I am a frequent guest to forums, particularly THR, ive not been prompted to join until i read this post. I have been designing firearms for 3 years, mechanically and aesthetically. To address the situation regarding now, I suggest a change to the criteria regarding your rifle. In a potential civil unrest, any formed resistance will rely on the enemy for ammo and supplies. Civilian nonmilitary ammo tends to run out first.
That being said we address the need of a gun design, we can use existing guns that we have to address the prewar supply. My criteria for resistance is, if they ban anything I currently own (grandfathered or not) I will go and answer the call. Now suggestible for a country in which weapons are already banned and inaccessable, we can suggest that the person can build his own provided that the methods tools and supplies are correct.
My suggested Criteria:
Homescale production (commercial enterprises are easily targeted, hard to fund, and just a whole stache ready to be taken up by them or us, nasty)
Simple
Common Cartridge
Reliable
With that addressed the typical communist category of small arms seemingly fits that bill. However many of these weapons are already banned in many areas.
A universal easy to produce design on the homescale level using minimum tools- complex in theory, simple in application. A drill, hacksaw, and a bit of plumbing and one can produce admirable home craftsmanship.
The design basis I recommend is a carbine format - to save resources in a strained production line. The weapons locking system needs to be affiliated with the gas system to produce uniformity. I suggest a piston-bolt carrier application much like the AK, that is easy to slide out and in of the gas tube.
For interchange of cartridge using a bolt/barrel kit (produced smoothbore on a homescale level to replace obscure rifle cartridge if you did choose obscurity) Make the gas system independent in structure of the bolt and the barrel. This will allow you to change the barrel without fiddling with the gas tube.
The bolt barrel maximum should be high to accomodate more rounds and higher strengths to existing rounds.
Make the bolt carrier universal in that it can take multiple bolt sizes for different cartridges, that way you can just tilt the gun frame and switch out the bolt, for the desired cartridge
. For the magazine well, make it like an AR and put two replaceable pins that contact the reciever so that you can switch out the well, along with a trigger group as needed. (complies with stanag to get you an SMG/carbine for all you AR buffs
)
All in all you can go from a full sized rifle with a long barrel and a large cartridge. Change out the stock, the caliber to that of a pistol, and a shorter barrel, and voila a subgun.
Will codesign at PM request
(wonder what would happen if you gave an AK an m16 bolt locking system, more accuracy?)
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On another preshtf-war note. Use an existing design that is affordable, recruits will pay for lack of preparation in expedient arms
.
Buy a few nagants and SKS's or hipoints to give your buddies.
Save the AR's and AK's for yourselves.
~Tape
