NOTE: update on this post here.

One of the things I love about JB is that he’s a born entrepreneur. Ever since I met him he’s had side projects and business ideas, some of which eventually were retired in his woodshop, and some which blossomed into full-scale companies. He has a knack for combining his skills with his passions, which has led him down all sorts of paths — from underwater exploration to hand-crafted iPhone holders.

As some of you know, JB is an avid shooter. Because of his love for guns and customized accessories, he’s designed an AR-15 lower receiver he’s calling Hellbreaker.
Here’s what it looks like:

Screen shot 2012-08-28 at 7.26.27 PM

Now, I’m not a gun person, but I can tell you that he’s put an enormous amount of effort into getting Hellbreaker as far as it’s come. His dream is to turn it into a viable AR-15 product that can be sold through licensed firearms dealers.

Hellbreaker exists as a model now, and the next steps would be to have it tooled for mass production. JB’s created an Indiegogo page to try and raise funds to move forward on the project, and I would be a suck-ass wife if I didn’t tell you about it … and say that every contribution makes a difference.

I’m crossing my fingers he can make it happen — not because I think it will be some huge moneymaker and we’ll retire in a giant mansion made of Unobtainium, but because he believes in it, and I believe in him.

If you know anyone who likes custom gun stuff, he’d be hugely grateful if you could share the link. Thanks for listening, friends.

** Edit: as of 8/30, the campaign has been taken offline by the IndieGoGo folks. Update here.

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jonniker
11 years ago

I love this. Adam shares a similar streak, although the manifestation is completely different. I just . . . I never worry about him, you know? He’s scrappy and smart and thinks of fascinating things and I’m always so proud of him, and I believe in him, too. One of these days, our dudes will invent something that changes their little part of the world, I’m sure of it.

I love that JB did this. This is so cool.

Anonymous
Anonymous
11 years ago

With all the gun violence that has been escalating lately, do you really think this is necessary?

valerie
valerie
11 years ago

My husband would love it!!

To anonymous: Really? Chill out. I’m so tired of everyone turning everything political, and did you know that (gasp) there are responsible gun owners in this country that enjoy shooting recreationally?

JudithNYC
JudithNYC
11 years ago

What does it do?

T
T
11 years ago

U just lost me as a follower. I am tired of hearing about another shooting on a weekly basis. And up pops this in my feed. Not cool dude.

Angella
11 years ago

I KNEW an anonymous comment like above would surface. Oh, America. You’re so cute in your indignation.

ANYWAY.

You know that I love you, and Matthew and JB are hunting-email-buddies, so I side-posted the link.

Matthew’s an entrepreneur, too, so I love to shout their endeavors from the rooftops.

(Plus, his video SLAYED ME. Matthew too.)

Annie
Annie
11 years ago

Can I just say that Hellbreaker is pretty much the best name for a gun in the history of all time?

Congrats to yall for getting it up off the ground, and I applaude JBs entreprenurial spirit…

It’s what America is all about, pussies.

H
H
11 years ago

I think it’s awesome that you’re supporting him and spreading the word. I’m still cracking up at the video…who *is* that guy?!

Tell him cousin Heather approves and the haters can ‘rotate’ ;)

.303 Bookworm
.303 Bookworm
11 years ago

You would not believe the hoops you have to jump through here in NZ to own a (gasp) .22. Let alone anything more. However, as my father is an ethusiast, collector and gunsmith I’m betting he’ll be delighted to see the link in his inbox. I have no idea whether AR-15s are even ALLOWED in this country but he’ll totally get a kick out of this. GO JB! The world needs more inventors.

Deb
Deb
11 years ago

That thing is bitchin’

(can we still say that? I might be stuck in the 80s)

Good for him. Also, what Annie said.

Pete
Pete
11 years ago

My son is going to school to design stuff just like that. Good Luck JB!

Rachel
11 years ago

THAT is AWESOME. My husband wants me to let you know that it looks like a P-40 Warhawk done up in a Flying Tigers scheme. (Very cool.)

And hey… ask if he’ll market them with a bullet button for those of us behind the Golden Curtain…

Another anon
Another anon
11 years ago

Ugh. It’s not political to be concerned with gun violence. Is this for a semi automatic?

