Atlas Arms is a pioneering libertarian initiative in small arms research, education, and manufacturing that restores to individuals the advanced defensive technologies long monopolized by the state. Through rigorous engineering and market-driven innovation, it develops open-source ammunition and related systems that affirm the absolute right of free people to effective self-defense, bypassing coercive prohibitions without apology or compromise.
Its flagship project, the Dagny Dagger, delivers legally unrestricted armor-piercing hollow point (APHP) performance in common calibers, proving that determined individuals and voluntary enterprise can outflank regulatory capture and reclaim capabilities the state reserves exclusively for its own agents.
History#
Atlas Arms Research, Inc. was incorporated in 2018 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit to provide an organizational platform for technical development and public education on individual armament. Aerospace engineer Austin Thomas Jones founded the effort after recognizing that decades of federal restrictions—most notably the 1986 Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act—had created an indefensible asymmetry: police and military retain access to barrier-blind, armor-defeating ammunition while civilians are left with inferior options.
Development of the Dagny Dagger consumed roughly three years and significant private funding raised through crowdfunding in liberty-oriented communities. Prototyping, ballistic testing, and legal analysis confirmed viable designs using novel alloys and projectile geometries that evade statutory definitions of “armor-piercing” while delivering superior terminal performance. In 2021 the commercial arm, Atlas Arms Manufacturing LLC (a Type 10 FFL with Class 2 SOT), was established to scale production, fulfill market demand, and sustain further research. The organization has operated from locations including Flagstaff, Arizona, and maintains an active presence in voluntaryist and Bitcoin-centric networks.
Philosophy and Mission#
Atlas Arms operates from the uncompromising premise that the individual—the smallest minority—possesses an inalienable right to the most effective tools of self-defense available. Government definitions and prohibitions that disarm the law-abiding while arming its enforcers constitute aggression, not legitimate law. Equality under the law demands that whatever technology the state claims for its agents must remain equally available to the people it claims to serve.
The project rejects the false dichotomy of “liberty versus security.” It demonstrates instead that technological proliferation through open-source methods and competitive markets renders state monopolies on advanced arms unenforceable and obsolete. By publishing manufacturing data, Ghost Gunner CNC code, and loading specifications, Atlas Arms ensures these capabilities become uncontrollable by any central authority. Property rights in arms are not granted by permission; they are exercised through innovation, voluntary exchange, and private defense.
The name itself draws from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged: “Dagny” honors the competent, unyielding protagonist Dagny Taggart, while “Atlas” evokes the creative individuals who bear civilization on their shoulders—precisely the “smallest minority” the organization serves.
Key Projects#
Dagny Dagger
The core achievement is a family of APHP projectiles optimized for 9mm Luger (with variants planned or prototyped for 10mm Auto, .40 S&W, 5.56 NATO, .300 BLK, .308 Winchester, and potentially 5.7×28mm). These rounds penetrate all common soft body armor (Level IIIA and portions of Level III UHMWPE) and some hard armor plates while expanding and fragmenting on soft tissue for devastating terminal effect—multirole performance unavailable in conventional designs. Muzzle energies in optimized loads exceed 500 ft-lbs, pushing the practical limits of the 9mm platform.
Legal compliance is achieved through material science rather than political lobbying: obscure high-performance alloys and partial-jacket geometries avoid the specific statutory triggers (full metal jacket comprising more than 25% of projectile mass, or enumerated exotic core materials). The result is ammunition that meets or exceeds the performance of restricted “cop-killer” rounds yet remains fully legal for civilian possession and use under current federal law.
Variants
- Dagny Dagger (premium APHP): Maximum penetration and terminal performance.
- Eddie Everyman (economical EPHP): Everyday carry and barrier defeat.
- Piggy Popper (economical EPHP): Hunting and large-game vital-organ penetration.
- Francisco Frangible (economical): Training and home-defense with minimal over-penetration and ricochet risk.
Economy variants reached commercial readiness and became available through Atlas Arms Manufacturing in 2024. The premium Dagny Dagger faced temporary supply-chain constraints on specialized alloys but remains fully documented for DIY production.
Open-Source Resources and Patent
All critical data—projectile geometry, jacket and core specifications, loading data, and even Ghost Gunner toolpaths—were released in an open manual (Revision 0.0.0). The USPTO published patent US11371817B2 (issued 2022), which contains sufficient manufacturing and loading information for any competent individual or small shop to replicate the technology. This publication strategy renders the knowledge permanent and widely distributable, immune to future regulatory erasure.
9mm Atlas
Parallel research explores a high-pressure 9mm specification leveraging advanced case technology (NAS3) and modern metallurgy to achieve approximately 750 ft-lbs of muzzle energy in standard pistol form factors—delivering rifle-like performance from ubiquitous, compact platforms.
Founder#
Austin Thomas Jones, Chief Engineer of Atlas Arms Research and principal inventor of the Dagny Dagger, is an aerospace engineer and Oklahoman (Sooner-bred). His prior work includes founding 2020 Armor, which developed smart protective gear for combat sports, and contributing to micrometeoroid shielding designs for soft-bodied spacecraft. A follower of Christ, Jones approaches armament as both a technical and moral imperative: the defense of innocent life against aggression is a natural right that no legislature may legitimately abridge. He has appeared on liberty-focused programs including Anarchast Disenthrall Lions of Liberty and events such as Bear Arms ’n Bitcoin, consistently framing technological empowerment as the practical realization of individual sovereignty.
Impact and Legacy#
Atlas Arms has shifted the Overton window on civilian armament. By succeeding where political advocacy alone has faltered, it demonstrates that engineering and markets are more powerful than legislation in expanding the sphere of liberty. Crowdfunding from thousands of private donors, widespread discussion in firearms and Bitcoin communities, and the commercial release of economy variants prove demand for uncompromised defensive tools. The open-source model ensures that even if Atlas Arms itself were targeted, the knowledge persists and proliferates.
In an age of increasing state surveillance and regulatory aggression, Atlas Arms stands as living proof that the creative individual—bearing the weight of civilization like Atlas—can restore balance through ingenuity, voluntary cooperation, and uncompromising commitment to the right of self-ownership. Small arms for the smallest minority: the free person, armed and unafraid.
External Links and Resources#
- Official research site: https://www.atlasarms.org/
- Commercial manufacturing and shop: https://www.atlasarms.com/
- Open-source documents and manual: https://www.atlasarms.org/donate/open-source-documents-rev-0-0-0/
- USPTO Patent US11371817B2: https://patents.google.com/patent/US11371817B2/
Atlas Arms continues active development. Supporters may contribute via the research site or by purchasing products from the manufacturing arm—each transaction advances the practical infrastructure of liberty.
