Improvised Weapons

We need to get back to some survival tool discussions...

Improvised weapons

You can’t always have a weapon on hand in every place. In so many places now nearly any weapon is illegal. When/if things go to the pits and the rule of law and order are nothing but distant memories you will want some weapons.

While many of the weapons might be illegal now, the parts for many of them are quite legal to have. This will allow you to put together something in a hurry or make your own in advance of the books.

In a place like Great Britain they are learning that taking away the guns doesn’t stop bad people from harming good people. I would about as soon be shot as stabbed or gutted with a knife. In a world where a knife is a deadly weapon then the bigger knife is better. Even better than that is a spear or a battle axe.

For a spear you can get a cold steel bushman knife. I like the bowie style for a spear. This is a knife that is made with a hollow handle made to be turned into a spear. I made my walking stick with the taper on the end specifically for this knife to be fitted onto. until I put it on though it is just a sheath knife and my walking stick.

Another great potential spear is called a forged warren hoe. This is a hoe with a sort of pointed heart shaped blade. Heat the neck and straighten it out and it is a MEAN spear that you can sharpen so it can stab or slash.

Worse case and easiest is an old hoe handle with a 20-penny nail in it than then forg the head of the nail into a triangle point. I predrill the hole for it, taper the wood to a point near the size of the nail and then after I glue the nail in place I will wrap it with copper wire.

I have a special affinity for a battle-ax. I think it is that an ax has no slight injury in its repertoire. When you get hit by an ax something is massively injured. The intimidation factor of a battle ax may make a person with a knife decide to not mess with you and any fight NOT fought is a fight that you won.

Naturally, you can just use an ax. Double bits are a little like a battle-ax. The problem is that they are too heavy and make it hard to control and recover. Fear not though they are super easy to make. Take a circular saw blade and with an angle grinder you can shape it as you wish. Just take a heavy handle and cut a slot in the end of it. Then you drill a hole through it so you can put the blade in the slot with the a bolt through the hole. A 10” blade will allow you to grind the teeth off and make a dandy double-edged battle-ax. I made a short-handled one with a 7 ¼” blade and left the teeth on one side and put an edge on the other side. It is an evil-looking thing and is actually a good brush saw. You can reach out and pull a branch down to you and then turn it and chop the branch off.

While not everyone can have a sword like we do where I live you CAN have a piece of steel that you can put an edge on and predrill for a pair of handle scales. 24” of high carbon steel (1055 is good) about 2” wide and 1/4” thick is the start of a great short sword. You can go lighter with a thinner blade or a narrower blade. The thing is that all you need to do is grind an edge and point on it and then heat treat it and temper it to make it hard and flexible.

To heat treat and harden carbon steel you heat it up until it is nonmagnetic and then quench it in oil. To temper it you heat it up to 400F and hold it there for an hour or so and then let it cool slowly.

A carpenter’s hatchet on a longer handle makes a good war hammer. A brush ax is a monster machete blade on an ax handle. It is a ready-made battle-ax. Aluminum baseball bats are dirt cheap at flea markets and great weapons. A wooden bat has a lot of potentials to be made into something truly terrifying. A saw blade inserted into it with a few nails on the sides offers you a lot of choices.

Most predators will seek out easier prey if they see that you are going to be a challenge. There will for some time after the fall be plenty of sheeple to take so they are not going to want to take a chance on you if you are prepared to fight. I know that guns are now considered the fix for any problem but there are places where they just aren’t much of an option.

Improvised weapons are plan B. I have a lot of swords and such but I like to make things too. At this time you can skip right to the good part of making a sword by buying steel flat stock. That skips all the forge work and allows you to have a sword in hand in one day. That same flat bar can be put onto a handle for a spear.

For a little more reach you can make a bow and arrows. It is super easy to make a 40-pound bow out of PVC pipe and those fiberglass stakes. I have made a couple of them. They only cost about 7 dollars a piece and shoot great. I make the bowstrings out of 325 paracord. The nice thing about these bows is that you can leave them strung all the time and they are not affected by water. I’m thinking about a crossbow next. (the plans for the 7 dollar bow can be found online by the backyard bowyer. ( ) I have bought several of his books and they are great.

