Ever since Obama has set his sights on eliminating our 2nd Amendment rights, gun sales have gone through the roof. We now have more privately owned guns in America than ever before, with many gun owners having several to choose from. But if the progressive liberals ever manage to succeed in pushing their anti-gun agenda, every one of those guns is going to be susceptible to seizure.
While there is technically no federal register of gun ownership, all gun manufacturers and sellers are required by law to keep detailed records of gun sales, verifying the purchaser’s identity and doing the background check that liberals keep saying doesn’t exist. Those records must be made available to the police and federal agents, upon request. In addition, the information on who has a concealed carry license is readily available to the same people.
So, in the event of a decision to confiscate guns, it wouldn’t be hard for authorities to find them. Just look at Hurricane Katrina. They declared martial law and confiscated guns during the aftermath and cleanup, making gun owners go to court to get them back.
Hence the rise of the ghost gun. A ghost gun is essentially any gun that is totally off the books. That means that nobody has any record of it. This is accomplished by building the gun without a serial number.
But that’s illegal, right? Wrong!
It’s illegal for gun manufacturers to build and sell guns without serial numbers, but it is perfectly legal for you to build your own gun, without a serial number, for your own use. As long as you do all the work yourself and the gun stays in your possession, the government doesn’t have to get involved and doesn’t have to know anything about it.
So, how does one do that? By starting out with a 80% machined lower receiver or frame. According to the law, this is the only one part of any firearm legally considered to be the “gun.” This part gets the serial number. According to legal definition, the part that’s the gun is the frame. In the case of guns that don’t have a frame, such as the AR-15, the part that the trigger and firing mechanism is mounted into is considered the frame. On the AR-15, that’s the lower receiver.
How to Build Your Own Ghost Gun
Even though the lower receiver is considered to be the gun, it’s not considered to be a gun until it is more than 80% complete. So, if you buy one that is only 80% complete, you can buy it without a serial number on it. No serial number, means that nobody is tracking it. These “AR-15 80% lower receivers” are available online from a number of different manufacturers.
These 80% lower receivers are available in both aluminum (the original material) and polymer. I’ve machined both and prefer the aluminum, even though the polymer is easier to machine. The problem with the polymer receivers is the template you use for them, which is easily destroyed by the same tools you are using to machine the receiver. When I did mine, I cut the trigger group pocket too long, almost breaking through to the pocket for the bolt catch. While it still works, I’m not sure how durable it is.
In order to ensure that everything is truly off the books, you might want to buy your lower receiver using a prepaid debit card (not the debit card for your bank account) and have it shipped to someplace other than your home. The rest of the parts can be purchased from a gun show to keep the purchases anonymous. Since they are not considered to be “the gun,” but only parts, they don’t have serial numbers and don’t require a background check.
Related: Firearm Tips for Preppers
Machining the AR-15 Ghost Gun
For the AR-15, the typical machining that needs to be done, in order to finish off the receiver, is to mill out the trigger hole, the trigger group pocket and drill three holes through the receiver for the selector switch and two pins. The area to be milled out is molded in red plastic on the polymer 80% receiver in the photo. This work would normally be done on a milling machine, but can be done fairly easily on a drill press, with a milling vice.
The photo shows a 13″ benchtop drill press, the smallest size I’d recommend using for this operation. While the work might actually fit in a smaller drill press, some stability will be lost. When you start milling out the trigger group, it will cause a lot of vibration. A smaller drill press won’t be able to handle this as well.
The milling vice is the blue apparatus, bolted to the drill press table. It allows controlled movement in the X and Y directions, allowing you to accurately control the cut you are making in the lower receiver. Two two-flute end mills will be needed as well; a 5/16″ diameter one and a 7/16″ diameter one.
In addition to these tools, a template is an absolute necessity. These templates are available from the same companies that manufacture the 80% lower receivers. The template gives you a guide as to where to drill the holes and where to mill out the material for the trigger pocket.
