How to Make a Pop Bottle Gun

The human race's fascination with projectile weapons goes back centuries. Between slings, spears, guns, and bows and arrows, you can find a plethora of weapons which project small objects at a target. Now you can create a gun out of a pop bottle, with just a little effort.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Pop or water bottle
• Drill
• Tire valve stem
• Silicone sealant
• Cork
• Hand or foot air pump

1. Drill a hole, approximately the size of the brass end of the valve stem, in the bottom of your bottle.
2. Push the valve stem through the whole in the bottom of the bottle. Use pliers to pull approximately half of the valve stem out of the bottle bottom.
3. Seal around the valve stem to ensure that it is air tight. Let the silicone sealant dry.
4. Place the cork in the neck of the bottle. Hold it in place with your thumb.
5. Attach the air pump to the valve stem, and give four to seven good pumps. You should feel the air pressure increasing against the cork. Remove the air pump. If you hear any air leaking, reseal the valve stem and repeat Steps 4 and 5.
6. Let go of the cork while aiming it at your target. It may take a second, but the cork will fly out of the bottle under pressure.

Tips & Warnings

• You can add a dart or nail to the cork if you wish to use it to actually shoot targets and dart boards.
• You can also create a pop bottle gun out of a single bottle with a cap, by building up pressure in the bottle by squeezing or twisting it, while you slowly unscrew the cap.
• This pop bottle gun creates a lot of pressure. Do not point it at people or animals.
• This pop bottle gun is very loud.