[snortsgunpowder]

i probaly shouldnt be even asking this here but my mate has a replica of a glock 17 its an 8mm blank fireing gun and he knows a gunsmith verry wel that says ge can convert the gun into a live firing gun,
but im not too sure about this??
i dont know **** all bout guns but il explain wat it looks like the to my best,
right on the top of the part that you pull back to cock closest to the barrel it has printed on it, GAP KAL 8mm and printed under it it has made in italy
and on the handle it has just on the very botom right b4 the clip comes out
it has printed GAP,
now hes convinced its going to work by chainging the barrel and a few other parts but im not too sure if this fella is spoufing him or not and trying to rip him off
so my question to you experts is, is this possible? can it actually be done?
or wil it just fire one or two and den explode?



heres the exact gun here hopefully you experts can help

thank you

[c3shooter]

Use the time you have available before he does this to purchase as many life insurance policies on the idiot as you can. If you can get the policies that provide for partial payment for loss of an eye, loss of a hand, go for it. You may repay me for my wise guidance with a bottle of good Scotch. PS- stay far away from him when he tries it out. 500 meters or so should be good- further if screams of wounded people disturb you.

Can it be done? Hell, I have made shotguns out of Schedule 80 gas pipe. (Yes, it was legal for me to do that at that time, and that place) But this was for a military demonstration, and not one that I wanted to snuggle up to Mrs. C3's favorite son.

Can it be done safely? No. More than just the barrel is exposed to VERY high levels of energy. As a reminder, over the weekend I was anchoring steel to concrete, using a tool powered by a .22 blank that shoots a fastener thru the steel, into the concrete. We tend to forget how much energy a firearm has. With a little luck, he will kill only himself, and not innocent bystanders. These are people that we have a special name for. Organ donors.

It takes more than a barrel- the slide and springs, as well as the frame are subject to significant stress. Is it legal? Depends on where you are. In the US, that gunsmith would need a manufacturer's license, pay a Federal excise tax on making a gun, etc. I would avoid any "gunsmith" that undertakes this the way I would avoid jock itch or posion oak.

[snortsgunpowder]

ok then buddy i already said this to him, and his explaination to it was that he would only use low power .22?

like i said i dont know much about firearms so i dont know if this will make it any safer??

any opinions??

[c3shooter]

Oh- OK. It will only throw SMALL pieces of metal into his skull.

[stalkingbear]

I would stay as far away from that gunsmith as possible. In 3 words-DON'T DO IT!

[McX358]

This “Gunsmith” or in my opinion a charlatan should have his head squeezed in a barrel vise for even suggesting such a idiotic idea! A blank gun is a blank gun, and should never be anything thing else. I know a moron who called himself a “gunsmith” a real trip, just a AR modular builder, anyway he told a guy I know that he could re-barrel his Jap mod 38 trainer rifle; the receiver is made of cast iron. Luckily the guy called after a long moment tirade of what kind of idiot @$%#$%#^&%*&%^^#$$@#% I calmed down and explained what would happen. I tend to get a wee excited about things like that. I posted a picture a buddy sent me of a revolver that “hatched” reason unknown. Needless to say I called this wana-bee barreltwister and in not so many nice words to take his insane ideas and shove them were the light doesn’t shine. People like that is a disgrace to the profession. Good in fact very good that you wrote in about this I hope you informed your friend that if he wants to do this, let me know so I can get an life insurance policy on him first.

[TexasPatriot]

WOW...ummmm...I mean wow...this brings to mind the example I read in Brownell's Gunsmith Kinks Volume 1...A customer walked in one day with a rifle scope in hand. Laid it down on the counter and stated that he wanted it sighted in. No rifle, no ammo, no bases or rings....just the scope.Then another example that I witnessed first hand. A distinguished looking individual arrived at the club range last year. Uncased a nice looking Ruger 77/22. After a somewhat lengthy set-up process with the Lead Sled and all, he proceeded to attempt to load the thing. I became somewhat interested in this situation after the process evolved into him placing the muzzle onto the toe of his L.L. Bean hiking boot and started attempting to slam the bolt closed on a live round. Since he was located at the bench immediately to my right, my interest became an acutely intense sensation. I decided to take it upon myself to intervene. Turns out the rifle was NOT a .22 at all, but a 17Mach2. The problem was caused by his attempting to chamber a .22 Win Mag round. When it wouldn't go, he figured a good slamming of the bolt handle would suffice. His wife had bought him this rifle and the guy that sold it to them convinced them that the thing was a .22 calibre. Leaving assumption aside at that point, I feel, as I strongly pointed out to him, that the proper ammunition choice is stamped into the barrel of the rifle in question and is most definitely not a suggestion, but a died in the wool mandate. Anyhow, all's well that ends well. I have since introduced him into the shooting sports, and, well...he is lost to the disease now...The point being, there is one in every bunch and warning labels have all but eliminated Nature's selective process which prevented stupid people from breeding.