How a 3D-Printed Rifle Ended Up in the Middle of the Baltic Sea
For generations, the Aland Islands, an autonomous stretch of rocky coves in the middle of the Baltic Sea, were home to hunters and a gun culture rooted in Nordic backcountry traditions. Islanders hunted seals and varmints with bolt-action wooden rifles passed down through families.
YouTube channels and American-dominated internet forums inspired one island resident, a 28-year-old named Elias Andersson, to bring that history into the 21st century. After securing permission from the Finnish government, which controls the islands, he designed and made a 3D-printed rifle called the Printax 001.
He spent years building and perfecting his strange gun, which looks like a cross between an AR-15 and a laser blaster from a science-fiction film. Its name has local roots — .AX is the country-code web domain for the Aland Islands.
The gun's existence on a remote island chain of about 30,000 people is evidence of the spread of 3D-printed firearms. Once a niche hobby, the guns have been popularized by American enthusiasts as a desirable option, particularly in locations where firearms can be hard to come by. The 3D-printed guns have appeared in the hands of rebels in Myanmar and criminals in Europe and South America.
Mr. Andersson's decision to design the Printax grew out of the long hours he spent during the Covid pandemic watching American gun-related YouTube videos, which promoted a far more aggressive brand of firearms ownership than he had experienced on the Aland Islands. And when Russia invaded Ukraine, he found a new purpose for the Printax's earliest iterations: Urged by a friend, Mr. Andersson discussed with contacts in Ukraine providing the Printax to the country's military.
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