How to Make a Fireable Paper Gun

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On rainy afternoons indoors, you can kill time by making a paper gun that can shoot, both for entertainment and to practice shooting. You can make an origami-style paper gun or a pistol with a trigger to fire paper bullets. With just a few folds and patience, you’ll have a whole set of paper guns to display.

Table of Contents

Making a pistol out of a paper tube

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Gather materials. Before you start building your gun, you’ll need some tools and materials. To get started, gather the following:

Multiple sheets of sturdy paper (size 22×28 cm, any color)
Duct tape
Drag
Ruler
Markers
Hot glue
Elastic bands ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Roll the first sheet of paper into a round tube, starting at one corner. The first is to choose a sheet of paper and roll it into a small tube. Gently roll the origami paper into a tubular shape, leaving space in the middle if possible. This paper tube will be shaped like a tiny napkin roll. You will use this roll of paper as a mold to roll the remaining paper tubes. ^{[2] X Research Source}

This paper tube will be about the size of a pencil. You can use a ballpoint pen or pencil to make the shape easier.

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Roll the second sheet of paper around the first paper tube. To make the gun shoot, you will have to use the paper tube you just made to create a second tube with a larger diameter. Roll the origami paper around the first tube you just created. Once the second sheet of paper has been rolled up, slide the inner tube out. You now have another tube slightly larger than the first one. This new tube is also shaped like a small tissue roll core. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Adjust and secure the paper tube with clear tape. Once you have rolled the paper tube, you will use the clear tape to fix it. Apply clear tape to both ends of the tube to keep the tube from bursting, then trim around the wall with scissors. Your paper tube should be flat, with no messy pieces of paper coming out. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Roll 2 more paper tubes like this and cut out lengths as shown below. Continue to roll the paper tubes like the one first, then use scissors, a ruler and a marker to cut the tubes into segments as follows:

To make the barrel: You need 2 tubes 15 cm long.
To make a gun stock: You need 7 tubes 5 cm long.
To make a trigger: You need a tube 8 cm long.

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Make the butt of the gun by gluing all the 5cm tubes together, slightly diagonally with hot glue. Line up all the hose segments close together, one after the other, then adjust by moving the last tube to the right diagonally (simulating the shape of a regular pistol grip). Use hot glue to attach the tubes together to form a long, thin stock.

You can also glue the pipes in a straight line, then cut one end to create a slightly diagonal edge. Use scissors to cut and smooth the diagonal edge. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Use glue to attach the 8cm pipe to the gun butt, leaving 3cm protruding outside the right edge. This tube will be next to the stock and tilt in. In other words, if you pick up the gun to shoot, the 3 cm protruding tube will point towards you. It will be the “trigger”.

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Attach 2 15cm tubes together, then mount on top of gun stock. This will be the barrel, so of course it should be facing forward. Place the end of the barrel in the middle of the butt and secure with hot glue.

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Roll 2 smaller paper tubes. This time, you don’t need to worry about leaving any space inside the tube. Roll the paper (other colored paper is nice) into a round tube, slightly smaller than the first one. These tubes must be able to slide in and out of the tubes created in the previous step. To roll these tubes smaller, you will roll without the core. You should cut off the last triangle about 10cm long of the rolled paper to reduce the thickness in the middle of the tube.

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Break a thin tube into a U shape so that it slides into the trigger tube and top tube of the stock. Trim the tube so that only about 0.5 cm of the tube is left behind the trigger compartment and not behind the buttstock. The U-curve will be on the barrel side. This will be the trigger – when you pull the trigger backwards, this little piece of tube will pop out behind the trigger compartment.

Make sure the tube can slide back and forth easily as it is the trigger.

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Make the trigger guard guard with another small tube (optional). Bend the tube into an S shape, flattening the bends if necessary. Insert one end of the paper tube into the second from the top of the stock (just below the trigger), so that the curved part of the “S” becomes a small bumper. Use hot glue to attach the rest of the tube under the hot gun and cut off the excess.

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Flatten a small paper tube with your hand and use it to “seal” the end of the buttstock. This paper tube will have to be flattened down into a long, thin strip. You will use hot glue to attach it to the back of the buttstock, looping it around the front and bottom of the trigger ring, if applicable. The goal here is to seal all unnecessary openings of the tubes on the stock, but the key is to seal the tube just behind the trigger.

DO NOT block the trigger compartment. This compartment needs to be open to reload and fire the gun.
In the end, you will have a “contour” on the bottom of the gun. That’s why you should use another color for beauty.

