How to Make a Marshmallow Gun, or Shooter
84Marshmallow Guns, Cheap Fun
If you are looking for a homemade alternative to a nerf gun, consider a marshmallow gun.
Marshmallow guns, or marshmallow shooters as they are commonly called, are basically a blow gun made from PVC pipe. The ammunition used? Small marshmallows, easily obtainable at any grocery store. The fun? Endless.
My husband and boys made marshmallow guns because they couldn't always get out to the back of the property to play paintball.
More Marshmallow Shooters
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Materials and Instructions
You will need 1/2 inch pvc pipe cut to the following lengths. You can cut it with a hacksaw or sometimes you can have it cut at your local home improvement store. Since pvc comes in ten foot lengths you will have some left over. The materials for the marshmallow guns cost less than $5.00.
- One 9"
- One 7"
- Two 4"
- Two 2"
- One 3"
- Two 90 degree elbows
- Two T's
- Two end caps
Assemble them by pushing them together. You can later take them apart easily for cleaning, or for changing the way your marshmallow blow gun looks. Do not use adhesive in putting them together. You won;t be able to clean the shooter when you want to.
You can also use the following configuration:
- Six 3"
- One 7"
- Two PVC elbows
- Two PVC "T"-fittings
- Two PVC end caps
This makes a more versatile weapon, that you can change the barrel length on, and the velocity of the marshmallow. How do I know? The marshmallow guns get reconfigured daily at our house to find the best design. My kids have added a PVC piece with a flared end on the end of the barrel. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Push the pieces together as they are in the photographs. It is much easier to do by seeing a picture than explaining with words. You can paint your marshmallow shooter any way you would like. Since the pieces to ours get rearranged and traded so often we chose not to paint them.
To use, take a mini marshmallow and put in the upper chamber. Blow hard and the marshmallow will shoot out the barrel, hitting your target with amazing accuracy. The marshmallows do get sticky so you want to make sure you do this somewhere you don't mind marshmallows flying around.
Make A Marshmallow Gun
Great for Scout Projects
These things are all kinds of fun. For very little money your kids can have a great time shooting at targets, and ambushing Dad when he comes home from work. The marshmallows are soft, but remind your kids to not aim at faces. You may want to have them wear safety glasses. Some people do, we don't.
There was quite a lot of these for sale on ebay a few years ago. Potentially they would make a great Scout project, or money maker at a church bazaar. Just be sure to stock up on marshmallows, you go through them fast.
eBay
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Marshmallow Crossbow Shooter Toy Gun Used Once!
Current Bid: $5.00
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NEW Classic Popper Mini-marshmallow Pump and Fire Toy Gun with 30 Foot Range
Current Bid: $4.87
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MARSHMALLOW GUN SHOOTER toy marshmellow guns toys toy
Current Bid: $6.99
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2 MARSHMALLOW PUMP ACTION GUNS BLASTS TO 30 FT. HOLDS 20 MELLOWS *NEW IN BOXES*
Current Bid: $21.99
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EXCLUSIVE 2 IN 1 RUBBER BAND GUN/MARSHMALLOW SHOOTER!
Current Bid: $3.75
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NOVELTY MARSHMALLOW STRYKER GUN SHOOTS MARSHMELLOWS 20+ FEET NEW NO RESERVE!!!!
Current Bid: $12.99
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CommentsLoading...
we just let the dog get it. :)
I just mentioned this hub to my daughter while I was on the phone with her thinking that my granddaughter would have a lot of fun with these contraptions, but as luck had it my son-in-law overheard...now him and my son are planning the construction and the weekend 'shoot-a-thon'...what did you get me into Marye???
thirty-some year olds gleefully strategizing-boy-oh-boy...just too funny love the hub...thanks for the plans regards Zsuzsy
The given inches are WAY too small to be the ones in any of the pics you posted. Especially the 2inch ones. This is discovered after cutting and trying to arrange them all together as pictured. The elbows and T's eat up the little 2 inch ones, so back to the garage and throw a foot of this out (since I am making for 6 kids) and try a different measurement. No way that any of the pieces in any of these pics are 2 inches.
