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How to Do an Elastic Band Gun With Your Hand

The act of firing an elastic band off your fingertip is one of the more enjoyable forms of easy, relatively harmless playing you can do with a household object. Though you can fire a band off one finger using your other hand, it's more amusing to fire from one hand using a "gun" shape, with the band firing from the tip of the "barrel." Pulling off the effect requires stretching and releasing the elastic band in just the right way.

Things You'll Need

Elastic band

Instructions

- 1
  Outstretch the index finger of the hand you want to use for your "gun." Curl your second finger, ring finger and pinky into your palm. Raise your thumb as you wood for a "thumbs up" gesture. This forms the gun shape.
- 2
  Drape the elastic band over your index finger so that the tip of your finger is inside the band. Pull the band back toward your thumb. The tip of the index finger should be pressing the inside of the band, causing two outside edges of the elastic to stretch alongside the front and back of your finger (i.e., the top of your hand and the palm side).
- 3
  Grip the opposite loop end of the band (the one that's not around your index finger and pull the band around the outside of your thumb (the back of the hand). Pull the loop tip of the band down to reach your other fingers.
- 4
  Grip the end loop of the elastic band by looping it over your pinky (you may need to stretch the pinky up to do this). This may take a little practice to keep the band from coming loose on your index finger tip. If you have a lot of trouble doing this, try a larger or looser elastic band.
- 5
  Point your index finger at the object you want to hit with the elastic band when you fire it.
- 6
  Release the elastic band with your pinky as rapidly as possible. For best results, try to move your pinky down sharply and "snap" the end of the band.

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