Rubber band gun

Clothespin

A simple rubber band pistol using a clothespin as its firing mechanism

This is the simplest form of rubber band gun. Its firing mechanism consists solely of a clothespin. The gun may have more than one clothespin, thereby allowing more than one band to be fired.

Repeating

This RBG allows user to load many rubber bands around the handle of the gun, in the firing position. One rubber band is staged in the firing position and is shot by pulling a pivoting trigger. It is usually cheaper than an automatic or semi-automatic gun with fewer moving pieces.

Semi-automatic

A semi-automatic rubber band gun is capable of firing at least three rubber bands when fully loaded. Semi-automatic rubber band guns are available in a variety of semi-realistic shapes, such as Luger-style pistols, rifles, and Tommy guns.

The repeater RBG is usually made of wood (although many Lego-based designs have been produced), and has a plastic firing mechanism, consisting of a toothed wheel onto which the bands are hooked, and a sprung trigger or escapement that releases the wheel by one notch, releasing a rubber band every time the trigger is pulled. In Lego designs, a gear is commonly used in place of the toothed wheel, and due to how fine the teeth on the gear are, the escapement allows a rotation of more than one tooth, requiring rubber bands to be loaded a set number of teeth apart.

Automatic

Fully automatic mechanisms for rubber band guns are analogous to automatic firearm mechanisms, in that the energy used to drive the gun's mechanism is derived from the same source as that which provides energy to propel the projectiles (in the case of automatic rubber band guns, the potential energy stored in the stretched rubber band). Fully automatic designs pose significant challenges to designers, such as how to control rate of fire.

Rotary

A rubber band rotary gun consists of between 3 and 12 repeater RBGs arranged on a cylindrical "rotor" as barrels. The rotor rotates and each individual barrel is fired as it reaches the top of its locus.

The Disintegrator atop its tripod

The original tripod-mounted rubber band rotary gun, patented by Surefire Products, was featured on the Gadget Show on UK television in March 2007 and January 2010.

A twelve-barrel rotary gun using twelve-shot repeater mechanisms can fire 144 rubber bands automatically. It is fired by manually rotating a crank handle and pulling a firing trigger.

Motorized RBGs with rotary barrels are among the latest developments in the world of rubber band guns. In November 2007, Anthony Smith completed the Disintegrator, a 288-shot motorized rubber band gun with 2 12-barrel counter-rotating rotors. This gun can be mounted on a tripod or fired from the hip, and can fire more than 40 rounds per second.

There are two common versions of the rubber band rotary gun mechanism:

Wood

The majority of lasting, reliable rubber band guns are made of machined wood. Among the most popular wooden RBG designers are parabellum1262, who has developed plenty of magazine-fed automatic and select-fire designs, and the Japanese oggcraft, known for his unique firing mechanisms.

Popsicle sticks

A rubber band assault rifle made with ice cream sticks, with mock bayonet removed

A sniper rifle-style Popsticle stick rubber band gun, with mock scope and bolt

Rubber band guns can be made from Popsicle sticks. The individual sticks are held together by either rubber bands, tape or glue. They can also be cut or carved to the required shape. It is generally limited to pistols and sniper rifles, as only one or two shots can be loaded on most guns, but semi-automatic ice-cream stick guns have been made by determined amateurs. They can also be adapted to fire arrows or other small objects with the rubber bands. In some guns, the handle doubles as a trigger, but having a separate trigger and handle provides much better accuracy.

Rubber band guns can be made using only Popsicle sticks, staples, and rubber bands of various styles and sizes. This specialized technique developed and honed by then-high school student Stuart A. Burton^[4] is very malleable and can be utilized to develop very advanced and complicated rubber band guns. For instance, using levers and sliding mechanisms, one can make a pump action shotgun. Using simple geometry and specialized positioning, you can easily make semi-automatic and 2-shot burst fire weapons, as well as more complicated fully automatic weapons using paperclips as an axis for a rotating firing piece. Occasionally, other materials (like bamboo skewers, for instance) may be used in the making of the gun.

Sights, foregrips and magazines to hold extra rubber bands may also be made according to the owner's preferences. Through creativity and imagination, one can make detachable sights, grips, stocks, silencers, and under-barrel shotguns or grenade launchers.

K'Nex

Rubber band guns can be built from K'Nex. Such constructions can include handheld pistols, automatics and sniper rifles. Some K'Nex guns work using the escapement mechanism seen in semi-automatic rubber band guns, while some more advanced types have hinge triggers that are more reliable, allow for more bands on a barrel, and have a more realistic trigger pull.

Lego

In early 2007, Sebastian Dick built a motorized rubber band rotary gun entirely from Lego. It is capable of firing 11 rounds per second. Lots of other builders on YouTube followed suit, building string-operated miniguns, while some even shoot actual bricks. Many RBGs can be built out of Lego, from simple hinge guns to extremely complex fire-rate-dampening automatic rifles. Lego rubber band gun mechanisms can also be used to launch light projectiles of various types, from small bricks and paper planes to wooden skewers. Lego rubber band guns are also quite reliable, without all the complexity of K'Nex. Most Lego rubber band guns have been made and posted to YouTube, some even firing small bricks using the mechanism.

It is difficult to devise a suitable, practical magazine-fed rubber band gun system out of Lego, due to the elasticity of rubber bands (which requires a mechanism to lock the retention wheel when not connected to the firing mechanism).

A young adult under the name of Kaspall was known to make several Lego guns and made an appearance on television in Austria.