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Locally made ‘katta’ pistols seized across India
Homemade firearms have long featured strongly in Indian criminology. Known locally as Kattas or tamanchas, these crude handmade pistols account for up to 30% of firearms related crime. According to the...
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Jaco Western homebuilt pistol spotted in India
A number of factories raided by police near the Uttar Pradesh/Haryana boarder in India appear to have been producing copies of the Jaco Western pistol, a popular DIY design published in 1972 and sold...
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Handing in zip guns at buy backs
Some glorious individual decided to take a duffel bag full of improvised slam-fire shotguns (of legal length) to a local gun buyback which was offering $50 for each gun handed in. Unfortunately on...
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Homemade machine pistols seized in Sweden
The below are machine pistols of a design that were being produced and distributed by criminal networks in Sweden. Apparently specifications for many of the parts were simply sent off to various...
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Newport buyback refuse to accept ‘Hello Kitty’ improvised pipe shotgun
A recent ‘gun turn in’ sponsored by Newport Police Department spurred on local gun collectors to make a small profit by turning in unwanted junk firearms and also grabbing up a few bargains themselves....
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Australian police seize homemade submachine gun during drug raid
Pictured is a homemade submachine seized by police during a raid which also uncovered a suspected meth lab. The weapon itself is very obviously based on a design described in the infamous Expedient...
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Hecho En Connecticut –‘Colt Comando’ SMG
It doesn’t help that a large number of submachine guns churned out in the garages of Mexican drug cartel ‘engineering departments’ point the finger at the USA as their country of origin. You’d think...
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Buyback in Mexico nets homemade firearms
A recent gun amnesty in Mexico offering quick cash and groceries saw a number of interesting homemade and modified firearms turned in. Perhaps the jewel of the haul was a very nicely made .22lr...
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The discerning gentleman’s zip gun
Here’s a humorously tasteful take on a crude Vietcong-esque single-shot pistol design. All it’s missing is an intricate engraving depicting the last of the buffalo. The post The discerning...
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Japanese man arrested for building homemade guns
A 60 year old man in Japan was recently arrested for building homemade guns of his own design. According to him it was his hobby for the last 40 years. He used scrap anvils as a source of hardened...
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Improvised brass barrel firearm with paintball marker trigger frame
Pictured is an interesting improvised 9mm firearm being sold within criminal circles in Brazil. The entire trigger group / lower is from a standard paintball marker, allowing for a more useful...
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‘Table Leg Typewriter’ DIY submachine gun prototype
Sent in to TFB is another concept design for an ‘afternoon’ DIY submachine gun of particular crudeness and expediency. The majority of components are laminated together from readily available square...
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Poacher’s silenced takedown gun
Here’s a very neat little takedown gun seized by police in Italy which is entirely handmade, fits in a backpack and is chambered for either .22lr or .22 hornet. Intended varmint may or may not have...
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Poacher’s axe gun
This ordinary looking axe wouldn’t look out of place carried in any rural setting. Sliding down the metal collar below the head however reveals a .22 caliber break barrel single shot mechanism cleverly...
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Homemade submachine guns used in Tel Aviv shooting
Earlier this month two gunmen burst into a restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market, killing four people and wounding six more. The death count could have been much higher had one of the attacker’s...
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Illegal machine gun factory raided, Santa Claus arrested
Last month police in Brazil raided an illicit workshop in the city of Belo Horizonte which was producing submachine guns for large scale criminal distribution, each gun apparently being sold for 3,500...
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Homemade guns ‘a concern’ after police officer in South Korea killed during...
A police officer in Beong-dong, northern Seoul was shot and killed Wednesday during a standoff with a man (Seong Byung-dae, 45) who was also kitted up with body armor and had previously attacked a...
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Hardware store zip guns
Pictured are two dirt simple improvised ‘zip guns’ seized by police which were the subject of an officer safety notice. The weapons have been constructed by screwing together standard pipe fittings...
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DIY Percussion pistols of Brazil’s “dashing” highwaymen.
One cannot suppress a certain sense of nostalgia at the thought of being forced to hand over one’s Air Jordan’s by a gallant gentleman of the favela wielding one of these contraptions, many of the...
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Improvised weapons from the Croatian War of Independence
In 1991 the Croatian parliament voted to seceded from what was formerly the ‘Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’, leading to armed conflict between Croatian and Serbian government forces as well...
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Idlib, Syria Anti-Material Rifle Production
Recent photographs out of the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib show a thorough manufacture of improvised anti-material rifles, all in 14.5mm. Local gunsmiths in the rebel-held city appear to be using...
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Nigerian homemade revolving shotguns
Pictured are a number of makeshift revolving firearms seized by Nigerian security forces during multiple operations targeting gun runners. In one incident in August last year eleven soldiers were...
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Palestinian P90
This unusually configured homemade 9mm submachine gun was seized by Israeli police last year while executing a search of a suspect’s home. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery though in some...
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Homemade Semi-Auto P.A Luty Machine Pistol (LOTS OF PHOTOS)
Mike over at Mike’s Custom Weaponry has sent in photos of his latest project in the final stages of completion which happens to be a semi-auto version of the Machine Pistol from P.A Luty’s book...
