Is the Liberator pistol legal?

At the height of the 3D printing craze several years ago, a website called Defense Distributed made waves by offering a fully 3D printed gun called the Liberator for download.

How much did the Liberator pistol cost?

It was completed at a cost of $2.10 each, while the Liberator itself was produced for only $1.73 per unit. Although Liberator production went well, the distribution process was a disaster. Very few of these ever made it into Europe and certainly were never air-dropped in quantity or at all. Gen.

Is it legal to print the liberator?

Under the Undetectable Firearms Act any firearm that cannot be detected by a metal detector is illegal to manufacture, so legal designs for firearms such as the Liberator require a metal plate to be inserted into the printed body.

Can you own a 3D printed gun?

Is it legal to make a gun using a 3D printer? In most cases, yes. Federal law permits the unlicensed manufacture of firearms, including those made using a 3D printer, as long as they include metal components.

Are 3D guns illegal?

According to federal law, people who build their own firearms may use 3-D printing, as long as the firearm has some kind of material, like metal, making it “detectable.” In order to sell them, you have to have a federal firearms license, authorities say. It’s not just federal authorities seeing 3D-printed weapons.

What caliber is Liberator?

The original Liberator that inspired the 3D-printed version was a little-known, little-used World War II-era sheet-metal pistol, the FP-45 Liberator. The 5-inch-long, one-pound pistol was designed to fire a single 0.45-caliber round — with a range of about 25 feet.

How effective was the Liberator pistol?

The idea was that a Resistance fighter could hide the Liberator in his pocket, walk up to an unsuspecting German trooper, pull the pistol and shoot him at close range, and then take his weapons and ammunition. The unrifled barrel gave the Liberator an effective range of fewer than ten feet, and the big .

Can you carry a 3D printed gun?

In most cases, yes. Federal law permits the unlicensed manufacture of firearms, including those made using a 3D printer, as long as they include metal components.