[SixTGunr]

i thought i would try and see if this gets in. if so i will no longer use my email address. how about a thumper for less than 500.00. i used a harrington and richards single barrel shotgun, very cheap, cut the barrel off the locking lug, opened up the frame some and welded a 1 and 1/2 bore barrel on the locking lug. welded a 2 inch washer on the face of the frame. now i have a 18 inch barrel thumper that will shoot a puter slug through a car door and you can almost stick your hand through the hole. cases are stainless steel and i have only five as they cost me 40.00 each at the machine shop. will experiment more with projectiles and let you know how they come out. it shoots and sounds just like the old m-79 grenade launcher. range is not quite there yet but as i said i am experimenting with different slugs. puter is good so far due to the weight factor in the slug. it is all legal. i couldnt get in as harley guy so here it is anyway....

 

[dighawaii]

ElectraGlide:

It must be a buncha fun experimenting. :lol: Let us know how it comes out... :lol:

Glad to see you're here to stay... Cool! Welcome aboard! :lol:

Aloha and Best Wishes,

Tom O.

 

[TB]

ElectraGlide:

I don’t want to seem like anybody’s nagging mother-in-law, but I do hope your thumper is all legal; you have an approved Form 1 for a Destructive Device. The way I understand the 1968 GCA any firearm that uses a cartridge over .50 inch is a DD, except for things like the 37mm flare launchers. It’s not that I have a lot of love for the ATF, I just would not want to get into any silly fiasco with them. If you have any questions check out their web site http://www.atf.treas.gov or get in contact with the guys there that know which end of the tube the round comes out of.
Bureau of ATF
Firearms Technology Branch
650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Room 6450
Washington, DC 20226
Just want to make sure I’m not reading about in the papers later on, that’s all.

 

[Hawk]

That's outstanding advice TB......Woud be a good idea to make sure it's legal.

 

[harley guy]

thumper

it is legal as far as our local atf office is concerned. the orginal design of the gun was not altered, the serial number on the receiver is very legible and was told no problem as long as i did not try to make and shoot projectiles with some kind of charge. i must admit i have not read the atf rules and guidelines because i just call them and ask any questions i have. they have advised me twice in the last 15 years that i was fixing to enter no mans land with some of my experiments and i dropped those two ideas. atf has always been very helpful and courteous to me although i understand somepeoples feelings are different. right now i am using neoprene bullets and they are retreivable, i dont have to go home after five shots. just powder up and shove it back in and go again. am not aware of any calibar limits. a guy in las vegas has bowling gun for sale. it originally was a hydraulic cylinder and he discovered a 16 lb bowling ball was a snug fit. this thing shoots a 16 lb bowling ball 900 yards. price 4000.00 dollars. that thing surpasses my weatherby 41 mag thompson contender or my 20mm shouldered rifle as being a bigger nut than i am.. as far as i know i am legal and will try to keep it that way.

 

[Hawk]

That sounds good until an ambitious ATF agent decides to read into what you are doing as breaking the rules.....Take a history lesson from MKS.....get it in writing and even then it's still open to interpretation. JMHO...

 

[TB]

At one time I was considering building an M-79 (still might, someday) with Randy Shivak’s M-79 receiver and making it a 40mm, I thought it would be cool to use the 12 gauge insert and shoot skeet. The way I understood all the rules was that I could buy his receiver on just a 4473 and legally use it to build into a 37mm “flare launcher”, but if I wanted do go to the 40mm I would have to complete an ATF Form 1 to build a Destructive Device. I’m not trying to rain on your parade, just don’t want you to get into any trouble. If the local ATF office says it’s OK you might want to get it in writing. Thanks for indulging me, I’ll get down off my soap box now..

 

[harley guy]

thumper

i appreciate your concern and realize atf does not have a reliable track record. i was going to look at building a true m79 from mr. shivak but was advised by our local atf that paperwork was involved and approvals from their office was required. that is the whole reason i went this route. it is still considered a shotgun. i am going to work the stock and forend over to more m79 dimensions as soon as i get the distance and accuracy bugs worked out. will try to post a picture then. again, thanks for the concern.

 

[SixTGunr]

There isn’t a lot of ATF paperwork to go to make your own 40mm. But it is a pain in the ass just to get it all done before you can even start on your project, and if your not already part of the class three world you might want to abstain. I understand that the ATF can show up at a “reasonable time of day” to “inspect” your class III firearms. Does this mean that you are foregoing your Forth Amendment rights? I’m not sure. I have heard horror stories from other guys that their best friends, uncles, monkeys, cousin, bla, bla, quack, quack, you know the routine, had the ATF show up for a raid at 3:55 AM on Christmas morning, and killed all of the neighbors farm animals in the process. If you like to read try Unintended Consequences it’s fiction, but some wonder how far from reality it is. I can’t speak for anybody else, I’ve only ever met two ATF agents and they both seemed like all right guys, just out there doing their job, but that’s two out of a department of how many? And they certainly weren’t the guys making the rules. It’s up to you , but once you have one you might as well have a hundred. I always thought it would be cool to open my safe to show a friend something and have them say ”what the hell is that?” “it’s my M-79, doesn’t everybody have one”

 

[harley guy]

homemade thumper

took my homemade thumper to our latest gun show for display only. had quite a few lookers and several vets remarked it looks like a real thumper from across the room. they were really amazed at the size of the shell casing and projectile. had a lot fun discussing the pro and cons of my project and was pleased to see that all efforts werent in vain. still not finished contouring the buttstock and forend to more 79 dimensions. will try and post a pic when i get it finished.