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A bespoke gunsmith with a little too much time on his hands has figured out how to transform a cache of rifles into a poor man’s Gatling gun.
The DIY “Redneck Obliterator” consists of six SKS semi-automatic rifles equipped with high-capacity magazines, arranged in a circle to facilitate automatic fire. With the turn of a hand crank, each rifle discharges in rapid succession, effectively mimicking the machine gun’s iconic forerunner.
“I can’t decide if I’m awed, appalled, or a little bit of both,” wrote Bob Owens, editor of the popular website Bearing Arms, after watching a video of the gun.
Regardless, the weapon is perfectly legal and subject only to the limited regulations that govern the sale and possession of a rifle.
It’s also a bargain. Over the weekend, the Redneck Obliterator sold for $3,450 at the Rock Island Auction in Illinois, company spokesman Joel Kolander tells Vocativ. The cheapest Gatling gun replicas retail for about $6,500 on GunBroker.com, an online auction house. Original models can run as high as $75,000.
“This is more of a fun home project,” Kolander says, adding that Rock Island Auction is not allowed to disclose information about the buyer or the seller.
Ian McCollum, who edits the website Forgotten Weapons, offered some well wishes to the lucky buyer. “Congrats to the new owner!” he wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. “If you don’t already have an old Chevy pickup to mount it on, you’ll have to go buy one now.”
The DIY “Redneck Obliterator” consists of six SKS semi-automatic rifles equipped with high-capacity magazines, arranged in a circle to facilitate automatic fire. With the turn of a hand crank, each rifle discharges in rapid succession, effectively mimicking the machine gun’s iconic forerunner.
“I can’t decide if I’m awed, appalled, or a little bit of both,” wrote Bob Owens, editor of the popular website Bearing Arms, after watching a video of the gun.
Regardless, the weapon is perfectly legal and subject only to the limited regulations that govern the sale and possession of a rifle.
It’s also a bargain. Over the weekend, the Redneck Obliterator sold for $3,450 at the Rock Island Auction in Illinois, company spokesman Joel Kolander tells Vocativ. The cheapest Gatling gun replicas retail for about $6,500 on GunBroker.com, an online auction house. Original models can run as high as $75,000.
“This is more of a fun home project,” Kolander says, adding that Rock Island Auction is not allowed to disclose information about the buyer or the seller.
Ian McCollum, who edits the website Forgotten Weapons, offered some well wishes to the lucky buyer. “Congrats to the new owner!” he wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. “If you don’t already have an old Chevy pickup to mount it on, you’ll have to go buy one now.”
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