HOUSTON, TX–-(Ammoland.com)- The group that kicked off the 3D printing of firearms has preemptively struck back against any new regulations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), banning the sale of “80%” receivers.
Defense Distributed launched their new 0% receivers a week before Shot Show. The code for the 0% receivers will be available for the Ghost Gunner 3 without the need for expensive upgrades.
“The ATF unfinished receiver rule is irrelevant before even being published,” Cody Wilson told AmmoLand News.
Defense Distributed is the brainchild of crypto-anarchist Cody Wilson. Mr. Wilson rose to fame for printing one of the first, if not the first, 3D-printed gun known as the “Liberator.” The Liberator was a 3D-printed pistol that fired a .380 ACP round. It was named after the World War II-era pistol that the allies dropped over occupied France. He gained the moniker of “the most dangerous man in the world” for his pushing the boundaries of 3D printing.
Defense Distributed launched the Ghost Gunner as a way of defeating gun control. The Ghost Gunner is a home three-axis CNC capable of milling out an 80% AR-15 lower. The first machine took the user several hours to finish an AR-15 lower. The later version could complete the milling process in as little as 30 minutes. The latter machines could also finish Polymer80 Glock-based frames and 1911 frames.
Defense Distributed and Ghost Gunner have been the targets of anti-gun groups that disagree with the company’s stance on liberty. Some states like New Jersey and California have attacked the group. The State Department also tried to block Defense Distributed from sharing its files online, claiming the group violated the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) by allowing people to download files from their website.
With new regulations coming down from the ATF soon surrounding unfinished frames and receivers, the company decided to demonstrate that you “can’t stop the signal” by releasing the “Defense Distributed 0% receiver.” The receiver will not be made up of a single part. It will consist of three sections.
Defense Distributed Zero Percent (0% ) Gun Receiver
The current Ghost Gunner 3 is capable of taking a solid block of aluminum and milling out a receiver. There are no specialty tools needed to complete the process. The end-user will need to use a new fixture and three new bits. These new bits can be purchased at any hardware store or from Amazon.
This first section is the buffer ring bolt-on. This part consists of where the end-user would attach a buffer tube to the receiver. The item will be available on Ghost Gunner’s website for an estimated price of about $85.
A bottom part is called the “grip face.” It consists of part of the mag well, the trigger section, and the grip itself. This part will be included in the buffer ring package. The solid piece of aluminum will cost around $20, making the entire build cost on average $105, which is comparable to 80% receivers currently on the market.
The whole process only has seven operations that anyone can do with little to no skill. The total cutting time is around three hours. There is no need to add water cooling, but a spindle fan is needed, which worried me when I first learned of the 0% existence.
The Ghost Gunner will be at SHOT Show along with the 0% receiver.
With the launch of the Defense Distributed Zero Percent Gun Receivers, it seems destined that ATF and the anti-gun haters will have to ban raw blocks of Aluminium next.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
