3D-Printed Gun Components – Part 6 by M.B.

(Continued from Part 5. This concludes the article.)

“All individuals are entitled to the utility to defend their humanity.

Gun control has failed.

You can’t stop the signal.”

—from the original Deterrence Dispensed (now known as The Gatalog) website

OPEN SOURCE FIREARMS

“Open Source Firearms” is a term that I’ve used to describe those few firearms that are so popular that parts—as well as information about the firearms—are widely available. Moreover, these arms are so popular that even frames or receivers are being made by companies other than the one that first sold the firearms. An “open source” gun is an easier project because parts are easy to get and available from a variety of sources.

On the other hand, many popular firearms never reached “open source” status. This means that all the parts out there may have been made by just one company. A builder who prints a receiver now has to source all the other parts for the gun, down to the last ejector spring and proprietary rear sight screw. Sometimes there are parts kits, but if not, the parts must be found and purchased one-at-a-time. This is even more difficult for guns that are no longer in production, and which may have had several versions, making it a challenge to obtain a collection of parts that fit together.

The popularity of the “open source” firearm also means that it’s a very well-understood gun, so that there is a large knowledge base of books, articles, reviews, etc. There may even be entire Web forums based primarily on that one firearm. Witness the Colt AR-15, which is sold in the millions each year in the U.S., but the vast majority of those ARs don’t have a single Colt-manufactured part in them! The huge site AR-15.com (known as “ARFCOM” to those of us who spend time there) has a number of discussion forums dedicated to the AR-15 and its many variants. There and elsewhere you can find in-depth discussions of gas port sizes, which gas system length is best, whether Loc-Tite on barrel nuts is a mortal sin, the ideal buffer weight for a given barrel length and caliber, etc., etc., etc.

So, which firearms are open source? That’s a great topic for a long discussion, but a few stand out as likely candidates:

• AR-15 – Parts are easy to get from an almost endless list of suppliers. Numerous designs of lower receivers are available to hobbyists with 3D printers. You can also print your own stock, pistol grip, handguard, trigger parts, magazines, sights, and much more. Books, videos, online forums, and probably your cousin the gun geek can help you put it all together. I bought a new-in-box Magpul armorer’s wrench for the AR ($80 new at the time) at a yard sale for just $5!

  Additionally, the AR-15 trigger group (trigger, hammer, and disconnector, along with the springs and pins) and safety lever have become standard components in a number of 3D-printing gun projects. They’re widely available, and even the mil-spec components yield an acceptable trigger pull.

• Glock pistol – Of course, this one’s open source! Even the magazines are made by a wide variety of companies, or you can print your own! Print any of a number of different frames, and then choose from a huge array of slides, sights, triggers, etc.

• Colt 1911 pistol – Even before 3D printing, it was easy to find parts everywhere and build your own, without a single part that was made by Colt. The challenge with a 1911 is making it run reliably, but there are books, videos, and even gunsmiths who specialize in the 1911. The (expensive) “Ghost Gunner” milling machines can make a 1911 receiver from a block of aluminum. Although I’m not aware of a 1911 frame design for 3D printing, the “3011” design mates a 1911 slide—in your choice of a variety of calibers—with a 3D-printed frame that cl;everly uses aluminum rail inserts and an AR-15 trigger, hammer, disconnector, and safety.

• Ruger 10/22 rifle – The 10/22 is one of the most common .22 LR rifles ever made. It’s used for plinking, target shooting, competition, and much more. There are several 3D-printable receiver designs available, and 10/22 parts are almost as common as those for Glocks and AR-15s and available from multiple manufacturers. Ruger even sells complete, “match grade” trigger assemblies! The design is so simple that it’s very easy to assemble, though the only 10-round, rotary magazines I’ll use are the ones from Ruger.

Why not AK? A pretty good argument can be made for considering the AK-47/AKM/AK-74 as an open-source firearm platform. I did not include it because—in my humble opinion—the parts support is not as strong as for the firearms listed above. The AK platform does benefit from having been built in huge numbers, in many countries, but all of those countries are overseas. The supply of parts and ammo have “dried up” at least once before, largely due to import restrictions. There is also—as I understand things—a lack of standardization between the various versions of the AK, making it a challenge to assemble the “right” parts for your build. That said, don’t let me stop you. If you love the AK platform, I encourage you to embrace it and to explore the many available possibilities with the brainchild of Mikhail Kalashnikov.

Choosing an open-source firearm for your first project will probably make collecting the necessary parts much easier. It will also be easier to find information if you run into trouble and need help doing or fixing something.

