Here’s How to Legally Make Your Own Can, Save Yourself a Year of Wait Time, and a Few Hundred Bucks
Photos by Kenda Lenseigne
Making your own firearm from a partially completed receiver is something we’ve covered extensively in the past, but there’s a perfectly legal route to achieving the same ends with a suppressor, which in many ways is more effective and attractive for the average law-abiding citizen. In order to transfer a factory-made can from your local dealer, you’ll have to fill out an ATF Form 4, pay a $200 tax, submit fingerprints and a passport photo, and then wait. And wait.
After around 11 months, you might get the chance to go pick up the property you paid for so long ago, or you might just have to wait a bit longer. If this doesn’t sound quite so appealing, then you could always go the DIY route. There’s no getting around the paperwork and tax stamp, but you end up with a workable solution in weeks, rather than months. We covered the Form 1 E-File process in Issue 44, and the article is currently on RECOILweb.com, so if you haven’t already, you may want to familiarize yourself with it. There’s one departure from the procedure outline in the article, and that’s the bit which deals with describing the manufacturer of the item.
On the drop-down menu, select FMI (for Form 1 manufactured), and you’re on your way. You’ll also have to describe the length and caliber of the can you’re going to make. Tip: Some people get wrapped around the axle when it comes to fingerprints. There’s absolutely no reason to make an appointment and pay a third party to fingerprint you, when you’re perfectly capable of smearing ink on your own digits. Order a fingerprint kit from Amazon, and do it yourself in the comfort of your own home.
Once your Form 1 has been approved, which usually takes around three weeks, you can then buy a tube, spacers, baffles, and endcaps from the many online vendors that exist on the fringes of the interwebs. Due to the nature of NFA law, these will be described in rather coy terms, and you may wind up purchasing “barrel shrouds,” “solvent traps,” “oil filter kits,” or “storage cups,” all of which are largely useless for their advertised purpose, but give the vendors a fig leaf of deniability. Yes, it’s all a bunch of bullsh*t, but it’s the system we’re stuck with.
Once your components arrive, you can then set to work engraving the tube to meet the legal requirements of the National Firearms Act (see RECOIL Issue 44). You could go get this done on a laser engraver and make it look all professional-like, or you could just bust out the Dremel. We did the latter, as it’s going to be wrapped in a suppressor cover anyway. With your tube engraved, you can then drill holes in the baffles and endcap, screw everything together, and head to the range with your shiny new can. Enjoy!
Facebook bans deceptive deepfakes and some misleadingly modified media
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Facebook wants to be the arbiter of truth after all. At least when it comes to intentionally misleading deepfakes and heavily manipulated and/or synthesized media content, such as AI-generated photorealistic human faces that look like real people but aren’t.
In a policy update announced late yesterday, the social network’s VP of global policy management, Monika Bickert, writes that it will take a stricter line on manipulated media content from here on in — removing content that’s been edited or synthesized “in ways that aren’t apparent to an average person and would likely mislead someone into thinking that a subject of the video said words that they did not actually say”.
However edits for quality or cuts and splices to videos that simply curtail or change the order of words are not covered by the ban.
Which means that disingenuous doctoring — such as this example from the recent UK General Election (where campaign staff for one political party edited a video of a politician from a rival party who was being asked a question about brexit to make it look like he was lost for words when in fact he wasn’t) — will go entirely untouched by the new ‘tougher’ policy. Ergo there’s little to trouble Internet-savvy political ‘truth’ spinners here. The disingenuousness digital campaigning can go on.
Instead of grappling with that sort of subtle political fakery, Facebook is focusing on quick PR wins — around the most obviously inauthentic stuff where it won’t risk accusations of partisan bias if it pulls bogus content.
Hence the new policy bans deepfake content that involves the use of AI technologies to “merge, replace or superimpose content onto a video, making it appear to be authentic” — which looks as if it will capture the crudest stuff, such as revenge deepfake porn which superimposes a real person’s face onto an adult performer’s body (albeit nudity is already banned on Facebook’s platform).
