File:San Rafael makeshift .38 caliber rifle secured to a woodpiece.jpg

English: Authorities in San Rafael, Calif., investigated an incident involving a makeshift .38 caliber rifle which had been crudely fashioned from a springload BB rifle. An ordinary BB rifle was securely fastened to a 3- by 4-inch piece of wood approximately 4 feet long. At the end of the barrel was a ½- by 4-inch galvanized pipe which contained a .38 Special caliber wad cutter cartridge in one end. Inserted from the other end of the pipe was a length of fishing pole tubing which fitted firmly over the cartridge and seated against the rim. The area between the tubing and the pipe was filled with glue to the tubing in place. A washer covers the end of the pipe where the primer of the .38 was exposed, and the entire combination was taped securely. The extension was affixed to the muzzle of the BB rifle and clamped to the wood. A small nail in the rifle barrel serves as firing pin. When the rifle was fired, the nail was forced into the primer of the .38 cartridge, thus firing a lead bullet forward through the firing pole tubing. The improvised weapon withstood the firing of the cartridge in spite of its inherently dangerous imperfections. Here, the rifle is secured to a piece of wood.