Before man created the bow there was the atlatl. It allowed you to throw light spears or darts almost 100 yards. The same guy that makes the 7 dollar bow video also has a video for a 1 dollar quick atlatl.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...7B7FE7792498B1490FCB7B7FE7792498B14&FORM=VIRE

Or he makes a PVC atlatl ( http://backyardbowyer.com/how-to-make-a-flattened-pvc-atlatl/ )

With a little practice you can be quite deadly with either one of his creations. This young man is like a lot of us and wants to know all about things that he can make himself. I also have one of his books about working with paracord. Good reading and he makes things easy to do. He can work magic with PVC and a heat gun!

The last line of improvised weapons is the gun. There are all sorts of things online about how to “theoretically” make safe home-made guns. I think the Creator that I live in Texas and will never have to go there. I have made a few guns but they were based out of the same metals as factory guns and were just as strong. That sort of thing requires a machine shop and the skills of a gunsmith. There are various pipe guns that while a little scary would allow you that one shot to take a better gun away from an enemy.

The problem with making a gun is that after you have made it you will need ammunition and if you live in a place where guns are hard to get ammo isn’t going to be much better. Where I live they sell ammo at the grocery store in hunting season and some of the convenience stores even sell a little ammo. I used to have a friend that had a little country-store where he processed deer, hogs, and cattle, sold ammo and guns out the back door ( He didn’t have an FFL and only sold used guns), knives, deer corn, gasoline, along with beer, food, ice cream, cigarettes sodas and lottery tickets. Talk about a general store!!!

The thing is that there are not really any dangerous weapons. There are dangerous people and what makes them dangerous is that no matter what they will find a way to be armed and ready to fight.

 

Good morning TexDanm,

My prepper philosophy requires most survival tools to be multi-functional for the multiple hazards and dangers specific to my environment. I must be - and am - geared up for a shelter in place scenario, an evacuation by truck, by walking on a road, by hiking offroad, by water evac in an inflatable boat. Aforesaid has the additional variables to include the different weather emergencies eg hurricanes, forest fires, nearby water vessels in distress spewing aerosol chemicals,..

Thus,

A basic walking stick of mine with multiple functions is a fiberglass pike pole. It can be outfitted with a plastic or metal knife.If anticipating an evac, here there are rabid animals and thus more important to me is a cattle prod with modified trigger near my grip section of pole.

Recommend review "aluminum baseball bat". Under rapidly changing conditions, it must be avoided during lightning storms in many outdoor environments.

Another one of my prepper philosophical principles is to never have direct contact with strangers. Every assailant must be presumed to have a contagious infectious disease.

 

Many Martial Arts weapons were farm tools that were adapted to fighting after weapons were made illegal.

http://christiankarate.biz/history-of-the-kobudo-weapons/

 

Howdy Pragmatist
I agree with having most things that I have in advance being multifunction devices. My walking sticks all have a paracord wrap on them with a ferrocerium rod inlaid under the wrap. The bottom end has a taper cut on it to match a bushman knife onto it to make it a spear. Normally though the tip has a cap on it.

I will prefer also to limit any contact with strangers until things settle down. Unfortunately wishes only come true in fairy tales so I will have the best weapons that I can afford or make on hand before the strangers show up. The point of the post is that not everyone lives someplace like Texas where anything that isn't forbidden by the Federal government is legal. We can't have grenades, machine guns or a few other things but ALL edged weapons are legal here all concussive weapons are legal and all guns not forbidden by the feds are fine. In my truck, I have a sword, a pistol, a cold steel walking stick, brass knuckles, and a big auto-opening folding knife and all of that doesn't count what is in my bug out or get home bag.

On the subject of multifunction tools, I picked up an odd tool not long ago. It is a large adjustable wrench that has reversible jaws so it functions as both a regular wrench and a pipe wrench. The backside of the wrench also has a hammer poll. Even my hawk has a hammer poll. A pair of old school fencing pliers is a good thing to have where I live. After the fall good tools will be worth their weight in gold.

