Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • You can turn a mousetrap like this into a fun little

  • handgun, that will shoot projectiles with power and

  • precision! In this video we'll be converting these

  • traps into affordable little firearms.

  • I picked up this two-pack of traps for only 98¢.

  • These are the "Tomcat" brand, and I chose them

  • because of this yellow bait pad that I'll be using

  • later. I got a piece of 2x2 and cut it to the

  • height of 4 fingers, and that's going to be my

  • handle. To modify these traps, we'll get them out

  • of the packaging, and start by removing the bait pad

  • from this heavy duty support staple, and setting it

  • to the side. Using some needle nose pliers, we can

  • remove the staple from the base, and grab a marker.

  • We're going to need to place some dots over the

  • cat's heel bone, the elbow, and one where the ear

  • meets the eye. A drill and an 1/8" bit will help

  • turn those dots into holes, that should end up

  • looking like this. I've got 2 screws from a door

  • hinge that will work well for fastening the trap

  • onto the top of the wood handle. The back overhangs

  • about 1/4" and when the screws are set, the trap is

  • secure. Now the locking pin will need to be

  • shortened, so holding it over the spring and looking

  • down from the top, a mark is made so that it lines

  • up just past the remaining hole. The snips on my

  • pliers will cut that to size, and I'm double

  • checking that the length is good by holding it next

  • to the hole. It's pretty much flush with the edge,

  • so I'll finish it off by bending the tip back just a

  • touch, so it angles up at about 45º. The other trap

  • still has a locking pin that can be easily removed,

  • and used to help form the trigger for the pistol.

  • This hole is just large enough to allow the trigger

  • to pivot freely. On the top side, I'll cut the pin

  • flush with the spring, and then bend it over forming

  • a hook shape. This will prevent it from slipping

  • back through the hole. There's only one thing left

  • to do and that's to add this launching pad. So with

  • the hooks facing up, it get's clipped onto the trap

  • hammer and slid all the way to the right side. Then

  • we simply lift the hammer up, and tuck the pad

  • inward so it lays down flat on the platform. This

  • mousetrap handgun is finished and ready for testing.

  • Setting the firing mechanism works about the same as

  • setting the trap, only this time we push the trigger

  • up from the bottom so the hook slides over the

  • locking pin, catching it in place. It's a 3 step

  • process to pull the hammer back, set the pin, and

  • secure it with the trigger hook. By squeezing the

  • trigger gently, you can watch the catch slide off

  • the pin, causing the gun to fire. It's time to add

  • some ammo and these Airsoft BBs hold perfectly in

  • the center groove. A quick test proves they fire

  • straight ahead, so I've made a little target for

  • practice. These things are pretty fast, and I'm a

  • little surprised the pellets aren't penetrating the

  • paper, even when shot at close range. To address

  • that problem I'm putting pellets on every hole to

  • attempt a shotgun approach. That's a lot more

  • dramatic, and the spread is about 70º, so it's

  • obviously more effective closer up. With a bit of

  • practice, it's pretty easy to set, but if you're

  • feeling lazy, you could just hold the hammer back

  • with your thumb, and release when you feel like it.

  • This also opens up an option for a rapid-fire

  • approach. Make sure you stay well back when

  • firing because there's a real danger of losing an

  • eye when the locking pin snaps back and hits you.

  • Alright, for a little variety, I've placed a penny

  • on the launch pad, and it's a powerful shot. Back

  • at my make-shift target range I'm interested to see

  • if the penny does any better than the Airsoft

  • BBs. ..And that's a definite yes. The gun shoots

  • straight ahead by moving the ammo forward on the

  • pad, because the targets are lower, and this is

  • essentially a hand held mini-catapult. It's obvious

  • that the coins get the job done, and are

  • surprisingly consistent. By sliding the penny

  • further back, the launch angle is shifted upward

  • and targets higher up can be hit, even when the gun

  • is held level. I experimented with other sources of

  • ammunition, like this metal washer, a glass pebble,

  • a bracelet bead, a bottle cap, and found that pretty

  • much anything small and dense like a little stone

  • gave satisfying results. I made some more guns and

  • painted this one black because I liked how that

  • contrasted against the yellow launch pad. Well now

  • you know how to make a powerful handheld mousetrap

  • gun, or maybe two if you're feeling ambitious?

  • That's it for this project. If you enjoyed this

  • video, please "Like", comment and share with your

  • friends. I appreciate your support.

  • Thanks for watching.

You can turn a mousetrap like this into a fun little

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it