Are 3D Printed Guns Practical? The Question The Media Keeps Missing

By Tom Knighton

From the moment the anti-gun crusaders learned that the Trump Administration was dropping it’s ITAR case against Defense Distributed, they’ve gone absolutely nuts. They’ve argued that every criminal imaginable will start building guns with 3D printed parts, that we’ll have a legion of guns undetectable by metal detectors, and we’re all going to die in a blaze of 3D printed gunfire.

The question the media reporting on this tends to miss, something gun fans already know, and that’s the limits of plastic parts.

Luckily, at least someone in the media decided to ask the question. I’m surprised it was USA Today, though.

Some 3D print experts said that even if Wilson wins his battle, the plastic gun is, at least at this point, not a practical weapon.

“It’s not feasible to print a 100% 3D-printed gun, because the plastic that is being printed that is used here is not strong enough to withstand a barrel or the explosion from a bullet,” said Michael Flynn, who runs a year-old 3D printing business in Fort Worth, Texas.

As the latest chapter in America’s battle over gun control unfolds, the use of 3D printing technology for manufacturing reliable firearms is still very much a work-in-progress …Read the Rest

Source:: Bearing Arms