Very interesting development.
Observations on the Defense Distributed Liberator Pistol
- It is a single shot pistol much like the Liberator Pistol of World War 2, so it is much more of a bushwacking type weapon than something for sustained defense.
- The original liberator pistol’s method of use was that a partisan fighter would casually walk up to a Nazi soldier, shoot him in the back of the head and take his Stg-44, Mauser 98, or MP40.
- This goes back to the fact that pistols are not Klingon death rays. Pistol bullets have to hit a vital organ to be incapacitating.
- It is a weapon that could be acquired in places where only the wealthy and connected can (legally) own guns.
- It can be deployed defensively, however a backup weapon (another gun, a blade, or stick) would likely be needed as well.
M1942 Liberator pistol (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Related articles
- Defense Distributed Dudes Celebrate Their 3D-Printed Death Machine With Ridiculous Video (betabeat.com)
- Liberator – Dawn of the Wiki Weapons (wouup.wordpress.com)
- Liberator Pistol: World’s First 3D-Printed “Wiki Weapon” Fired Successfully in Texas (inhabitat.com)
- 3D-printed pistol survives test firing (gizmag.com)
- Meet The ‘Liberator’: Test-Firing The World’s First Fully 3D-Printed Gun (forbes.com)
- 3D-printer gun blueprint available for download (cbc.ca)
- The Liberator- Discreet AR-15 Gun Case Now Available in Grey (prweb.com)
- 3D printed handgun available for download after successful test-firings (arstechnica.com)
- The Liberator: The Dawn of the Wiki Weapon (txwclp.org)
RealDefense 
Based on the Forbes article on the DD Liberator, I think we will see continued improvements on the design and the build. It will probably never be more than a backup weapon or one intended to be used as the original Liberator (hence the name, I believe).
Interestingly, most of the WWII Liberators were never distributed and were eventually destroyed. One article cited Soviet opposition to the plan. They didn’t want a bunch of these things floating around Eastern Europe during their occupation. I think the concept scared many of the governments involved. Goes back to the monopoly of violence.
-Cranky
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The design can only get better from here. The mechanical simplicity is what makes it easy to print.
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