#DIY

The self-proclaimed rebel Federal State of Novorossiya, the unrecognized confederation of Donetsk People’s Republic and Lugansk People’s Republic located inside Ukraine, are now manufacturing their own DIY submachine guns. The Novorussian SMG appears to fire a 9mm round, either 9x18mm Makarov or 9x19mm NATO, from a simple blowback action and a threaded barrel (with optional suppressor).

YouTube channel nsz85 breaks it down Barney-style on using hand-tools to dimple an AR-15 barrel for set-screw-style gas blocks. Conceivably, this same method could be used to dimple your entire barrel (given enough patience and bits). I will personally leave any machining to a competent gunsmith or buy a dimpled barrel.

Last week I was standing in the isle of my local sporting store looking to get a pack of targets.  I was looking for a silhouette type target to do some rifle and handgun training with.  Standing there with a three pack of cardboard targets I had an epiphany.  Why am I going to spend $4.99 on this package filled with cardboard?  I have always been a fan of DIY shooting projects, even going to far as to design and print my own sight-in targets.  I always figure the more I save on everything else, the more shooting I can do.

I am not a machinist, but that does not preclude me from appreciating their work and the skills required to create weapon systems. To further my appreciation, Rifleshooter.com has posted up an excellent pictorial tutorial on machining your own AR-15/M16 barrel from a blank. 

Toms Techniques on YouTube rebuilt his Uncle’s Stevens Favorite rifle from scratch.

A very prominent member of the /k/ weapons board (anonymous forum) sadly passed away recently. In tribute to his friend, a member of /k/ is designing a rifle that can be built entirely of handtools. His design is a straight–pull tactical-looking rifle which can be adapted to a wide range of calibers. All the parts for this rifle should be purchasable online and finished without milling or welding. Once the design has been complete the designer plans on making the blueprints free and hopes that the community will start designing improvements.

A number of DIY guns were recovered by the Philippines army after the the rebel siege of the southern city of Zamboanga. They include 40mm grenade pistols, a gun vaguely patterned after an M4 and a Mac-10 clone.

Proteus at the DefCad forums has published CAD files for “The Brick”, a 3D printable semi-automatic .22 LR pistol. The gun is mostly made out of ABS plastic, even the bolt and barrel, but it does require a number of metal components, including an AR-15 semi-automatic fire control group, firing pin and buffer spring as well as a Ruger 10/22 magazine spring, a 1x8mm metal insert (for the chamber) and .44 caliber lead bullets or equivalent (inserted into the bolt to provide weight).

Yesterday I wrote about Chinese companies exporting 80% AR-15 lower receivers for $50. I just got an email from Shadow Ops Weaponry advertising their 80% raw/uncoated uppers for $79. Why import and pay all that shipping when you can buy them locally for only a few dollars more? The company sells an 80% lower receiver and a raw upper combo for $149.

After three decades of executive orders and trade sanctions from three different presidents it is hard to work out exactly what firearms can be exported from China. Certain shotguns, which lack “evil” features and which are not made in either of the two main state-owned gun factories, are imported into the USA legally, but it seems lawyers in either country have failed to find any other glaring loopholes that would allow guns to be exported from China and imported in the USA.

Yesterday Steve wrote about the Shot Towers of the USA, Europe and Australia. Today I will tell you about how shotgun ammunition is made in African villages.

There is an interesting video on LiveLeak (embedded below) showing Kurdish snipers in North Syria clearing out an al-Qaeda-linked rebel group from a Kurdish village. The four snipers are using identical .50 caliber rifles that are either completely hand made or at least partially hand made.

A reader sent in these photos allegedly taken of a Syrian arms bazaar in the rebel controlled city of  Deir ez-Zor. The photos show a 12 year old boy, with a 1911 pistol in a shoulder holster that is to big for him, manning a stall selling loose 7.62x39mm ammunition, gun cleaning supplies, a RPG launcher  SA7 anti-air missile/launcher, a variety of machine guns and a Mosin bolt action rifle.

A group of netizens from the weapon forum /k/ have bandied together to build a clone of the infamous Russian  VSS Vintorez suppressed rifle.

It seems that no matter what you do, someone is always complaining about looks like there is a mandatory art appreciation class given to all mall ninjas to get their CCW sash. I ask Fred, “is there any way to please all the ladies?” Fred hangs outside of Walgreens, bums cigarettes from passers by and advises on life between puffs of smoke.