The thing is that in many places almost none of that is legal for every day carry. In some places, much of it is illegal to even have in your home for self-defense. For these folks, they need ideas for weapons that can be easily made in a hurry out of legally possessed items that might be around their homes or easily found.

I have always had a fascination with primitive weaponry. When I was 16 and started driving I made a morning star to carry in my car. I always found that having a weapon in hand makes you less likely to actually have to fight. If possible you want it to be something that has a truly lethal potential. If you want to hurt someone grab a steel radio antenna off a car. I watched a guy whip about four guys bloody with one of those but it doesn't have much fear factor. the same is true of those little expandable batons. They are good to have after the fight starts but lack the intimidation factor to prevent a fight from starting.

Since I mentioned it my morning star was made with a little kiddy sized wooden bat with an eye bolt screwed in the end for the chain. For my ball, I took the steel ball off of my floor shifter and replaced it with a fancy T handle shift knob. I tried it with a foot of chain and then shortened it to about 10 inches. I did some impact testing and the morning star was several times more destructive to a car body than a baseball bat. It was more like a sledgehammer blow. The whip action makes the speed of the ball on impact much higher.

 

Good afternoon TexDanm,

I like that reversible jaws wrench you obtained !

Our prepper philosophical approaches are about the same less specifics such as different laws/regulations.

 

The pistol goes everywhere that is legal. I use a commercial post office and not a USPO. For other federal buildings and going through Canada I carry a pocket knife and my cane. I also have a walking stick. It has a removable rubber tip that has an ice point under it. that could do some serious damage.

 

Personally I prefer any weapon that keeps people further away and me out of arms reach. I have been punched in the face often enough to know it's on my least favorite list. So things like the bo staff, swords and batons are good.. or an improvised version of the same eg a curtain rail makes a passable staff. Attach a ball to one end makes it even better.

For those that will have access to animal hide you can make a sjambok. These are not to be underestimated and can cause serious injury.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sjambok

 

Good morning Rebecca,

Completely agree.

Max distance is the most important factor.

By accident, had once inadvertently activated a 1 km range megaphone horn attachment. The folks approaching me vacated the area.

 

An improvised weapon I heard of a few years ago from Armouredcockroach over on YouTube is a sharpened bicycle spoke. He mentioned that years ago he had worked as a medic in the townships in South Africa I believe it was and that spokes were one of the gangs preferred weapons. He said they penetrate deeply piercing as the go and it's very difficult for medics to find the wound as it almost self seals when the spoke is pulled out. But again this is an up close and personal item but if you didn't have a weapon it's an option and could be made relatively easy by just sharpening a point on it with concrete or a stone and fixing a crude handle.

 

When I was a kid I carried a jar of pickled japalino peppers in my car. This was before there was such a thing as pepper spray. Let ce tell you, put a pepper in your hand squeeze and then slap someone in the face and they are SCREWED!!! If you get that juice in your eyes you will lose all interest in fighting.

I think that a walking stick is a must. When I am in the woods, if I didn't bring one, that is the first thing that I pick up. When I used to walk every night I always had a stick. It will keep a dog off of you and make a mugger think twice. I walked in places that most people avoided in the day time and not once was ever bothered. I'm sure that me being a big sucker was part of it but a club in the hand makes sure that they understand that messing with you is going to have a price.

I have a lot of different canes and walking sticks. I make them out of all sorts of things. One of my favorite classy looking one looks like a light black gentleman's cane It is slender black with a gold knob on top. It is solid fiberglass made out of an old short pool cue. It is almost indestructible and is much heavier than anyone would expect. The cue was made to only be about 40" long but weigh and shoot like a full-size cue. I have another that is made from a 3/4" Delrin rod that is heavy and stout beyond what it appears. Over the years I have at times needed a cane. I have had both hip joints replaced. I like a plain crook necked stock cane. they are made of heavier material than most regular canes and you can get them in longer lengths up to a shepherd's crook. My shepherd's staff would be a deadly weapon and is a great woods running staff.

