This video came up on my radar recently. An image of a Colt Model P – also known as the Single Action Army, SAA, Peacemaker or M1873 – but labeled “1880 single action Revolver built from scratch (part 1)” caught my eye. Upon skimming through the video I saw someone making the first parts of the well known “cowboy gun”. A quick search in Google Translate gave the meaning of the channel’s name (hint – it’s in the title of this piece) and skimming through the series showed a functional sixgun coming out of bits and pieces of steel. Everything – EVERYTHING – in the build was made from scratch. Frame, barrel, action parts, springs, grips, screws – EVERYTHING. At first I wasn’t sure, but the builder is a lady, a very talented lady. And she’s not a “gunsmith”, just an enthusiastic firearms enthusiast who is also a talented metal working craftswoman.
What is not obvious to many people is, the building of a “simple” single action revolver is not an easy thing. I’ve seen a lot of hack jobs of simple firearms, muzzle loaders or singleshots mostly, but a well crafted sixgun is NOT a simple task – especially when each screw, spring and action part are made from scratch. And this is why “gun control” will never work. There are hundreds (thousands?) of craftsmen and women around the US of A that build firearms for their own use and amusement, not counting the enthusiastic builders of “adult lego build” AR15 type rifles and others that are assembled from pre-manufactured parts. These folks tend to build out of appreciation for the item and personal enjoyment.
The ability to make what one wants from “scrap” is something which is built into a society with more than a “hunter gatherer” level of development. Prohibiting the manufacture or possession of inanimate objects will NOT bring to a halt their existence, it will push their manufacture underground. Have we not learned from the failure of Prohibition and the “War on Drugs”? Neither of those rid our streets of the scourge of chemical dependence, they merely enriched evil people at the expense of weak minded consumers of the prohibited substances. They gave government power to grab more power – without bringing relief from the scourge they were supposedly designed to destroy.
The violence (which has actually been declining for decades) that permeates our society will not cease if firearms are outlawed. If anything, it will increase. Australia and “Great Britain” have both seen a severe increase in “knife crime” – even though they’ve implemented more laws trying to stem the rise of such a scourge in the face of near total firearms prohibition and laws punishing otherwise law abiding people for exercising their God given right to self defense.
If you think that “knife control” will take knives off the street because no one can buy them anymore, take a look at Alec Steele’s video series on making a knife from scratch with no power tools. Alec goes overboard in his search for perfection and uses a lot of equipment and tools that not everyone has access to. But the point is – he builds a beautiful knife using nothing more than hand tools to do so. If you’ve not seen my article on “When Guns Are Outlawed”, take a look. Many of the weapons in those pictures are nothing more than a scrap of steel or other hard material that has been sharpened on a bit of concrete or other abrasive surface.
So, what’s the answer to ending violence? It’s not an easy one – but the only sure way is a change in our society and the way we view human life. Until we instill “old fashioned” values in the minds of our people once more, we’ll continue the downward spiral towards anarchy. World view – it’s what’s got to change.
By the way, the lady at Waffenschmieden X has videos on building a 22 rifle and a copy of a Sig Sauer 1911 style 9mm pistol, just in case you thought she was “a one trick pony”. She’s not the only one who has the knowledge, ability and will to do these kinds of builds. And legislation will NOT put an end to that knowledge and ability.
Rick
I recently found the waffenschmiedan channel and I was in awe of this very talented lady. Imagine if she had gone into firearms manufacture as a profession! I used to be an FFL and built a good number of 1911 custom pistols from bare frames and slides, but what she can do is humbling. Her machining skills are remarkable. I would think that she could be a professional machinist anywhere. She has my utmost respect.