Zip gun (opens in new tab)

Probably the most effective of these if you have 12ga ammo available is a “bang stick”. It’s basically a 12ga shell in a tube, with a spring that will force it into a firing pin when it’s pressed against something and trips a small lever holding back the spring. They’re used in shark hunting and for self-defense by divers against sharks.

Here’s a commercial one, which has a safety pin that must be removed before it will fire: http://www.billsbangsticks.com/12-Gauge-Powerhead_p_17.html

In an insurgency situation, devices like this are best used to obtain something better. Only being usable for a single shot isn’t necessarily a huge disadvantage, especially if there are multiple people using them at the same time. Pressed against heavy clothing, they also make surprising little noise. The “Liberator” .45 pistol was made by the US with the intention of airdropping the, to the French Resistance in WW2. In reality, almost all of them ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic. The Sten 9mm SMG didn’t cost much more to make and was much more effective.

As a side note - it’s more difficult in the US to make a legal zip gun than an illegal one. Smoothbores must have a 16” barrel or longer (18” for shotguns), and an overall length of 26”.

If you’re making a semi-auto, it must be a closed bolt design, and the sear must be designed to not reset until the trigger travels forward. It’s much easier to make an open-bolt SMG than a semi-auto pistol.

Not to be confused with a zip tie gun, a device indispensable to anyone doing major cable routing work. It tightens the zip tie the perfect amount and then cuts off the excess tail.

https://www.ebay.com/bhp/zip-tie-gun

The whole 3d printed gun scare boggled my mind. Making a single fire weapon with some pipe is so easy nearly anyone could do it. Getting the ammunition would be the hardest part were I live. Using a 3d printer take a lot more skill and effort.

A bit unrelated but it made me surprisingly happy to see that my very small hometown Vänersborg was mentioned in the article. Now I feel like going to our local museum to get some more information about the mentioned gun.

The weapon of choice for the GLA

Some of these are really impressive, but a lot look like overly involved ways to lose a hand.

It would be nice to rename this to "Improvised Firearms" (the article's actual title), as the current title contains an ethnic slur

Who would win - zip gun or zip bomb?