Making own weapons to defend/hunt

I was reading these survival guides and almost all say that you need a rifle or something ( firearm ). What about people that don't have/can't afford a firearm?

I thought of making my own weapons out of stuff you find ( MacGyver style ).
But the question is what are the most effective weapons you can make?

Also.. if you have some guides, then post here.

reply to post by Mr.Andreas


If you've got a slingshot and enough basic materials to make a few arrows you could create a 'slingbow' (excuse the shameless self-promotion ) that has an eqivalent power/range to a pistol crossbow...works a treat though needs a fair bit of practice to get accurate with it

reply to post by Mr.Andreas


One of the most efficient (and frightening) hand to hand weapons you can make is the spiked club. Which is basically a heavy stick with nails knocked into the buisiness end. Simple. And intimidating. A decent blow would rip half your face off. Yummy.

In the 70's street thugs were making guns with car antennas.

There are videos all over YouTube of peoples homemade guns. Some suck and some are actually really good. There was one open breech fired handgun in particular that stands out in my mind as being very impressive. You can make a shotgun with a lenght of pipe, a rubber band and a BB or pellet taped to the primer.

From craptastic zip guns to honest to goodness rifles and machine guns made with a mini mill it's more than just possible.

The gun that won us WWII was invented by a blue-collar machinist in his basement. The Browning Automatic Rifle.

If you dont have the tools around the startup cost could be pretty high but if you're lucky enough to have a drill press, a mill, a lathe or just a bench grinder and are handy enough to make a decent jug you can make just about anything.

Before government decided poor people werent worthy of owning firearms there were plenty of low-cost yet quality options to be had in shops across the country. The fed passed more than a few laws banning low-cost firearms.

Cant trust poor people after all. They might get upset and cause trouble.

Which brings me to virtually all licensing requirements. They are nothing more than fees. If you check clears you can get a weapons permit in the slave states that demand permits. Even the magical NFA items such as machineguns and suppressors are only a lump sum of cash away. I guess rich people have been deemed non-threatening by the politicians they paid to stick in office.

reply to post by Mr.Andreas


What ever you do, do not try to build any type of firearm untill after everything goes to hell. If you are found with any weapon that can concevably be considered a firearm and you have built it with out a Federal Firearms Manufacturers License you will ONE: looes everything you have fighting the charges brought against you. TWO: spend not less than 15 years behind bars.

The ATFE will not make it easy for you to explain why you have built a firearm without proper paper work. They will use you and abuse you in a manner you have NEVER seen before.
However, you can start to design one and make plans and detailed drawings to get ready without a problem!
Zindo

reply to post by ZindoDoone


You can however purchase an 80% complete receiver, finish it at home, and as long as you dont resell it and only use it for personal use the ATF cant say boo.

I was under the impression that if you do manufacture a firearm for yourself even from scratch as long as you had no intention to sell it you didnt need the manufacturers license. Though I could be mistaken.

reply to post by thisguyrighthere


True parts and kits are legal but its up to the discretion of the ATF agent and his superiors as to what constitutes a functioning firearm. If he lives in the inner city or in a state like NY or MASS, al manner of hel could be brought down on him. In a situation like he mentioned, they most likely NOT consider it a home made survival piece but would consider it one that could be used for criminal activity that would be hard to trace after use. Its so much easier to buy ashot gun. They can be bought for less than 300 bucks and he could barter for one without haveing to wory about transfers or other legal problems!
Zindo

edit to add. the parts kits are not cheap and most cannot be imported any longer. To purchase the recieveris geting realexpensive and thats the part that makesall the diferance. It issmart though to have afew parts kits around to rebuild anything else that might break do to usage!


[edit on 11/15/2008 by ZindoDoone]

