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Pipe or "Zip" Guns
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Commonly known as "zip" guns, guns made from pipe have been used for years by juvenile punks. Today's Militants make them just for the hell of it or to shoot once in an assassination or riot and throw away if there is any danger of apprehension.
They can be used many times but with some, a length of dowel is needed to force out the spent shell.
There are many variations but the illustration shows the basic design.
First, a wooden stock is made and a groove is cut for the barrel to rest in. The barrel is then taped securely to the stock with a good, strong tape.
The trigger is made from galvanized tin. A slot is punched in the trigger flap to hold a roofing, which is wired or soldered onto the flap. The trigger is bent and nailed to the stock on both sides.
The pipe is a short length of one-quarter inch steel gas or water pipe with a bore that fits in a cartridge, yet keeps the cartridge rim from passing through the pipe.
The cartridge is put in the pipe and the cap, with a hole bored through it, is screwed on. Then the trigger is slowly released to let the nail pass through the hole and rest on the primer.
To fire, the trigger is pulled back with the left hand and held back with the thumb of the right hand. The gun is then aimed and the thumb releases the trigger and the thing actually fires.
Pipes of different lengths and diameters are found in any hardware store. All caliber bullets, from the .22 to the .45 are used in such guns.
Some zip guns are made from two or three pipes nested within each other. For instance, a .22 shell will fit snugly into a length of a car's copper gas line. Unfortunatey, the copper is too weak to withstand the pressure of the firing. So the length of gas line is spread with glue and pushed into a wider length of pipe. This is spread with glue and pushed into a length of steel pipe with threads and a cap.
Using this method, you can accomodate any cartridge, even a rifle shell. The first size of pipe for a rifle shell accomodates the bullet. The second accomodates its wider powder chamber.
A 12-gauge shotgun can be made from a 3/4 inch steel pipe. If you want to comply with the gun laws, the barrel should be at least eighteen inches long.
Its firing mechanism is the same as that for the pistol. It naturally has a longer stock and its handle is lengthened into a rifle butt. Also, a small nail is driven half way into each side of the stock about four inches in the front of the trigger. The rubber band is put over one nail and brought around the trigger and snagged over the other nail.
In case you actually make a zip gun, you should test it before firing it by hand. This is done by first tying the gun to a tree or post, pointed to where it will do no damage. Then a string is tied to the trigger and you go off several yards. The string is then pulled back and let go. If the barrel does not blow up, the gun is safe to fire by hand.
You should not attempt to register such a gun.