Guerrilla Gunsmithing

There may come a time when government restrictions severely limit not only access to firearms but the tools and means to repair and maintain them, or you may someday find yourself in the boondocks with a busted weapon.

That’s where the guerrilla gunsmith comes in.

Ragnar Benson has had experience as a guerrilla gunsmith repairing “junk” guns in some tough places around the world, and here he shares some innovative ways to patch up, cobble together and otherwise make operational everything from antique rifles still found in remote war zones to modern firearms suffering from appalling abuse.

Drawing on lessons and stories from backwoods experts he’s worked with under desperate conditions in Africa, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan and beyond, Ragnar tells how to employ last-resort but effective techniques to remove hopelessly stuck rounds and other barrel obstructions, straighten bent barrels, replace lost parts, smooth out dented magazines, make repairs to some pretty hopeless stocks, scrounge up workable ammo and more.

These are last-ditch, do-it-yourself methods, but they may be all you’ll have to fall back on deep in the bush or with your back to the wall, when the only things between you and the enemy are a rifle and the know-how to make it work.