 

One of the most devastating weapons that I have ever made was a set of bang sticks that I made for a friend of mine that liked to spearfish in water that often had sharks. It was a 357 mag on the end of a pole that when you poked a shark with it it would fire. With the barrel right against the shark. The bullet and the expanding gases made it lethal. I have thought about making something similar if things ever get bad to mount on the bottom of a walking stick. For safety, you have a cotter pin with a ring that you pull to arm it sort of like a grenade.

I have a small machine shop that allows me to do a lot of things that most don't have the tools to do.

 

In all prisons, prisoners improvise weapons to include firearms.

Barrels are made from metal pipes, bullets from wheel weights, powder from match heads, primers from crushed glass and match heads (preferably, using "strike-anywhere" match heads).

https://www.instructables.com/id/Strike-anywhere-matches/

http://www.jacobsrocketry.com/aer/ignition_and_igniters.htm

https://www.ebay.com/itm/283666048955

https://www.best-deal.com/search/la...erm=rocket igniter&utm_content=rocket igniter

https://www.correctionsone.com/cont...ed-prison-weapons-and-tools-8XfVDGdvAvTVJiJQ/



https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog...-firearms-zip-guns-like-grandpa-used-to-make/

https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilear..._in_the_1950s_gangs_would_improvise_zip_guns/

The Jewish people trapped in the Warsaw Ghetto -- surrounded by NAZI troops -- were forced to begin their resistance movement with something like only a half-dozen handguns. Handguns in-and-of-themselves are next to worthless. However, the Jewish resistance used them to kill isolated groups of two or three soldiers on guard duty and take their 8mm Mauser rifles. Bit-by-bit, the Jewish Resistance worked their way up. They were eventually killed, but they died with tremendous honor. We remember them today as we fight today against anti-God international collectivism.

https://www.wildernessarena.com/supplies/weapons/homemade-napalm-recipe

 

When a kid, made several billy-clubs out'a pool cues. Have detailed this stuff before on this site. You wanna start with a heavy cue-stick 21 - 22 oz.. Saw off butt end; 18", or whatever works for you. Wrap narrow end with cloth electrical tape. Me, I drilled a hole in the handle to have a place through which a lanyard could be affixed, leather, bootlace leather. Blood starts off super-slick, to gotta wrap your hand with leather strap. Wood covering lead slug (that gives a cue its weight) is thin and it WILL split. Therefore you must wrap the area around the lead weighting slug with steel wire, lest it split. You can nail/screw-0n single-edge razor blades to the business end of the club so that if someone tries to grab it away from you, you can jerk it back and cut the tendons in their hands. Always wear gripping gloves when doing wet work.

 

speaking of red peppers, in the book Indeh. There is talk of a pepper bomb. The apaches blocked the door on a Mexican church and dropped one in. It killed everyone. They talk about it a couple times in the book but no details are given.

also there are a lot of improvised weapons in books by Kurt Saxon. Some have merit and some are out there.

 

"In a place like Great Britain they are learning that taking away the guns doesn’t stop bad people from harming good people"

Can we please not, pointlessly, go down this route again, especially given the recent shooting events in the US

 

This is exactly why we shouldn't discuss this stuff, but, no TMT, you had to bring it up mate nothing personal but I'm going to have a rant now and I have one thing to say on this - YES good guy stopped bad guy - but not before he killed TWO people, and that was inside a church FFS. Well that was a cracking result wasn't it? Not really two innocent people died for no reason.


People, for example, often discuss UK knife crime on this forum, meanwhile people get shot time and time again in the US - 241 times this year (so far) shootings that killed groups of 4 or more, but no a machete is, of course worse - how??? They're all bad in the hands of bad people, and dead is dead, however horrible one's death may be.

We need to agree that we live in different countries AND different cultures and there is no direct comparison between us and, because of those differences we should not be comparing each others murder rates. Let us not make the mistake of believing that, as we speak variations of the same language, we are the same people, we are not. Where we should be united, however, is that we are preppers and that should be our foremost concern.

