YouTube user taofledermaus has what he reckons is the first 3D printed bullet. There’s a small bit of metal in the front of the bullet to add weight, but it’s still mostly plastic.

Now, this is mostly just a hobbyist thing for now. You’re probably not going to see 3D printed bullets being loaded into guns anytime soon. Even then, 3D printed bullets, at least when fired from a shotgun, lack any kind of spin. Much like plastic riot bullets, these bullets aren’t lethal when handled correctly.

We may see more videos from taofledermaus in the future as he mentioned that he and his friends are attempting to make The Liberator. It will be interesting to see if the first fully 3D printed gun can fire what I assume to be the first 3D printed bullets.

[h/t: 3ders]

Williams was later tracked down by police and arrested, though his gun was not found. He appeared in court yesterday in Kent, Washington, where a judge set his bail at $25,000.

According to the Boston Herald, officials with the Celtics have declined to comment on the situation, the organization is said to be conducting its own investigation of the incident, per policy.

Williams came to the Celtics late last season after playing for the Nets, Rockets, Kings, and a team in China. He played a handful of games – including two playoff games – last season. The Celtics have signed him to a $948,000 contract, provided he earns a spot on the team’s roster during training camp.

Forbes’ Andy Greenberg reports that a Wisconsin engineer going by the name of “Joe” has created his own 3D printed gun called the Lulz Liberator. The name comes from the 3D printer it was made with – the $1,725 Lulzbot. One plastic barrel survived eight shots, and they were able to fire off one more from a new barrel before nightfall.

Here’s a short video showing the test firing:

What makes this particular model more interesting is that it was printed on a hobbyist 3D printer. The original Liberator from Defense Distributed was printed on an $8,000 industrial 3D printer. The eventual goal of The Liberator project was to make it possible for hobbyists to print their own guns, but it seems that “Joe” was able to beat them to the punch.

Of course, there are some differences between the Lulz Liberator and The Liberator that must be taken into account. For starters, the Lulz Liberator uses metal screws to hold the gun together instead of the plastic pins found in the original Liberator. That could explain the stability, but Joe has another idea in mind – the plastic he used is just better. He claims that the generic ABS plastic used in hobbyist 3D printers is stronger than the official name brand ABS plastic used in industrial Stratasys printers.

Whatever the case may be, “Joe” is continuing work on something that makes a lot of people feel very uncomfortable. He’s not the only one either. Over 100,000 people downloaded the original Liberator CAD files and even more are accessing it on sites like The Pirate Bay. These people are already more than happy to share their handiwork with the world.

Jeffrey penned an op-ed for the Washington Post last week, stating that he and his brother are long-time hunters and members of the National Rifle Association (NRA). He also writes that he and his brother own “a large number of guns.” However, he states that the NRA and his brother are wrong on the issue of expanded background checks, saying, “Irresponsible gun owners are bad for everyone.” From Jeffrey’s op-ed:

And I agree with Ted that our constitutional right to bear arms should not be undermined. I want all those who are qualified to purchase a gun to be able to do so. But — and here is where I part ways with my brother — not everyone is qualified to own a gun, so expanded background checks should be a legislative priority.

I believe strongly that expanding and improving mandatory background checks will keep a lot of people who aren’t entitled to Second Amendment rights from having easy access to guns. As of today, a convicted felon can find a gun show or a private seller and buy a firearm without a background check. That loophole should be closed. Every gun transaction must include a thorough background check. Why would responsible gun owners want to protect people who threaten not only our safety but our gun rights?

Ted Nugent has replied to his brother’s essay with his own opinion piece published on Newsmax on Sunday. Ted salutes his brother for standing up for his views, but calls those views “dead wrong.” From Ted’s op-ed:

Passing expanded background checks would do nothing to curtail or suppress thugs or psychos from accessing weapons and committing mass murder, carjacking, the nightly shootouts in Chicago or a gangsta shooting at the Mother’s Day parade in New Orleans.

Paroled thugs or bug-eyed psychotics could not care less about any gun laws. The bold and ugly reality is that they will always gain access to a weapon. I believe at his core, my brother knows this.

Everyone’s favorite smartphone murderer, ratedrr, has put Nokia’s flagship smartphones to the test in a head-to-head competition to see if either can survive being shot with a AK47. As expected, both phones don’t survive.

For more ratedrr fun, check out his previous video featuring the Galaxy S4 losing to a sniper rifle.

The man was bowling at the Jupiter Lanes Bowling Alley in Jupiter, Florida. Witnesses say that the gun, which was apparently in his pocket, was struck by the ball during the man’s backswing. The bullet grazed the man’s leg before lodging in the floor.

According to local authorities the man, whose name has not yet been released, owned the firearm legally and had a license to carry it concealed. As such, they do not expect to file charges in the incident.

The Daily Mail’s Simon Murphy and Russel Myers created the Liberator on Friday, and then attempted to sneak it on board on an Eurostar train from London to Paris. Surprisingly, the two smuggled the gun on board the train without being stopped.