I will check again but these are the sizes I believe we used.
The guns pictures are made from second measurements. I have no clue at this point how many adaptions they have made int he pictures. However we have created them with both instructions and they do both work.
I put one together using the first set and it does work, but gonna make next one with larger cuts. One question, if a kid has apparently enough air power for say..screaming his head off at his brother, but not enough to work the shooter, should I make ALL the pieces smaller for him?
Yikes....Um...even my four year old can use the shooter and she is just over 30 lbs. LOL!
You might want to make a smaller barrel? Just guessing.
My youngest cant make it go more than 3 feet! LOL its kind of cute to watch but annoying as heck for him. I'll try making a shorter barrel and encouraging him to puff harder lol. Dont know when I will get to the shorter barrel but I will let you know how it turns out.
Good! Remember they can take them apart and adjust any whay they like..and you will know in a matter of minutes which of your kids have an engineer bent.
Nice idea...
That is the neatest thing I've ever seen! I'm going to put together a kit to make with my nieces and nephew.
that info really helpful
you may actually be able to use nerf darts in that because 1/2" usually fits homemade nerf darts really well
Thanks for the helpful info. We are having a pool party for fifteen kids and we are going to get rained out. This will be a something that the kids will be able to make inside and will help me to keep them busy.
very cool - I bought each of my kids one last year - what is great about it - the dogs love when they play. Marshmallow treats!!!
Cull design, this is going 2 be my science fair project... Thanks 4 da gud idea!!!
I'm going to make a few sets and give them to my three nephews for christmas this year. I hope that Home Depot will cut them for me. They can mix and match on their own. And lots of marshmallows too. Good way to get them outside to avoid a mess. They have two dogs also.
thank your for the idea this is gonna be my childs toy for a school project
wiked
How are these different from a straight blow-gun?
Seems like a straight tube would be more efficient... right?
Or is there some kind magic in the right angles and the handle chambers that enhances the performance??
Wow, this is really impressive! I love the fact that these marshmallow guns can be cast in different designs. Thanks for the info.
Rustface the right angles creates air pressure which cause the marshmallow to shoot farther I believe. I have tried just a sraight blowgun and it did not go as far.
We have the same type of question as rustface ..... can you tell us how the angles and lower chambers enhance the volocity? And why they are there ...I am looking for a technical reason for these designs .... Thanks.
Fred
90 degree bend design likely for ergonomics, but the real benefit of the bends is to stop the marshmallow from becoming a choking hazard. (yikes!!!) If child sucks in on the straight pipe, the marshmallow could easily end up in their airway. Unlikely the marshmallow will round a 90 degree corner with any real velocity.
i had these for a birthday they worked perfectly
holy nugget bar
These look like they will work. I doubt a double barrel or more would work as well. Puff, drop, drop.
In response to what "Ugh" was saying about how hard it was for her youngest to make them shoot out far enough:
I built six of these tonight. I started with corner pieces in a gun very similar to the one the dad is holding in the photos above. It just wouldn't shoot more than about 3 feet. I finally tried taking the corner pieces off to make a perfectly straight gun except for the one t-joint that attaches the handle. Suddenly I had a gun that shot REALLY far and fast. Also, the LONGER the barrel, the faster they went out. On the ones I tried to make shorter for my 4 year old, the marshmallows again only shot out a few feet. With a longer barrel, they shot out hard and fast.
Hope this helps.
I must be doing something wrong, though I can't for the life of me figure out what it is. I'd hoped to be able to make a gun for my son tonight for Christmas tomorrow morning, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. Unless there's another size of mini-marshmallow, or unless my Lowe's has mislabeled its PVC pipe, the mini-marshmallows are too big to navigate the two right-angle turns; they get stuck in the lower one. (I am supposed to load through the air-input opening, right?) This is not proving nearly as simple to do as the hundreds of Internet posts on these things suggest. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong?
ohohdon 4 years ago
What a great idea! That will be a fun project that my 14 year old son and I will enjoy, together. But, how do moms feel about picking up all the old dried out marshmallows from behind the furniture?