I simply fail to see how folks obsessing over murders/shootings etc helps prepping in the slightest and more worryingly may be putting potential preppers with a peaceful outlook off the forum. I'm sure we've all noticed the drop in posting and how many new members join and are never heard from again. Rant over

 

I carried a two-piece pool cue in a hand-tooled leather case that I made that had brass washers on the butt end so you could adjust the weight. I played a LOT of pool back then and that was the one club that the cops couldn't take away. the heavy end of that beast was deadly! It got stolen one night when I was doing a tournament. I never found another that I liked as well. ;-(

 

A deadly weapon that I have even carried on airplanes is a piece of piano wire that I have inside of my hatband. There is almost no chance of escape if someone gets a wire around your neck. It isn't the lack of breath that takes you out. in 7 seconds after you pull the wire in it has cut off the blood supply to the brain and you pass out. If you pull too hard it will almost cut their head off. Lots of good hats wave wire in the rims and stiffeners so it isn't noticed as a weapon.

Most times unless you strip me butt naked I will have a weapon on me someplace. Big belt buckles are the norm in a lot of Texas and with a little work they can be weaponized in several ways.

 

I carry at all times in public a tactical pen and wear a belt that I can hopefully use around the neck of my advisory. Though, fights don't usually work out the way you plan and typically end up on the floor because no one is a fighter. End up on the floor and that's where size 13 meets neck.

Now bear in mind I'd only use deadly force if deemed necessary given the situation at hand. If there's a chance to run, then run I will. At least I don't have to go to court and potentially lose a damn court case...

 

I gave up fighting for fun a long time ago. If I'm fighting now it is because you have tried to harm me or I fear for my life in which case I'm going to be going for more than just giving you a bloody nose. I will tell you for a fact that I am a hundred times more likely to make you a corpse than I was when I was a kid in my 20s. Old farts don't play that fisticuffs crap they go for a kill right off the bat.

 

Not to mention that spare wire is great for many jerry-rigging jobs. Love my duct tape, however metal wire is simply downright strong.

 

The thing about weapons is that they are all but useless without the person having both the will and the decision made in advance to use that weapon. I am nearly always armed in several ways. I have a full set of rules and decisions already made. I never use a weapon as a threat unless it is the only hope of talking someone out of dancing with me. A gun is NEVER seen until I am about to shoot you. If I pull a gun and threaten you, you may draw a gun and shoot me. You can act while I have to decide to react...never a good thing. Every year a lot of people get shot with their own gun. Guns are for me being over here and shooting you over there. If you are right on top of me A handgun is almost as dangerous to me as it is to you. If you don't plan on killing someone DON'T pull a gun out!!! If they are close a knife is a better choice. I have a spring-assisted karambit that is nasty and lightning-fast to pull and get into action.

When you walk into a room you need to spot any other exits, and heavy items that might be used as a weapon and where is the best place to be for defensive purposes. I always do this in public places and am adamant about never sitting with my back to the room if possible. If I am taken to a table in the middle of a room and there are tables available on the perimeter I will request a move to that table.

In the end, your mind are the best-improvised weapon that you can have. Forethought and situational awareness as a habit will protect you better than most anything.

 

There's a great book everyone should check out. It's a no shits about it, in your face, these are the facts ma'am book on violence and how to win the fight and the possible court case, etc. Thus far I'm in the fourth chapter. It's called Violence Of Mind by Varg Freeborn. I consider it required reading before you even attempt to get a CCW.

At least read the preface at Amazon. You might be pleasantly impressed. And if you face the wolf, you might not only when the physical fight, but the court fight as well...

 

Let me explain why I see this as a prepper subject. The 3 B's of prepping are Beans, Bullets, and Bandaids. In other words, food, security, and medical preps. The guy at the church was prepared for a bad guy. His action saved lives. The bad guy fired three shots but our hero caused the round to miss. The bad guy was going to kill till he ran out of rounds or was dead. The bad guy had a shotgun and at least six church members had their handguns out. The head of security was the fastest and had terminated the threat in just over five seconds saving lives.

When you are home you have a security plan, a sustenance plan, and a medical plan. When you leave your residence you have these plans adapted to your travel. If guns are not part of your security plan that is your choice but my studies show that firearms are the most effective tool available for everyday threats, either four legged or two.

 

I've always liked Estwing sheetrock hammers

 

I also have a "Vietnam Tomahawk", but it's harder to pass off as just a "tool".

