Tell me about these guns

[TruthTellers]

I posted a picture of two pistols in a different thread yesterday and ever since I've been thinking more about them. The Stinger Liberator:



I've read a few things about them elsewhere on the web and I know they kick like hell and recoil is very painful, but I'm still interested. So interested, I may just machine my own on a mill.

But, I'd like to hear a bit more about these guns. Who the manufacturer is, years produced, etc. Basically what's the history behind these guns and why aren't we seeing them? I know recoil sucks and there's no accuracy from the smoothbore barrels, but look at them! THEY'RE SO SMALL!!

EDIT: And there was another manufacturer of these pistol besides Stinger. Downsizer and they called their pistol the WSP.

[roashooter]

Tell me about these guns

POS just sums up what they are....novelty guns to separate some from their money...that could be spent on more usefull firearms related items...

[James K]

The original WWII Liberator was single shot, intended to be used to kill an enemy and obtain HIS gun,* after which the Liberator would be thrown away. The only example of the Stinger** I have seen looked like it was intended to be thrown away first. I can't imagine any realistic use for such a gun.

Jim

*In spite of romantic stories, there is no evidence that any Liberator was ever used to kill anyone; almost all were destroyed at the end of the war.
**There was also a cheap pistol by that name; it had even less ""success" than the Liberator.

Jim

[hdwhit]

Here's something including a video of one of the things supposedly exploding on firing:

http://www.guns.com/reviews/stinger-...liberator-9mm/

http://www.guns.com/review/review-ne...9mm-liberator/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pH-Wx85SOQo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IylGx-48TUI

[hdwhit]

And here's one that says they went out of business in 2004.

http://pengun.com/history.htm

[TailGator]

The first two links in post #4 are about the gun under discussion. The third, the one with the gun failure, is about an STI Stinger (a semi). The fourth is about 3-D printed pistols. The link in post #5 is about a pen gun.

[reddog81]

Are smooth bore pistols legal?

Reminds me of a derringer, but even less capacity. I have a Davis 38 Special and it is easily one of the worst guns I've ever shot in regards to both accuracy and recoil.

[TruthTellers]

Smoothbore pistols are legal. I think the deal is they can't be chambered for anything over .50 caliber because then they're a destructive device and if they can shoot .410 they're an AOW.

[44 AMP]

Smoothbore handguns are legal, but regulated under the NFA 1934, they are "sawed off shotguns" essentially, and you need ATF approval (and tax stamp) to own one. Unless your state laws prohibit them, they are just as legal as sawed off shotguns and machine guns.

RESTRICTED, but legal with the proper licenses and paperwork.

[TruthTellers]

^ Wait, so these pistols with their smoothbore barrels here were AOW's all along?

[Old Stony]

Looks like something you could easily shoot your own finger off with...especially in the middle of a scuffle

[Bill DeShivs]

The gun's barrels were rifled. They weren't AOWs. The writer of the article was full of it.
No manufacturer in their right mind would produce smooth-bore pistols. They would either be AOWs, or illegal.

[44 AMP]

The original WWII Liberator was single shot, intended to be used to kill an enemy and obtain HIS gun

And, they were smoothbore. Rifling was an unnecessary expense, not needed in a pistol intended to be used at "smell what he had for lunch on his breath" distance.

Also, the Liberator came with 7 rounds (IIRC) housed in the grip frame. The idea wasn't that the Liberator would be thrown away after a single use, but that it would be passed on to another freedom fighter to be used again, and again until the ammo ran out. Then thrown away.

As for there being no record of a Liberator actually being used to kill someone, all that really means is that there is no record. Given that the pistols were never dropped to the Resistance as envisioned, and nearly all were destroyed after the war, it's probably true.

But lack of a record isn't proof it never happened, its just lack of proof that it did. Resistance fighters aren't known for keeping good operational records about who did what, where, when, with what, so lack of a record isn't surprising.

[Bill DeShivs]

I am speaking of the pictured guns in the OP's post. They were rifled.
The WW2 Liberator is not the subject of the thread.

[Siggy-06]

Here ya go:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator

[OldMarksman]

Ihe original WWII Liberator was single shot, intended to be used to kill an enemy and obtain HIS gun,* after which the Liberator would be thrown away. The only example of the Stinger** I have seen looked like it was intended to be thrown away first. I can't imagine any realistic use for such a gun.

Jim, you sure have a way with words!

[Mal H]

Originally Posted by Bill DeShivs

The WW2 Liberator is not the subject of the thread.

Correct. Let's keep the discussion on the "modern" Liberators so that the topic doesn't get muddied with incorrect information about the guns.

[old bear]

Other than an exercise in machining skills, I can see no reason to try and make one, as much fun as it may be. I may be wrong but I think the ATF frowns on homemade firearms. As others have posted, a smoothbore hand gun is considered a class three firearm.

[Bill DeShivs]

The guns in the original post were not smooth bore!

Home made guns (with rifling) are perfectly legal under federal law.