The Improvised Weapons Thread

[Sturgeon]

Who doesn't like improvised weapons? Now there is a thread for them! From garage-built SMGs to a newspaper folded over a rock and wrapped in tape:

[Belesarius]

I can personally speak to how nasty rolled up paper can be, even in small amounts.  A 2 inch strip, rolled up and fired by elastic was a favored weapon in high school. And I had a rig that could shatter glass pop bottles

[roguetechie]

The john moses browning of intramural warfare?

[Toxn]

What makes something improvised?

 

Example: if I make a functional throwing spear from a sapling and a piece of glass, it would presumably be improvised. But if I did the same thing 500 years ago I'd be an Aztec...

[roguetechie]

That's a good point.

In my diy builds and experiments I often find and order existing parts that are 95% of the way to what I need, then alter them to fit my needs and purposes. These are often quite divergent from what they were originally intended to do, but it's not improvised.

Nor is it hardware hacking!!

It's just the most sensible way to do some stuff when you don't have unlimited time and funds.

For example: My current fun gun project has parts from 4+ production guns and an eclectic basket of repurposed aftermarket gun parts...

If I can get the one really cool feature of the build to work out right I'd happily put it head to head against any production firearm in it's class except possibly the Kris's Vector. Though even the Vector would be looking pretty pale against this freaky little mutant!

Speaking of which Sturgeon, I'm hoping I've figured out a way to bump up the power level of ammunition which a compact machine pistol can use and still be controllable. (While still being both affordable, robust, simple, and actually compact)

Needless to say that version 1.0 will not be giggle switch compatible, but I'll know pretty much right away from semiautomatic testing whether it COULD be controlled in full auto.

[Sturgeon]

There are ways, one of the ones I've been thinking about being the recoilless principle. No reason you couldn't make a full auto RR.

[Khand-e]

[LostCosmonaut]

There are ways, one of the ones I've been thinking about being the recoilless principle. No reason you couldn't make a full auto RR.

The Germans had a design for a fully automatic 55mm recoilless gun (for aircraft mounting). Think is was called the MK 112 or 115 (would link, but phone posting). Might be something about it in the aerospace documents thread.

 

Edit: It's the MK 115 http://www.deutscheluftwaffe.de/archiv/Dokumente/ABC/m/MK%20115/mk%20115%20%20motorkanone.html

[roguetechie]

Sturgeon,

Yeah really what's surprised me is just how many ways there are that are essentially low hanging fruit.

My particular solution is treading down a well trod path and really just started out as me having a fascination with the Argentine MPA machine pistol, Robinson's work, and some poking around my spare parts bins etc.

From there several wouldn't it be cool if... Conversations turned into wait a second that'd actually be pretty easy to implement using x, y, and q conversations.

I think I've spent $80 so far beyond the stuff I already have on hand, and even if I totally fail I'll have only "wasted" the $45 worth of strike industries parts I'm altering to be something other than what I bought them as.

On the other hand if I succeed... It could potentially be something worth making kits for etc to defray costs on my big projects.

Especially since the "industry heavyweights" in this particular market segment are masterpiece and excel arms... Hardly paragons of quality manufacturing and top tier products honestly.

[Oedipus Wreckx-n-Effect]

I'm curious, what is it that you are working on?

Sturgeon,

Yeah really what's surprised me is just how many ways there are that are essentially low hanging fruit.

My particular solution is treading down a well trod path and really just started out as me having a fascination with the Argentine MPA machine pistol, Robinson's work, and some poking around my spare parts bins etc.

From there several wouldn't it be cool if... Conversations turned into wait a second that'd actually be pretty easy to implement using x, y, and q conversations.

I think I've spent $80 so far beyond the stuff I already have on hand, and even if I totally fail I'll have only "wasted" the $45 worth of strike industries parts I'm altering to be something other than what I bought them as.

On the other hand if I succeed... It could potentially be something worth making kits for etc to defray costs on my big projects.

Especially since the "industry heavyweights" in this particular market segment are masterpiece and excel arms... Hardly paragons of quality manufacturing and top tier products honestly.

[roguetechie]

Basically I'm doing a version of the prototype MPA machine pistol from Argentina. (You can see an article on the gun at TFB from a few days ago)

I'm not doing it anywhere close to the same way as the original, but I should be able to get a very similar look.

The secret sauce is gonna be in the buffer system and some other little things I'm doing.

Mostly it's just a good time burning project / way to use up a cz-26 SMG parts kit, a 0% AR15 lower forging, and a handful of other items on something interesting and crazy.

Unless of course it turns into something awesome...

Then I'm gonna sell the shit out of the little bastards.

[Legiondude]

I suppose you guys have all seen the AK partially built out of a shovel right?

[Collimatrix]

I suppose you guys have all seen the AK partially built out of a shovel right?

 

Yes.

[Sturgeon]

Yuppers. At least I, colli, and Ulric have.

[Oedipus Wreckx-n-Effect]

Sturgeon has a shovel-AK body pillow.

[Toxn]

Wasn't it more of an AK where the reciever was built out of a shovel and everything else was mail-ordered from a factory?

[Collimatrix]

Crossposting from the small arms thread, here is a DShK being used to launch rifle grenades:

 

 

The grenades and the launcher both look improvised, and not so stable.

 

Improvised rifle grenades showed up here too:

[roguetechie]

Toxn has a point kinda... After all you don't pull out your mach 3 razor cartridge refills and proudly tell people how they were made from a battleship.

That said, the same guy has also made a steel frame for a glock, and they even offered kits so you too could have your very own sheet metal glock frame...

As I recall the whole glock frame thing was strictly a way to get around stupid laws in some states.

[Toxn]

What really impresses me are the khyber pass AKs - supposedly made via hand tools and ancient mills/lathes.

The other thing that impressed the hell out of me was Meplat rolling his own bp cartridges for an obscure french revolver.

[Donward]

A listicle from WarHistoryOnline feature four improvised weapons used in the Warsaw Uprising. I hadn't known that they used over 400 homemade flamethrowers in the battle.

http://m.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/4-improvised-weapons-used-warsaw-x-x.html

[Collimatrix]

Open-bolt SMGs, chambered for .22LR and cosmetically resembling AKs were used in a terror attack in Bangladesh last summer.  These weapons appear to be the product of clandestine, distributed manufacture.

Electrochemical machining looks like a useful alternative method for manufacturing rifling for improvised weapons.

[roguetechie]

Colli,

The Philco Ford method with 3 or 4 documents available on DTIC about it?

I personally tend to just call green mountain or Sarco inc and buy blanks or etc... But I also have a CNC lathe.

I found one the other day I'm hoping someone from the Russian contingent can link to more information about it.

 

5.45 AR thing

I found this the other other day and decided I need two...

My armory is like the land of mutant toys already so why the hell not a tube gun AR74

[LoooSeR]

Grenade launcher found during CTO in North Caucasus

[roguetechie]

I build some homely stuff from time to time, but DAYUMMM!!!

[Xlucine]

It even has a safety! A grenade launcher ought to be one of the easiest improvised firearms, ammo supply notwithstanding - they're really low pressure, so you can cut more corners on the barrel material. You also get more terminal effect than a shotgun