Someone (Mostly) 3-D Printed a Working Semi-Automatic Gun
Seriously, semi auto handguns should have a universal registration law. Even if you home build it. Say 30 days from the moment it can fire. Felons of course would be subject to arrest just possessing the gun, serial number or not, home built or at Colt.
But unlike other 3-D printed weapons that have spooked gun control advocates and raised thorny First and Second Amendment questions, the Shuty-MP1 is far from a fully printed firearm. Derwood’s “95 percent printed” description may apply to the overall material that makes up the gun. But unlike some other 3-D printed guns, he didn’t attempt to build the most complex moving parts or stress-absorbing elements from plastic; its store-bought Glock barrel, hammer, firing pin, bolts, and springs are all metal.
Despite those metal shortcuts, the Shuty’s semi-automatic features represent another incremental step in the improvement of homemade weapons manufactured with digital DIY tools. And by making the weapon at home, Derwood successfully circumvented all gun control laws. Since the metal parts he purchased aren’t subject to any regulation, he legally created a weapon that carries no serial number and didn’t at any point require a background check or even ID.
The Shuty-MP1 isn’t actually the first 3-D printed semi-automatic weapon, or even the the first “mostly 3-D printed” one. Derwood says he believes he created that first-of-its-kind firearm himself last year with an earlier version of his Shuty invention. The latest version only streamlines that earlier weapon’s design to bring it closer to the shape and size of a traditional gun, to avoid a welding step that was necessary in the older version, and to improve its reliability.
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