How to Make a Fireable Paper Gun

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]

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]

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

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]

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]

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.

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]

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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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]
• 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]

Insert the elastic trigger on the lower tube of the barrel. Cut the ends of the hose so that the end with the rubber band is as close to the barrel as possible and that there is no pipe sticking out in front of the barrel.

Hook the rubber band to the front of the barrel so that it stretches between the two tubes. Make sure the trigger tail is directly in the opening of the trigger compartment. When you pull the trigger backwards, the protruding end of the tube will release the trigger, the rubber band will pop out and fire the bullet.

Load and shoot paper bullets. Now the gun can be fired. Roll small pieces of origami paper into small balls. Place one bullet in the end of the gun opposite the stock and trigger, then hook the rubber band up. Pull the trigger to release the rubber band, fire the trigger tube forward and release the bullet. The bullet will shoot out of the barrel. ^[8]