 

Those roofing and Sheetrock hammers are great for turning into hawks. I have picked up several heads at flea markets. There is not much that can be said about them legally. Throw that in your car with a nail apron and you are good to go.


I also have several heavy and light meat cleavers. the heavy ones are actually handy for making kindling or cutting small shingle boards. I use it as a small froe. It is also a good chopper when you don't have room to swing a machete. When you come out with a meat cleaver you will get an attacker undivided attention!

I have a complete butcher kit and can butcher anything up to a cow with it including cutting the steaks and bones so the cleavers has real uses for prepping.

 

Talk about improvised weapons, here's some doozies.

First up, a maceball bat -- funny! Not so funny for the zombie on the receiving end, however.




The ace of mace:




Lucile. There are all manner of designs for a decent Lucile.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Lucile+bat


Let's face it, Joerg is the man with a plan!!!




Hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow, hex-nut bolt-bow:

 

Joerg returns!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This guy is nuts.

Hex nuts:




Balls of steel:

 

Becoming a member of the trench-club club.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=make+trench+club

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=make+war+club

 

You might become a fan of the throwing fan.

 

"Thy rod and thy staff do not comfort me," Goliath.

 

the CIA will teach you that you can turn anything into a weapon. a pencil it your hand with the rubber end in you fist can be lethal if you know where to strike. I think that people should be aware off their surroundings and stuff available , and always carry a knife. my rules. a folding knife so the cops do not give you grief. I am a very old boy scout .

 

There are actually two types of weapons in my home-made armory. There are the just plain evilly lethal and then there are the ones that are mostly intimidators. A baseball bat, an ax, or a machete are killers. Among the most intimidating weapons that I have made is a morning star. That is a spiked ball on a short chain attached to a club that is about 18” long. A short light double-bit battle-ax is very intimidating.

LOL, a plastic whiffle bat is pretty nice. When you come out with it they don’t know that it isn’t a real bat but I can beat the crap out of someone and not be accused of attempted murder. Having been on the receiving end of one of those I can assure you that they HURT a LOT!!!!

I have always carried some sort of weapon. The reason is simple. A weapon more often than not ends a fight before it starts. Everyone pauses and this gives everyone a chance to cool off and debate whether they really want to do it. LOL if they come out with a gun you drop whatever you have and declare that they win. I had this happen once and it worked out. He just seriously did NOT want to fight and I really didn’t either. I bought him a beer and we were OK.

If you look for trouble you will nearly always be able to find it. Conversely, if you are not prepared for trouble and it finds you any way you may be in serious trouble. In my experience, most thugs don’t want to fight and will find someone else to be their victim if you blow up on them. If I eventually find one that doesn’t that will be OK with me. I will NOT live in fear nor give in to anyone’s threat.

 

Y'know what, I see a >200lb fellow with a hatchet in his hand and broken glass behind his eyes, I want me a hand-cannon or shotgun loaded-up with some slugs.

9mm?

Nope!

.357 w/158-grainers?

Yes, that. Maybe more.
.

 

Most people will back off or decide to discuss the situation and that is what I want. There is just something about a hatchet or ax that makes people want to think things over. A little knife they might think they could handle and survive but an ax is just a totally different thing. In my experience an ax in your hand, make no threats, just have it, usually calms things right down. I like the carpenter’s hatchet that has a hammer head on the back side of the hatchet. I can throw that in my car with a nail apron and there is nothing much that the cops can say about it.

Now days I usually have a handgun on me. I have a license for concealed carry.

 

Carpenter's hatchet, yeah, that is a good idea. American Indians made good use of their tomahawks.

Drywall hammers swing fast also. I've got a brick hammer or two.


Brick hammer -- these are great to cut a brick or block to the size you need. Even though I try to avoid masonry work, this hammer type has been a real helper to me over the decades. I may have used this more than a cold chisel and hammer (?). Used a bunch of chisels, though. When a little boy, I'd shave mortar off used bricks (bricks from knocked-down walls) so that the bricks could be re-used. Bricks are expensive and you can't just throw them away -- not among my people, anyway.