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Take the spring of the old pen and insert it into the tube on the barrel. Remove the trigger and insert the spring so that it presses against the outer tube. This will allow the trigger to automatically pop back when fired.

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Make a trigger with an elastic band and a fuse. Fold a piece of origami paper twice, forming a long, thin strip of paper. Roll this strip of paper into a thick tube. Use duct tape to tighten the tube and cut the wall to smooth. This tube will look like a tiny toilet paper roll. Next…

Cut open the tube with scissors. Place the rubber band into the tube. ^{[6] X Research Sources}
Use duct tape to seal the tube. You should now have a thick paper tube with an elastic band inside. This will be the trigger. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Folding origami paper gun

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Prepare 2 sheets of paper, fold into long, narrow strips of paper. To start folding origami paper guns, you will need to prepare 2 sheets of paper. Take a large rectangular origami paper. Fold the paper in half and tear it into two larger and smaller rectangles. You will fold each of these little sheets of paper in the following way:

Fold the rectangle in half from top to bottom, making a smaller and narrower rectangle, then unfold the paper. ^{[9] X Research Source}
Use the middle crease as a guide. The paper now has two halves. Fold in half so that the edge of the paper coincides with the center fold. Next, fold the other half inward so that the edge of the paper also coincides with the center fold. The edges of the two halves will meet at the middle crease. ^{[10] X Research Source}
Now, fold the paper inward along the middle crease. You will have a strip of paper folded into a long, narrow shape. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Fold a strip of paper into a horseshoe shape. Take a strip of paper and fold the ends in half, then unfold. The middle crease divides the strip of paper in half. Fold the right half of the paper up at a 90-degree angle. Similarly, fold the left end up at a 90 degree angle. The strip of paper should now look like a horseshoe. ^{[12] X Research Source}

The horizontal section in the middle will be twice the width of the long strip of paper. Place the paper strip to the right of the center fold line. Then fold the “hand” of the horseshoe shape right where it meets the narrow strip of paper in the middle.

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Fold the two “hands” of the horseshoe shape diagonally inward. Keeping the original fold in place, bend the corner of the horseshoe so it looks like a square teardrop shape. In the middle of the “drop of water” will be a triangle.

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Fold the triangle in half, then press them together to form a flat “grip” for the gun. The strip of paper now looks like a lowercase “L”, with a long strip and a small, slightly curved piece at the top. You will also fold this long narrow strip of paper in half.

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Attach the second strip to the first by pushing the ends of the strip into the openings in the handle. This is a bit difficult, so you need to take it slow. Take the second strip of paper and tie the ends together to fold in half. You will thread this strip of paper into the handle:

Separate the handle slightly. The bent part will have 2 small openings. You will thread the ends of the second strip of paper through these openings. ^{[13] X Research Source}
Pull both ends of the folded paper strip through the openings of the horseshoe shape. Continue pulling until the two strips of paper form a wide angle of about 110 degrees. The two ends of the paper strip will form the “barrel”. ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Adjust until the gun has a trigger, then pin the handle and barrel to prevent movement. Now you can see the shape of the gun. There will be a small folded piece of paper protruding just below the barrel. Gently pull this piece of paper down until it sticks out under the gun. You can now snap this handle inward or outward like a trigger. ^{[15] X Research Source}

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Use a carving knife to make a small cut about 1 cm just above the handle. This will be where you “load” the gun. The cut will be about 0.5 cm deep and about 1 cm wide. The cut is in the middle of the diagonal “trigger”.

You may need to make two cuts – one through the barrel and one through the opening in the bottom. If you do, you should cut it slightly to form a “hammer” on the gun or the small rod like in the movies you still see people pulling backwards before firing. This small cut will help hold the elastic.
Make sure the cut is deep enough to hook the rubber band (bullet).

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Make a small cut at the top of the barrel. This cut just needs to be enough to hold the elastic at the other end. You can then hook the rubber band to this cut and the first cut. When you pull the “trigger”, you will move the cut enough to release the rubber band and that’s it!

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Complete.

Advice

Tighten the folds and roll the paper evenly for best results.
Arrange the plastic cups into a pyramid shape to make a shooting target.

Warning

Do not make or bring paper guns to school. The school’s zero-tolerance policy may result in your suspension or expulsion.
Don’t shoot paper guns at other people.

Steps

Making a pistol out of a paper tube

Folding origami paper gun

Advice

Warning

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