JudithNYC
JudithNYC
11 years ago

Thank you for responding, Linda. I am completely ignorant about firearms, and while I am “allergic” to guns, hunting, etc., I know that these are not bad things per se.

Starr Anderson
Starr Anderson
11 years ago

To all the anti-gun folks out there – consider this. A few years ago, a nutter BEHEADED a woman with a kitchen knife in a Virginia Tech cafeteria with other people present. My point; crazy is going to come out regardless of whether guns are available. Many of my friends and family shoot recreationally and hunt – they’re responsible gun owners who keep their goods under lock and key.

Eric's Mommy
Eric's Mommy
11 years ago

Thsi is very very cool, we have guns. My Father has an AR-15 and would probably love this.

Lisa in NJ
11 years ago

I know this is off the wall, but why not try to get a hold of Red Jacket Firearms (sons of guns TV show) to see if they are interested in this? Or maybe they could help, ya never know.

Meagan
11 years ago

Not a gun person… I think I’ll need an illustration to understand what a gun receiver is for! Your answer in yellow helped me not at all. I like the teeth though. :-) Good luck to him. I know you said no political, but I really wish we could see more non-antagonistic dialogue between responsible gun owners and people who hate guns. I happen to be in the camp that hates guns, but I’m not interested in repealing the 2nd amendment. Innocent people aren’t being shot because people like JB own guns. Let’s spend a little more time worrying about our society-wide neglect of mental health issues, let’s start actually enforcing the gun control laws we already have, rather than making angry/sad faces at responsible gun owners whenever a tragedy happens.

Jeanette
11 years ago

Guns don’t kill people…people kill people! Good luck to JB!

Sirena
Sirena
11 years ago

I love that you support your husband, but just for clarification, an AR-15 is known in the military as an M16 (a well-known semi-automatic) and definitely was the gun used by the shooter in Colorado recently.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/07/22/a-look-at-the-aurora-shooter-s-guns-including-the-ar-15.html

It’s not political if this turns people’s stomachs and it’s not a slight to great innovators like your husband – it’s just that we’ve proven as a society right now that what we need is fewer guns, not more. I appreciate that you responded and you don’t owe any apologies, but for longtime readers that feel a little bit surprised by this, they have a right to comment respectfully too.

Megan
Megan
11 years ago

Wait, so is the point of it just to look cool? I don’t get what a receiver is….

Jules
Jules
11 years ago

It’s ironic how people in their zeal to uphold the second amendment feel the need to screech loudest at those exercising the first.

Andrea
Andrea
11 years ago

Megan, yes. From what I understand it’s just the lower receiver, it doesn’t actually shoot anything on its own. It’s just to jazz up your current gun.

Susie
Susie
11 years ago

My husband has that entrepreneurial spirit, too — I wish my mind worked like that.

I know exactly one other person with an interest in firearms (he’s a freelance instructor), so I told him about it and sent him the link. ;)

Halyn
Halyn
11 years ago

That is pretty cool. I don’t really get into the long guns, since I don’t hunt, but that is pretty spiffy. Can JB design some cool handgun stuff? I have a couple pistols that could use some jazzing up!:)

Lighten up people. Guns are used lawfully every day by good people. Guns are used every every day to save lives. You don’t hear about it, though, because the media gets more page clicks when some jackass shoots his boss than when a homeowner shoots an armed intruder, or when a target shooter beats her personal best at the range.

Halyn
Halyn
11 years ago

Oops, sorry, had two windows open–The “lighten up, people.” was meant for a different post on a different topic. Preview is my friend–or would be if I ever used it.

Lisa
11 years ago

@Jules – the first amendment prohibits the GOVERNMENT from stifling your speech, not Linda. She can stifle the shit out of it, not that she will, because she’s awesome.

Plus, really? Have any of you READ this blog before? JB hunts. He likes guns. If you don’t like reading about it, don’t come here. You also have THAT freedom.

