A Field Guide to Ghost Guns

While it has always been legal for a US citizen to manufacture their own firearm, the sale and distribution of such items are not allowable. The primary impediment to individual making their own weapons has been access to the tooling and machinery required to convert raw materials into finished parts for assembly. However, in the last fifteen years this paradigm has changed drastically. In the United States home builders and companies have emerged to support individuals who choose to produce their own firearm, conforming to U.S. law which defines a firearm receiver and clarifies regulated and non-regulated parts. Kits are available for hobbyists, as are 3-D printable gun designs, downloadable from the Internet in some cases. This concept has garnered the term Ghost Guns": firearms whose existence is not reported to any third party and therefore whose existence is unknown and, largely, untraceable. The rationale behind Field Guide to Ghost Guns is to brief field investigators on this emerging topic. There are few knowledgeable firearm practitioners in the field who can render qualified opinions when encountering home built firearms or home building operations. The approach is very practical and pragmatic- using simple terminology and illustration to demonstrate and define homemade firearm. While there have been increased calls to regulate guns in the wake of numerous mass shootings, the proliferation of ghost guns-and the increase in their use in crimes-make require additional laws and regulatory measures. Using this book, the reader will be able to make certain determinations and recognize the paraphernalia, tooling and machinery-and other flotsam and jetsam indicative of gun making in a non-formal, factory setting"--