When a boy (age 11?), I couldn't chop through the top of a pigs head with a hatchet. Pigs heads are thick. Uncle got mad at me and told me the way to get into a pigs head to get its brains out is to cut off its jaw and get to the brain from underneath. He yanked that pig's head away from me to go do it himself. So, I'll never know. My Mom's dad cracked fried squirrel heads with a spoon to suck out their brains.
.

 

Oopsie!

"Radioactive Material Disappears En Route To Michigan"

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/radioactive-material-disappears-en-route-michigan

"Radioactive material headed to Michigan from an Ohio company never made it to its destination, a filing by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission revealed. In its "Current Event Notification" report for Wednesday, the commission that regulates commercial nuclear power plants and other civilian uses of nuclear materials in the United States said the Ohio Bureau of Radiation Protection had informed officials about a missing shipment involving Prime NDT Services.

"The Ohio radiation bureau learned from Prime NDT that a source of Iridium-192 was shipped through an unnamed carrier on July 12 from a facility in Strasburg, Ohio, to a facility in Michigan, the NRC said. Iridium-192 is a radioactive isotope of iridium, which can be used in industrial gauges that inspect welding seams in such equipment as pipelines and in medicine to treat certain cancers, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The material can also be used to make a dirty bomb.

"The event notification report for the material intended to be shipped to Michigan stated that multiple agencies were alerted, including the Environmental Protection Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency. Also, the notice said, 'the state of Tennessee has been informed.'"
.

 

"Homemade gun used to kill Japan’s ex-PM Shinzo Abe "

https://nypost.com/2022/07/08/shinzo-abe-assassin-used-homemade-gun/

"This is the clunky homemade weapon used to assassinate former Japanese leader Shinzo Abe Friday in a country that has some of the strictest gun laws in the world.

"The images show what appears to be a rudimentary double-barrelled shotgun, with two tubes taped together atop a wooden body and a black handle.

"Police found several possible explosives during a raid on Yamagami’s home, and the suspect confessed that he had 'manufactured multiple pistols and explosives so far,' public broadcaster NHK said.

"Cops said they also confiscated similar homemade weapons, as well as his personal computer during the raid.

"Other local reports said that he told cops he initially planned to blow up Abe, but decided to instead build a gun because he feared a bomb was less reliable."




----------------------------------

Handguns are illegal in Japan. Their organized gangs, yakuza, have no trouble buying whatever weaponry they wish. Small machine-shops in the Philippines crank-out thousands of fully automatic weapons per month and sell them to whoever has the money.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=philippine+gunsmiths

The Japanese people are rule-followers. Give them firearms and they would continue with their current and traditional behavioral patterns = be civilized. Japan's yakuza also has strict rules -- they simply do not follow their government's laws. Too, the yakuza own the politicians and surprisingly high percentages of major Japanese industries. Yakuza murder victims end up feeding the fishes of the Pacific and the police couldn't care less. You'll find no statistics on the fish-food people.

I remember back in the 1970s how Japan tightened their gun laws and banned handguns. The effect on criminal organizations was to increase the purchase price of handguns. In Japan, handguns were fetching over $1500 per. Back before Jimmy Carter inflation, $1500 was a LOT of money!


Making firearms illegal means that honest citizens can't own firearms. In America, were we to enforce the laws we already have on the books -- which are NOT enforced -- armed felons would spend a minimum of 10 years in prison, plus time added for the felonies they've committed. When the police make arrests for firearms violations, they are deemed "racist aggressors".

During firearm background checks, mental health flags often do NOT show up -- witness the mentally ill shooter just glorified in the news. Local police had flagged him as a "clear and present danger". This flag was forwarded to the state -- STILL, the firearms background check didn't catch this!!! We need to get dangerous psych cases put in hospital or have them closely monitored -- especially the ones who publicly state that they are going to kill a bunch of people as did this recent nut-job.

The web has all manner of instructions for manufacturing improvised weapons.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=improvised+guns

"Turn matches into gunpowder"


Guns manufactured in American prisons:

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=guns+made+in+prisons&t=newext&atb=v320-1&iax=images&ia=images

Wheel weight lead is great for bullet manufacture.
.

