The Canadian sucessor to the Liberator’s attempt at bringing plastic firearms to the masses has apparently just gotten one step closer to his goal. After firing one semi-successful, barrel-cracking shot from his newly designed 3D-printed rifle, the Grizzly, a YouTube user going only by “Matthew” was able to fire a full 14 shots before the gun gave way.
In prior attempts, Matthew had been using a string to pull the trigger, allowing him to stand back at a moderately safe distance — which certainly seems like a good idea considering the fact that the gun is to prone exploding upon fire. But this time, Matthew completely abandoned any extra firing precautions, holding the gun like any other. And he walked away totally unharmed.
Made on a professional-grade Stratasys 3D printer out of ABS+ Plastic, the gun in its current form is still no where near being of any practical use; any shooter would need to reload between shots, and according the video, those spent bullet cases don’t come out easy. Still, just like the original, pistol model, the Grizzly is making fast improvements, and it seems like only a matter of time before Matthew has it working at full speed.
Also just like the Liberator, Matthew has told The Verge that he has every intention of making the blueprints for the gun available online sometime later this summer. But if the past is anything to go off, the Canadian authorities likely won’t be too keen on the idea of this kind of 3D-printed goodie so readily available to the unregulated, unlicensed masses — especially now that the designs have evolved into an actual threat. [The Verge]