Ghana blacksmiths have made 75,000 hand-made guns.

[surprise_i'm_armed]

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/disp ... /pm_ghana/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The above article is from a 7/10/09 radio broadcast on "Marketplace."
A photo of the real and fake Makarov's are shown.

To sum up : Ghana blacksmiths have been producing firearms "by hand"
ever since the colonial British powers were there.

Some of these guns are made out of steering rods from vehicles.

A cheap handmade gun that shoots can be had for $4.
A single barrel shotgun costs $100.
No price was given for the Makarov knockoff.

It's estimated that 75,000 of these handmade weapons exist in
Ghana.

But the police have been putting the heat on the blacksmiths to stop
producing these.

Over and out. SIA.

[TDDude]

Hmmm. Let me see here.

The government wants to keep people from being able to inexpensively defend themselves from bad guys.

Sounds like a place NoBama would love to visit.

[boomerang]

It doesn't surprise me that metal workers in the third world can make working guns. The 1911 is century old technology, contemporary with the Ford Model T. Lever action rifles, pump shotguns and revolvers are even older. And that's just considering metallic cartridge guns.

[Jonathanaf]

Are you proposing the government control it or not?

[TDDude]

Are you proposing the government control it or not?

You are joking right? An African Government being trusted to control anything?

That government should do their own country a favor and let their own citizens take care of themselves.

[KD5NRH]

Some of these guns are made out of steering rods from vehicles.

Now just imagine what some guy with used machine shop equipment in his garage could do. Banning guns would be like banning sharp sticks; take them away and we'll make more.