A jerky gun, also known as a jerky cannon, is a fantastic tool to make ground beef jerky. This kitchen tool compresses and extrudes ground meat into even strips that can be dried into tender, delicious jerky. Think of a caulking gun but for jerky.
Jerky guns are equipped with a barrel (where you’ll load your meat), a trigger for dispensing, and a variety of tips based on the shape of strips that you want. You can use any type of meat from beef, pork, poultry, chicken, venison, elk, and more.
The one important aspect? The meat has to be ground.
The search for the best jerky gun can be daunting. There are endless options available. A quick search on Amazon reveals hundreds of options alone. Add in meat processing websites, outdoor retailers, and hunting sites and you have dozens more.
Plus, each beef jerky gun touts different features and benefits. It can be difficult to figure out what attributes are important and how each jerky gun stacks up to the competition.
We’ve been in the beef jerky business for 90+ years and four generations. We’ve applied our commercial expertise and passion for DIY jerky to evaluate how each jerky gun delivers on quality, consistency, and durability.
We’ve spent 20+ hours researching the best jerky guns based on consumer reports, customer reviews, and industry forums. Once we narrowed down our list of contenders, we conducted in-person testing in our Test Kitchen to see how the jerky guns perform in person.
Our team of jerky experts evaluated each jerky gun based on the following characteristics:
- Holding capacity - How much meat does the chamber hold?
- Material - What is the jerky gun made of? Metal, plastic, aluminum?
- Ease of cleaning - How easy is the jerky gun to clean? Is the gun dishwasher safe?
- Included accessories - What nozzles and attachments come with the jerky gun?
- Price - How much is the jerky gun?
This guide will help you find the best jerky gun for your specific needs. You will find a range in budget, size, and material.
- Best All-Around Jerky Gun - LEM Products 468 Jerky Cannon - $49.49
- Best Jerky Gun Made for Amazon - Axanshio Jerky Gun - $43.99
- Best Budget Jerky Gun - Xinquiao Jerky Gun - $29.99
- Jerky Gun with Clever Design Feature - Smokehouse Products Capacity Jerky Gun - $32.88
*These prices were provided at the time of writing this article. Make sure to check the listings for up-to-date pricing.
Looking to learn more about making jerky at home? We’ve got you covered with our Homemade Jerky Project.
Don’t forget to check out our custom jerky seasonings. (Coming Soon! Sign-Up For Early Access). Our seasonings are pre-measured and easy-to-use when making jerky with a gun.
Purchase your jerky gun and ready to start making ground beef jerky? Check out our step-by-step guide on how to make ground beef jerky.
Keep reading to find the best jerky gun.
1. LEM Jerky Cannon
The LEM jerky gun is our top choice for the best jerky gun.
Durability is the name of the game with this model. Made out of aluminum and stainless steel, this is built to last. It also meets the ideal threshold of 1.5 pounds as the holding capacity. The LEM comes with less accessories than the other options on this list, but you can always customize your jerky gun after the purchase.
This gun is easy to clean and can be run through the dishwasher. It comes with a wire brush perfect for precise cleaning.
The only downside? This kit comes with just two tips and neither are double headed. The specific tips include a flat nozzle and a round nozzle. If that’s not a huge concern for you, this gun is a solid choice that meets the criteria of durability, having a large holding capacity, and being easy to clean.
If you prefer purchasing name brands, LEM is one of the top companies in processing meat.
Pros:
- Easy to clean
- Easy assembly
- Comes with seasonings
- Durable
Cons:
- Some users report that the screws on this model can be sharp
- Comes with only two tips
Key Specs
- Item Weight: 1.5 lbs
- Holding capacity: 1.5 lbs
- Dishwasher Safe: Yes
- Material: Aluminum and stainless steel
- Accessories: Two stainless steel nozzles, one nylon brush
- Dimensions: 19.6 x 8.4 x 2.9 inches
- Rating: 4.7
- Reviews: 3,670
Shop on Amazon: LEM Products 468 Jerky Cannon, Silver/Black - $49.49
2. Axansiho Jerky Gun
The Axansiho Jerky Gun is another great option that is sold on Amazon.
This jerky gun is made of mixed metals — aluminum tube for the jerky gun barrel and stainless steel for the nozzles. The aluminum construction keeps the weight down while maintaining durability.
This gun comes with all of the accessories you could possibly need including 4 stainless nozzles, 1 large funnel, 1 pistol, 2 cleaning brushes, and even a mesh storage bag. The specific types of nozzles are a round stick nozzle, a double jerky nozzle, a round casing nozzle, and a flat jerky nozzle.
These nozzles will help you make flat strips as well as rounded strips of jerky.
This model is easy to clean and the manufacturer backs that up by being one of the only brands advertising that both the stainless steel attachments and the tube are dishwasher safe.
