Comment Re: Average W. Virginian smarter than entire gover (Score 4, Insightful) 277
In America?
Yes. Before 3d printers and mass hysteria about ghost guns, they were known as "zip guns". Read any book about gangs from the latter half of the 20th century and they'll usually get mentioned at least a couple of times. One of the most expedient ones was to snap off the antenna of a certain model car that was sized just about perfect for a
The slamfire pipe shotgun is another common type. At its simplest it's literally two metal pipes, one the size of a shotgun shell and the other a size that'll slide over the first. An endcap goes on the bigger pipe, and you drill and tap a small hole into that to thread a screw through for the firing pin. If I was a gangbanger who didn't give a shit about being a felon, I could walk into a hardware store with a pocket full of 20 gauge shells and build the thing inside the store.
Why not just buy a real gun at the corner store?
- They knew they couldn't pass a background check
- They didn't want the traceability of a serial number
- They didn't want to take the time filing off serial numbers
- It's what they had laying around at the time
- Cheaper than buying a real gun (legitimately or on the black market)
- Can be disassembled and disposed of. It'll just look like random plumbing fittings in the trash can because that's literally what it breaks down to.
- Deniability