3-D Printable Handgun Needs Metal Parts, Gun Control Types Freaking For Nothing

The 3-D printable handgun by Defense Distributed called the Liberator actually does work, but after reading up on the specs I believe the gun control types are freaking out over nothing.

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the 3-D printable handgun was designed by Defense Distributed, a group of 3-D firearms enthusiasts who designed the gun and posted free downloadable instructions for making the weapon on its website. Over 150,000 downloads of the 3-D printable gun were made after an Obama speech on Gun Control.

Defense Distributed already posted their intentions for the aptly named Liberator:

“The specific purposes for which this corporation is organized are: To defend the civil liberty of popular access to arms as guaranteed by the United States Constitution and affirmed by the United States Supreme Court, through facilitating global access to, and the collaborative production of, information and knowledge related to the 3D printing of arms; and to publish and distribute, at no cost to the public, such information and knowledge in promotion of the public interest.”

Gun control proponents are already complaining, calling for a 3-D printable handgun ban, and claiming, “Security checkpoints, background checks, and gun regulations will do little good if criminals can print plastic firearms at home and bring those firearms through metal detectors with no one the wiser.”

So let’s get one thing straight right off the bat. The 3-D printable handgun called the Liberator already includes metal parts to comply with United States law. But it’s true that someone might make their own design for a 3-D printable gun that does not use metal parts. But I think that’s a needless worry.

The proponents of gun control are not considering the limitations of engineering and materials. The instructions for the Liberator already recommends “printing multiple barrels and using each only once. Swapping the barrels is simple and fast.” My guess is that a single shot from a .22 bullet is enough to warp the plastic barrel. So, quite frankly, a single shot 3-D printable handgun is unlikely to be used by terrorists. Politicians simply need to regulate the sale of certain gun parts just like they would the full gun.

Never mind there already are plastic guns out there. It’s called airsoft and it’s a sport that uses military style simulation guns to shoot 6 mm plastic BBs at opponents, which leave merely a red welt similar to paintball. The major difference is that airsoft uses compressed air to fire BBs at anywhere from 200 to 600+ feet per second (FPS), while bullets propelled by gun powder are traveling at thousands of FPS.

So it could be argued that a better design for a 3-D printable gun could work like a high end airsoft gun and shoot 6 mm 0.4 gram flechette ammo for maximum damage. But once again this 3-D printable gun would require metal parts. Standard flechette ammo is fired at 1250 FPS to 4500 FPS. Fully plastic airsoft guns, which are shooting plastic BBs, cannot shoot beyond 300 FPS without falling apart quickly. Even getting beyond 600 FPS requires high end reinforced metal parts unless you are using an electro-pneumatic gun.

Do you agree with my assessment that 3-D printable handguns need metal components in order to pose a decent lethal threat? If so, do you agree that the politicians are overreacting?