welp ive been thinking, an im always gonna be like this, but you could take all the guns and knives an so forth from americans an we would just built others....

i have some ideas for homemade weapons incase something happened an u had no "big toys" to play with...

1st - tire launcher you can rig up two tires ( or more ) to rotate opposite of each other an you can insert sharp metal peices and fire em like bullets....

2nd - Potatoe guns.... simple but effective Mortars..... just scoop out the inside of a potatoe just enuff so the its hull isnt too compismised an fill it up with flammable liquid (x) an thru a grill push button ignoted on the front so that when the potatoe hits it presses the button igniting the inside....

3rd - ever heard of the civil war machine gun? was ingenious! it wasnt the mounted one they show alot on wheels it was a steam powered rotating device that flung ball bearing like bullets out the end of steel tubes like a revolving lacross stick for lack of better terming.

4th - Booby traps.... Man oh man do i love traps.... my encampment would provide few entrances an the ones that were able to be walkable would be littered with traps an trenches but in a Symbolic way so that my locals knew where n how to walk thru em.

5th - Cannons... yes Cannons. So Simple and yet so Deadly... Specialy with Buckshot scrap metal flying out the end.... for extra effect could make it RUSTY metal scrap...

6th - Blowguns and darts are prolly easier to make then Dows and arrows, but both would be a vital asset to a Suvivalist party.

7th - Explosives? Im not sure people will all have the materials around them naturaly found to make gunpowder an explosives but some lucky ones will be near such a resource some how. only adivce I can give u is find it...

8th - Scouts these men an women will be the most vital aspect of any suvivalist party. without them you most likely will run into problems litteraly..

9th - like was somewhat mentioned before.... Location location location..... Where you rest, set up camp or even a villiage needs to be in a area of greatest concealment an natural barriers. Without this your as good as dead.


Ok im done but not really could talk for hours about this. Im a engineer at heart..

anyone else.... Mics all yers.

I agree with one thing for sure. you can take our weapons and we will make more. the one thing people fail to remember is we as humans and citizens of the U.S.A are also very inventive. worse then that we are also combative. you push us to far and we will push back.

The only weapon I have to add to your list is pretty passive. put two piles of rags or old news papers under the windows. the first is close to the window the second is further out. Somebody looking to come in thru the window will see the close one and step over it. you put spikes and anything sharp under the second pile. they step over the first and on to the second.

Of course this will only work if the rest of the room is fairly cluttered or messy. then it wont look out of place.

i like that idea, an better yet have it riged so if someone comes thru the window they put enuff pressure on the floorboards an have a spiked plank come flying up at them....

but I would get a lil more dirty I would line the windows with poion ivy, and thorn bushes... Mother nature has the best weapons imo lol

How well would a container full of body waste and organic waste Blow up if introduced to a flame or fuse?
if it was to sit for a while an wasnt to be used till it started to swell? would that be a big enuff explosion?

[edit on 16-3-2008 by Trance Optic]

I suppose you could draw inspiration from prison crafted weapons (known and shivs). Now i dont know if this works (i only saw it on Prison Break and the Shawshank Redemption), but you can easily fashion a stiletto dagger out of scrap metal. A sword or club is made easily enough out of any metal beam.

Projectile weapons are difficult to make for sure. Id suggest investing time on making protective clothing to withstand projectiles, such as multiple layers of leather etc. If you can withstand projectiles, then you can defend your house adequately. If they try and get inside, the traps you mentioned or just clubbing the hell out of them would work lol.

Frankly if combat gets to the stage where there are no guns/ no ammo left, we would all regress into primal beasts, using any old plank or stone to fight with.

already ahead of you on protective clothing, I have my own plans to sew together arms from unlikely inspiration the cali bank robbers who were dressed in custom made full body armor....

You'd think I was swat if you saw me in survival x.

Not to mention Im learning Robotics, an plan on using Remote control cars with cams and mics, Im sure I will get at least one computer working, but i plan on buying that nice Ruggid Laptop in a lead lined case but its a tad out of my price range right now.... lol I could make one thoe. But yeah cams and mics hooked into computers, use the Perimeter stakes they had in Resident evil 3, I liked them just had a stake, a sensor or 2 cams and mics on it they threw out 4 or more of these an made a perimeter that was monitored from whereever....

Great way to hunt too!

[edit on 16-3-2008 by Trance Optic]

Used to build rocket launchers out of foam board and clear packing tape.

Chinese used simple black powder (basic gunpowder= sulpher, potassium nitrate and charcol) for their rockets 1000 years ago.


A simple shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, single-use, would weight less than 8lbs and fire a rocket good for maybe 1000ft+ range.

My friend, I understand your desire to think about what weapons you could construct if they took your guns away. But the question cannot be answered unless your have an objective in mind. Weapons are designed around a particular need and opposing force.

Are you looking to defend your home?
Are you looking to defend yourself?
Or
Are you looking to attack?

I say this because, my friend, each of these goals requires the particulars of the terrain involved and the target of aggression.

I too have taken it as a hobby of sorts to study different weapons and tactics. However, I have not created any particular sorts of designs. The reason I have not created anything yet is because I have very recently become involved in Kung Fu.

There are over 100 different kung fu weapons. All of them are designed around defending moves and attacking moves. Beginning to learn TOAS Nabard Kung Fu has really opened my eyes to the possibilities of self defense.

