Weapons, do you own any?

[Lark]

We can, at least here I'm pretty sure. There's stuff you can't make but if somebody wants to build their own rifle or something, they can. They just can't sell it without a dealer's license.

Were are you from because I know that garage guns are illegal in the UK and NI. A lot of the loyalist paramilitaries tried to create garage guns.

 

[sprinkles]

Were are you from because I know that garage guns are illegal in the UK and NI. A lot of the loyalist paramilitaries tried to create garage guns.

In the US. Different state laws vary on it.

There's specs you have to meet such as length and magazine size or how many parts you can import for it. Making a pipe gun for example is not OK. Making a custom precision rifle for example is OK. Some places have restriction on caliber and so forth.

The ATF has rules outlining what one can and can't manufacture themselves.

 

[jryn1993]

Well my point is that people have to respect the weapons, and that is on them. Gun culture is an influence on the uninitiated as well.

My uncle has dozens of guns and has kids in the house, but they all have a respect for them. I don't think they are a significant danger in this case.

At the same time though other people have dozens of guns and are incredibly careless and disrespectful of them. They idolize the gun but don't display the proper respect, and make videos of themselves shooting an AK full auto until the wood foregrip catches on fire from the barrel heat and people go "augh! look at these stupid Americans!" and other people go "whoa that is awesome! I want to try that!"

Edit:
Also there are kids these days that want an AK because they believe they might get in a firefight or something and it won't jam because it's the best gun or something. Or because it's gangsta. Most guns don't jam a significant amount for a civilian if they are taken care of. But old factory built AK's DO catch on fire because the wooden heat guard is often too close to the barrel. So they still don't have that uber gun that they are looking for unless they mod it. Anyone who is looking to have one should know that.

I agree completely that many people do not know what the hell they're doing with firearms and should not be handling them until they do. I just don't see the difference between being careless with 1 gun vs. 12. It only takes 1 for an accident to occur. Same for any type of weapon, or anything at all that has the potential to cause injury.
On a side note I've shot several AK's with wood furniture and been around plenty more and I have never seen a heat shield catch fire. Not to say it's impossible, but if that happens it's extremely rare. Also you are right about many uninitiated people wanting an AK without really knowing anything about it. It is indeed one of the most reliable firearm designs there is, but the human engineering leaves something to be desired. I'd still recommend one over a lot of other options though.

 

[kyuuei]

Do you have any philosophical or spiritual views which relate to weapons? Do you own or have you ever owned any weapons?

Spiritually speaking--they are tools, just like anything else. They created a mode of survival for us as humans. We didn't need claws, fangs, speed, or strength--we could focus on our mental capacities and augment and supplement the rest. I find it a unique exchange, and the idea of weaponry being created by us is a blessing. How we use that blessing is up to us, though.

Philosophically speaking--I highly admire and enjoy medieval weaponry. Bows, arrows, crossbows, trebuchets and swords.. They're all amazing. Primitive weaponry is really incredible. I do have SOME appreciation for guns and such, but I mostly attach skill, honor, justice, and other principles like that to more primitive weaponry.

Myself I've never really be sure about it, I would like to own some sort of rack of swords or something like that in an ideal home/world.

I have an... array of weaponry in my own home. We have a hand gun, as is customary for Texans, and for myself: a dagger by my bed at all times, a blunted mace close to the entry way but tucked out of sight for common guests, various decorative and non-functional blades and a couple completely functional ones.

I aim to have a primitive bow and arrow set by the end of the year.. I'll be very pleased if I can make that happen, as the bow is my favorite historical weapon.

 

[sprinkles]

I agree completely that many people do not know what the hell they're doing with firearms and should not be handling them until they do. I just don't see the difference between being careless with 1 gun vs. 12. It only takes 1 for an accident to occur. Same for any type of weapon, or anything at all that has the potential to cause injury.
On a side note I've shot several AK's with wood furniture and been around plenty more and I have never seen a heat shield catch fire. Not to say it's impossible, but if that happens it's extremely rare. Also you are right about many uninitiated people wanting an AK without really knowing anything about it. It is indeed one of the most reliable firearm designs there is, but the human engineering leaves something to be desired. I'd still recommend one over a lot of other options though.

