'The Grizzly': anonymous Canadian shows off world's first 3D-printed .22 rifle

Videos show 'Matthew' firing fourteen shots with a rifle printed from ABS+ plastic

3D printing/firearm enthusiasts have not stopped at pistols - a 3D-printed rifle was recently unveiled.

3D printed weapons continue to be created and tested with new videos uploaded to YouTube showing the world’s first 3D printed rifle successfully firing fourteen shots.

A Canadian named ‘Matthew’ has uploaded a series of videos showing him testing ‘The Grizzly’, a .22 calibre rifle named after the “Canadian built Sherman Tanks of WWII.”

A first video shows the anonymous designer securing the rifle to a table with a clamp and firing the gun by pulling the trigger with a string. This first test caused the barrel to split though a later video shows that the gun’s creator is confident enough to use the rifle by hand.

The Grizzly is made out of ABS+ plastic (a commonly available material that is low cost with ‘high impact strength’) and is primitive in comparison with modern rifles: after each shot the casing of the bullet has to be removed from the barrel manually.

Speaking to The Verge, the man who created the Grizzly identifies himself as being in his late 20s and making tools for the construction industry. He writes: “I was inspired to undertake this project by what Cody Wilson & Defence Distributed did with AR15 lowers and the Liberator pistol."

The US government demanded that plans for Liberator pistol – the world’s first 3D printed gun – be removed from the internet in May this year, after the blueprint had been downloaded more than 100,000 times.

When police in Australia printed their own copy of the gun to test its reliability they reported that it frequently exploded when fired. "Make no mistake," said Andrew Scipione, a police commissioner for the New South Wales Police, "being on either end of this weapon can be lethal.

The Grizzly reportedly “took three days to design” but the latest update to the rifle’s plans show that the gun is improving rapidly.