After Orlando, the Homemade AR-15 Industry Surges
 

In the wake of the worst mass shooting in US history, many Americans want to ban civilians from buying the AR-15, that ultra-popular, all-American killing tool. But in basements and garages around the country, another group of Americans is collecting the machines and materials to make those firearms in the privacy of their own homes. And for them, just as much as for gun control advocates, Orlando represents a call to arms.

Senate Democrats reacted to the massacre by filibustering until Republicans agreed to allow a vote on four gun control measures. Every measure failed on Monday night. But even fears of such legislation have lead gun owners to stock up on guns and ammunition after every mass shooting in recent history. And now a newer trend has emerged in the days since Omar Mateen killed 49 people with a handgun and a Sig Sauer MCX rifle: sales are spiking for the equipment and materials used by DIY gunsmiths to make their own, fully-functional, semi-automatic weapons.

Using power tools, chunks of aluminum, and cheap, consumer-grade digital gadgets, those firearm-focused members of the maker movement fabricate homemade weapons like AR-15s and AR-10s that skirt all regulation and would be untraceable in some imagined, future crackdown in which the government were to seize registered weapons. ?People are hopping off the mainstream train and accepting an underground dissident mentality when it comes to guns,? says Cody Wilson, the founder of the Austin, Texas-based DIY gun group Defense Distributed. ?They?re making the connection: If [an AR-15 ban] is enacted, I can get this machine and make one anyway.?

Since the fall of 2014, Defense Distributed has sold approximately three thousand of the $1,500 devices it calls the Ghost Gunner, a computer-controlled, one-foot cubed milling machine designed to let anyone carve their own aluminum body of an AR-15 at home. Since all other parts of the gun can be bought without any regulation, the result is a lethal weapon that?s free from background checks, waiting periods, serial numbers, or any other government involvement.

On a typical day, Defense Distributed sells four or five of its gun-making machines, according to Wilson. But on the day after the Orlando gun massacre, it sold seven. The second day after the killings, as Democratic senators were filibustering, it sold 11. In all, Defense Distributed?s total revenue has jumped from around $30,000 a week to more than $50,000 last week, the most sales it?s seen since the hype around the Ghost Gunner?s initial launch 20 months ago.

Older methods of making an untraceable AR-15 are exploding, too. Santa Ana, California-based 80 Percent Arms, for instance, specializes in ?80 percent lower receivers?: bodies of AR-15s and AR-10s that are left 20 percent unfinished and thus unregulated. DIY gunsmiths can complete that last bit of machining themselves, with tools ranging from a Ghost Gunner?s automated milling to a simple drill press and a set of jigs. The day of the Orlando shooting, 80 Percent Arms? sales spiked fivefold, then sixfold on the day after and sevenfold the day after that, says the company?s president Tilden Smith. ?When Obama gets on the air talking about gun control, that kicks off a buying frenzy. Everyone flips out,? Smith says. ?They?re incentivized to get all the 80-percent stuff they can now, because they don?t think they?ll be able to get it next year.?

Contrary to what these DIY AR-15 builders seem to believe, however, none of the federal bills that gained momentum after Orlando would actually ban AR-15s, although some would limit semi-automatic weapon features. Nor did they seek to seize weapons based on the serial numbers and registration. And after the bills failed on Monday evening, it?s likely that no national gun control legislation will result from the tragedy at all.

But Ladd Everitt, the communications director for the gun control group the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, says that gun enthusiasts are nonetheless responding to a real change in political tone. He calls the spike in DIY gun sales ?anarchist bullshit? and a ?tantrum? in the face of impending, necessary laws. ?I don?t see what this is going to accomplish, but it?s a rebellion,? he says. ?It?s just a political statement at a time when gun regulation is at the door.?

Popular support for gun control is ratcheting up: 55 percent of Americans want new gun control laws according to a poll taken last week by CNN and the Opinion Research Council, compared with 46 percent last year. And 85 percent of respondents said they want background checks to be expanded to determine whether a gun buyer is on a federal terrorist watchlist or no-fly list?exactly the sort of screening that?s circumvented by making a semi-automatic weapon at home.

