Homebuilt Firearms Paperback – October 6, 2010

Another book with great info to stay under the radar and off the grid.

This book was a disappointment. One can see better designed, better made zip guns confiscated from prisoners and on display at their local sheriff's office museum. Starting with the design, I'm uncertain if anyone ever told the writer about the fact that machines need to have the minimum number of parts well fitted and well finished to operate every time, operate smoothly, operate in a predictable manner! The premise is a good one, to build a working rifle with minimal tools but what happens next is problematic. Imagine a Rube Goldberg design assembled by Wile E. Coyote.However, though an artisan should be judged fairly his teachers should be judged as well. Despite the flaws I didn't give this book the one star it would have deserved in a vacuum, rather I gave it three stars for a couple of reasons. I hope the writer doesn't get offended but I believe this book is an excellent cautionary statement which argues for some serious reforms in our educational establishment and in our political beliefs regarding science, technology and the manual arts.First, the direction of the education establishment: For two generations we have told school children, "Working with your hands isn't dignified, you need to go to college and learn a profession." We have denigrated the manual arts to the point where there are no shoemakers, no chair caners, no broom makers, no weavers, no cabinet makers, no silversmiths, no glass blowers, except in the arts community. And, sadly, artists have been affected so that many of them believe they can produce crap and rich people will buy it to hang in their McMansions. (And yes, the rifle described here is crap, fit only to be displayed in a triple wide prefab McMansion trailered onto the lot, put up in a day and waiting for the next tornado.)The second reason is that people raised in this educational vacuum really need to grasp the idea that gun making isn't rocket science. Anyone off the street who is untrained and unsupervised can produce working weapons. Despite all our collective worry over sensible gun laws in the end there is no such thing as gun control. So what are you going to do lock up all the people who have opposable thumbs? Mr Hartman could have produced the same thing in a prison or in a hut in the jungles of east Asia. And, since he would have had fewer distractions and more apt teachers it probably would have looked better.

Great. Thank you.

Interesting design but not what I would have built for myself and butt ugly. Would probably build a falling block or rolling block single shot for myself.

Interesting fast delivery.

I'm sorry but I found this pretty much useless. I tech Construction Graphics and building techniques. I have a growing interest to build a gun of my own. I have no need for a .22 zip gun with a very complicated action that looks to be only slightly smaller than a Ma Deuce. Thank God that Remington, Winchester, Ballard, Hepburn, Sharps, and Martini and Henry, as well as the rest who gave us fine, well crafted weapons did not look at this book for advice. I will not recommend this book.

The book and instructions are very clear and concise, as long as you don't actually build it!The complex interactions of the parts and internal works design is flawless. The overall design as well as the appearance (shudder!) are horrible. This is a great example of how a good imagination and skills can be wasted. But.... it was probably fun to make, as long as anyone seeing it didn't know you did it.After 40+ years as a gunsmith, I have never seen such a combination of good internal and poor external designs melded together. May be brilliant, but where and how would you use it, let alone carry it? The basic reason for a DIY firearm, beyond being able to say you did it, is to use it as a survival or secondary weapon. This is too bulky to hide or easily carry, and looks to be awkward to operate, even if it does work well.Shrink the entire design about 70 percent and maybe it would be a great addition.

a little less than i expected