Of course, they couldn’t just carry the full gun through security checkpoints with them. Murphy and Meyers split the 3D printed gun into three separate pieces, and then hid those pieces in their clothing. They walked through the metal detector without setting it off, and were never subjected to a pat down. It should be noted that the two men didn’t smuggle bullets or the firing pin on board, but such small metal objects can be easily concealed when going through security checkpoints.

Once they were on board the train, they assembled the gun in less than 30 seconds. Afterwards, the two began to take pictures of themselves holding the gun next to other passengers. Said fellow passengers were none the wiser.

After their little adventure, Murphy and Meyers alerted UK politicians and security experts about the potential for people to smuggle 3D printed weapons on board public transportation. As expected, both groups expressed shock and concern. Former Labor security minister Lord West said that security checks need to be improved so they can detect 3D printed and other undetectable weapons.

The above scenario was a single test on a single train line. It will be interesting to see if anybody else tries to smuggle the Liberator or any other 3D printed weapon on board other train lines, or even an airplane. I would think that in the U.S., what with the TSA’s penchant for pat downs, smuggling the Liberator on board a plan would be especially difficult. Of course, agents would have to know what a disassembled 3D printed gun looks like, and therein lies the potential danger.

People were already scared of 3D printed guns, but this story will probably take everybody’s fears to the next level. I wouldn’t be surprised if a congressman called for a ban on 3D printers, but we’ve already talked about how stupid that idea is.

[Image: Daily Mail]

UPDATE: Well, that didn’t take long. CBS Sacramento reports that California Senator Leland Yee has proposed that 3D printers be regulated, with potential owners having to go through background checks. He seems to not care that most 3D printers can’t yet make guns, and that those who do buy industrial 3D printers are probably not making guns. Blanket regulation seems to be the only solution in his eyes because “terrorists can make these guns and do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free.”

The United States Department of Defense Trade Controls has demanded that Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed pull the blueprints for the first fully 3D printed gun from Defcad. Wanting to stay on the right side of the law, Wilson has complied. The following message, accompanied by the Department of State seal, is on the Liberator page at Defcad:

This file has been removed from public access at the request of the US Department of Defense Trade Controls. Until further notice, the United States government claims control of the information.

None of this is too surprising really. Alongside the Liberator, the government also requested that Wilson pull the blueprints for the other components that Defense Distributed has made over the past few months. The government will be examining the Liberator and the components to see if they comply with the ITAR, or International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

It’s not known when, or if, the files will be back up on Defcad. That being said, it’s not like the files have been completely removed from the Internet. That’s all but impossible. Over 100,000 people downloaded the file since going up earlier this week, and it’s already being hosted on a number of other Web sites, including The Pirate Bay. Those who want to download the blueprints will be able to do so regardless of any action taken by the government.

While we wait for the government to make its final say on whether The Liberator violates the ITAR, check out this partially 3D printed longbow:

[h/t: Forbes]

This week, BuzzFeed is reporting that the NRA has asked Zombie Industries to remove a specific mannequin target from its booth at the NRA Annual Meeting last weekend. A booth-worker for the company told the publication that an NRA representative asked them to remove the mannequin because it looks too much like President Barack Obama.

Zombie Industries sells mannequin targets styled to look like zombies. The targets are life-sized and “bleed” pink goo when shot. The questionable mannequin is dubbed the “Rocky Zombie,” and does resemble the current U.S. president, despite being a bright shade of green.

Zombie Industries sells over a dozen different zombie mannequin target models, including a boar, a wolf, a kangaroo, a clown, a “nazi,” and a “terrorist” that greatly resembles Osama bin Laden.

The company’s zombies were featured last year in an episode of the Discovery Channel reality TV show Sons of Guns:

Zombie Industries has also posted some demonstration videos to YouTube:

(Image courtesy Zombie Industries)

The Armed Citizen Project has already begun its campaign, handing out guns to at least four people in Houston. They want to expand to several cities, including Chicago, which was chosen because of its restrictive anti-gun laws. The founders of the group say that all they want to do is give people who live in high-crime communities a way to defend themselves and their families.

“It’s our hypothesis that criminals do not want to die in your hallway. We think that society should use that fear to deter crime,” said founder Kyle Coplen. “We’re giving folks the tools with which to defend their life, liberty and property, we’re training them how to use the weapons and empowering citizens.”

As one can imagine, the idea isn’t going over well with everyone. Tonya Burch, the mother of a murder victim in Chicago, says handing out guns will only cause more problems.

“See, that’s not going to work. More of our people, more of our kids are going to be killed. I disagree. I think more of our kids are going to be killed. I think more of our loved ones are going to be killed. No matter how much training you give them, more people are going to die,” she said.

The leaders of the group say they have a legal team to ensure they aren’t breaking any laws before they take action in any city. Their site claims they will be giving away an AR-15 on May 10th (pictured weapon).