How to Make a Grenade Launcher

Most military grenade launchers are portable, and they can be single-shot or repeating. When used in combat, they're often mounted under the barrels of military-style rifles. Portable launchers can fire not only grenades, but tear gas or incendiary devices that burn very brightly for illumination. For a low-tech twist, use a bow, arrow and shotgun shells to construct a perfectly functional grenade launcher.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bow
• Aluminum arrow
• Gun powder
• Shotshell primer
• Glue
• BB

1. Unscrew or remove the ferrule from around the arrow. Fill the arrow head with gun powder.

2. Put glue on the shotshell primer and press it into the opening formerly occupied by the ferrule. Glue the BB onto the primer.

3. Use the bow to shoot the arrow at an appropriate target. Typically, grenade launchers fire weapons greater distances, more accurately and faster than a person could throw by hand.

Tips & Warnings

• In a variation, you can use a bean bag instead of a BB and gun powder. Typically made of kevlar and filled with a mix of round lead shot and a gel matrix, the bean bag should be small enough to fit inside a standard magnum-size shotgun shell. Once launched at a target, the kevlar bag distributes the impact but stops the lead shot from breaking free. It lands an intense blow similar to a hit from a sledgehammer.
• Be very careful when constructing the launcher and working with gun powder. Make sure no people or animals are nearby when you launch the device, and never target a person or animal.