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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 qu ...
or
zip gun Zip gun may refer to: * Improvised firearm * Hand-Held Maneuvering Unit, a device used by astronauts on spacewalks * The ZIP .22 pistol by the U.S. Fire Arms Manufacturing Company * ''Bolan's Zip Gun'', a 1975 album by the band T. Rex * Zipgun, a 1 ...
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 ma ...
, 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 c ...
. 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 Maguindanao (, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 t ...
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.


See also

*
Musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket graduall ...
*
Potato cannon A potato cannon is a pipe-based cannon that uses air pressure ( pneumatic), or combustion of a flammable gas (aerosol, propane, etc.), to launch projectiles at high speeds. They are built to fire chunks of potato, as a hobby, or to fire other s ...
*
Improvised weapon An improvised weapon is an object that was not designed to be used as a weapon but can be put to that use. They are generally used for self-defence or if the person is otherwise unarmed. In some cases, improvised weapons are commonly used by attac ...
*
Bamboo cannon A bamboo cannon ( ms, meriam buluh, Jawi: مريام بولوه ; tl, lantakang kawayan; , Indonesian: ''meriam bambu'', Javanese: ''mercon bumbung'') is a type of home-made firecracker which is popular during the Hari Raya festive season in M ...


References

Homemade firearms {{Firearm-stub