I’d sincerely recommend everyone to read his manifesto and think about it a little bit.
A minor correction, 3D printed guns are fairly reliable nowadays when made in a way such that all pressure bearing parts are made with metal/factory made regular parts
Yeah was gonna comment this. There are totally functional 9mm machine pistols with everything made from printed and standard hardware store parts.
Yeah chiming in here to agree, 3D printed guns are now nearly identical in performance to other polymer based guns (like Glocks for instance).
I think it was also clarified that the gun was a Glock with 3d printed lower, which is basically a normal Glock with different plastic.
The lower / reciever / frame is the part of a semi auto handgun that has the serial number, as this is the part that is legally considered ‘the firearm’.
If you 3d print the lower, you can just buy every other part, often without a background check, in many instances without any ID at all, and assemble the gun around your 3d printed lower.
What makes something a ghost gun is that it does not have a serial number that can be tied back to a purchaser, who would have had to be ID’d / NICS checked or w/e.
What makes it a ghost gun is not that it is entirely made of plastic that wouldn’t show up on a xray or something, its that it is untraceable to a point of origin if you have the gun and nothing else to go on.
The other way people do this is by destroying the etched in serial number.
…
I haven’t actually heard it confirmed that Luigi only had 3d printed the lower, though for a normal person, that would probably be the easiest way to assemble a ghost gun.
But, he’s an engineering graduate.
Its possible he did ‘3d print’ many other components by using metal machining tools.
That functionally is a ghost gun in the US because only the lower is registered. Everything else is off the shelf, theoretically untraceable bits.
You just 3d print the lower reciever, most modern handguns use injection molded plastic for this part, and a good 3d printer (and operator) can get a pretty decent result.
But its not just the ‘pressure bearing’ parts that cannot easily be 3d printed.
Almost everything else still has to be either purchased or very, very carefully assembled by hand with skill and machining tools.
Here’s a Glock 40:
Its basically a pretty bad idea (impossible with springs) to try to replace any of the metal parts with 3d printed plastic, many more parts than the barrel and slide are made of metal, and many of those parts could easily fail, even after mag worth of ammo or less, and completely brick the weapon.
People who make or sell 3d printed weapons still have to include a parts kit (or shopping list) with the stuff you can’t 3d print… with the exception of weapons that fire basically .22 or smaller cartidges, and those ones that actually are all 3d printed plastic are not going to survive very many shots.
Important to note: 3D PRINTED FIREARMS DO NOT BREAK WITH A FEW USES
Firsthand knowledge.
200-250 rounds and still going strong, inspected before and after firing every time
No damage so far.
Beyond that point, I agree with everything posted.
I think that highly depends on your knowledge about 3D printing an what materials you use.
Most 3d printed guns are constructed very similarly to “real” commercially available (in burgerland) guns that use a polymer construction. The plastic is taking very little of the force, they use metal inserts and rails that the mechanical parts connect to. This distributes the load a lot. I haven’t printed any yet, mostly because you basically need to buy a whole gun to build one, but they aren’t magic or anything and you could do the same thing with woodworking tools by hand if you had a lot of patience.
The most reliable one I have uses an AR style fire control group, and large metal pieces for the bolt, and pre-hardened hydraulic tubing for the barrel.
There’s plenty of metal in it, all held together via 3d printed parts and frame
The only things I needed to buy that I would consider “from a firearm” or “from a gun store” would be the fire control group. Everything else was bought from McMaster Carr or local hardware stores.
Spot on with the woodworking. I’ve made a couple stocks for my grandfather’s old broken long rifles. It’s just more time consuming. (also my 3d printer isn’t that long)
Yeah 3d printed gun is such a misnomer for most of the “ghost guns”, the gun he had was just the printed frame. That section of the 3d printing community isn’t really my scene but that seems to be what I’ve seen for all the printed guns, lower/frame with barrel and trigger assembly being metal pieces. I think years ago I saw a modern reinterpreting of the WW2 Liberator that was done in all plastic but that’s obviously designed to shoot only once.
I’m sure you know more about the scene than I do and can correct or verify my knowledge.
The ones I have use 3d printed frames, the fire control group and barrels are metal with 3d printed pieces for making the rifling.
All the parts that take repeated heavy abuse are reinforced with extra thickness or different infil, but by weight I’d say it’s about 50/50 metal/plastic.
The 3d printed lowers are quite basic, and since they aren’t designed to take a ton of stress anyway, it’s not really hard to find a decent design.
