How to Make a Pen Gun With a Trigger

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: March 3, 2021 References Tested

Making a simple gun out of a pen and a few other items can be fun. You can shoot small projectiles out of it, such as the ink cartridge, skewers, or even matches. However, keep in mind that these guns could still hurt people, so never shoot them at people or animals. The simple click gun uses the clicker part as a trigger, while the rubber band gun has a small paperclip handle you pull back to fire the gun.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Creating a Basic Click Gun

1
Take a clicker pen apart. Unscrew the parts on the barrel that come apart. Yours may come apart in 2 or 3 pieces. Pull the ink chamber and spring out of the barrel. Press something into the back end of the pen to push the plunger part and thrust device out.^{[1]
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- If the tip doesn't unscrew, you'll need to carefully cut it off with scissors.
2
Pull the thrust tube off the thrust device. When the thrust device falls out, take the thrust tube (the small cap) off the thrust device, which is round with a piece sticking out one end. ^{[2]
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- Place the plunger back in the pen, which is the part that covers the thrust device at the end.
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3
Make the hole of the barrel on the clicker side smaller using pliers. When your pen came apart, it should have unscrewed near the clicker end. Find the end of the clicker that fits back in the barrel. Use the pliers to bend the edges of that tube toward the middle.^{[3]
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- You're basically making the hole smaller to hold the spring and thrust device back until you hit the plunger at the end of the pen.
4
Put the spring back in the end. Find the spring that you took out a minute ago. Slip it into the part that you just made narrower. It should easily fit in this hole, as the spring is much smaller than the barrel.^{[4]
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5
Insert the thrust device from the clicker over the spring. The thrust device has a small cylinder and then a piece sticking out one end. Put the piece sticking out down toward the spring. It should go through the center of the spring while the cylinder will meet up with the end of the spring.^{[5]
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6
Press the thrust device down so it stays below the edge of the tube. Use the tip of the ink chamber to press the end of the thrust device you just set in place. Press down until the edge of it goes under the edge of the barrel you made narrower. It should stay in place after you press down.^{[6]
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- If it doesn't stay in place, take the spring and thrust device out and work on making the end of the barrel narrower. Then, try again.
- Test this part of the gun by pressing the end of the pen. It should shoot the parts out that you just put in place. Put those parts back together.
7
Screw the barrel back into place. Place the pen's barrel over the parts that you just put together. Screw it into the clicker end, just like you normally would when putting a pen back together. Make sure it is tightly screwed in.^{[7]
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- Don't forget to leave the tip of the pen off.
8
Put the ink chamber into the barrel. Set the ink chamber in the barrel with the tip facing out the empty end. If the spring and clicker part aren't already loaded, press down with the chamber until the thrust device pushes into place.^{[8]
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9
Press the end of the pen to launch the ink chamber as a bullet. Aim your gun at what you want to shoot. Press down lightly on the plunger at the end of the pen to shoot the ink chamber out.^{[9]
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- You can also use skewers or toothpicks. However, be careful when shooting the pen, as you could actually hurt someone, particularly if you shoot at someone's eye.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Making a Pen Gun with a Rubber Band

1
Disassemble a clicker pen or a regular pen. Unscrew the tip of the pen, and then unscrew the other end. Put the clicker end to the side, as you won't need it. Pull the ink chamber out, as well as the spring.^{[10]
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- If your pen's tip doesn't unscrew, you can cut it off with scissors. Otherwise, you can just use the barrel from a non-clicker pen instead. You need a long, empty tube.
2
Cut a small wooden dowel to fit the length of the tube. You can use a round chopstick for this if you have one. It should easily slide into the tube. Cut the end of it off so that it is the same length as the pen barrel.^{[11]
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- You can get small wooden dowels at craft stores or home improvement stores. You could also try a skinny pencil.
3
Drill 2 small holes through the end of the wooden dowel. Place the dowel on something you don't mind drilling into, such as a spare piece of wood. Drill one hole about 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) from the end of the dowel or even a little less and another about the same distance down from that one. Go through the dowel with the hole. The holes should be large enough to fit a paperclip and a rubber band through, respectively.^{[12]
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- It may take a few tries to get this right. You'll need a very small bit.
4
Insert part of a paperclip into the top hole. Cut about 1 inch (2.5 cm) off of an unbent paperclip. Push it through the top hole on the piece of wood. Round it so it makes a rough circle and pull the ends together opposite the hole in the wood.^{[13]
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- The paperclip should hang over the end of the piece of wood. It will act as the trigger for the gun.
5
Cut a thin rubber band in half and push it through the other hole. Make sure it's small enough to fit through the hole, and then snip through one side with scissors. Thread it through the hole and pull on it until the ends are about even.^{[14]
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6
Assemble your gun. Place the pen barrel over the other end of the wooden dowel. The dowel should just slide into the barrel. Push the barrel up against the end of the dowel where the rubber band is.^{[15]
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7
Add tension to the rubber band. Stretch the loose pieces of the rubber band out slightly to give the gun tension, then tape them into place over the outside of the barrel. Trim off off the extra bits of the rubber band.^{[16]
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8
Put a projectile in the end to shoot the gun. Add a small projectile, such as a wad of paper, small piece of wood, or round candy, to the empty end of the barrel. Hold onto the barrel, and pull back on the dowel using the paperclip. Release the paperclip, and the dowel will push the projectile out the other end of the gun.^{[17]
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- Make sure you don't aim it at anyone!

Community Q&A

Question

What kind of paper clip?

Community Answer

Any small, normal paperclip with sturdy, silver metal, as plastic coated ones tend to break.
Question

Can I use a Pilot G-2 07?

Community Answer

Yes, that’s the pen I used. It works like a charm. Any one really works well but the G2 is the best.