reply to post by Mr.Andreas

You can make a long bow and arrows but you will need some time. For the bow you will need ash or yew, clear with no knots. It should be about the same length as you are tall. This will need to have good grain. A draw knife helps a lot for this. I would try to end up with only a 30 to 35 pound draw, this will making arrows much easier and a 35 pound bow will still do the job on 200 pound animals. For bow string dacron fishing line will work. To make the bow string make it about 2 to 6 inches shorter than your bow. For 20 pound test line, do not use monofillament, I would use 15 to 20 strands. You do not cut them to length you make a loop. At the ends you will wrap the strands so as to keep every thing tight. Also you will do this for a 4 inch area in the center of the string where you will nock the arrows. Dental floss is also dacron, ubt you will need to use a lot more strands, figure 4 for each 20 pound fishing line. When strung the bow string should be 3 to 6 inches off the belly of the bow. For the arrow rest some people just use their hand but I prefer to put in an arrow rest, I like a feather rest as it gives me a better arrow release. The arrows need to be strait and stiff enough so that they give a good flight, an arrow that is not stiff enough will come off the bow with a lot of bend in it and will not fly true. This is where using a lighter bow comes in, you do not need as stiff of arrow for the lighter bow so you have more to select from for shafting. Making the arrow shaft round takes time, for a 30 to 35 pound bow I would start of with a 3/8 inch shaft diameter. For a long bow like we are talking about If you are 6' 2" like me I would start with a 34" shaft. Fletching should be 5 to 6 inches long and be angled to give the arrow rotation in flight. Goose flight feathers are great for this. You will match the curve of the feathers on each arrow so it doesn't flutter and flies true. For large game a broad head will be needed. For a light bow like this a two blade head will be best, it will give better penitration than a 3 or four blade. Steel could come from the skin of a car door or metal banding. A 3/4" width will be about right. The broad head needs to be so sharp that you are afraid of it! The head does not need to hold an edge like a knife, it only needs to cut for about 12"s. For small game a blunt will work better. For this a 9MM or 38 special case works great. Just press it over your shaft. This will take game up to a couple of pounds. If you have never hunted with a bow a couple of words. If you shoot a deer do not get up and try to follow it right after the shot. Set for an hour and let the deer lay down and bleed out. It will probably only travel about 75 to 100 yards if you do this. If you jump up and start looking for it right after the shot it will travel a long way. with the two blade broad head you will not have much of a blood trail if any at all.

The American Indians bows were only about 15 to 20 pound pull. They got close and placed the arrows where they would do the most damage. With a bow shot placement is critical. You need to know where all the parts are inside the animal you are shooting. Where the heart lays in the chest, where the liver is. You also need to know where the big bones are so that you do not hit them as a light bow will not break them, the arrow will just bonce out.

Never underestimate the power of a small, hand-held, hand-propelled rock or a sock (pouch) weighted with a couple of them.

Really, does depend on the purpose of the weapon. Simple non-mechanical items that need little skill to use include pieces of flint or slate (might not need sharpening) held in the hand/s for close range combat (animal or human); a straight stick with a pointed end can come in handy for jabbing or it could be long and weighted for throwing; broken bottles for stabbing or glass shards for perimeter defenses; a homemade bow and arrow for wounding, killing, intimidating or distracting slightly more distant targets; a blowpipe for darts; obnoxious gases for distraction; or a crossbow for greater distances.

If you really want to go into building a weapon (something big), you could build a catapult or a ballista. You're only limited by imagination, skills, knowledge and resources.

My suggestion to anyone wanting to make his/her own weapons or just survive for that matter is that he/she learns how to make rope, work with wood and use stones. If you want anything more modern then learn to make flour/powder and find out how to use them by detonation (both household kitchen flour and custard powder can be quite dangerous). Its nice to think that in a survival situation you'd be able to make a gun from bits of this and bits of that but unless you have the technical know-how and skill it just wont be possible to make one that will cause any appreciable damage to a target (early muskets were only accurate up to around 50/60 meters. A homemade gun made by an unskilled individual would be less capable).

Best bet, because you're unlikely to have long-term access to gunpowder or combustible liquids, is to keep weapons simple. Think more pre-history and early classical history. Not being ignorant of their history, knowledge and skills...if you've seen an aboriginal (American, Australian etc.) with one then you could probably learn (by trial and error) to make one.

[edit on 15/11/08 by Rapacity]

[edit on 15/11/08 by Rapacity]

To hunt, learn to use a bow. To defend and hunt, remington 870 shotgun. Don't try to over think and don't let all this stuff stress you. Heck, a good baseball bat can be more effective than a gun in the right circumstances.

If one was so inclined to do some study, research improvised weapons made by prison inmates. Not suggesting, just saying.

[edit on 15-11-2008 by Tinman67]

One of the most useful, simplest tools that also serves very effectively as a weapon is the tomahawk. If you have the blade on one end, and the spike on the other - it's quite lethal as a weapon, and very useful as a tool.

In Special Forces, during the Southeast Asia adventure, SF soldiers were issued and used these tool/weapons in many useful ways. I still have mine, and was able to get each of my adult children one. It's simple, lightweight, and it will never misfire. I would suggest you get online and dig really deep to find a good tomahawk. They are cheap, and this tool anyone can afford to buy.

Another tool that you can purchase quickly and cheaply is the machete. Again, a very effective weapon, and a useful tool. Army surplus stores and internet sales can provide you with a quality piece for under $30. Look at the Gerber model which also has a saw on the back spine.

Another tool that would give you a bit of distance between you and any predator would be the short spear. Wild dogs, rabid foxes, and so on can be held at bay with the short spear. By short, depending on personal preferences, you can either purchase spear tips and mount them yourself, or take a garden implement and do some serious modification.

You now have three very, very useful tool/weapons, and have spent less than on hundred dollars.

Once you have these absolute basics, go for more advanced weapons. You can often shop garage sales and pick up a good bow now and then, and gradually arm up.