But the real appeal for DIY gunsmiths is the potential to own an entirely unregistered weapon, says Gene Hoffman, founder of the Roseville, California-based gun activist group the Calguns Foundation. ?Registration is kind of dangerous. The real reason most gun rights organizations oppose background checks isn?t about background checks,? says Hoffman, who?s himself used 80-percent lowers to build his AR-10s without serial numbers. ?If things go to hell, no one can prove I own it. I don?t want it to be confiscated.?

He points to a proposed state-level gun law in California as a driving force behind these increased sales, which does seek to outlaw some forms of DIY gun-making. A bill introduced by State Senator Kevin Deleon in January would expand the definition of ?firearm? under California law to include a ?frame or receiver blank, casting, or machined body, that is designed and clearly identifiable as a component of a functional weapon.? That would effectively end the sale of 80-percent lower receivers in the state, Hoffman says, if it passed and were signed into law. A big ?if.?

Wilson?s customers have also taken note of the bill. ?When can we expect the AR-10 code to be released??? asks one Defense Distributed customer in an email to the group seeking the digital blueprint for making that larger, higher-caliber sibling of the AR-15. ?Here in California, they?re trying to ban homemade guns, so time is of the essence!!!?

But outside of California, Wilson admits that the drive to buy gun-making materials and tools is being driven partially by ?animal spirits??paranoia in reaction to gun control talk. ?There?s a real sense of being harried and alienated and under duress, and that?s driving interest,? he says. Like Hoffman, Wilson sees the civilian ownership of military weapons as a measure to keep the government itself in check. ?When the system breaks down, you get to vote from the rooftops. We have the second amendment for when it?s time to murder our government,? he says matter-of-factly. ?It?s one of the last best traditions of the western enlightenment.?

https://www.wired.com/?p=2047946&utm...nt=buffer35c7b

the more gas people have, the more of an opportunity society has to witness murders.

I imagine anyone could make a firearm in their basement... but how good it would be is another story altogether.

Banning the AR-15 because it's popular? Because it's tactical? Because it's black?

Sounds like some of the reasoning used to ban the balisong.

Fuck American made crap anyways.

When my best friend got married some 10 years ago I, of course, was his best man and was prepared for everything from the Advil after the bachelor party to the rings on the big day. One thing I didn?t plan for though was this fool crying. Bruh, I could not believe this typically cocky alpha male was up here bawling. I swear if we hadn?t been in the house of the Lord, I would have bust out laughing in his face right then and there. Instead, I snickered under my breath and saved the jokes?of which there were plenty?for another day.

Fast-forward six years later, and I was now preparing to jump my own broom. I was cool throughout the entire morning leading up to the ceremony. But as soon as the strings on my entrance song, Kanye?s ?All of the Lights (Interlude),? came on, the waterworks started. I had no idea what was coming over me but I couldn?t stop the tears from coming down my eyes no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I just said, two tears in a bucket, f?k it?and walked out to the altar with my head held high. I even shed a few more by the time my bride made her way down the aisle.

The question remains: Why do (some) men cry during their wedding?

I?d be hard-pressed to come up with an answer for every single guy on the planet so I?ll just speak on my own personal experience. I wasn?t mourning the loss of my bachelorhood or feeling like my life was somehow over. In fact, it was the complete opposite. As cliché as it might sound, I was crying tears of pure joy. Second to the birth of my first child or finding out that Chick-fil-A was coming to New York City, this was the happiest day of my life.

Coming from a broken family and all the commitment issues that go along with that, I was embarking on a journey that I didn?t always think was possible. I was defying the statistics about black folks and marriage and starting something my own parents couldn?t finish. Plus, I was getting the opportunity to put a ring on the finger of one of the most beautiful women I had ever known. If a Jordan-crying face was the price I had to pay for all of that, then sign me up.

As boys, we?re often taught that crying isn?t cool and not what ?real? men do?unless somebody died or you just won the championship game?because it?s seen as a sign of weakness. Well, in that moment I didn?t feel weak, but free. I was letting go of all my childish ways and doing the manliest thing possible?pledging my allegiance to a black woman forever ever.
ntions of #RelationshipGoals were at an all-time high recently because of this viral video of a crying groom that gave everyone all the feels. If somehow you were actually living life and missed it, here?s a quick rundown: Gabriel Deku burst into tears at the mere sight of his bride-to-be, Annabelle, walking down the aisle. The sob fest got so intense that Gabriel?s best man (aka the real MVP) had to G-check the big homie and make him stand up straight and look at his wife like she?s the captain now. A few quick sniffles later and the United Kingdom-based couple got on with the ceremony.

