Zips, Pipes, and Pens: Arsenal of Improvised Weapons

I almost cancelled this order, but ended up with the book.... it is a good read and makes for a pleasant afternoon - it feeds curiosity and is well written. I was into the old series "Get Smart" and all the old spy movie stuff... this, however, reveals real weapons that have been developed. Very interesting!

good information bases book. Very useful in keeping up with what can be done if you put your mind to it. The crimial element is really on the ball in this book. Highly recomment tihs one.

This book is basically an illustrated argument against the concept of gun-banning legislature being effective in keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals. There are many photos and examples of improvised single shot weapons using the .22 catridge that hardly look like conventional weapons. What they lack in stopping power and accuracy, they make up for with relative ease of construction, accessability of materials, and concealment. Many of these examples were confiscated from inmates in prisons. Which raises the question: if criminals can make guns in federal prisons, then how can gun laws prevent them from doing so when they are free in the streets? Later in the book, there are examples of more sophisticated weapons, like reproduced AK-47's and the like by local craftsmen in third world areas. It's interesting (and to some, perhaps unnerving) to see a shotgun made by a 15 year old from simple pipes that is capable of firing a 12 gauge round. What could have made it better is if it featured cutaway illisrations showing the inside of some of these devices, like where the round is places, where the firing pin is located, and the mechanism that activates it. Overall, if you are interested in improvised weapons and/or odd devices, then its worth the money. Just be advised that it is not a how-to manual.

This book has a lot of anecdotes and stories, with plenty of photos and commentaries. It makes you think about how useless gun control is. Has a picture of a guy who's pen-gun backfired, talks about prisoners making gunpowder from matchheads and urine, and diagrams of some very cool devices. It's NOT a "how-to" book, but for those who know what they're doing it's definitely got a lot of good(bad?) ideas in it.

This is a very interesting book on homemade firearms.Many are truly ingenious.It shows a wide variety from Zippo lighters converted to guns to belt buckle guns reminiscent of the show "Wild,Wild,West".It offers many photos as well as some diagrams.It also tells you which ones didn't work as well and the hazardous results of trying to use them.If in a truly desperate situation this book could easily assist you in building a workable firearm from very basic materials.Probably very popular with Guerilla types.