It’s not a blanket ban on deepfakes either, though — with some big carve outs for “parody or satire”.
So it’s a bit of an open question whether this deepfake video of Mark Zuckerberg, which went viral last summer — seemingly showing the Facebook founder speaking like a megalomaniac — would stay up or not under the new policy. The video’s creators, a pair of artists, described the work as satire so such stuff should survive the ban. (Facebook did also leave it up at the time.)
But, in future, deepfake creators are likely to further push the line to see what they can get away with under the new policy.
The social network’s controversial policy of letting politicians lie in ads also means it could, technically, still give pure political deepfakes a pass — i.e. if a political advertiser was paying it to run purely bogus content as an ad. Though it would be a pretty bold politician to try that.
More likely there’s more mileage for political campaigns and opinion influencers to keep on with more subtle manipulations. Such as the doctored video of House speaker Nancy Pelosi that went viral on Facebook last year, which had slowed down audio that made her sound drunk or ill. The Washington Post suggests that video — while clearly potentially misleading — still wouldn’t qualify to be taken down under Facebook’s new ‘tougher’ manipulated media policy.
Bickert’s blog post stipulates that manipulated content which doesn’t meet Facebook’s new standard for removal may still be reviewed by the independent third party fact-checkers Facebook relies upon for the lion’s share of ‘truth sifting’ on its platform — and who may still rate such content as ‘false’ or ‘partly false’. But she emphasizes it will continue to allow this type of bogus content to circulate (while potentially reducing its distribution), claiming such labelled fakes provide helpful context.
So Facebook’s updated position on manipulated media sums to ‘no to malicious deepfakes but spindoctors please carry on’.
“If a photo or video is rated false or partly false by a fact-checker, we significantly reduce its distribution in News Feed and reject it if it’s being run as an ad. And critically, people who see it, try to share it, or have already shared it, will see warnings alerting them that it’s false,” Bickert writes, claiming: “This approach is critical to our strategy and one we heard specifically from our conversations with experts.
“If we simply removed all manipulated videos flagged by fact-checkers as false, the videos would still be available elsewhere on the internet or social media ecosystem. By leaving them up and labelling them as false, we’re providing people with important information and context.”
Last month Facebook announced it had unearthed a network of more than 900 fake accounts that had been spreading pro-Trump messaging — some of which had used false profile photos generated by AI.
The dystopian development provides another motivation for the tech giant to ban ‘pure’ AI fakes, given the technology risks supercharging its fake accounts problem. (And, well, that could be bad for business.)
“Our teams continue to proactively hunt for fake accounts and other coordinated inauthentic behavior,” suggests Bickert, arguing that: “Our enforcement strategy against misleading manipulated media also benefits from our efforts to root out the people behind these efforts.”
While still relatively nascent as a technology, deepfakes have shown themselves to be catnip to the media which loves the spectacle they create. As a result, the tech has landed unusually quickly on legislators’ radars as a disinformation risk — California implemented a ban on political deepfakes around elections this fall, for example — so Facebook is likely hoping to score some quick and easy political points by moving in step with legislators even as it applies its own version of a ban.
Bickert’s blog post also fishes for further points, noting Facebook’s involvement in a Deep Fake Detection Challenge which was announced last fall — “to produce more research and open source tools to detect deepfakes”.
While says Facebook has been working with news agency Reuters to offer free online training courses for journalists to help reporters identify manipulated visuals.
“As these partnerships and our own insights evolve, so too will our policies toward manipulated media. In the meantime, we’re committed to investing within Facebook and working with other stakeholders in this area to find solutions with real impact,” she adds.
Listen to this Awesome Heavy Metal Cover of Toss a Coin to Your Witcher
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Netflix’s gift that just keeps on giving has spawned yet another fan creation from the new hit show, The Witcher. In this case, it comes from the incredibly catchy "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher" song that premiered with the second episode of the series and has since taken on a life of its own after being let loose onto the internet.