 

In general, I'm not a big fan of improvised firearms made by most people. most people just don't have the skills and knowledge that would allow them to make a firearm that wouldn't be almost as dangerous to the person firing it as the target.

That said if I wanted to make a gun it wouldn't be much of a problem for me. I'm a machinist and a gunsmith. With a metal lathe and a milling machine, you can make almost anything. The thing is that making one just isn't worth much. A simple single-shot weapon really wouldn't be a lot better than other weapons that I could much more easily make. A crossbow comes to mind.

I will probably always carry a slingshot when I go hunting. They are good for knocking things out of trees and such or to spook something into the open. I've taken a few small things like a couple of rabbits and a squirrel or two with them and a lot of birds. I could probably keep myself fed with one. There are times when you don't want to make a lot of noise. A bow is nice but doesn't fit in your hip pocket like a slingshot. When I was a kid I was like Dennis the menace and always had a slingshot in my hip pocket.

Another thing that I have made myself well acquainted with is and atlatl. This allows you to throw a light spear with a huge amount of power and speed. This makes for a pretty good large animal hunting tool. Not quite as good as a bow and arrow but easy and quick to make.

 

Atlatl



-------------------------------------------------------------

I've got a .75 inch bore miniature cannon. It's a hoot. A great fellow from Budapest built it and it is very detailed. Couldn't tell you what cannon was the model for the replica. The barrel is brass and somewhat heavy; 14" or 16" ??? I forget. It's in storage and not here beside me. I don't think I have any black powder or Pyrodex for it. I know I don't here at the house. Getting harder to find black powder because no one wishes to ship it.

I've only shot a lag bolt as the projectile. I wrapped a 3.5 inch lag bolt in cloth to fit the bore. My charge was 90 grains of AA gunpowder. I fired it into a split log (for my fireplace). It went in over two inches. The recoil knocked back a 10 lb. river rock that I'd set on the back & a little bit if the top of the cannon. Fun, fun.

So, I find this video of a fellow with a .75 bore cannon with a post on YouTube. Horrah!!!! Holy crap; I'd never looked before today. (Grandson was visiting and he is a Civil War History nut. Didn't go get the cannon, else he'd want me to give it to him. Nope. He's too young. Gotta watch out, these will kill you.)

The cannon in this video is beyond crude; nevertheless, he's using it with great gusto. Fun video to watch!



.

 

AND, continued from above ...

It's just tooooooooo easy to make home-made black powder / explosive sh##. Homey (me) I do NOT mess around with explosives. I know all-too-well too many "failed" experiments (i.e. loss of fingers, hands, ...). Call me chicken-sh##; but hey, I like my hands and eyes. "Homey don't play that game!" Homey knows factory-tested firearms. That is ALL homey needs to know. Homey was Quality Control for two freaking decades!!!

If you can't understand that "sh## happens", then "go with God". You might just get to know Him. Too many stories! Stories I can't tell. Stay away from Hell.
.

 

You know, I have seriously considered making myself a small cannon to use as a yard clearance tool if things ever got bad. I think that I would probably try to make it a 2" or 3" bore with about 24" of barrel. Load that sucker up with old shattered bits of files, roofing nails, glass, and pennies. The different shapes should make the load scatter wide and that is what I would want.

PS: Added on. LOL, I started making black powder when I was 10 or 12. LOL, There was an older guy down the road that taught us boys all sorts of things. From him I also learned how to make home brew that had some serious kick!

 

Perimeter control is critical. Need I say more?! Life. Not just yours. Dark matters; yet, welcome to this plane of existence. I, nor anyone else can change this horrid world. I wish that life were transcendent. It isn't. We must, therefore, deal with the cards we were dealt.

At age eleven, my professional gambler father taught me these things. He told me that I would have to deal with this. God's Chosen One, the Christ, was a living example (though not a Christian myself, yet I am profoundly knowledgeable of the station of "the Christ"). The Christ made a whip and drove the money-lenders and other desecrators from the Temple.
.

 

I too,carry a slingshot ,but usually when fishing.Last week I nailed a rabbit whilst walking to the river. I use flatbands and 10 mm lead.