Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only. Be certain to consult local and state laws before attempting any of the information herein.
If you’ve got a hardware store near you, you’re one step closer to making your own gun.
I think we can all agree that owning a gun is one of the most important pieces of survival. That’s because this a great and effective survival tool for hunting. It’s also excellent for self-defense, as well as for intimidation purposes. After all, most people know they shouldn’t mess with you if there’s a gun in their face.
However, once SHTF there’s no guarantee your trusty gun is going to stay by your side. For example, someone could steal it, or you could somehow lose it. It’s also possible that the gun will break halfway through the emergency, rendering you defenseless.
Some people will also simply enter the crisis without one. Whether it’s because they don’t think to bring it, or because they don’t own one, no gun = lack of safety in most cases.
But what if there was a way of making your own gun? A way that if SHTF you can still create one to protect yourself and your family? Most people would kill for those odds.
Now keep in mind these DIY guns are quite a bit different than the ones you’ve likely been using. And, in many states, making your own gun is illegal.
Now I need you to know I’m not advocating that anyone break the law. However, I do recognize that in times of lawlessness, like when SHTF, the laws will go out the door. Everyone will be out for themselves. And when that happens, you’ll need to throw caution to the wind and do what you can to survive.
I want to help make sure you’re as prepared as humanly possible for a crisis. That’s why I want to show you these…
Tips For Making Your Own Gun
1 – The Zip Gun
Forms of the zip gun date all the way back to World War II. A version of them were manufactured by a division of General Motors. The intention for these was for resistance fighters to kill enemy soldiers and take their weapons.
Things haven’t changed much since then. Zip guns are still around and they’re still an effective way to kill someone/something in a tight spot. These are cheaply made guns, and are usually built for a single use. Because of the risk they pose to both the target and the shooter, they are strictly reserved for SHTF/TEOTWAWKI scenarios.
Watch the videos below for some tips on how to make your own gun (the zip gun variety). Please remember to check your local and state laws before attempting!
https://youtu.be/hnOX8tF4gsA
Now when making your own gun, it’s important to keep the end result in mind. The following image depicts what the average zip gun should look like:
2 – Tips On Making Your Own Gun (Zip)
The process of making your own gun (at least the zip kind) may be simpler than you think. If you have access to a hardware store, you’re partly there.
Here’s some great tips according to Survival Sullivan:
If you find a short length of tubing that is strong enough to withstand the pressure you are half way there. Brake line tubing is often used because it has an acceptable inside diameter, and it is a hydraulic pressure line, so it can withstand the pressure of a .22 cartridge.
The simplest form of zip gun is a barrel mounted onto a grip with a strip of springy metal screwed to the back of the grip. The springy metal strip is drilled, and a screw is positioned so that it hits the rim of the .22 cartridge. File the screw point flat so it hits solid on the rim of the cartridge.
Parts list for a simple .22 LR zip gun:
- Grip
- Metal tube for barrel (usually an automobile brake line will suffice)
- Metal strip (springy if possible)
- Rubber bands (if metal strip is not springy)
- Three screws
If you decided to make a larger caliber, then position the screw to hit the primer of a center fire cartridge. You still need to file the point off of the screw. If you don’t have springy metal, then just use a strip of any thin metal and simply wrap some rubber bands around the grip and metal strip so that the strip acts as a spring.
Keep in mind that if you can’t get .22 LR ammo you can always go to the hardware store and buy .22 caliber blank cartridges for nail guns, then go to Waldens world o’ Chinese made stuff and buy a box of .22 caliber pellets. Load a pellet, put the blank behind it, pull the trigger and it goes bang.
And actually, that method is a little more powerful than a standard .22 LR if you use the hotter blanks, believe it or not. You can buy various power blanks so if you get the most powerful blank it will send that pellet fast, but even the weaker ones will still take small game like squirrels and rabbits.
This video really gives you good information on the velocities you get firing pellets with blanks:
Better than a zip
If you want to make a hand gun that is a little better than just a zip gun there are a few ways to go about it. You can build it from scratch and take a lot of time and make a real, actual gun if you have the skills and tools. But most of us don’t have either of those to do that.
This guy did a pretty good job of making a real hand gun:
But you can get closer to a real gun by using an actual trigger and hammer or striker to fire the round, rather than just using a strip of metal and rubber bands. It just depends on how much time you have and what you want to do with it.
You can take a .22 caliber pellet rifle and convert it to fire live .22 LR ammo fairly easily. In the United States that would be legal to do, in your country if you aren’t supposed to have guns then you shouldn’t do that. I read that in some countries you have to have a special license even to own a pellet rifle!
Last shot
What it comes down to is that if you are living under the laws of your state or country, you have to follow those laws. But if a time comes when there are no longer governments and laws then you must do what you have to do to protect your family from bad people and to hunt to provide food. This may entail building a homemade gun.
Of all the options there are, if you need a firearm for protection or hunting quickly, then making a zip gun might be the answer. It will give you the immediate means of protection and allow you more time to make something better, or to use it to obtain better equipment, including genuine firearms.
I am not advocating breaking any laws, but I do feel strongly about protecting myself and my loved ones, especially if a time of lawlessness were to arise. Firearms are such an essential part of life here in the United States that our constitution guarantees us the right to keep and bear arms.
Most Americans already own at least one, if not several firearms so we don’t have to worry too much about having to make one for protection. But it’s always good to know how, just in case.