Once Black Twitter got wind of the video, its female contingent got their Keith Murray on and dubbed the scene the ?most beautifullest thing in this world.? Comment sections were flooded with broad-stroked declarations from women that their bae?both real and fictional?better cry them a river at the altar or his love will forever be questioned. Guys, for the most part, took to roasting Gabriel for shedding thug tears.

I can see both sides of the proverbial coin here.

When my best friend got married some 10 years ago I, of course, was his best man and was prepared for everything from the Advil after the bachelor party to the rings on the big day. One thing I didn?t plan for though was this fool crying. Bruh, I could not believe this typically cocky alpha male was up here bawling. I swear if we hadn?t been in the house of the Lord, I would have bust out laughing in his face right then and there. Instead, I snickered under my breath and saved the jokes?of which there were plenty?for another day.

Fast-forward six years later, and I was now preparing to jump my own broom. I was cool throughout the entire morning leading up to the ceremony. But as soon as the strings on my entrance song, Kanye?s ?All of the Lights (Interlude),? came on, the waterworks started. I had no idea what was coming over me but I couldn?t stop the tears from coming down my eyes no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I just said, two tears in a bucket, f?k it?and walked out to the altar with my head held high. I even shed a few more by the time my bride made her way down the aisle.

The question remains: Why do (some) men cry during their wedding?

I?d be hard-pressed to come up with an answer for every single guy on the planet so I?ll just speak on my own personal experience. I wasn?t mourning the loss of my bachelorhood or feeling like my life was somehow over. In fact, it was the complete opposite. As cliché as it might sound, I was crying tears of pure joy. Second to the birth of my first child or finding out that Chick-fil-A was coming to New York City, this was the happiest day of my life.

Coming from a broken family and all the commitment issues that go along with that, I was embarking on a journey that I didn?t always think was possible. I was defying the statistics about black folks and marriage and starting something my own parents couldn?t finish. Plus, I was getting the opportunity to put a ring on the finger of one of the most beautiful women I had ever known. If a Jordan-crying face was the price I had to pay for all of that, then sign me up.

As boys, we?re often taught that crying isn?t cool and not what ?real? men do?unless somebody died or you just won the championship game?because it?s seen as a sign of weakness. Well, in that moment I didn?t feel weak, but free. I was letting go of all my childish ways and doing the manliest thing possible?pledging my allegiance to a black woman forever ever.
ntions of #RelationshipGoals were at an all-time high recently because of this viral video of a crying groom that gave everyone all the feels. If somehow you were actually living life and missed it, here?s a quick rundown: Gabriel Deku burst into tears at the mere sight of his bride-to-be, Annabelle, walking down the aisle. The sob fest got so intense that Gabriel?s best man (aka the real MVP) had to G-check the big homie and make him stand up straight and look at his wife like she?s the captain now. A few quick sniffles later and the United Kingdom-based couple got on with the ceremony.

Once Black Twitter got wind of the video, its female contingent got their Keith Murray on and dubbed the scene the ?most beautifullest thing in this world.? Comment sections were flooded with broad-stroked declarations from women that their bae?both real and fictional?better cry them a river at the altar or his love will forever be questioned. Guys, for the most part, took to roasting Gabriel for shedding thug tears.

I can see both sides of the proverbial coin here.

When my best friend got married some 10 years ago I, of course, was his best man and was prepared for everything from the Advil after the bachelor party to the rings on the big day. One thing I didn?t plan for though was this fool crying. Bruh, I could not believe this typically cocky alpha male was up here bawling. I swear if we hadn?t been in the house of the Lord, I would have bust out laughing in his face right then and there. Instead, I snickered under my breath and saved the jokes?of which there were plenty?for another day.

Fast-forward six years later, and I was now preparing to jump my own broom. I was cool throughout the entire morning leading up to the ceremony. But as soon as the strings on my entrance song, Kanye?s ?All of the Lights (Interlude),? came on, the waterworks started. I had no idea what was coming over me but I couldn?t stop the tears from coming down my eyes no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I just said, two tears in a bucket, f?k it?and walked out to the altar with my head held high. I even shed a few more by the time my bride made her way down the aisle.

The question remains: Why do (some) men cry during their wedding?

