Have you ever thought “Gee, this 70lb compound bow is nice, but I really think it needs more shotgun?” If you have, you’re not alone. In this video uploaded to YouTube one man is seen using a compound bow/shogun combination gun to the effect of making noise.
You can decide for yourself if this is real or not. (We think the recoil seems a little on the light side. Maybe he’s just shooting a shell without shot. That would at least be… safe.)
That video aside, the mechanics seem plausible. Pulling a bowstring isn’t all that different from cocking a hammer or charging a striker, and if you had a firing pin that captured the bowstring and had any mass at all it would have a good chance of igniting a primer if everything was lined up correctly.
The truth is that it’s very easy to manufacture small arms, and in many states is legal to do so as long as they are not manufactured with the intent to sell nor NFA (National Firearms Act) guns, and as long as the tinkerer in question is not a prohibited person. Whether or not this video is real it does showcase that you can surprisingly make guns from crap in the garage, and if they don’t work, you can always add the sound effects in later and stick on YouTube.
This other homemade shotgun is real, and it was made from a stapler and a handful of handy components. Plus, it comes with a how-to.
One thing should be mentioned is that this real, working stapler shotgun eventually broke, the welds were not able to withstand the stress and after a while, gave up the ghost. But it worked which is the important part.
Home gunsmithing is a growing hobby, and like all things, with the help of the Internet people are connecting from all over to share in their enthusiasm and help each other out with knowledge and more. Websites like Practical Machinist and Weapons Guild combined with resources like Gunsmiths.com can make you go from someone who watches video of a compound bow/shotgun combination to someone who makes combination guns.
I couldn’t pass up a chance to shoot this Olympic Arms OA-98. This distinctive AR-15-style pistol was conceived at a unique point in American firearm legislation history.
Few firearms on the market are as iconic as our subject today. Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve likely seen the .50-caliber Barrett M82A1 on the news, at the range, or even in countless video games.
