"AK-47 assault rifles used by terrorists of..." Topic

… Charlie Hebdo attack most popular illegal weapon in Europe.

"Despite stringent firearms controls and ramped-up efforts to combat illegal gun trafficking, thousands of "war weapons" remain strewn across the European Union's 28 member states. Many, like the AK-47 assault rifles used by the gunmen who attacked the Charlie Hebdo offices in Paris on Wednesday, are bought by gun collectors, organized crime affiliates and, as was the case this week, terrorists.
(Source International Business Time).

There is no definitive count, but the bloc estimates that around half a million lost or stolen firearms remained unaccounted for within the EU. And that only accounts for weapons that were once registered and later went missing. Many of the automatic "war weapons" are illegally trafficked from the Balkan Peninsula and former Soviet Bloc states, where millions of leftover arms from the Croatian, Bosnian and Kosovo wars are regularly stolen, bought and transferred in small numbers, mostly to organized crime clients in Southern Europe, according to Gunpolicy.org. In France, there are an estimated 10 million to 20 million illegal weapons alone, according to a Christian Science Monitor report.

Guns can be acquired in the EU through a number of means. A .44-caliber Desert Eagle is advertised for 1,250 euros, or $1,481 USD, by an anonymous European arms dealer on the Deep Web. The dealer ships that weapon through the mail. With the proper connections, which the Charlie Hebdo gunmen appeared to have, an AK-47 costs around $400 USD to $900 USD in certain European markets, and about $1,100 USD to 1,800 in France, according to a Bloomberg report…"

Full article here
link

Amicalement
Armand

The AK47, the primary Weapon of Mass Destruction of the third world …coming soon to a neighbourhood near you.

When I first saw this picture I was reminded of the 1995 Michael Mann movie 'Heat' and the 1997 North Hollywood bank robbery attempt by two gunmen wearing ski masks, tactical gear and armed with assault weapons (modified Norinco Type 56 S-1s – Chinese AK-47), a Bushmaster XM15 Dissipator, and a HK-91 rifle with high capacity drum magazines and armor piercing ammo. They out-firepowered the LAPD in a massive shootout.

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And yet, not all of the French police are armed, many are not they tell me. And the average, law abiding French citizen is also unarmed. And yet, despite this, the terrorists and criminals seem to be able to get guns at bargain basement prices.

There are already guns that can be printed on 3D printers, and new 3D printing technology that will make them much better and stronger.

Mike Bunkermeister Creek
Bunker Talk blog

Don't believe current news coverage, France has a healthy civilian firearms ownership history. Based on firearms numbers in France, 1 in 3 have a firearm. I've gone shooting while in France, they actually have access to some firearms that we can't get in the USA. (France tries to control firearms by limiting how many bullets you can purchase every year, which has led to a healthy underground economy of selling reloaded bullets.)

Regarding illicit firearms, why print a gun when you can buy them illegally from Africa? Besides, did you know that you can make fully functional guns without needing a 3D printer? All you need are plans and some basic hand tools.

examples of home made guns

Its all about skill set.

There are already guns that can be printed on 3D printers, and new 3D printing technology that will make them much better and stronger.

You can print a plastic AR lower receiver (the part that is regulated in the US as a firearm, all the other parts are untracked), but the plastic is pretty soft. All the pins and springs will hog out the holes in the plastic in pretty short order.

A laser-sintered metal 3d printer can make every part but the springs for a Colt 1911 pistol, but the machine is so expensive that printed pistol costs about $11,000. USD No, that is not a typo. Eleven thousand dollars for the 3d printed version, when a conventionally-made pistol is as low as $350 USD-$400 (not from Colt, if you want one that has the Colt logo you need to part with ~$1,100).

And yet, not all of the French police are armed, many are not they tell me
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The officer who are not are the municipal police (whose role on the whole is more to do with by law enforcement and traffic etc). Even then it varies from city to city as it is the Mayor who decides whether they should be armed. More guns US style is not the answer I'd have to say – most of these weapons are smuggled in from conflict zones in the same way drugs are. There was an amazing stat i read y'day about the no. of rounds fired in anger by police in a whole year in Germany in 2011 – 85 (excluding shooting stray animals etc).
In the UK whilst MAC10s do turn up etc on the whole guns are often hired by criminals -in the US I'd imagine that any criminal who had to hire a gun (or convert a blank firer) would be socially ostracised by his peers

Interestingly one of the articles on the Paris shooting noted that the jihadis used 'semi-auto' Ak-47s. I had thought those to be unique to the US due to the restriction on full autos.

Do France or other European countries have similar laws allowing semi-auto versions of full auto firearms?

Not surprising that the AK would be popular, I picked up a MAK-90 (Norinco semi-auto version of the AK) just because they were going to be banned (94). However I have come to appreciate its reliability and robustness (I noted in a sidetrack discussion at NRO on home defense that I would likely grab the MAK rather than the 12 ga).