I?d be hard-pressed to come up with an answer for every single guy on the planet so I?ll just speak on my own personal experience. I wasn?t mourning the loss of my bachelorhood or feeling like my life was somehow over. In fact, it was the complete opposite. As cliché as it might sound, I was crying tears of pure joy. Second to the birth of my first child or finding out that Chick-fil-A was coming to New York City, this was the happiest day of my life.

Coming from a broken family and all the commitment issues that go along with that, I was embarking on a journey that I didn?t always think was possible. I was defying the statistics about black folks and marriage and starting something my own parents couldn?t finish. Plus, I was getting the opportunity to put a ring on the finger of one of the most beautiful women I had ever known. If a Jordan-crying face was the price I had to pay for all of that, then sign me up.

As boys, we?re often taught that crying isn?t cool and not what ?real? men do?unless somebody died or you just won the championship game?because it?s seen as a sign of weakness. Well, in that moment I didn?t feel weak, but free. I was letting go of all my childish ways and doing the manliest thing possible?pledging my allegiance to a black woman forever ever.

What in the possible fuck

Black tar heroin :2 cents::2 cents:

Why you gots to say "black"?

Why do so Americans feel the need to own a gun this powerful?

Anyone have an answer to this question?

It is very simple.

There are a few different types of people who want these kinds of guns.

1. Collectors. While there are gun collectors out there, there aren't that many of them so this isn't a big segment of the population. I would also lump those who enjoy target shooting into this category. There are people that enjoy doing that, but they make up a pretty small segment of gun owners.

2. Home Defense. People are not realist. Math doesn't lie. For every time a gun is used in self-defense in the home, there are 7 assaults or murders, 11 suicide attempts, and 4 accidents involving guns in or around a home. People read the story that goes viral about the 13-year-old girl who got her dad's gun and fought off home invaders and they shit themselves with gun pride and run out and get a rifle. The odds are much higher that the girl comes home a few minutes later and walks in on the robbery and potentially gets killed, but people don't want to hear that. They fell safe knowing they is an AR in the closet.

3. Crazy people. I don't mean this in the sense of people who are really, legitimately, mentally ill. I mean it in the sense of those people who think the government is going to declare marshal law or there will be some kind invasion and they will have to load up and fight for their freedom. Of course, that isn't going to happen, but they want to be ready just in case. More realistically is that a major natural disaster hits and leaves a place without water, electricity etc for an extended period of time and that creates unrest that a person might need to defend themselves against.

I have no problem with people owning guns. I own one. I just wish people were more realistic about why they own them and understood that if they have a gun because they are afraid, they need to fix shit in their life so they aren't living in fear because a gun isn't going to change that, it is just going to make someone who is scared and armed.

Better than your homemade AK47?

I grew up shooting guns when I was a kid. Was the only entertainment we had besides burning the trash once a week. I think any responsible person should have a gun. Learn to shoot it and obey the rules. But the truth is too many irresponsible people own guns.

Please don't try to use common sense....it's a concept conservatives can't grasp.

I think a misconception gun nuts have is that everyone who wants more gun control is some homo who knows nothing guns, nor has never fired or been near one. As a guy who used to reload his own 9mm, 5.56 and 12 gauge rounds in his basement, has built an AR15 through mail order, owned a Glock, Mosseberg 500, Ruger 10/22 (and those are the ones I can remember), fired full auto Ak variants, m249 SAW, mp5, Uzi, Thompson, etc -- I've probably forgotten more about guns than most people will ever know.

But why do I think it should be much harder for people to own them? Because I'm a pansy liberal?

i never finished :( they make it look easy :helpme a friend is doing it in spare time. oh well i have real ones if want to go hunting.

You go hunting with AK 47?

He also flies B-2 bomber in his spare time. Done it since he was 9. Long azz tyme.
Don't know how it is in Europe but here you get your B-2 drivers license as soon as you apply for social security assistance benefits. Its called EBT card. B stands for "bomber"

Therein is one of the issues. I have friends that are very pro-gun conservatives and they constantly bitch about "having their guns taken away." When I point out that nobody is trying to take their guns that one of the things they want to do is just tighten up the way background checks are done they still think it is a smokescreen mean to take guns away.

If government wanted to take guns away they would do it little by little, step by step. So I understand their worries that this might be one of the steps. Or don't you agree and you think that if government wanted to take them away, they would do it in one huge step?

