How to Make a PVC Air Pistol

Hi everyone, so today I'll be showing you how to make a PVC air pistol.

It's powerful enough to be used to hunt small game such as pigeons, rats, rabbits etc. It's also small enough that you can carry it around with you on a hike or camping trip. This design uses a bicycle pump to pressurise the air chamber to 150 psi or 10 bar.

A quick warning: you should always check your local laws on home-made weapons and hunting with them.

DISCLAIMER

I AM IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE, INJURY OR LEGAL ISSUES WHICH MAY OCCUR THROUGH MAKING OR USING THIS WEAPON

Apart from all that, have fun :-)

So to make this you will need

Materials:

• 1x 1in end cap
  
• 1x 1in 45 degree elbow
• 1x 1in - 1/2 in reducer
• 1x 1/2in ball valve
• 1x 1/2in 45 degree elbow
• 1x 1/2in male fitting
• 1x 1/2in female fitting

• 1x 20cm(8in)length of 1in
• 1x 8cm(3in)length of 1in
• 3x 5cm(2in)length of 1/2in
• 1x 30cm(12in)length of 1/2in
• 1x 2in nail
• PVC tape (optional)
• 1x bicycle tire valve
  

Tools:

• Drill
• Hacksaw
• File
• PVC cement and brush
• Sandpaper
• Pliers
  

Start by drilling a hole in the end-cap slightly smaller than the diameter of your bike valve. Then use the pliers to screw in the valve.

Once you've cut all the lengths of PVC, sand them down to clean off any dirt. Paint a generous amount of glue on the inside of the end cap and on one end of the 20cm(8in) length of PVC. Push them together and give a quarter twist to seal the join.

Repeat these steps with the parts shown in the following pics.

To stop projectiles rolling back down the barrel into the air chamber, drill a hole just behind the male connector and push the nail through. Use the hacksaw and file to cut off and smooth down the excess. To prevent the nail falling out, and to make it look nicer, I decided to wrap the whole thing in PVC tape.

So now you're finished. To load it, just remove the barrel, load a projectile and screw it back on. I used a standard bike pump to pressurise it. 15 pumps was enough to achieve a pressure of 140 psi in the chamber.

To fire, quickly open the valve; you can see the effects of a 50 cal steel ball on a wood wall in the fourth pic.

I hope everyone enjoyed this tutorial; if you did, please comment, follow and vote for me in the Survival Ready contest :-)