The weapon you practice with is the weapon you'll be successful with. So practice, practice, practice. Which takes time, time, time. Which results in skill, skill, skill.

Others may disagree with me on my personal basics, but my tomahawk would come before my rifle.

Keep thin, braided wire. Get out the books and learn basic snaring. You can snare a deer as far as that goes, without a rifle, without the attention attracting noise, which is always bad in a survival situation.

And multiple, back-up fire starting items that you also will practice with until you can start a fire in the rain.

Good luck. And if you need help finding some of these things, U2U me and I'll help you look.

reply to post by ZindoDoone
[What ever you do, do not try to build any type of firearm untill after everything goes to hell.]

It'll be too late at that point.

I suggest you build your weapon now, and not tell anyone about it.


[edit on 15-11-2008 by star in a jar]

Originally posted by ZindoDoone

What ever you do, do not try to build any type of firearm untill after everything goes to hell.

I agree completely. However, that should not stop you from stocking up on information. Here's one of the best information resources you're likely to find:


www.roguesci.org...


Notice the section on improvised weapons.....

star in a jar,
If he does that and gets caught, he won't have the chance to protect what he holds dear. He will already be in the clutches of Obamatron Warriors and we will never hear from him again!!

Zindo

reply to post by ZindoDoone
But how's he going to protect himself from das Obama jugend ?


I don't necessarily mean a gun... slingshots are good and at a vast fraction of the cost. I'm going to have to agree with someone above with a baseball bat with 'medium' length nails poking from it.

Too long nails, and Ug the caveman will have a hard time 'pulling' it out

reply to post by Mr.Andreas


Here's my list of of potential home weapons(non-firearms) for hunting and self defense:

Sling
Slingshot(catapult if you're in the UK)
Spear/lance
Dart slinger
Atl-atl or spear thrower
Rabbit stick
Apache throw star
Bolo
Blow gun
Bow&Arrow
Crossbow
Ballista
Airguns(smooth bore of at least .50/12.5 mm caliber) Yes, I know you Euro-types get antsy about airguns but during the time of chaos, alot of airguns will modified to enhance their lethality.

if you want to make a homemade longbow it is really easy. just find a good sturdy stick (or limb) prefferably cherry or hickory. then get some strong fishline like 20-50 lb test. make 3 strands of the fishline about the same size your stick. now braid the fishline. this should make it a bit shorter and allot stronger. then you want to notch the top and bottom of the stick... something like this |\/|. sorry for the text art. best i can do. now finally put your string thorugh the notches, go around the stick ONCE with the sting then tie it off with a good strong knot. you could probably use some duct tape or gurilla glue to re enforce your hold. to make arrows is easier. take some straight sticks or wooden dowels, cut them to peferred length and sharpen one end. you could use it just like that but for increases accuracy, find some feathers. take 3 of them and put the "sharp" end of the feather towards the tip of the arrow. evenly place them around the shaft and secure them with fishline. then go to the back of the feather and pull down some of the frill stuff and do the same with the fish line. now you are ready to use it! have fun.

What do you need your weapon for? There are two primary reasons to be armed. Personal defense or to provide food.

For defense, you will need a minimum of two. One a ranged weapon, one a melee weapon. The idea of a bow or crossbow makes the most sense for ranged. I like crossbows as they require less practice and the bolts, IMO, are stronger than most arrows. They do need a little more maintainance as far as strings, but without a firearm, this is how I would go. There are alot of other things out there, boomerangs, bolos, etc... but these are weapons that require a good deal of skill to use, keep it as simple as you can.

For melee weapons, as others have mentioned, a bat or club with spikes is a good bet. This is essentially a mace, cant beat a good mace. One of my personal favorite weapons is chingachgook's warclub as seen in Last of the Mohicans. Basicly a rifle stock with some sort of spike protruding from it. I actually have one of these hanging on my wall. Took about 3 hours to make.

Now if we are talking weapons for hunting purposes. First, again, a ranged weapon, I would go with the crossbow. Some of the newer ones on the market are capable of taking rather large game from a good distance. The bolt, not having a broadhead, will not create huge blood grooves in small animals. Could you imagine what a hunting broadhead would do to a rabbit or grouse? However, if you are without fishing gear, you may wish to think about a bow as the arrows can be teathered for easy retrival of fish.

However, the most effective hunting weapon is one that hunts while you do something else. I am a big fan of traps and snares. There are a few links on here that detail how to contruct good sets or a simple google search would work as well. Snares, deadfalls, pit traps, can all be tailored to the size of the animal you are after. A small snare can kill a rabbit, while larger ones can take deer. (I think snaring deer is illegal everywhere, but in sit-x probably wont matter) Lastly, steel traps for the taking of furbearers have their place as well. While most game animals will pull out of a trap, a little corn on the pan of a set trap is a very good way to take birds.