#GhostGuns

Some recent alarming news has come about from one of the country’s largest distributors of firearms, accessories, and ammunition. In a now-missing Facebook post, Brownells stated on July 1st that the United Parcel Service (UPS), had allegedly terminated their account and would no longer be accepting any of their shipments. A check of the Brownells shipping page currently only lists USPS and FedEx as available carrier options. In addition, the Florida-based Ghost Firearms were also notified that their account would be terminated for allegedly “violating applicable laws concerning the shipment of “ghost guns to unauthorized locations.” The full letter sent to Ghost Firearms has been posted below.

Dusting off the Underground Arms Watch series after a dormant start to the year, we return with a look at some recent examples of ‘ghost guns’.

Underground Arms Watch returns with another look at recently seized oddball weapons. Featured as the title picture is an improvised .22 firearm seized by police in Brazil from someone who “reported that he was shooting to scare off robbers who wanted to rob his residence.” It appears to be assembled from a number of items including a cut down barrel taken from an air rifle, part of a table leg or crutch and a piece of a bicycle perhaps. I’m not sure how the designer intended it to be held.

Welcome back to the Underground Arms Watch. The first week of June saw a number of seizures of the FGC-9, the widely reported on 3D printable 9mm carbine released by Deterrence Dispensed last year. The example below was one of two seized from a ‘factory’ operating in Tampere, Finland which was uncovered during raids on addresses connected to criminal groups making use of the compromised encrypted chat network known as AN0M.

Nevada-based firearm company Polymer80 was raided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE or ATF) yesterday in an apparent move against so-called “Ghost Guns”. Polymer 80 builds kits, with tools and a bit of skill, can be turned into a firearm receiver. Traditionally termed 80% receivers because they are missing a critical 20% of the features needed to be a working firearm, media outlets and others unfamiliar with guns and manufacturing technology have given these kits the name “Ghost Guns”. The headline Polymer80 Raided by ATF is not really a surprise at the end of 2020 – the incoming administration has signaled a crackdown on “Ghost Guns” as part of new policy changes

Police in Sydney, Australia have seized a partially 3D printed Glock 19 pistol after a raid on a Newtown home, the gun believed to have also been assembled with illegally imported parts. As only the slide, barrel and trigger components need to be smuggled in through the postal service (which are unregulated and freely available online, at least in the US) such a route offers much less of a hurdle for those in places such as Australia where 3D printers, at least for now remain unregulated. A similar seizure occurred in Winnipeg, Canada last year.

The niche market for legally registered disposable anti-tank weapons may soon experience a well overdue boom with the introduction of a historically accurate Panzerfaust 60 copy you can make at home. Jonathan Wild started the project last year which will eventually culminate in a book detailing how to build one yourself from scratch.

Skipping ahead a month we resume the Underground Arms Watch series of articles, our regular dive into the world of criminal manufacture and use of off-the-books firearms showing up around the world.

Yesterday, Winnipeg Police released pictures of a number of firearms seized from a residence late last May. The lower receivers of two shown having been produced using a 3D printer, which was also seized.

The latest ARES report published March 30 examines emergent technologies currently enabling further ease in the production of DIY firearms, including (but not limited to) advances in 3D printing. The 54-page report covers a wide range of production methods and firearm types currently being experimented with in the growing DIY gun sphere.

Continuing with this month’s edition of Underground Arms Watch, we again report on the global cottage industry for the illicit manufacture of firearms.

Catching up with police seizures from mid-February onward, March’s look into improvised and modified firearms circulating the criminal underworld begins.

Welcome to another installment of Underground Arms Watch series where we take a look at criminally made and modified firearms seized throughout the world.

In this article, we’ll present to you the first part of Underground Arms Watch December edition’s look into notable seizures of criminally manufactured and modified weapons seized off the streets. Read last month’s post here.

An illegal firearm manufacturing and supply ring across the country was broken up by police in Turkey last month involving the arrest of 106 suspects across 10 provinces. Along with smuggling guns and adapting blank firing pistols, it appears in some instances (as has been seen in the past) entirely new pistols were being manufactured semi-professionally, interestingly using methods such as casting. Turkey is home to quite a large number of gun manufacturers, people currently employed or having worked in the industry likely to be able to employ the skills and know-how to set up small illegal cottage industries mimicking industrial methods.