Typically I purchase weapons for the story behind them, effectively, I purchase low cost weapons for the story. “Story weapons” are weapons that function a story that’s higher than the precise gun itself.
Some story weapons are owned by well-known individuals. Others are simply intrinsically linked to explicit tales. The Richardson M5 Guerilla Gun is a narrative gun. At first look, you would possibly assume it is a gun I constructed after going to Dwelling Depot, however this isn’t the case.
The story behind the Guerrilla Gun begins with its maker, Lliff Richardson. Illiff Richardson was a World Struggle II veteran with one of many craziest tales of World Struggle II. Mr. Richardson served as an ensign on a PT Boat, and after partaking a Japanese ship, they headed to Cebu Metropolis within the Philippines.
There, his ship was strafed by Japanese planes, and the Japanese invaded the Philippines. To make an extended story quick, he fled the town with most Individuals and would be a part of the Philippine guerrillas. He helped the guerrillas set up a communication community and was capable of get Basic MacArthur to acknowledge and assist assist the guerrilla efforts.
His story is insane and interesting, and it’s best to learn the e book American Guerrilla. It particulars his whole story, together with his time commissioned in each the Military and Navy, his consecutive awards, 4 court-martials, and extra.
When the warfare ended, Illiff Richardson had a collection of various careers, starting from technical adviser for Hollywood to manufacturing weapons. He manufactured two weapons, the Primary and Deluxe fashions of the gun you see right here.
The Guerrilla Gun
The Guerrilla Gun was obtainable in two fashions: Primary and Deluxe.
What you see right here is the Primary mannequin. The Deluxe mannequin featured a ahead grip hooked up to the barrel. It featured a set off and set off guard, however the set off didn’t hearth the gun. The set off merely launched the barrel. The Primary mannequin used a nut to limit barrel motion.
In case you take a look at this factor, it’s fairly simple to determine the way it works. Very similar to the web, it’s a collection of tubes. The receiver is the marginally larger tube, and the barrel is barely smaller. The receiver encompasses a mounted firing pin, and the barrel offers you a chamber. You load a single spherical into the barrel and slam it rearward to fireside the gun.
It’s a primary slam-fire shotgun design. You may construct this from Dwelling Depot elements. That’s the purpose. The shotguns utilized by Filipino guerrillas impressed Lliff Richardson. These shotguns could be used like Liberators: ambush a soldier, kill him, and take his weapon. These weapons have been low cost and straightforward to make, and when the guerrillas have been getting provides from the U.S., shotgun ammo was simple to amass.
The inventory is only a hunk of wooden and never far more. I can’t touch upon some fancy end, glorious ergonomics, or the very best sample a shotgun has ever thrown. It’s a dystopian weapon, an improvised gun, and it’s so simple as it will get.
The Primary mannequin of the Guerrilla gun value seven {dollars}. Adjusted for inflation, that’s about 115 {dollars} in 2025 cash. It was low cost, nevertheless it didn’t draw many shoppers. The Guerilla weapons are uncommon, however not collectible sufficient to be beneficial.
Capturing the Guerrilla Gun
Confession time. I’m a bit nervous to shoot this gun with any sort of full-powered buckshot. The receiver is held to the wooden inventory with one huge bolt, and I don’t know the standard of the metallic. After I shoot my Guerrilla Gun, I take advantage of birdshot mini shells. If the gun explodes, no less than it’s with a novelty birdshot load and never some 00 buckshot.
This isn’t a gun I’d use severely for something, though it might be enjoyable to see the seems to be if I took it to the entice vary. I don’t care the way it patterns, and that’s nice as a result of the reply just isn’t very effectively. The birdshot sample from the mini shell is very large at 15 yards. That’s a part of the mini shell downside and a part of utilizing a pipe for a barrel.
Barrel harmonics are a factor, and I don’t think about the Guerilla Gun’s shifting pipe of a barrel has tight patterning harmonics. The Guerilla Gun got here with a bead sight, however someplace in my gun’s existence, that bead broke off. It’s a point-and-shoot affair now.
Driving the Guerilla Gun
The inventory is very large, thick, and you may’t precisely get a superb grip across the factor. It’s only a huge chunk of wooden with “Guerrilla Gun” burned into it. I think about the vast inventory dissipates recoil effectively because it has extra room to dissipate that recoil. Utilizing mini shells means recoil is all the time low. You’ll be able to’t set up a push/pull recoil mitigation approach, so that you simply take all of it on the shoulder.
The straightforward slam-fire design is dependable. Give it a superb tug, and the gun fires each time. There is no such thing as a motion to cycle, no pump, no fuel programs, no levers, just a bit pull and a bang. Eradicating the barrel and reloading will be fast if the shell isn’t expanded an excessive amount of.
You’ll be able to plop it out and shoot. Typically the plastic shell expands a bit extra and requires a punch rod and/or pocket knife to get the shell out. If I have been a Filipino guerrilla, I’d probably hearth one spherical, and both retreat or cost with one other weapon. Making an attempt to reload the gun shortly wouldn’t be simple in a struggle.
Each spherical fired is an expertise, and it’s a good bit of enjoyable. I spent a couple of hundred bucks on this factor, and I’ve gotten a greenback’s value of enjoyment. To be honest, probably the most enjoyment I’ve derived from this gun has been studying about Illiff Richardson and studying American Guerrilla. The truth that he made a shotgun based mostly on his expertise is simply icing on the cake.