Not all templates are equal, as different manufacturers have different ideas about how to machine out the material you need to remove. All of them come with two side plates and a number of different top plates. It is in the top plate that you see the most difference. Some have a top plate with a large number of small holes in it, like the one in the picture (right).
The advantage of this sort of top plate is that it allows you to drill a large number of 1/8″ holes into the casting, removing some of the material. This is easier than milling it out with the end mill. The drilling can be continued by using a 1/4″ drill for the second and fourth rows of holes (counting vertically) which will overlap slightly into the other rows. The idea here is to remove as much of the material as possible with a drill, so that less has to be removed with the end mill.
Always use oil when drilling or milling metals. Cutting oils are available for this, but if you don’t have any, then lightweight motor oil or WD-40 will suffice. The oil helps keep the temperature down and lubricates the cutting tool. This will help your drill bits and end mills last longer.
Related: SHTF Guns and Ammo
The trigger group pocket is stepped, so not all of the material is cut out to the same depth. Machining it is usually done in three stages:
- Machining out the trigger slot – This is usually done first, going through the entire lower receiver, from above. The 5/16″ end mill is used for this. A special top plate for the template will be provided for this.
- Machining out the main part of the pocket. This must be cut to a depth of 1.25″. The 7/16″ end mill is used for this. Be careful not to cut it too deep, as the bottom of the trigger group pocket will be less than 1/8″ after cutting. This requires a different template top plate; the one below with the smaller opening.
- Machining out the stepped area in the trigger group pocket. This area only needs to be cut to a depth of .525″. Cutting too deep will make a hole though, just above where the pistol grip is to be attached. You will cut through to the hole for the pistol grip mounting screw, so don’t be surprised when this happens. The template plate with the larger hole (on the left) is used for this.
If you look at the two template top plates in the picture, you’ll notice that the one on the left has paint on the inner edge of the cutout, while the one on the right is missing most of the paint. End mills cut throughout the entire length of the flutes, unlike drill bits, which only cut at the pointed end. So, the end mills will cut the template just as easily as they will cut the casting. This is the problem when doing a polymer AR-15 lower receiver.
However, the depth of the pocket is deeper than the flutes on a standard end mill. So, if you cut out the pocket to almost the full length and width, as you cut it down to the full depth, you won’t damage the template. Then, once you’ve reached the full depth, work your way outwards, until the shaft of the end mill is rubbing on the template. You will know it is rubbing, because it will rub off the paint.
I mentioned earlier that the end mill will create a lot of chatter as it is cutting. You will need to make many small incremental cuts to get to the full depth and width of the cut. Have patience, the smaller your adjustments, the less chatter. Too much chatter could cause you to make a bad cut.
Once the trigger group pocket is cut out to its full dimensions, the template can be removed from the milling vice and laid on its side, to drill out the three holes for the selector switch and pins. If your template has bushings on both sides for drilling, you’re better off drilling these holes halfway through from each side. But if it only has bushings on one side, you must drill it from that side. Make sure that your drill press table is perpendicular to the drill bit and that all chips are brushed off, so that they cannot make the template sit at an angle.
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Finishing the Ghost Gun
Once you’ve finished machining your lower receiver, you’ve finished the hardest part of building the ghost gun. From this point on, everything is assembly. You will need:
- A lower receiver parts kit
- A buffer tube kit
- A stock
- An upper receiver and barrel
- A buffer tube wrench
The lower receiver parts kit will contain all the parts necessary to make the trigger function; such as the trigger itself, the hammer and the selector switch. It also contains a number of pins, detents and springs that are installed in the lower receiver. Other than the stock and the parts associated with the buffer tube, this one kit will have everything needed to make the lower receiver functional. It is easy to install and there are many videos to show you how.
The buffer tube is attached to the back of the lower receiver with a special nut. This requires the one specialty assembly tool you have to have, a buffer tube wrench, which is a spanner wrench. Fortunately, this is an inexpensive tool, usually stamped out of thick sheet metal. If you do not buy this tool, you won’t be able to tighten the nut adequately and the buffer ring will come loose.