But the first and last weapon will always be you. I recommend that you take a varied martial arts that teaches many weapons. Each weapon has its advantages and particular counters. Extending what you learn from each weapon and the martial arts themselves will teach you to think about your enemies weaknesses, which is where all effective weapons designs start.

For instance, many people go out and buy a cheap sword on the internet to feel like a tough guy. But have you taken them apart at the base to see how they are constructed? Most of the cheap ones are not full tang, but instead, the steel blade ends where the handle begins and the blade is welded to an iron rod that is in the handle.

These swords are made to break my friends. For many years now, sword makers did not want to sell to the general public swords that would actually work. It is not really more expensive to create a full tang sword verses a welded rod sword. In fact, it may actually be cheaper to make a full tang sword because welding a rod to the end of it for a handle is an extra step that would not be necessary for a full tang sword.

Knowing this, Japanese policemen carry a collapsible steel baton with enough weight to break and shatter most of these cheap swords. One good swing at the sword close to its base will break the weld and the sword in half.

If you want to design weapons, I recommend taking Kung Fu and learn about their over 100 weapons and the tactics that go with them.

mixed martial arts, poison dart frogs, super soaker flame throwers, tennis ball grenades, chlorine gas water balloons, and treason(spies).

Whats more dangerous, people talking about weapons? or people talking about drugs?
deny ignorance.

Well, most of us wear socks- add couple of stones and you've got a cosh. A belt , quickly whipped off and waved in someones face can be quite an effective detterrent? Girls in the uk reckon the high heel nuckleduster is the weapon of choice from what i've observed here in bristol? I'm sure you could even botch up a sling from your shoe laces? Seem to vaguely remember some way you could turn a newspaper into a makeshift weapon as well? Can anyone help me out on that?

heh i saw this thread title and my first thoughts werent for combat weapons but rather hunting weapons.

for hunting weapons the 3 that are easiest to make would be the blowgun, the sling (think david and goliath) and an atlatl/spear

make those three and yer set. yes a bow is nice but making a good longbow depends on what wood is available to your area, getting something for a bowstring (deer tendons i understand work if you cure them right but...yeah) and lets face it fletching arrows and knapping flint for points isnt something you learn to do on the fly.

sling, blowgun, atlatl

also 3 weapons that could be used for combat

Remember that FLINT is an amazing and versatile form of rock in any survival situation.With a good chunk of flint you can make arrow heads,knives,axe heads,saws,and even razors-for surgical applications as well as shaving.
The stuff has many applications including weapons and others.

With a good piece of flint you can construct a weapon,say a spear with which to hunt.You can catch a fish/deer with the spear,then gut ands skin the animal with another flint tool,then you can use another bit of flint to start the fire with which you can cook your meat.

How versatile is that?

Flint rocks....pun intended

agreed but knapping flint is almost an artform that id not want to have to learn after ive been in the bush for a month.

its yet another of those skills people may want to learn while sitting on their own back porch drinkin a beer and watching the sunset before stuff hits the fan

Its pretty darned easy Damocles,
I used to make flint arrowheads and knives when I was a kid-Its sort of built into us,from ages past.I didn't have any real training and i was just a kid,but i found it very effective to get a big chunk of flint and (covering eyes!) smash it with another rock-the resultant shards would be effective to make all manner of items.Fishing,hunting,blade type items.
Its one of those things that may at first sound tricky,but once you give it a go it feels pretty easy.
I know professional knapping is a real skill,but its amazing what you can do just messing around,with a bit of determination.
Problem is,flint is just too sharp sometimes-its really easy to cut your fingers without realizing for a while.

You can also make horrid anti personnel/horse/car caltrops with flint spikes.
Shards may be used to booby trap climbing ropes,car door handles,switches,gates etc.

Flint shards can be easily serrated by use of another bit of flint,to make a good saw,for wood or meat.

Plant flint spikes into cement on wall tops where its illegal to use glass!(its better than glass anyway).A good vandal/burglar deterrent.

Flint powder is incredibly bad to breathe in and get in your eyes as well so in a worst case scenario this could have survival/defense applications.

Disclaimer:
All of the above is totally hypothetical of course,and I would never endorse,encourage or recommend its use by anyone until after the apocalypse.

yeah i can agree with most of that

i was more referring to the making of arrowhead etc that would be balanced properly for flight and still strong enough to not shatter on impact with the target.

but i totally agree with the rest of your post

Originally posted by Damocles
i was more referring to the making of arrowhead etc that would be balanced properly for flight and still strong enough to not shatter on impact with the target.

I hear you-that is a serious skill.

The thing that amazed me when i first started looking at flint arrow heads was their size,a lot smaller than my imagined version!Evidence seems to suggest the use of birch tar as glue,pre heated in a pot on the fire.

(separate issue-birch tar=great glue,goes liquid when heated,hardens upon cooling.)

Many early hunting arrows employed a separate flake of flint embedded just below the main arrowhead to act as a kind of barb,and to speed up the kill.

I tried to make some of these some years back,with interesting results-as i could not use my usual fletching device to position the flint shard,it was often just off balance-either making the arrow loop or make a strange whistling noise when let fly.
(an arrow with a squeal has good and bad points,good to strike terror into your quarry or for signaling,bad for stealth)

I used to shoot them at hay bales (35meter ish)and often the flint would become detached from the arrow deep inside the bale.(8-10 inch depth.)
This would be far from pretty but very effective in a hunting situation.
(or maybe i need to work more on the glue.)

Of course once again i would never use or encourage the use of this kind of thing unless we are in some kind of post nuke/meteor/alien/zombie etc.. situation.