Read It, Print It, Shoot It. Sub-$1000 “Ghost Gun Engine”

[erudne]

Cody Wilson's October Surprise Revealed: Sub-$1000 "Ghost Gun Engine"
By Robert Farago on October 1, 2014
Defense Distributed MD Cody Wilson sent us an email this AM, with a link to the above video. Most of you know Mr. Wilson as the man who launched the 3D-printed Liberator single-shot plastic pistol onto the world. That he is. But Cody's also a bit of a polemicist; a man who spits out out obscure literary references like some NASCAR fans expectorate used chewing tobacco. Anyway, his latest screed [after the jump] is more of a political statement than a product description. So what we have here is a machine that turns 80 percent modern sporting rifle lowers into finished receivers – at the touch of a button. It's perfectly legal and less than a grand. The result is an unregistered gun that you can't sell, trade or give away. But it's "off-the-books." Expect pearl-clutching and political blowback STAT. As planned . . .
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[erudne]

 

[Norm0931]

Not sub $1000. They are selling pre-orders at $1200.

 

[erudne]

It's a political statement, to drive Kali-Commies insane
I would not preorder till after they have been mass marketed

 

[Norm0931]

Under an hour though to finish an 80% and you don't have to do anything except change the jig and lower a few times.

 

[erudne]

Under an hour though to finish an 80% and you don't have to do anything except change the jig and lower a few times.

you could make your investment back by milling other's lowers

 

[Blitzkrieg]

"My job is to try and stop them"... wow, making up new laws on the fly

 

[erudne]

"My job is to try and stop them"... wow, making up new laws on the fly

Yep, just like Obama

 

[drewp]

pre orders are now at $1500...it would take dozens and dozens of lowers to make this worth while here in Oregon...maybe more oppressive states it would be worth while....and at that point of high quanity production it seems like risky business... I have 4 80% lowers that aren't worth it in my opinion.... Oregon doesn't require gun registration. I can go to most any gun shop and buy as many $100 100% lowers I want...hell if im worried about the background check ill buy all I want on forums and armslist... this tool.. its not worth it to me

 

[IronMonster]

I can go to most any gun shop and buy as many $100

Actually that seems to be pretty hard to do. At least around here there seems to be a 3 lower max purchase limit at several of the retailers. Of course you can go back the next day and buy three more.....

 

[IronMonster]

I dont really get why someone would spend $1500 on this. I have never machined a 80% lower, but it looks super simple with even a basic mill drill. I dont think it would take much more than an hour doing it the "hard way". I have a full size Bridgport mill in the shop so maybe I see it different but this thing looks pointless to me. With a jig I dont think you could screw up a 80% lower unless you where trying to.

And the idea you are going to buy this and do others lowers is a big no no, Pretty sure you just became a felon.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Actually that seems to be pretty hard to do. At least around here there seems to be a 3 lower max purchase limit at several of the retailers. Of course you can go back the next day and buy three more.....

That's why I use a small home based FFL with reasonable fees.. he does not care if I buy one or ten

 

[Ttuck]

i read an article earlier that made it seem like you only needed a hunk of aluminum. Thanks for the post an extra info. Not really worth it for 1500 bucks if it only drills out an 80% lower.

 

[drewp]

Edited...lame and pointless post so I deleted it

 

[rdb241]

