A marble gun is a type of an

improvised firearm Improvised firearms (sometimes called zip guns, pipe guns or slam guns) are firearms manufactured other than by a firearms manufacturer or a gunsmith, and are typically constructed by adapting existing materials to the purpose. They range in qua ...

or zip gun that shoots

marbles A marble is a small spherical object often made from glass, clay, steel, plastic, or agate. They vary in size, and most commonly are about in diameter. These toys can be used for a variety of games called ''marbles'', as well being placed in mar ...

, through gas pressure from the ignition of

denatured alcohol Denatured alcohol (also called methylated spirits in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom; wood spirit; and denatured rectified spirit) is ethanol that has additives to make it poisonous, bad-tasting, foul ...

. They are mainly used to shoot birds or for home defense use.

Parts

A marble gun has four major components: a barrel, a chamber, an ignition source, and a stock. Barrels are mostly made with PVC pipes or scrap metal tubing, sometimes even repurposed rifle barrels. Chambers are usually made from recycled PET or other similar plastic containers, albeit, resistant enough from extreme heat. A common ignition source used is the piezo ignition component found in

lighters A lighter is a portable device which creates a flame, and can be used to ignite a variety of items, such as cigarettes, gas lighter, fireworks, candles or campfires. It consists of a metal or plastic container filled with a flammable liquid or ...

. Stocks are usually made from planks or carved wood, and there are some instances where an actual rifle stock is used. As it is an improvised weapon, it is commonly combined together using hot glue, electrical tapes, duct tapes or any combination of those adhesives.

Operation

Generally speaking, a marble gun is operated similarly to modern bamboo cannons, where the user sprays denatured alcohol first on the chamber, distribute inside by shaking it, and then inserting one or few marbles in the barrel, and produce a spark by using the piezo ignition component.

Incidents

There are several reported cases of injuries and deaths caused by marble guns: * A 5 year old boy from Maguindanao was accidentally killed by his own cousin with a marble gun. * In Vietnam, a boy accidentally killed his friend while hunting * There was an event where a local Filipino jurisdiction banned the guns, noting they had been confiscated but not penalized in other towns in the region.

References

Homemade firearms {{Firearm-stub

Parts

Operation

Incidents

See also

References