Trav
Trav
11 years ago

I don’t read this blog, my wife does, but she knows I like guns. I also like reading comments. I just need to correct Sirena above, an AR-15 is NOT the same as an M16. It looks like one, but an AR-15 is semi-automatic where an army issued firearm can be fully automatic. It makes a huge difference, and one is legal, and the other is not unless licensed.

Jules
Jules
11 years ago

@Lisa. I don’t see where in my post i said ban all hunting, ban all guns, ban anything.It’s reasonable discourse on a contentious issue.I’m sure if Linda has issues with my comment, she’ll exercise her right to block/edid/moderate et al. I’ve read this blog a long time, what i HAVE taken from the experiences thus far , is she really doesn’t need you to pick apart rational, polite comments.

Sirena
Sirena
11 years ago

The select-fire AR-15 was renamed the M-16 when it entered the military as a fully automatic – it is the civilian version of an M-16. I don’t disagree with innovators out there working on things like this – it just makes me sad that we have such a desperate hunger for more guns and our society is wrecked enough that we use them the way we do. That’s not gun control, it’s common sense. And the AR-15 was the weapon used in the Colorado massacre, and when legislation gets off the ground in response to that, it won’t be as widely available anymore, and I think that’s of benefit to everyone out there.

marcus
marcus
11 years ago

shark tank

H
H
11 years ago

I agree with Marcus – Shark Tank!

melanie
melanie
11 years ago

I am with Meagen on this one…. I dont own any guns, but my Dad does and is a hunter and I am not opposed to guns. I truly do not believe SANE people kill people in mass… I just dont. we have a HUGE problem with talking about mental illness in this country, even in the comments here we are all making this about the physical guns and not about the person behind them. We are not educated about how to get people the help they need or what to look for in someone planning and plotting terror. If we start treating our mentally ill, I think we can prevent tragedy. PS I always find it a bit ironic how everyone talks about guns when in reality I would rather see someway to track the amounts of ammo purchased. In the Colorado shooting, it wasn’t necessarily a purchase of a gun that should have sounded off red flags, but rather the sheer volume of ammo. Hell they track my sudafed purchases awful closely these days, I think we ought to be able to track bullets

Good luck to JB…

tracy @mamacreates
11 years ago

fairly regular reader, almost-never commenter popping out to say you’re a kick-ass wife for being so supportive of your husbands dreams. from an outsider’s perspective, you & JB seem to have a true partnership, and if I had that, I wouldn’t have filed for divorce from the man & father of my daughter whom I loved & supported for 10 years (obviously more to the story than that, but I won’t turn this comment into my TMI divorce drama ;)).

Re: guns & gun control, guns or not, I agree…crazies will be crazies. And I say that as a medicated crazy, though I’d like to think, not so crazy as to ever cause harm to anyone. Yeah…pretty sure of that fact.

At any rate, I’ve lived 36 of my 37 years in Juneau, AK (the other in Portland, OR), where guns are used to kill wild game, & not people. Here, hunting is, for many, a way of life, though I didn’t always agree w/ my dad’s version of how killing the deer was really doing them a favor because they wouldn’t all survive the winter if he didn’t weed out the population.

But, as an avid hunter & fisher, my dad kept fresh, not-pumped-with-hormones, meat in our family’s freezer, and will glady share his catches (I can hear him saying now, “you don’t “CATCH” deer, Trace….) if he finds himself with more than he needs for the coming months.

Growing up, my dad’s rifles were kept in a gun case under his side of the bed, and I couldn’t tell you if it was locked or not because regardless, I knew better than to fuck with his gun case. It had guns in it, ffs! Guns aren’t for kids! They were dad’s, and I knew they were off-limits. Plus, I had no interest in checking them out up close & personal….and still have no real interest in guns.

I shot my ex-boyfriend’s gun once; the force knocked it back into my forehead. And that was the end of that. There are plenty of female hunters, I’m just not one of them. Although, I did spend many an hour shooting(the grown-up’s) beer cans off the sandbox with a .22 at our cabin when I was elementary-school aged. Good times…

Anyway, all this to say that gun rights & personal protection aside because I’m not even going down that road, guns also serve a very valuable purpose in our lives: gathering food to sustain one’s family.