Straight from Ghost Gunner

<broken link removed> <broken link removed>

We have a lot of ground to cover, Ghost Gunners.
Since our last update we have shipped our initial run of 200 machines, and are now shipping about 10 a day to complete those 300 orders originally scheduled for fulfillment in Q1 of this year. We've broken the shipping delays down from six months to three, and by the end of the summer we'll have six week lead times for current wait list orders. All credit for this is due to the hard work of the boys here at the shop. We overcame significant supplier failures early in the year and are finally catching up because of your patience.
I'll continue with a word on shipping, but I want to update you on events since our last update, some of which are very serious.
View attachment 242308
Payments and Order Lookup
A mere two days after our April shipping announcement, DD's longtime payments processor PayPal abruptly began refusing to process our orders and froze up many hundreds of thousands of dollars in our account while they invented a "terms of use review" for our product.
Many Ghost Gunner customers were personally emailed in the week thereafter and actually asked by PayPal for what purpose they intended to use their machine. I found both of these actions outrageous and condemned PayPal with the strongest language when I spoke with their risk department at the end of April, ending our relationship.
Now, PayPal is known to not be friendly to gun-related companies, this is true. And like our payments processor before them they acted like their hands were tied, but rather than cancel our accounts, they froze DD's funds and then demanded a ten million dollar reserve before they'd process any more payments. This happens to be <broken link removed> for which the company was recently fined for their deceptive trade practices. Coincidence? I'll let you decide. For my part, I told them to go to hell and refunded many of your orders.
Our break with PayPal also limited the usefulness of our order lookup system. Many of you have emailed asking about the status of your order as cancelled or refunded. Because that system is tied to payments status, it is no longer accurate since we have jumped ship and are now using an entirely different payments and ordering system. It's ugly, but I want you to know that you are still receiving your boxes and we are still shipping them, even though lookups and notices don't seem to be accurate.
Wired Magazine recently <broken link removed> of the Ghost Gunner, and we're pleased with the demonstration. Unfortunately our most recent payments provider was spooked by the press and we are yet again unable to process further wait list or final balance orders via credit card or bank transfer. Stay tuned here.
View attachment 242309
ITAR and First/Second Amendments
The news you've recently heard about the Obama Administration regulating speech related to guns on the Internet is true and actually worse than the <broken link removed> has indicated. The State Department is now formalizing the power to police all public exchange of data related to any category of munition online. I'm frustrated with the NRA's rhetoric, which is that ITAR has not yet been used to block websites or harm public speech. This is a lie springing from the organization's refusal to develop a position on homemade and 3D firearms.
The Sate Department has in fact harassed and censored this company for two years with the ITAR. Every compliance move we make in an attempt to publish CAD files or gun software is re-routed, stymied or ignored. This Federal power grab isn't a hypothetical, future scenario. It is already US policy and is being used to target politically-motivated speech related to the Second Amendment.
State has even directly threatened this company over opening our Ghost Gunner forum. The forum is literally closed to registration as of today because the US government doesn't want us to be able to support an open-source DIY product expanding your 2A franchise. We are unable to publicly develop our machine with you until this agency has been corrected.
Because of this malicious set of laws, <broken link removed> in early May. We've brought a First Amendment lawsuit and we are joined by the Second Amendment foundation and other legal talents in Texas. I want to emphasize that none of the gun lobbies are funding this effort and neither are they willing. Defense Distributed alone has has funded this multi-year endeavor and only by the success of Ghost Gunner and your patience were we able to afford to reach this filing.
I'll update you all at the right time about this matter in more depth, but our current filings may be <broken link removed> . Our first hearing is ordered for July 6.
I at least hope that with the NRA's spotlight and the public comment period offered for the new regulations, the reg will be pulled. Comments will be accepted on the regulations until August 3, 2015, and they may be submitted online at regulations.gov or via e-mail at [email protected] with the subject line, ''ITAR Amendment—Revisions to Definitions; Data Transmission and Storage.''
But don't be numb to just what this is. This isn't about firearm industry compliance. It's about divesting you of any free and public access to the means of your own defense; about pruning you from gunsmithing culture and its scientific exchange. Their claim is that gun technology is exclusively commercial and military. You're a pleb and it isn't for you.
Remember that your Revolution was fought for less.
View attachment 242310
Shipping into August
By August I expect we will have shipped our original 500 orders. Please keep emailing if you want an order update, as tracking information and fulfillment updates are no longer automated. We've only accepted 100 new orders since April, but in the next week I will call up another 100 from the wait list as long as the supply chain and shipping stay smooth.
We've switched over to new shipping materials to cut down on some of the dings we've seen in getting boxes out to you. Right now damage estimates are as high as 3-4%, which is far too much. Anyone who hasn't emailed me or Ben ([email protected]) back about bent motor posts or mechanical issues should do so. We're repairing and replacing these machines for free with apologies.
I expect to continue monthly updates on shipping until our order leads are below sixty days. I want to thank you again and again for your patience, and for allowing Defense Distributed to take the lead in protecting your Second, and now First, Amendments.
crw

 

[JustShoot]

Thanks for the Update .
I think a lot of people are missing the big point of this . it's Not about the 1500-$ prepay order price . or, if it is monetarily ..." worth it ". as a tool for making your own lowers .

It is ' Priceless ' . it challenges the premeditated madness that is creeping-in, pressing down and strong-arming you for total firearms control by BATF that is orchestrated by 'every' ruling political administration .
.

 

[Flopsweat]

I'll have to research this further but it seems to me so far that the way to make good use of this technology and stay righteous is to buy the machine, use it to your heart's content and then sell or give it to a friend. If I have this right, it's not a good idea to let folks come over and use it if you own a machine shop. Anybody have more details?