A dedicated fan has created an alternate version of The Witcher‘s now infamous song, but with a new tweak that seems perfect for the show. Thanks to the infectious nature of the song, this likely won’t be anywhere near the last time someone decides to cover "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher" with their own, unique spin.
A newly released video by Dan Vasc, a Brazilian rock and metal singer on YouTube, stars the vocalist as he sings through a metal version of the song. While neither the lines or the melody of "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher" are changed in the new metal version, the instruments used to play the song, as well as the style of singing, are changed to emulate a gruffer, metal vibe. With how the tune sounds as a metal track, it’s only a matter of time before the new version of the song is added to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, like the original was.
Dan Vasc’s previous selection isn’t limited to songs inspired by gaming and film, as he has also done covers of dozens of songs ranging from other rock and metal titles along with a number of other songs with his own personal flair. Naturally, there are still more TV and film inspired references within the singers YouTube channel, such as Lord of the Rings covers, but the range on the choices of music are in no way limited to a single style. Given the content creator’s experience with music and the themes of The Witcher, the choice to make a metal version of the show’s most famous song was clearly an easy one.
With how incredibly popular the song has been since the show released, even getting its own Beat Saber level, there is seemingly no end in sight for fan creations and interpretations based on the tune. Then again, there don’t seem to be any naysayers coming out of the woodwork against getting to hear even more of Jaskier’s legendary tune. At this point, the song seems to have more of an impact on Geralt’s fame in the real world than in the show.
The Witcher is available to stream now, exclusively on Netflix
Happy new year. Now that the hangover has fully cleared and the calendars have been replaced around the house, it’s probably a good opportunity to do some of those tasks that you’ve been putting off or forgetting about. The little things that might seem slightly annoying, but might just save your life.
Clean Your Carry and Home Defense Guns
Matt Sandy for TTAG
Some of us manage to regularly get in some range time with our home defense guns. But it seems that’s increasingly rarely for me — my range time has been severely limited recently, in case you couldn’t tell from my posting history.
For those who similarly don’t get out to the range as often as they’d like, the new year is a perfect time to pull the guns out and make sure that they are clean and in good working order.
Some things to put on your checklist:
Check the barrel for obstructions (spiders? ants? whatever may have crawled in)
Cycle the action and make sure it’s smooth
Rotate the ammunition in your magazines for some fresh ammo, and consider rotating the magazines in your guns as well
Check all of the batteries for your lights, lasers, optics, coffee makers, chainsaw bayonets … everything.
Oh, and of course, give everything a good scrub down and lube when you’re done. Next . . .
Change The Batteries In Your Gun Safe
This one was inspired by true events.
I have a GunVault MiniVault in my bedroom where I store my SIG SAUER Mk25 P226 as my “bump in the night” gun. The other day I wanted to give the handgun a once-over so I entered the combination, heard the click of the lock, and…nothing. The door didn’t budge.
A couple of further futile attempts later and I had to grab the spare emergency key to finally get it open.
What had happened was, unbeknownst to me, the battery had run down to the point where the electronics would still work, but there wasn’t enough juice left to actually pop the door open. So while it sounded like it was working, the reality was that it wouldn’t open without the key.
That’s annoying for “normal” use, but potentially deadly if I needed to rely on that handgun in an emergency.
For those of us who rely on electronic access control mechanisms, the turn of the calendar is a good time to go ahead and rotate those batteries, whether they need changing or not. It’ll set you back a few dollars, but the peace of mind is more than worth the price.
Pick One Training Course and Book It
Image by J. Schwarm courtesy GSL Defense Training / Guns Save Life
The tool is only as good as the person wielding it. Most gun owners hit the range every so often and call it good for their recurring “training,” but having your skills tested and sharpened by a professional is a great reality check and can give you some concrete things to work on in the coming year.
Point in case: I used to be a pretty competent competition shooter. Well, best on staff here at TTAG anyway (an admittedly low bar).