Yeah one is just as dangerous as a hundred but there's a whole mindset that can go along with excessive indulgence in anything, whether it's guns or cats. That's kind of what I'm talking about.

And yeah, if you shoot slowly or give the barrel a little time to cool down, an AK won't burn up. And not all are prone to it. But if you're doing non stop mag dumps for 700 rounds then it will fubar. I've seen one where the gas tube actually bent and popped off the front mount. It's the unreasonable use that does it. Normal use and it's a fine weapon.

 

[Lark]

In the US. Different state laws vary on it.

There's specs you have to meet such as length and magazine size or how many parts you can import for it. Making a pipe gun for example is not OK. Making a custom precision rifle for example is OK. Some places have restriction on caliber and so forth.

The ATF has rules outlining what one can and can't manufacture themselves.

I had a great book on improvised weapons once which was a collection of police photographs of weapons built by gangs in the states, it was pretty dated and even at that revealed very little about the actual manufacture of the same, I think it was called zips, pipes and guns or something like that.

I remember the authors point being that the ability of criminals to improvise such weapons made a joke of any sort of gun control laws but like I say it was an old book and probably was talking about gun ownership in an era before private ownership of machine guns became even economically feasible for most people.

There were biker gangs and others who I read about who specialised in garage guns and the police interviews about them suggested that the weapons were nasty, liable to kill or injury the shooter as often as the target but that used at close range, like a knife, as they had been they were are lethal as any proper gun. In the UK a lot of the gun crime has been individuals discharging weapons at close enough range for it to inflict powder burns which indicates that they are being used "like a knife" like the cops describing the use of garage guns by biker gangs outlined.

 

[sprinkles]

I had a great book on improvised weapons once which was a collection of police photographs of weapons built by gangs in the states, it was pretty dated and even at that revealed very little about the actual manufacture of the same, I think it was called zips, pipes and guns or something like that.

I remember the authors point being that the ability of criminals to improvise such weapons made a joke of any sort of gun control laws but like I say it was an old book and probably was talking about gun ownership in an era before private ownership of machine guns became even economically feasible for most people.

There were biker gangs and others who I read about who specialised in garage guns and the police interviews about them suggested that the weapons were nasty, liable to kill or injury the shooter as often as the target but that used at close range, like a knife, as they had been they were are lethal as any proper gun. In the UK a lot of the gun crime has been individuals discharging weapons at close enough range for it to inflict powder burns which indicates that they are being used "like a knife" like the cops describing the use of garage guns by biker gangs outlined.

Yeah. We can't just stick a 20 gauge shell in a pipe and slap a spring on it. Doing that will land you in jail quick.

 

[jryn1993]

Yeah one is just as dangerous as a hundred but there's a whole mindset that can go along with excessive indulgence in anything, whether it's guns or cats. That's kind of what I'm talking about.

And yeah, if you shoot slowly or give the barrel a little time to cool down, an AK won't burn up. And not all are prone to it. But if you're doing non stop mag dumps for 700 rounds then it will fubar. I've seen one where the gas tube actually bent and popped off the front mount. It's the unreasonable use that does it. Normal use and it's a fine weapon.

Okay, now I see what you're trying to say. Thanks for clarifying.

And yes, other than the RPK versions of the design they are not meant to shoot continuously with no cool down. (And even automatic rifles like the RPK have their limits).

 

[Lark]

Spiritually speaking--they are tools, just like anything else. They created a mode of survival for us as humans. We didn't need claws, fangs, speed, or strength--we could focus on our mental capacities and augment and supplement the rest. I find it a unique exchange, and the idea of weaponry being created by us is a blessing. How we use that blessing is up to us, though.

Philosophically speaking--I highly admire and enjoy medieval weaponry. Bows, arrows, crossbows, trebuchets and swords.. They're all amazing. Primitive weaponry is really incredible. I do have SOME appreciation for guns and such, but I mostly attach skill, honor, justice, and other principles like that to more primitive weaponry.



I have an... array of weaponry in my own home. We have a hand gun, as is customary for Texans, and for myself: a dagger by my bed at all times, a blunted mace close to the entry way but tucked out of sight for common guests, various decorative and non-functional blades and a couple completely functional ones.

