints for constructing gun. The dread in the hearts of hoplophobes might be titanic.
Made my day and I wish I could write as well.
I recently bought a (theoretically) new, in box, Ruger 556-E via gunbroker. When it arrived, the gun itself functions perfectly, and seems to be all stock parts, but the ‘magpul MBUS sights’ on it are clearly not. I have a set of MBUS bought directly from MagPul on a shotgun, and the diference in the two sets is night and day. The real ones have tight tolerances, feel solid, have not unusual play in any of the parts. The fakes, when you release them to let them pop up, the small reticle pops out of the large reticle, the rear sight reticle slops side to side, and the locks do not re-engage in the upright position, and have to be pushed back up. they feel light, cheep, and junky.
Someone in the government shuts up a citizen testifying about our 2nd amendment right. That right is meant among other things to prevent such tyranny. An armed NJ trooper comes to escort the citizen out. Everything happening in the country on a larger scale played itself out in that small room in a matter of minutes! Unreal.
My PX4 says “Made in Italy”, is it just the military issues that are being manufactured in Accokeek? I’m not sure that this would prevent me from purchasing another Italian manufactured Beretta depending on the circumstances.
You never know who your true friends and/or allies are until the SHTF and the pressure is on. My takeaway from the actions of Magpul, Colt, Beretta etc. is “Sorry guys, everyman and business for themselves”