I went to a local match not too long ago after about a year’s hiatus and marveled at how much I was absolutely sucking at every stage. I could feel myself being more far sluggish than I ever remembered, missing shots that once were child’s play.
I was off my game, and I knew it was because I hadn’t been practicing as hard as I once was.
The same goes for self defense shooting. Going to the range and popping a paper target just isn’t enough; you need to be training as often as you can. And no, the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare doesn’t count.
The best way to knock off the rust is to sign up for a class — any class, really — and get some proper training. Make it your gun-related new year’s resolution to pick a course, book it, and attend sometime, preferably in the early part of the year.
You’ll be thanking yourself if you’re ever in a position where those skills become a matter of life and death.
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And how about another huge audience? Plinkers who like saving money.
At release the MSRP is $430 but street price at the January 20, 2020 release date will likely be around $360.
Plus did I mention it takes affordable .22LR?
.22LR (CCI vs Winchester vs Super Colibri)
And because of its weight…some backpackers might like it as well.
Now let’s dive a little deeper…
Fit & Feel
First thing…this thing is light.
About 3/4 pound empty and 1 pound fully loaded. A G19 is almost 2 lb loaded.
Johnny and the Glock 44
The weight reduction is due to a 5-section hybrid polymer steel slide which is needed so that the blowback action of the .22LR has enough oomph to cycle.
Glock 44 Hybrid Slide
But have no fear…the important bits are all metal on metal.
Weight aside…if you handed the G44 to me blindfolded I wouldn’t be able to tell it wasn’t a G19.
And because of that…it fits in all G19 holsters. There’s some ever-so-slight differences so you might need to adjust retention.
Glock said they tested over 120 brands of .22LR but maybe some of our batches were even more finicky than standard rimfire.
Here’s the official blurb…
The Glock 44 is designed to work with a variety of quality 22 l.r. ammunition that is manufactured to SAMMI and/or CIP specifications. GLOCK recognizes that some 22 l.r. ammunition offerings may not produce sufficient energy to fully cycle the slide. GLOCK also recognizes that the quality of 22 l.r. ammunition varies greatly between different types and brands. Therefore, it is recommended that you test fire several fully loaded magazines using your preferred ammunition to ensure optimum performance.
G44 Owner’s Manual
Specifications
Here’s some of the important bits…
Glock 44 Features
And the specs compared to a G19.
Glock 44 Flyer
Width: 1.26 in (.1 inch skinnier)
Length: 7.28 in
Height: 5.04 in
Weight Loaded: 15.94 oz
Capacity: 10 rounds
By the Numbers
Reliability: 3.75/5
With the cheap or under-powered stuff it’s a 3/5. With Mini-Mag or Blazer it’s a 4.5/5. Let’s split it in the middle.
Ergonomics: 4/5
Glocks have grown on me over the years. Controls are easy to index and the grip angle is solid.
Accuracy: 4.5/5
It’s not a match-grade pistol but it will put rounds where you want them. We’re pretty impressed with it hitting 100+ yards consistently with a non-fixed barrel like other .22LR pistols.
Customization: 4/5
There’s lots of stuff you can change on a Glock…especially when it’s nearly identical to a G19. Get ready for some Gucci G44s to hit Instagram.
Plus there’s also the option of a threaded barrel for around $150. It’s metric so you’ll need an adapter for your normal 1/2×28 threads.
But, it has a different locking block so you can’t alternate stuff with a G19…sorry!
Value: 4.5/5
There’s a lot of value if it’s near the rumored street price of $360. Although I would have liked to see 3 magazines and a threaded barrel standard.
Overall: 4/5
Conclusion
The .22LR Glock 44 does what it is supposed to do. Shots on target, reliable with specific ammo, and comes in at a great value. Plus it’s nearly identical to the Glock 19 which makes it the perfect training and plinking gun.
Glock 44 at the Range
What do you think of the G44? Is it Legendary? Check out our master list of Best Glocks and also Best .22LR Pistols.