The only negative we could find is a user complaint that the outside coating slightly peels. If you do run into any issues with this gun, Axansiho offers a one year promise and will give you a complete refund if you aren’t happy with the product.
The reasonable price combined with the provided accessories, large holding capacity, and the durable material of this gun make it a pretty unbeatable option.
Pros:
- Easy to clean
- Comes with storage bag
- 1 year warranty
- Easy assembly
- Variety of tips
- Stainless steel attachment and tubes are dishwasher safe
Cons:
- User complaint that the coating sightly peels
Key Specs
- Item Weight: 1.5 lbs
- Holding capacity: 1.5 lbs
- Advertised as Dishwasher Safe: Yes
- Material: Stainless steel
- Accessories: 4 stainless steel nozzles, 1 large funnel, 1 pistol, 2 cleaning brushes, 1 mesh bag
- Dimensions: 20.4 x 10 x 31 inches
- Rating: 4.6
- Reviews: 555
Shop on Amazon: Axanshio Jerky Gun - $43.99
3. Xinqiao Jerky Gun
The Xinqiao Jerky Gun is our most budget friendly pick. What’s awesome about this gun is it’s under $30 and still comes with a wide range of accessories including 4 nozzles and 2 cleaning brushes. Two of the nozzles even have a double tip head which is our preference for laying out strips. It is made out of both aluminum and plastic and believe it or not, the stainless steel attachments are dishwasher safe making this gun super easy to clean.
The catch is that this model’s holding capacity is slightly smaller than our other picks, coming in at just 1 pound. If you are cranking out several batches of jerky at once, the money saved with this model probably won’t be worth it in the long run. But, if you’re just getting started or you lean towards making smaller batches, this gun meets our criteria in terms of durability, and ease of cleaning. The one user complaint we noticed was about the plunger not fitting the tube properly which sometimes leads to a little bit of meat getting stuck behind the plunger. If you do run into any sort of issue, Xinqiao offers a money back guarantee.
We highly recommend this model to anyone that is on a budget, but still wants a quality jerky gun.
Pros:
- Easy to clean
- Budget friendly
- Comes with storage bag
- Easy assembly
- Durable
- Stainless steel attachments are dishwasher safe
- Money back guarantee
Cons:
- Users complain about plunger not fitting the tube properly leading to a little bit of meat getting stuck behind the plunger
Key Specs:
- Item Weight: 1.6 lbs
- Holding capacity: 1 lbs
- Advertised as Dishwasher Safe: Yes
- Material: Plastic & Aluminum
- Accessories: 4 nozzles, 2 cleaning brushes
- Dimensions: 14 x 8.3 x 2.6 inches
- Rating: 4.5
- Reviews: 1,700
Shop: Xinquiao Jerky Gun - $29.99
4. Smokehouse Products Capacity Jerky Gun
The Smokehouse Products Capacity Jerky Gun is a great option for those that are looking for ease-of-use.
This model comes with a very clever design of clear plastic for the chamber. This allows the users to see how much meat is left in the tube. When it comes to innovation with a jerky gun sausage stuffer machine, this is a great feature.
Pros:
- Clear tubing
- Easy to clean
- Budget friendly
- Easy assembly
- Durable
- Stainless steel attachments are dishwasher safe
- Money back guarantee
Cons:
- Comes with just one nozzle
- Only 1 LB capacity
Key Specs:
- Item Weight: 1 lbs
- Holding capacity: 1 lbs
- Advertised as Dishwasher Safe: Yes
- Material: Plastic & Aluminum
- Accessories: 1 nozzle
- Dimensions: 16.25 x 8.5 x 3 inches
- Rating: 4.5
- Reviews: 724
Shop: Smokehouse Products Capacity Jerky Gun, Large, Black - $32.88
Bottom Line
When deciding which jerky gun to buy it comes down to important key characteristics:
- How many batches of jerky do you typically make at a time?
- How much do you want to spend?
- How important are accessories to you?
- How important is ease of cleaning to you?
Once you know your specific needs, it’s easy to narrow down which choice is the best for you from our carefully vetted list. We selected each jerky gun based on durability, holding capacity, and ease of cleaning.
The jerky gun is an essential tool for making ground jerky at scale.
Pro-tip: When using a jerky gun, make sure that your meat is room temperature! Refrigerated meat is too stiff and will make dispensing those perfect strips a much more difficult feat.
Now the fun part is getting to the actual jerky making!
Check out our recipe for ground beef jerky as well as our other resources on our Homemade Jerky Project page.
Sick of using seasonings with preservatives and fake ingredients? Shop our homemade seasoning line made specifically for home jerky makers like yourself.
(Coming Soon! Sign-Up For Early Access).
We know a thing or two about seasoning as we’ve been handcrafting jerky for over 90 years. You won’t be disappointed!