I aim to have a primitive bow and arrow set by the end of the year.. I'll be very pleased if I can make that happen, as the bow is my favorite historical weapon.

If it wasnt for the fact they hate socialists and execute retards its like Texas could be my spiritual home or something

Wait, its hot, dry and dusty, not climatically anything like the cold, wet, green land of my birth, yeah, I'd die there *snaps out of day dream*

 

[Lark]

Yeah. We can't just stick a 20 gauge shell in a pipe and slap a spring on it. Doing that will land you in jail quick.

I love to read about these things though, I remember randomly picking up a UK gun magazine back in the day when I still had an obsession with firearms and wore army surplus which had a brilliant piece on these random ass weapons seized by police in Africa, one was a single shot shotgun which worked with the spring from beneath a car seat, there were these other mad, huge things which were essentially big ass revolvers which used shotgun shells but had tendency to self destruct, I also read about weapons made from car parts by EOTAS, was it EOTAS? In the hostilities in cyprus between the greeks and turks was it?

Mad, the other crazy thing I read about was a gas and air or pressure operated zip gun built in a prison which fired hardened/varnished peas or other objects and was used by some guy to shoot some prisoners who attempted to invade his cell, it wasnt enough to kill though.

 

[Lark]

I think it was EOKA maybe instead of what I wrote.

 

[sprinkles]

I love to read about these things though, I remember randomly picking up a UK gun magazine back in the day when I still had an obsession with firearms and wore army surplus which had a brilliant piece on these random ass weapons seized by police in Africa, one was a single shot shotgun which worked with the spring from beneath a car seat, there were these other mad, huge things which were essentially big ass revolvers which used shotgun shells but had tendency to self destruct, I also read about weapons made from car parts by EOTAS, was it EOTAS? In the hostilities in cyprus between the greeks and turks was it?

Mad, the other crazy thing I read about was a gas and air or pressure operated zip gun built in a prison which fired hardened/varnished peas or other objects and was used by some guy to shoot some prisoners who attempted to invade his cell, it wasnt enough to kill though.

There's scary stuff that can be improvised if one is inclined yeah.

I read somewhere that some times the IRA even welded together their own home made mortar tubes.

And if you think about it, guns started out as just a pipe pretty much and of course everything used to be hand made. Somebody discovered black powder and stuffed it in a tube with a projectile and gave it a spark pretty much.

Hand crafted muzzle loaders are still a thing with some people too, and are interesting. I've fired a Brown Bess a few times. The darn thing is practically as tall as I am so it was an interesting experience for sure.

 

[jcloudz]

i know im getting off topic.

 

[Lark]

There's scary stuff that can be improvised if one is inclined yeah.

I read somewhere that some times the IRA even welded together their own home made mortar tubes.

And if you think about it, guns started out as just a pipe pretty much and of course everything used to be hand made. Somebody discovered black powder and stuffed it in a tube with a projectile and gave it a spark pretty much.

Hand crafted muzzle loaders are still a thing with some people too, and are interesting. I've fired a Brown Bess a few times. The darn thing is practically as tall as I am so it was an interesting experience for sure.

All the IRA bombs and mortars were improvised, they used to have propaganda murals about gas cylinders which were cartoonised by heating advertisements wanting to "grow up to be barracks busters" which were a variety of mortar they'd dreamt up, they also improvised a couple of different RPGs along the lines of the "Sputnik" Che Guevara wrote about improvising in one of his books, there was a part of republican belfast that was nicknamed "Sputnik St" at a time because of that and most of the van bombs and the like were improvised, usually fertiliser, but that was also the point, they were trying to suggest that since it call could be improvised they would never have any supply problems in their "war effort". The coffee jars bombs with parachutes or stick grenades made from canisters for similarly "parachuting" from high rise flats down upon armoured vehicles, some of which were not armoured on their roofs, were something else in terms of the thinking, even if they never worked as intended.

I'm sure just about every irregular conflict has its own set of examples, the IRA also copied the hell out of the VC and other forces for ideological reasons too.