That is all :)

Amber
Amber
11 years ago

As a resident of the place where “the Colorado shooting” happened, I’d like to echo another commenter in saying that the gun used in that tragedy has SO MUCH LESS to do with those people dying than the lack of proper mental healthcare does. Don’t bring up the most recently publicized gun-related tragedy to enforce your (uneducated in my opinion) view that if guns were eradicated, crime would go down. It wouldn’t. People who want to kill will do so, whether with a gun obtained illegally or if that’s too difficult, by using the Internet to create a homemade bomb.

In other words, good for JB for embracing the spirit of innovation and coupling it with something he’s interested in. I hope he succeeds!

willikat
11 years ago

To Sundry: Lastly, but most importantly, to Sundry: my husband is also an entrepreneur. It’s so hard to come up with an original design, get it made, and manufactured. It’s a HUGE DEAL. Congratulations to him and to you…your support is invaluable in his success.

Ditto Meagan and Melanie and Amber. You know what else I’d be interested in? Looking at states with high gun ownership (i.e. MN and WI must be way up there, we even have conceal and carry here in MN) and level of super violent crime that happens. Is there correlation? Causation? I kind of doubt it, just anecdotally speaking.
The mental health issue should really be at the fore. Ammo should be watched (Have you guys seen that Chris Rock bit?)
I don’t find the shootings funny, I don’t take them lightly, and I want that to change too. I do not own guns myself, nor do I have a desire to.
But crazy finds a way. . . illegally or through a licensed dealer with background checks. These types of crimes are not being committed by the typical recreational gun owner (like my dad, and most of the gun owners I know, or like JB). We have a lot of other issues that also need to be examined along with gun control (or enforcement thereof).

Randy
Randy
11 years ago

I want one!

Randy
Randy
11 years ago

That’s as beautiful as his wife!

Janet
Janet
11 years ago

I want one. Looks bad-ass to me.

Megan
Megan
11 years ago

Yeah! Go on Shark Tank! I love that show!

falnfenix
11 years ago

you know…i really wish he wasn’t expecting to charge nearly $300 for that lower. because I WANT IT.

…and i want to powdercoat it magenta and outfit it with magenta furniture. because obnoxious firearms make me giddy. :)

Lucy
Lucy
11 years ago

Perhaps the NRA should be channeling all their lobbying $$$ to publicly-accessable mental health programs? Just a thought.

artemisia
11 years ago

How exciting! You guys are always on the move, thinking up stuff and getting it going. I really admire that about both of you.

I’d like to ask advice, in fact!

In Wyoming, guns are everywhere, obviously. Nearly everyone is a hunter. I have no idea what the Hellbreaker does or what part of a gun it is, but I will certainly be forwarding this link on to a few folks!

Jenn G
11 years ago

I gave the link to one of my friends who (affectionately) is referred to as my “gun nut” buddy and he was willing to whip out his credit card and purchase on the spot. To the people who are properly educated and have a love of firearms, this sounds like a good thing. Good luck to you and good luck to your hubby!

Jenn G
11 years ago

Just wanted to add, he has forward the link to the member of the two gun clubs he is part of and is going to show it to the owner of his local shooting range in Texas. Hope your hubby gets all the funding and recognition he needs and much more!

JudithNYC
JudithNYC
11 years ago

I am back…wanted to make some extra points.

1. while I am not sure if I believe the Second Amendment really gives people the right to bear arms, that is the interpretation of the Supreme Court and is the law of the land.

2. Don’t go claiming First Amendment rights on someone’s blog. This amendment is about government interference with free speech. Far as I know this is not a government blog.

3. If you have been reading this blog you know that Linda and her husband are model citizens (unless I have been fooled for years LOL

4. And this is really what made me come back: while I claimed that I was allergic to hunting, when I lived in Oregon I was not allergic to eating moose, deer, whatever my hunting acquaintances brought in. I felt like a big fat hypocrite for not mentioning that before.

Wendy, Los Angeles
Wendy, Los Angeles
11 years ago

just sent the link to a friend of mine who has AR-15s. I believe he has just donated – good luck JB!!

Marieke
Marieke
11 years ago

Hey, where did it go?

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