To complete the lower part of the gun, the stock is slipped on, over the buffer tube.
You can choose to build or buy your upper receiver and barrel assembly. One nice thing about the AR-15 is the high degree of customization possible with the gun. Most of this is in the upper receiver and barrel. You will need to choose:
- The caliber of the gun
- The length of the barrel
- Whether you want a quad rail or forestock
- Whether you want an upper receiver with a handle or Weaver rail
- Type of front grip you want, if you put on a quad rail
- Whether you want to use gas impingement or install a gas piston
- Types of optics you want. This is the one area with the most options available. You can go with simple iron sights, red dot sights or a telescopic sight. Some people install more than one, such as the EoTech system, which has a red dot sight and a telescopic sight designed to work with it.
- Whether you want to add a tactical light
- Whether you want to add a bi-pod
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Buying a ready built upper receiver is slightly less expensive than building your own. However, if you want to do a lot of customization, that savings will rapidly disappear, as you change out parts. So, a lot depends on the configuration you choose to have.
Even so, buying a ready-built upper receiver and then gradually customizing it as you can is common. This allows you to get your gun into operation quickly, for the least amount of money. Many of the customizations that people do won’t entail removing parts from the upper receiver (assuming they buy an upper receiver and barrel that they like), but rather adding them.
The most common caliber for an AR-15 is .223 or 5.56mm, the original caliber of the M-16. This choice also allows you to use .22 long rifle cartridges in your ghost gun. You will need to buy a kit for this, which consists of a special bolt carrier and magazine, but with that kit, your ghost gun will make a great varmint gun, as well as something to use in teaching the kids to shoot.
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where can I find a manufacter of big faraday bags
I argue against the premise of this article. I myself am a “progressive liberal”, as you put it; I support equal opportunity, universal healthcare, planned parenthood, firearms background checks, etc.
BUT! I am also a lawful possessor of a concealed handgun permit, and am an avid gun owner/collecter and 2nd amendment advocate. I believe in constitutional carry. Liberals do not all want to take citizen’s guns away; I agree with liberal politicians on 99.9% of issues, but I have voted for the conservative candidate over the liberal one more than once due to strict gun control issues.
I just want you all to understand that it’s not just hard right wingers that support 2A rights. I know numerous liberals who are 100% onboard with law abiding citizens ownership and carry of firearms.
Thank you for your time, please try to keep the political bias out in the future. It helps no one with regards to prepping for a SHTF situation.
The guy that does the Prager U. Online’s commercials also did a really good video about how the modern Democrats have soiled and taken over the name liberal. Most of the liberals of today are not the same liberals of years past that loved our country.
Dear Chaught – you posted your comments last month. I’m curious if you’ve altered your stance at all in light of the recent anti gun protests. It seems to me that there’s a definite political stance to the current atmosphere surrounding possession of firearms and regulations of sales. Like it or not, it appears that the political left wants to de-arm and demonize gun owners and there’s even a movement to repeal the 2nd amendment. By enlisting victimized and traumatized teenagers in this quest the left has a powerfully emotional weapon that they are utilizing to its fullest, and in my opinion it’s only a matter of time until they achieve this goal. After that can total government control be far behind? Our 1st amendment rights are being eroded to the point where rational discourse on this and many other subjects is increasingly impossible. How can we protect our constitutional rights if we are branded as heartless murderers before we even open our mouths? If anyone doesn’t feel concerned about this they don’t know anything about history, especially the rise of Nazi Germany and Stalinism in Russia. Once your right to speak is gone, and once your right to bear weapons is gone ALL of your rights are soon to follow. Then the prison/execution camps begin to fill up.
