Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

silahreport.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 83 posts

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#61

Post by OJFord »

smabie wrote: post #11
arbhassan wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People here LOVE guns. Everyone owns multiple guns in their house. I think it's our pukhtoon culture and a sense of pride and security that comes with owning a gun. When i was a kid my father used to clean his AK every other week and i would sit by him silently and enjoying as he broke it down into multiple pieces and then make it into one piece after cleaning it. For me i wanted to have my own original Russian AK be…

At what age do people generally get a gun? I have friends who's father bought them a gun at 11-12, though personally I think 14-15 might be more appropriate. At what age did you get your first gun?

In the UK you can join the Army Cadet Force (ACF) at 12, or in an area without middle schools (most of the UK) 11 if your secondary school has a CCF (Combined).

Probably the most controlled way young people get their hands on them here, perhaps also the most common (competition/clay/game shooting clubs being the other possibility).

Cadets use a modified (no magazine, one in the chamber) .22 Lee Enfield for short range target shooting on-site (perhaps not all sites have them) and L98 (A1 was magazine fed but manually cocked, the semi-automatic A2 came in about ten years ago while I was going through) rifles of the SA80 family that's standard issue (L85) in the British Army. They also have, but use more rarely, L86 LSWs, and others not issued but may be encountered at 'summer camps' and the like, with training from regulars/TA.

It is a slightly scary thought looking back on it being older now, I'm not sure I'd fancy being an instructor: imagine being a teacher with a 'difficult' child, except you're instructing them in handling a firearm...

I enjoyed it a lot though, and would recommend it for sure.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#62

Post by selimthegrim »

kingofpandora wrote: post #55
erklik wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How safe is it for Indians to visit the Khyber region? I speak Hindi/Urdu with conversational fluency. Can I get by? What’s the best and shortest route to take to get there? As an Indian citizen, it will be basically impossible for you to get a visa to Pakistan, especially to visit Khyber Pass. Indians are only eligible for business, pilgrim or visitor visas to Pakistan. The pilgrim visa allows Indians to visit 15…

When I went, there was special permitting required to go up the Khyber Pass but nothing for DAK. So assuming you can get a visa for the country, you should be able to reach DAK easily from Peshawar.

I think foreigners are banned from Kohat Tunnel

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#63

Post by selimthegrim »

big_chungus wrote: post #60
baybal2 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_law_in_Pakistan > Gun laws in Pakistan allow for the wide ownership of firearms there. Only tribal areas of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa permits the ownership of heavy weaponry including the use of rocket-propelled grenades, short, medium, and long-range rockets, anti-aircraft guns, mortars, etc

I am suddenly very envious of Pakistan.

There’s no more tribal areas officially

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#64

Post by ImprovedSilence »

smabie wrote: post #11
arbhassan wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People here LOVE guns. Everyone owns multiple guns in their house. I think it's our pukhtoon culture and a sense of pride and security that comes with owning a gun. When i was a kid my father used to clean his AK every other week and i would sit by him silently and enjoying as he broke it down into multiple pieces and then make it into one piece after cleaning it. For me i wanted to have my own original Russian AK be…

At what age do people generally get a gun? I have friends who's father bought them a gun at 11-12, though personally I think 14-15 might be more appropriate. At what age did you get your first gun?

My experience in the US, for something that's not a BB gun, I'd say 10 or 11, but that's not a hard and fast limit. It's usually a small caliber (like .22) or something. Hunting used to start at 12 way back, although these days I've heard some places allow hunting as early as 8..? The truth is it depends on the individual, and how well they can be trained. This video gives a pretty good overview of "milestones" someone should reach before owning a gun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fRJTyU851Y

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#65

Post by AlgorithmicTime »

mmm_grayons wrote: post #57
nucleardog wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure you haven’t? I’m in Canada which has about 35 civilian guns per hundred people and thanks to the licensing system we know it works out to about 7.5% of the country having licenses here. A lot of the people that own guns would probably surprise you too—for instance, my 65 year old gray haired aunt that works as a nurse in a care home for old people has a cabinet at home with 6 or 8 guns in it. And obvious…

Ever had a slamfire on that SKS? I've seen a few videos showing it but am wondering if it's widespread or just an urban legend.

That mostly happens if you forgot to clean the cosmoline out of the firing pin channel.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#66

Post by cptnapalm »

smabie wrote: post #10

Is it legal to make your own gun in most places? It's always been a fantasy of mine since I was a little kid, and I finally have the capital and attention span to do it. Do people ever make non replicas? It would be unbelievably cool to design and Smith an a original weapon.

As far as AKs go, you can buy a receiver flat, barrel and the other parts and make your own. Sites like ak-builder.com, local gun message boards and enough people to have a build party will be enough to roll your own.

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#67

Post by rvense »

erklik wrote: post #41
phobosanomaly wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are there any interesting software projects coming out of Pakistan that you are excited about, but maybe outsiders may not be so familiar with?

I am not OP but similar area. There's quite a few startups. These days is good as there is a fair bit of interest in funding projects. A few that come to mind that have recently raised funding are Airlift (Ride sharing but more mass transit based), Tello Talk(localized mobile messaging), Eat Mubarak(Food Delivery), PriceOye(online ecommerce), Marham(telehealth), Bykea(main is Rideshare but bikes since traffic cannot…

Eat Mubarak is a pretty good pun.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eid_Mubarak)

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#68

Post by logarhythmic »

arbhassan wrote: post #4

Oh hey! I'm from that area. If you guys have any queries. :). Also the quality isn't top notch, but for the price you are paying it's ok. You are much better off buying a Russian AK-47 for $1100 like i did than buying it from Khyber for $120.

I am also from the area. I wonder how many Pakhtuns are on HN? Haha

Re: The Last Gunsmiths of the Khyber Pass

#70

Post by madengr »

smabie wrote: post #11
arbhassan wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People here LOVE guns. Everyone owns multiple guns in their house. I think it's our pukhtoon culture and a sense of pride and security that comes with owning a gun. When i was a kid my father used to clean his AK every other week and i would sit by him silently and enjoying as he broke it down into multiple pieces and then make it into one piece after cleaning it. For me i wanted to have my own original Russian AK be…

At what age do people generally get a gun? I have friends who's father bought them a gun at 11-12, though personally I think 14-15 might be more appropriate. At what age did you get your first gun?

I got a shotgun for my 8th birthday, though probably started shooting at age 6. I remember the first gun I shot was an AR-15 M1 (triangular hand guard).

I bought my two kids their own .22 bolt action at 7 and 9. Then my son a .22 AR-15 at 10.

Post reply on HN