Project Example: The CZAR Pistol

The CZAR is based on the Czech vz. 61 .32 ACP submachine gun. The vz. 61 is one of the smallest military SMGs ever adopted by a nation. The CZAR takes advantage of demilitarized vz. 61 “parts kits,” with the lower receiver either absent or destroyed by being torch-cut into multiple pieces. Most parts kits available do not include a barrel, so the builder has to buy that separately and install it. The 3D-printed CZAR lower receiver uses an AR-15 semiautomatic fire control group (hammer, trigger, and disconnector) and safety/selector lever. It’s mated to the vz.61 stamped upper, using an M5 metric bolt. Picatinny rails on top of and on the rear of the lower make it easy to add an optic and a pistol brace. You can also print a version without the top rail, so you can use the iron sights on the upper receiver.

The CZAR is a solid choice for a new 3D gun builder, as it’s not difficult to assemble. It’s also a fairly safe design, with a low-pressure cartridge that is contained by a steel upper receiver and a steel bolt. The vz. 61 has a reputation for reliability, so minimal tweaking should be needed to get your CZAR running well. Mine ran like a sewing machine, right from the start!

The .32 ACP is not known as a powerhouse, but the CZAR is very easy to shoot for a recoil-shy person—recoil is comparable to a .22 LR carbine. It’s also easy to handle and is a great way to introduce inexperienced shooters to “tactical” firearms. It also uses 10- and 20-round magazines, so you can have a braced firearm with a red dot sight, a low recoil cartridge, and a 20-round magazine. Be sure to wear eye protection and a brimmed hat to keep hot brass from getting between your shooting glasses and your face, however. The CZAR—like the original vz. 61—throws its brass straight up, and it frequently lands on the shooter’s head!

Project Example: The Booligan Crickett Chassis

This is not a firearm receiver, but rather a chassis to hold a barreled action. The Keystone Arms Crickett line of .22 LR, bolt-action, single-shot rifles, and pistols are inexpensive and surprisingly accurate. The rifles are generally sold with child-sized stocks. The adult pistols are designed for shooting from a rest or a bipod. Keystone Arms offers a rail for attaching optics. It replaces the rear sight of either pistols or rifles. The Booligan chassis (“vanilla” version) fits both Crickett rifles and pistols, although it is somewhat short in the forearm compared to a regular rifle stock.

With a barreled action from a Crickett youth rifle, a Booligan chassis, and a simple stock, it could be a minimalist carbine that can be used by an adult. With a folding stock or a folding brace, a Crickett rifle could be a viable choice for a light, compact survival firearm for a backpack, or a compact truck/trunk gun. A Crickett Hunter Pistol in a simple Booligan chassis with a folding brace would make a very lightweight, compact little firearm for small game hunting, plinking, or as a survival gun for backpacking or to keep in a survival kit.

The Booligan Crickett chassis is easy to print and is designed to work with the right-hand bolt of the rifles and with the left-hand bolt of the pistols. Once you clean off the support materials, assembly consists of removing the barreled action from its stock and switching it over to the chassis. I printed mine with 65% infill to decrease the weight slightly while maintaining enough strength. I had to add a small, steel washer to the chassis when assembling.  Add a folding stock (rifle) or brace (pistol), as well as an optic (or use the factory sights), and you’re done!

CONCLUSION

A 3D printer has great potential for anyone interested in firearms and self-reliance. For me, the selling point for 3D printing of gun parts is being able to create firearms that I can’t buy, like an optics-ready Czech Skorpion that allows me to install a steady, folding brace that is much more stable than the cr*ptastic top-folding wire stock that gives the gun its name. All for a little over $300! You get the idea. There are even guns like the Hitchhiker, a single-shot .22 that you can build for about $100. It’s very light and compact, super simple, and fun to shoot. It’s also about the quickest single shot .22 LR when it comes to reloading. You can see it demonstrated on YouTube.

Are you not sure how you want to proceed with 3D printing?  Then browse Thingiverse, The Gatalog, CTRLPew, AreWeCoolYet? and Booligan’s site to find out if there are projects that you’re eager to create. I’ve only mentioned a few projects, but a little browsing will give you a better idea if this is something you’d like to try.

Even if you doubt you’ll ever print a single gun part, consider downloading a few project packages—provided it’s legal in your country. You might be able to share them with someone someday, perhaps after a fascist regime has banned their ownership. In the present day, the more widespread firearm-related 3D printing files become, the harder it is for statist politicians to call for them to be banned.

Remember what Mr. Universe said in the 2005 film Serenity: “Can’t stop the signal, Mal.”

REFERENCES