 

[Lark]

i know im getting off topic.

I know I really, really liked that game. I think I only played it once or twice before trading it though.

 

[jryn1993]

If you're not already familiar with it, some of the weapons produced and used by the Armia Krajowa in occupied Poland are outstanding examples of what can be made by "underground" organizations.

 

[sprinkles]

All the IRA bombs and mortars were improvised, they used to have propaganda murals about gas cylinders which were cartoonised by heating advertisements wanting to "grow up to be barracks busters" which were a variety of mortar they'd dreamt up, they also improvised a couple of different RPGs along the lines of the "Sputnik" Che Guevara wrote about improvising in one of his books, there was a part of republican belfast that was nicknamed "Sputnik St" at a time because of that and most of the van bombs and the like were improvised, usually fertiliser, but that was also the point, they were trying to suggest that since it call could be improvised they would never have any supply problems in their "war effort". The coffee jars bombs with parachutes or stick grenades made from canisters for similarly "parachuting" from high rise flats down upon armoured vehicles, some of which were not armoured on their roofs, were something else in terms of the thinking, even if they never worked as intended.

I'm sure just about every irregular conflict has its own set of examples, the IRA also copied the hell out of the VC and other forces for ideological reasons too.

Yeah, it used to be entirely true that an irregular force could compete with military technology.

This isn't so much the case now, though. They're coming out with sniper detectors and stuff that can actually hear a bullet travelling through the air and calculate where it came from within a second of the shot.

 

[Lark]

Yeah, it used to be entirely true that an irregular force could compete with military technology.

This isn't so much the case now, though. They're coming out with sniper detectors and stuff that can actually hear a bullet travelling through the air and calculate where it came from within a second of the shot.

I dont think its been the case at all for a long, long time, the distance between military and civilians in a conflict has been steadily growing since when Engels concluded any revolution would require a politically mandated democratic vote rather than street fighting. Its ridiculous now.

There wasnt any "fought to a stand still" in NI either, as a lot of the republicans let on, if there was any stalmate it was more to do with the IRA proving as effective and clever as global intelligence threats, moving into counterfeiting, bank jobs aimed at theft of enough currency it would force wholesale reprinting of money costing the individual bank but also threatening the currency itself with reactions by speculators, a whole host of economic warfare tactics like that. The security forces in NI, even if the worst stories of collusion with protestant terror gangs and officially sanctioned kidnap, murder and shoot to kill ambushes all turned out to be true, did not operate like say the US in Afghanistan or Iraq.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I dont think its been the case at all for a long, long time, the distance between military and civilians in a conflict has been steadily growing since when Engels concluded any revolution would require a politically mandated democratic vote rather than street fighting. Its ridiculous now.

There wasnt any "fought to a stand still" in NI either, as a lot of the republicans let on, if there was any stalmate it was more to do with the IRA proving as effective and clever as global intelligence threats, moving into counterfeiting, bank jobs aimed at theft of enough currency it would force wholesale reprinting of money costing the individual bank but also threatening the currency itself with reactions by speculators, a whole host of economic warfare tactics like that. The security forces in NI, even if the worst stories of collusion with protestant terror gangs and officially sanctioned kidnap, murder and shoot to kill ambushes all turned out to be true, did not operate like say the US in Afghanistan or Iraq.

Guerrilla tactics are quite effective against an occupying and technologically superior force. (Vietnam vs France or US, Afghanistan vs USSR or US etc...)

Not to mention that there are around 80 million gun owners in the US, we would only need a small fraction of that to take up arms against the gov't for a resistance to be effective.

 

[sprinkles]

Guerrilla tactics are quite effective against an occupying and technologically superior force. (Vietnam vs France or US, Afghanistan vs USSR or US etc...)

Not to mention that there are around 80 million gun owners in the US, we would only need a small fraction of that to take up arms against the gov't for a resistance to be effective.

I dunno. With close air support and stuff being what it is now...

Yeah, a guerrilla force could make them see heavy casualties for sure. But it's hard to compete with gunships and QRF's. It's like stirring up a hornets nest. Yeah you can take down that patrol with a bomb or something but somebody is going to be on their way to rescue them and they will be pissed.