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Improvised “Stapler” Firearms from Papua New Guinea
Even in relatively isolated developing nations criminals find ways to arm themselves. Below are a number of crude improvised firearms made from regular household stapler guns recently seized by police...
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Australian ‘Secret Gun Factory’ Produces 3D Printed Parts
A friend of TFB sent me this story and, even though it’s more than a year old, I thought it might lead to an interesting discussion or two. The Queensland Police in Australia were doing what good...
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The world’s simplest SMG?
Pictured is an ultra minimal, highly compact submachine gun design which is a clear contender for the simplest ever conceived. Disassembled It consists of only nine parts including screws and springs....
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Small Arms Survey Publishes New Report on Improvised Firearms
The Small Arms Survey have published a new report looking at the use of improvised weapons around the world, examining the proliferation of various types and the driving forces behind their manufacture...
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Student In The UK Convicted Over 3D Printed Guns
A university student in the UK has been convicted of firearms offences after being found in possession of two 3D printed guns. Tendai Muswere, 26, a student at London South Bank University and...
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Homemade Firearms Used In Halle Attack
Several improvised / homemade weapons were employed in an attempted mass shooting attack on a synagogue in Halle, Germany on Wednesday during Yom Kippur. The whole event was live-streamed via a GoPro...
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Underground Arms Watch – October Pt.1
Occasionally police operations across the world churn up weapons produced solely for the criminal market. Some of these are improvised while others are semi-professionally produced in illicit...
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Underground Arms Watch – October Pt.2
Continuing from Part 1 of Underground Arms Watch, below are several more notable examples of criminally produced firearms seized worldwide by police and security services in recent months. Mock M4 A...
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Underground Arms Watch – November Pt.1
A look into criminally manufactured firearms seized in recent months continuing from Part 2 of last month’s round-up. First up is what appears to be a shortened homemade copy of the Madsen M50...
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Underground Arms Watch – December Pt.1
In this article, we’ll present to you the first part of Underground Arms Watch December edition’s look into notable seizures of criminally manufactured and modified weapons seized off the streets. Read...
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Underground Arms Watch – December Pt.2
Continuing from Part 1 of December’s Underground Arms Watch edition, below are some of the good and not so good criminally manufactured and modified weapons recently seized off the streets. ‘Numerous...
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Underground Arms Watch – January Pt.1
A new year brings about the first of January’s Underground Arms Watch installment – a look into criminally made and modified firearms seized by police and security services worldwide. Below are three...
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Underground Arms Watch – January Pt.2
Welcome to another installment of Underground Arms Watch series where we take a look at criminally made and modified firearms seized throughout the world. Modified suppressed rifle seized by Italian...
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Underground Arms Watch – February Pt.1
Welcome to another installment of Underground Arms Watch series where we take a look at criminally made and modified firearms seized throughout the world. Last week police in Queensland Australia...
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Underground Arms Watch – March Pt.1
Catching up with police seizures from mid-February onward, March’s look into improvised and modified firearms circulating the criminal underworld begins. Firstly it appears that automatic conversion...
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Underground Arms Watch – March Pt.2
Continuing with this month’s edition of Underground Arms Watch, we again report on the global cottage industry for the illicit manufacture of firearms. In Qalyubia, Egypt a police operation busted...
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New ARES Research Report: Desktop Firearms + The FGC-9
The latest ARES report published March 30 examines emergent technologies currently enabling further ease in the production of DIY firearms, including (but not limited to) advances in 3D printing. The...
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Underground Arms Watch – April Pt.1
Welcome to another installment of Underground Arms Watch series where we take a look at criminally made and modified firearms seized throughout the world. On Thursday Toronto Police posted what appears...
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Underground Arms Watch – July Pt.1
Skipping ahead a month we resume the Underground Arms Watch series of articles, our regular dive into the world of criminal manufacture and use of off-the-books firearms showing up around the world....
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AK-150 and Beyond – Ambazonia Develops New Arsenal
Since late 2017 a group of secessionists in Cameroon’s former British mandate located in the southwest have been fighting under the banner of a self-declared state named the Federal Republic of...
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Underground Arms Watch – October 2020
Continuing our regular look into criminally made and modified firearms within our Underground Arms Watch series, we start with a seizure of a number of homemade firearms by Queensland Police on October...
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Underground Arms Watch – February 2021
Welcome back to Underground Arms Watch. Catching up into the new year, we continue our look at some of the black market bootleg weapons seized worldwide within the last few months. First up is an...
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Underground Arms Watch – April 2021
Underground Arms Watch returns with a brief glance at recently seized craft-produced arms by law enforcement around the globe. Spanish police have released details of a raid on an illegal manufacturing...
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Underground Arms Watch – June 2021 Pt.1
Welcome back to the Underground Arms Watch. The first week of June saw a number of seizures of the FGC-9, the widely reported on 3D printable 9mm carbine released by Deterrence Dispensed last year. The...
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Underground Arms Watch – May 2022
Dusting off the Underground Arms Watch series after a dormant start to the year, we return with a look at some recent examples of ‘ghost guns’. First up, here’s a curious Tokarev TT33 which appears to...
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Underground Arms Watch – September 2023
Underground Arms Watch returns from the dead with a look at some recently confiscated weapons and emerging trends. Most recently a number of FGC-9s have shown up in Trinidad & Tobago, becoming one...
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