Much like the Pakistani merchants who taught themselves how to build Kalashnikov pattern rifles, gunsmiths working out of home work shops in the Danao region of the Philippines construct weapons by hand with metal scavenged or bought from local junkyards. Such weapons are also referred to as paltik, meaning copied or not quite reliable.
Despite the derogatory terms, many of these DIY guns are pretty impressive. While they may be a far cry from mil-spec, reports state that these guns will give the name brands a run for their money. From M4s to 1911 pistols to Uzi sub-machine guns, Danao gunsmiths have not only been copying existing weapons for decades, but innovating as well. Jaileen Jimeno reports that one gun maker created a “Mini-Ingram” sub-machine gun that is, smaller, “but still as lethal as its big brother. The mini-Ingram looks cute and harmless, but it can spit out 18 to 20 9-mm bullets in a second.”
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