Guerrilla Gunsmithing

There may come a time when government restrictions severely limit not only access to firearms but the tools and means to repair and maintain them, or you may someday find yourself in the boondocks with a busted weapon. That's where the guerrilla gunsmith comes in. Ragnar Benson has had experience fixing "junk" guns in some tough places around the world, and here he shares some innovative ways to patch up, cobble together and otherwise make operational everything from antique rifles still found in remote war zones to modern firearms suffering from appalling abuse. Drawing on lessons and stories from backwoods experts he's worked with under desperate conditions in Africa, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan and beyond, Ragnar tells how to employ last-resort but effective techniques to remove hopelessly stuck rounds and other barrel obstructions, straighten bent barrels, replace lost parts, smooth out dented magazines, make repairs to some pretty hopeless stocks, scrounge up workable ammo and more. These are last-ditch, do-it-yourself methods, but they may be all you'll have to fall back on deep in the bush or with your back to the wall, when the only things between you and the enemy are a rifle and the know-how to make it work.

With thorough analysis and balanced reporting, Ghost Guns: Hobbyists, Hackers, and the Homemade Weapons Revolution is an essential resource for readers seeking to understand the rise of homemade firearms and future options for managing them. For more than a century, strict gun control was possible because firearms were produced in centralized industrial factories. Today, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, combining old and new technologies, threatens to upend this arrangement. An increasing number of hobbyists, "makers," technology provocateurs, and sophisticated criminals are proving that you don't need a factory to make guns anymore. The security challenges of this transformation are increasingly apparent, but the technologies behind it hold tremendous potential, and while ignoring the security implications would entail risks, the costs of new policies also must be evaluated. "Do-it-yourself," or DIY, weapons will bring significant ramifications for First and Second Amendment law, international and homeland security, crime control, technology, privacy, innovation, and the character of open source culture itself. How can a liberal society adjust to technologies that make it easier to produce weapons and contraband? Informative and thought-provoking, Ghost Guns: Hobbyists, Hackers, and the Homemade Weapons Revolution carefully analyzes the technical, legal, social, political, and criminological trends behind this challenging new area of illicit weapons activity.

Cody Wilson, a self-described crypto-anarchist and rogue thinker, combines the story of the production of the first ever 3D printable gun with a philosophical manifesto that gets to the heart of the twenty-first century debate over the freedom of information and ideas. Reminiscent of Steal This Book by Abbie Hoffman, Cody Wilson has written a philosophical guide through the digital revolution. Deflecting interference from the State Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the story of Defense Distributed -- where Wilson's employees work against all odds to defend liberty and the right to access arms through the production of 3D printed firearms -- takes us across continents, into dusty warehouses and high rise condominiums, through television studios, to the Texas desert, and beyond.

In today's high-tech society, even the most advanced devices and systems are not failsafe. Tools can break or wear out, batteries can go dead, and all sorts of malfunctions can render the modern conveniences we rely on totally useless. If quick replacements of failed items are not readily available, the ability to improvise and adapt in the workshop suddenly becomes very practical. James Ballou, author of the best-selling Long-Term Survival in the Coming Dark Age, dramatically expands on the popular home workshop material in his first book to present a "makeshifter's" way of building and repairing things with only a pile of raw or salvaged materials, your hands and your mind. In this fascinating new book, he presents a wide range of unconventional, remarkably creative home workshop skills, including: • HOMEMADE TOOLS—Make your own hammers, drills, screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, saws, files, chisels, vises, clamps . . . • EXPEDIENT REPAIRS—Perform sturdy repairs with ordinary glue, tape, cord, wire, dowels, nuts and bolts . . • MAKESHIFT CONSTRUCTION—Construct all sorts of functional items out of coat hangers, old car parts, 2 x 4s, wooden dowels, nails, rebar, coffee cans . . . • USEFUL PROJECTS—Build a homemade forge out of an old barbeque; handle simple soldering jobs with a road flare; perform quick weld repairs with car batteries, jumper cables, and a pair of pliers . . . Ballou also gives extensive instruction in makeshift metalworking, practical calculating skills, resourceful salvaging, plus dozens of practical tips for the craftsman or handyman who might need this information in an emergency or who simply enjoys learning about alternative ways to handle home workshop projects.

A plan to destroy America, a hundred years in the making, is about to be unleashed . . . can it be stopped? There is a powerful technique called the Overton Window that can shape our lives, our laws, and our future. It works by manipulating public perception so that ideas previously thought of as radical begin to seem acceptable over time. Move the Window and you change the debate. Change the debate and you change the country. For Noah Gardner, a twentysomething public relations executive, it’s safe to say that political theory is the furthest thing from his mind. Smart, single, handsome, and insulated from the world’s problems by the wealth and power of his father, Noah is far more concerned about the future of his social life than the future of his country. But all of that changes when Noah meets Molly Ross, a woman who is consumed by the knowledge that the America we know is about to be lost forever. She and her group of patriots have vowed to remember the past and fight for the future—but Noah, convinced they’re just misguided conspiracy-theorists, isn’t interested in lending his considerable skills to their cause. And then the world changes. An unprecedented attack on U.S. soil shakes the country to the core and puts into motion a frightening plan, decades in the making, to transform America and demonize all those who stand in the way. Amidst the chaos, many don’t know the difference between conspiracy theory and conspiracy fact—or, more important, which side to fight for. But for Noah, the choice is clear: Exposing the plan, and revealing the conspirators behind it, is the only way to save both the woman he loves and the individual freedoms he once took for granted. After five back-to-back #1 New York Times bestsellers, national radio and Fox News television host Glenn Beck has delivered a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller that seamlessly weaves together American history, frightening facts about our present condition, and a heart-stopping plot. The Overton Window will educate, enlighten, and, most important, entertain—with twists and revelations no one will see coming.