Questions regarding the safe construction of legal slam-fire shotguns

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Lynkola

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In hopes of receiving information with regards to minimising the chance of general injury i was wondering wether somebody has any advice on the safe construction of legal homemade slam-fire shotguns. My main worries relate to barrel blowout and schrapnel injury - potentially leading to loss of hands, fingers or other body parts.

The project in mind consists out of the usual 3/4 barrel pipe, 1'' inch receiver and 1'' inch breech cap with a firing pin glued into it. The barrel might be sanded down with 60 grit sandpaper to make it slide in and out of the receiver smoothly. A metal stock will be welded on to the breech cap (or a wooden stock will be made that holds the breech cap) to make it comply with the length requirements for the weapon to be legal. Handles might be welded on to the receiver and barrel for grip. My questions are as follows;

  • How many times can a sanded-down 3/4 barrel be shot before it becomes unsafe?
  • Will loose fitting shotgun shells become a potential hazard?
  • What type of protection will effectively shield the fingers, hands and arms from barrel blowout?
  • Are there any other important factors to be considered to maximise personal safety?
 
Don't . go find a $100 single shot grand pappy farmer gun. While that's not ideal it's a million times better than any slam fire. I doubt you'll find anyone advocating their use, you could watch royal nonesuch on youtube, slam fire shotguns are his thing.
 
I wouldn’t recommend it since one objective was retaining all body parts. I always had a sweet spot for things that go bang, but love my fingers more than bangs.
 
Such 'guerrilla guns' were made in the Philippines (and possibly elsewhere in the PTO) during WW2 as a desperation measure, and used primarily in order to take better arms from the Japanese. There are no 'after-action reports' I've ever heard of which address the questions you ask. There was a commercial version made in the U.S. after the war, but they were made of firearms-grade materials, and were still considered a novelty, rather than a serious arm for everyday use. They served a purpose when there was no other option, but should not be considered under less-than-desperate circumstances. Even an inexpensive single-shot commercial arm is a vastly better option.
On the other hand, if you feel adventurous (and lucky), you might try it yourself, in spite of contrary advice, and report your findings. Keep bandaids handy during your testing - big ones, and lots of them.

PRD1 - mhb - MIke
 
Those "shotguns" were often made and used by criminal elements in South Africa in the 90s and weren't much good for anything other than close range shots. The mechanism of firing it means you can't aim it at distance.
Why would you want that kind of firearm?
 
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