I think if the government wanted to take guns away they would do it in one big step or a few big steps. The reason I say that is the ever changing face of our political system may not allow a "long game" in this. If liberals controlled the government and started to do things that were leading towards the removal guns there is no guarantee that they aren't going to be voted out and those who replace them simply reverse what they have done. I think, in order to get it done, they will have to act fast.

To me they would do it in a few big moves. The first would be an assault weapons ban like we used to have. Along with that would be a ban on guns (including handguns) that hold more than a set amount of rounds. Once that was in place and they felt they had most of them out of circulation they would then ban handguns arguing that most gun crimes are committed with handguns therefore they have to go. Last to go would be hunting and sport rifles.

To me they would do this over a 2-4 year period and make certain they had it all done and on the books as laws before a major election so if they then lost power in the next election the new administration would have to jump through some hurdles to overturn the laws.

Gun isn't going protect you much from the Government, when they send in a robotically controlled bomb for you. Anyone living in a country where a gun is "need" for protection, I'd highly advise moving country.

Yes. The robot killing the sniper is still a keystone in this agenda.

http://i.imgur.com/c60FYgz.gif

1. Collectors. Are these guns collectors items like stamps? This is a stupid notion. People collect rare things, not common day items.

2. Home Defense. Yes, do the maths. How many police officers shot in the last 3 months? Won't bother with crazies shooting innocents, it's too obvious. try buying a dot or a burglar alarm. They're more effective. They stop people entering a property. They go next door, where a householder only has a gun and no one knows until the criminal is in the premises.

3. Crazy people. Which is why they should be banned.

When the NRA campaign to ensure crazy people can buy guns. It makes te pro-gun debate null and void.

So start phoning congressman and tell them to pass laws limiting who can buy powerful guns.

Why would Government want to take your weapons away for any other reason than to lower the death rate from shooting?

Good luck any civilian standing up to the Government. The police send in a robotic bomb. The military has people trained to kill from a mile away. With lethal accuracy and one bullet. Making the gun nut's argument so stupid it's a joke.

Anyone who has witnessed the effectiveness of elite troops will testify to this.

So basically..where there's will there's a way :1orglaugh:helpme

Because Fox news, the Blaze, Rush Limbaugh etc brainwashes them to think this.

People collect all kinds of things both rare and common. There are gun collectors out there that just collect old, rare guns and there are others that collect newer guns. But, still, collectors make up a very small percentage of gun owners.

A good alarm system or a loud dog will keep you the average person safer in their home than a gun. That much is for sure.

nah you can drug a dog with lace steak. ex alarm techs are premium members of a team!

Now you are talking about things that mostly happen in movies. Sure, people who install alarms could be scum and could rob you, but you don't hear about that happening very often. The same with dogs being drugged. The reality is, if you have a dog that will bark at noises and strangers, robbers will likely pass you on by unless they know you have something of serious value. A dog means noise and noise means getting caught. No use in fucking with a dog when they can just go down the street to a house with no alarm or no dog.

lookup facebook vacations oh it happens dogg. a dog will not refuse meat
Burglars drugging dogs during house break-ins | Irish Examiner
another way gas the people in the house through the a\c then you can get all the goods. load everything to the front of the house pack the truck it total darkness. gone by sunrise.

From your own article:

I don't doubt it happens, but it is pretty rare. Also, it sounds like in these cases the people weren't home at the time of the robbery which means if they did have an AR 15 in the house and it wasn't in a bolted down gun safe, it is likely in the hands of the robber now.

Only a gun freak collects modern weapons. Yes there are far better, safer and safer for the family methods of protecting the home.

So we are left with crazy people.

You don't own a dog. Nor have an alarm system.

dogs are aroused by the slightest noise if kept outside they will bark if someone approaches the house if the dog is inside, even more, protection. If an alarm is bypassed by a security code it points to a few people.

As Kane says a burglar will just target the next house. A simple "Beware of the dog" sign and a fake alarm box on the wall is better protection than a gun.

Paul you sound like an idiot, well...mostly because you are, but it's obvious that you just don't understand American culture. So if that's the case, why bother with it? Why get yourself so worked up about something that has ABSOLUTELY no effect on you?

you are right old perv! i don't own a dog! i own two! i wont go into details about alarms. Have a great day gfy!! Later! :thumbsup