Miss Ktty,
In response to your fear about the government taking our guns, please remember that we all have guns. So…. if we stick together will all our guns, then good luck taking them, you know? You can’t kill or detain ALL OF US… so let’s just stick together, instead of fighting with others who also have the presence of mind to prepare for the future. <—the reason we all are drawn to askaprepper.com in the first place
They won’t come for you or your guns. You will either give them to them or hide them. They will do like China, take away rights and privileges or threaten you with them. You will be put on a no fly list, denied banking services, have your driver’s license revoked, be socially doxed, have other services and opportunities taken away, put in jail. And the list goes on and on. Some of these things are already happening just for expressing free speech. You give one inch to these treasonous basturds they will take a mile. ‘Do not infringe’
I agree with you Miss Kitty. Some libs can spout off all they want about being pro-2A but at the end of the day it’s the far left wing of their Democratic Party that runs the show with its stridently anti-gun rhetoric. Unfortunately Progressivism, and its antecedents Socialism and Communism,to be dead on arrival. Liberal Progressives tend to willingly support the unsupportable as in Chaught’s comment regarding “universal healthcare”. Show me an instance where universal healthcare has succeeded without a drop off in healthcare quality. Don’t listen to the charming wolf who tends to agree with you to get you to drop your guard so he can get to your sheep.
Miss Kitty,….. By now, most have heard Thomas Jefferson’s quote: “If the gov’t fears the people, you have democracy: If the people fear the GOV’T,… you have tyranny!”….
I ask: which of these scenarios’ do we see daily in the news?
Nuff said!
Divisive political rhetoric is not helpful.
I consider myself a “progressive liberal” and I own guns.
I am not a Democrat or a Republican, because to label oneself as either is to fall into the trap of infighting with fellow citizens and ignoring the real threat to our freedoms: those in power, who truly have no morals and values, just a price tag.
When the shit hits the fan, you’ll come to me for barter. And this ‘liberals vs conservatives’ talk will be a distant memory.
PS – In case there is still confusion about “progressive liberals,” I f***ing hate Hillary Clinton… the majority of Progressive Liberals do. She’s a puppet. She and her campaign, and her biggest corporate donors severely interfered with the 2016 Democratic Primary, resulting in one of the least favored-to-win candidates becoming the nominee, despite what the majority of their voter base wanted (and voted or caucused for).
Again, the Democratic party and the Republican party are two sides of the same corrupt and dirty coin. I’d rather ban together with like-minded freedom lovers, no matter their perceived political affiliation, and work together. So let’s stop trying to view each other as the enemy and start stockpiling food and ammo now.
Thank you! I think the same too many times on sites like these.Just to think that here we have common interests, yet so much of the time we are treating others as enemies. What’s going to happen when TSRHTF?
Thank you for writing this self-help on this topic . The things that are going on in this world are crazy and strange. We need to know these things and anything else that could help the General public
People need to keep doing like they are with the cameras and utube with the laws and recordings it is bring public awareness that the law and police and gov. Are trying to take our rights and are being put back into place with the driving without a license thing and constitution rights to record goings on it is getting out of hand and everyone should be recording there surrounds to protect them self from croup turn in the police and gov.
I am outraged our government is blatantly violating our right, the word is right not privilege to bear arms. A privilege is something granted by an authority vs a right which is designed to protect us from authority. Every citizen has a right to keep and bear arm that a modern infantry soldier would use in combat. Recently a PR couple was pulled out of their car and shot to death by a mob. If he lived in a country who honored the rights of its citizens the guy would have had a good chance to prevent the situation. Imagine if this little guy got out of his car and simply ordered the crowd to get away from his car or die. I’ve been there and done that. You’d be surprised how punks react when they meet someone pretending to be a heartless killer. Who may have grenades and an assault rifle etc. I’m a RN. I know government control correlated with higher death rates. Firearm regulation is another example
I like one please a pistol ive never built one.
Or reloaded my brass
I have lots to learn
Rifle or pistol i have much to learn
Thank you
Would like to build my own GG.
If people knew How and Who has stripped Constitutional rights, there would be an Outcry.
Neither are “police” required to protect the public.
So Arms are needed as a “balance” of power {as well as Voting}. And be sure- Tough times are coming. I know first hand Govt Abuse of power and Tyranny {25 year Subject of it}
Public should be properly Trained and instructed as to the use of Force laws in each State, and Armed.
Stay together People