Some of the stuff that comes out of areas all over the world where private ownership of firearms is banned or for some reason hard to get is phenomenal. One very famous area is the Khyber Pass area. I would love to take a tour through their workshops. Many are so primitive the vise used to hold pieces is a pair of feet. Gunsmiths apprentice or are indentured to the builders at very young ages. One youngster was only six years old in one video I watched. He was very proud to be chosen for the prestigious position at such a young age. The only problem is that I likely wouldn't survive the tour.
Perceived need is the mother of invention. Those self taught builders seldom have any background in metallurgy or are even literate. They are just out of the box type thinkers that are willing to put the time and effort into giving something a try. Often such pieces are more dangerous to the user than the intended victims.
I remember a "Bush" rifle that was made from an old drive train bar. It was square. The hole down the center had been pre bored by the factory to lighten it and reduce stress and was very close in diameter to the 577 Snider round. The stock was a piece of scrap wood and the trigger assembly was made from a piece of scrap metal. The spring that operated the firing pin was on the outside of the receiver and had to be disconnected to open the breach and reload. The firing pin was formed from an exhaust valve. It was ugly as sin but it worked well enough to kill a village marauder so that the maker could claim his rifle as a prize. The firearm was passed on to the next fellow that wanted to use it to get a more reliable firearm. Soldiers, police, wardens etc, anyone that carried a decent firearm and was considered fair game if they were considered to be a problem.
When we were kids and radio antennae were made of stiff hollow tubing, we made zip guns up and used them for barrels. We cut them off right where the 22 rf cartridge would fit just tight enough that it was fairly simple to push the fired case out with a nail. Were these zip guns accurate or safe to shoot??? Hell no but they were a lot of fun.
Perceived need is the mother of invention. Those self taught builders seldom have any background in metallurgy or are even literate. They are just out of the box type thinkers that are willing to put the time and effort into giving something a try. Often such pieces are more dangerous to the user than the intended victims.
I remember a "Bush" rifle that was made from an old drive train bar. It was square. The hole down the center had been pre bored by the factory to lighten it and reduce stress and was very close in diameter to the 577 Snider round. The stock was a piece of scrap wood and the trigger assembly was made from a piece of scrap metal. The spring that operated the firing pin was on the outside of the receiver and had to be disconnected to open the breach and reload. The firing pin was formed from an exhaust valve. It was ugly as sin but it worked well enough to kill a village marauder so that the maker could claim his rifle as a prize. The firearm was passed on to the next fellow that wanted to use it to get a more reliable firearm. Soldiers, police, wardens etc, anyone that carried a decent firearm and was considered fair game if they were considered to be a problem.
When we were kids and radio antennae were made of stiff hollow tubing, we made zip guns up and used them for barrels. We cut them off right where the 22 rf cartridge would fit just tight enough that it was fairly simple to push the fired case out with a nail. Were these zip guns accurate or safe to shoot??? Hell no but they were a lot of fun.
