World’s first fully 3D printed rifle—made in Canada—fired a single shot

Less than two months after the debut of the first almost entirely 3D-printed handgun, a Canadian gunsmith has created the first 3D printed rifle.

The gun maker, who goes by the online handle CanadianGunNut, is an active user on DEFCAD, the primary online forum for 3D-printed firearms. He is also known online as “Maker Matthew,” or “Koa Soprano.” Previously, CanadianGunNut successfully printed a ukelele, and he currently appears to run a private message board for printing related musical instruments. Ars’ attempt to contact CanadianGunNut through his YouTube channel was not immediately successful.

In his video, CanadianGunNut—whose actual name is unknown to Ars—noted that the gun fired a single shot, but the barrel split.

Legality questionable

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the federal law enforcement agency in Canada, seems to suggest that making such a firearm would likely be illegal in Canada, under current law.

"In Canada, it is illegal to manufacture or possess a firearm without appropriate licences and applicable registrations," warned RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Julie Gagnon in a statement sent to Ars. "Firearms licencing is an important mechanism for ensuring rigorous screening of potential gun owners. The Firearms Act stipulates that individuals in possession of firearms must have a Possession Only Licence or Possession and Acquisition Licence. The RCMP does not confirm or deny who might be or not be the subject of an investigation."

DEFCAD’s founder, Cody Wilson, who has orchestrated the 3D-printed firearm movement from his home in Austin, Texas, said that he was well aware of CanadianGunNut’s activities on his site.

“I'd like to compare it to the Liberator Hydra, which is the rifle version of the Liberator by Proteus, but no one has tested it to my knowledge,” he told Ars by e-mail. “Happy others are willing to share their work. I love the irony that it's Canadian. What's wrong with those gun nuts?”

Gunsmith claims his firearm is a “non-restricted rifle”

On DEFCAD, CanadianGunNut called his initial test a failure:

Disappointed to report it was a fail. First off the firing pin moved or something during the drive and it took a dozen tries to fire it, and this was with fresh springs put in. The thing worked perfectly at home firing off primers. When it finally fired I first noticed the front sight was off, meaning the barrel rotated itself during firing. I then noticed the barrel was difficult to remove. When I pulled it out I saw the barrel split down both sides about the length of the receiver, and the top of the receiver followed suit. The bullet did exit the barrel, at first I thought it didn't and caused a pressure build up, but the bore was clear.

He announced his project last week:

I was originally going to copy and modify the Liberator, but it may be considered a variant of a prohibited weapon up here, so I went with what we Canadian gun owners call a non-restricted rifle of my own design, which means a lot less paperwork and BS to deal with.

Took me three days to build. I'm currently printing the internal parts and barrel, tomorrow should be the stock and then receiver. It borrows the coil springs for a main spring and standard nail firing pin from the liberator. The barrel has lugs on the side. You insert it into the receiver then twist 45 degrees. The stock is not removable once assembled (in theory) as per Canadian gun laws.

UPDATE July 25 11:25pm CT: CanadianGunNut, who e-mailed Ars as "Matt," said he was from British Columbia, and added that he's completely in the clear as far as Canadian law is concerned.

I have a valid Possession & Acquisition Licence as required by Canadian gun laws to own firearms. All that is required to build a firearm for personal use is the same licence, selling requires a manufacturing licence. I do not intend to sell any but will release the files once complete and let people build their own. The rifle is a smoothbore .22 with an overall length of 670mm and permanent stock as required by law to conform to non-restricted status, which require no registration like restricted status firearms.

I was inspired by Defense Distributed and Cody Wilson's work on the 3D Printed Liberator Pistol and AR15 lowers and wanted to challenge myself.