Back when I was a young lad in the army (mid 60s), I was interested in, shall we say, "pyrotechnic" devices. I found that common matchheads provided a source of explosive of considerable potency when properly confined. Later, in police work, I learned that these readily-available items are preferred among certain organized-crime groups for pipe bombs; they yeild even more power than black powder!
Today, we got a "classified" e-mail for LEO use. (Hardly secret to most on this board, but interesting) This concerned a jail inmate who manufactured a firearm which used match heads for propellant.
The deputies got suspicious when they noted deep dents and even holes in a corugated-steel fence adjacent to one of the inmate's cells. They knew this guy had a rep for making weapons, so they shook down his cell. After finding his toy, he cooperated and made a slideshow demonstrating his technique.
Without going into "classified" details, the guy rolled a barrell of sorts from a Coke can, used matchheads as propellant, AAA batteries as projectiles, and an igniter rigged from steel wool and a battery.
Thing was capable of poking holes in typical "tin roof" galvanized steel!
Fortunately, this guy apparently thought of the whole project as a toy, rather than a weapon; so nobody got shot with the thing. Still, a more robust version would certainly be as deadly as any muzzle-loading firearm.
Years ago, the NRA magazine (The Rifleman) ran a bit on a convict who had manufactured a functional semi-automatic pistol in the prison machine shop.
(Why prisons need machine shops I don't know...) They found it before he was able to use it in an escape plot, but the prison authorities successfully test-fired it. The only pre-made part was a magazine and cartridges which had been smuggled in.
I always wonder about this sort of thing when the "ban all guns" crowd starts in. These guys made guns in prison, for pete's sake. How many basement machine shops are there in the country?
Today, we got a "classified" e-mail for LEO use. (Hardly secret to most on this board, but interesting) This concerned a jail inmate who manufactured a firearm which used match heads for propellant.
The deputies got suspicious when they noted deep dents and even holes in a corugated-steel fence adjacent to one of the inmate's cells. They knew this guy had a rep for making weapons, so they shook down his cell. After finding his toy, he cooperated and made a slideshow demonstrating his technique.
Without going into "classified" details, the guy rolled a barrell of sorts from a Coke can, used matchheads as propellant, AAA batteries as projectiles, and an igniter rigged from steel wool and a battery.
Thing was capable of poking holes in typical "tin roof" galvanized steel!
Fortunately, this guy apparently thought of the whole project as a toy, rather than a weapon; so nobody got shot with the thing. Still, a more robust version would certainly be as deadly as any muzzle-loading firearm.
Years ago, the NRA magazine (The Rifleman) ran a bit on a convict who had manufactured a functional semi-automatic pistol in the prison machine shop.
(Why prisons need machine shops I don't know...) They found it before he was able to use it in an escape plot, but the prison authorities successfully test-fired it. The only pre-made part was a magazine and cartridges which had been smuggled in.
I always wonder about this sort of thing when the "ban all guns" crowd starts in. These guys made guns in prison, for pete's sake. How many basement machine shops are there in the country?