All my parts are printed in pla+, and I do minimal work afterwards to make things perfect, only what is necessary for the mechanical parts to cycle properly.
I actually haven’t been keeping up the last few years, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are even better methods than the ones I’ve used.
To add on to what you said, only the lower recievers for most guns have to be registered. Someone could hypothetically get every other upper part for a pistol or rifle delivered directly to their door or PO box with no questions asked, and then just hypothetically 3d print the lower reciever.
Based O’Brien would engineer a thousand-round 3D printed gun while the federation’s ATF just weeps in a corner
Yeah, the early 3D printed guns were garbage, but modern ones are much more durable. Changes in design have allowed for the use of off-the-shelf parts for the most important moving pieces, which means you have the durability of those off-the-shelf parts instead. The 3D print is basically just holding the machined parts together.
What if I told you about “80% receivers” and parts kits that have been in use for decades by hobbyists?
- Individuals who make their own firearms may use a 3D printing process or any other process, as long as the firearm is “detectable” as defined in the Gun Control Act. You do not have to add a serial number or register the [privately made firearm] if you are not engaged in the business of making firearms for livelihood or profit.
“80% receivers” are a weird line in the sand to pick between “random hunk of metal/plastic” and “yeah that’s a gun bro” but words have meaning that (still) have to be defined in law, and you can build a 100%* factory looking gun with zero 3D printed parts and no serial number.
*Depends on your skill with tools and machinery ofc, but can be done with a hand drill and a basic file with enough patience
There’s a whole community for it! There’s a YouTube channel called “Print, Shoot, Repeat” that actually talks about the gun police showed
Don’t forget his confession said how much he respects the feds and the hard work they do
“I love the taste of glowie boot and will fellate some leather to completion when you come knocking, but first, crimes”
my man Luigi’s taking the fall for the real hero, is there nothing this handsome , suffering soul won’t do for good?
potential explanations:
it’s him and he genuinely wasn’t running (as his confession suggests), whilst also being chased by the police surveillance state, so even if he was running it would take meticulous planning to truly avoid the cops.
it’s him and he planned to get caught and the confession, the inconsistencies etc. are intended to make prosecuting him “without a doubt” incredibly difficult. You can bet money on his lawyer knowing a lot of these inconsistencies too, and exploiting them in court.
it’s him but he’s trying to obscure his motives etc. for [reason]. (unlikely)
it isn’t him but a lookalike who’s being framed for it because of [conspiracy theory]. (unlikely)
it isn’t him but a lookalike who framed themselves for [reason]. (unlikely)
It could also be not be him, and some deal was made with a lookalike to close the case quickly, or to avoid giving the adjuster a platform to tell his story
it isn’t him but a lookalike who’s being framed for it because of [conspiracy theory]. (unlikely)
Because the cops can’t find the real killer but they have to present someone. Saying “we can’t find him” is not an option for them right now. They must present a killer to maintain image. If a killer is not presented then this shot will be heard round the world as the starting gun for a class war. There is no situation in which NCPD will be allowed to not present a killer for swift justice.
Therefore, if they really actually can’t find the guy because he covered his tracks well… Well, they received an anonymous tip from a McDonald’s about a guy that kind of looks like their guy. Better go bag him so they’ve got something to show for this big manhunt that can appease the overlords.
The reaction of Luigi himself so far is the only thing that gives me pause about this, because he doesn’t really seem to be denying any of it was him. But I also don’t think he’s actually had a chance to speak in court, or rather for his lawyer to speak for him, and is maybe making the intelligent move called “shutting the fuck up”. We will have to see what gets said in court later. But if he does own up to it, then it means either he definitely is actually The Adjuster or else he’s intentionally choosing to take the fall for whoever is. I find the second option unlikely but not impossible, but it’s too conspiracy-theory for me to back it seriously, and if that really is what he’s doing then I ain’t no snitch anyway. Just write Luigi down in the history books and call it a day.
But at the end of the day the list of evidence the cops claim to have found on him is one of the fishiest police stories I’ve ever read, and that’s saying something because I’m an American that tracks the news regularly.
The first thing he shouted from the car taking him to the courthouse fit the idea that this was all planted:
it’s completely unjust! It’s an insult to the intelligence of the American people!"
To me that reads: this is dishonest and unfair because it wasn’t me it’s an insult to USians intelligence because I don’t even look like him. (My inferences in italics.)
It was reported on Dec 10 that he said the money was planted on him.
