NERF GUN WARR!!

May 5, 2007 12:59 PM

I will be participating in a Nerf gun war next Friday. What gun do I get??

They've allocated a max of $15 for weapon and ammo. I cannot borrow one. Which one should I get within the short time span and price limit? I am not sure if I need to stick with a Nerf brand gun yet. (If not, I'm thinking I can get a disc shooter?) What are your suggestions? It will be an indoor war within a building. Thanks!!

posted by pinksoftsoap to sports, hobbies, & recreation (22 comments total)

My favorite Nerf gun was the crossbow. I just checked ebay, and they don't have the one I'm thinking of.

If I was going with something modern, maybe the longshot.
posted by drezdn at 1:13 PM on May 5, 2007

FYI - My son has the Nerf Maverick Rev-6 and it stinks - the darts jam in the cylinder all the time.
posted by Lucinda at 1:21 PM on May 5, 2007

extra ammo will be key, probably.
posted by crayolarabbit at 1:21 PM on May 5, 2007

DIY?
posted by magikker at 1:39 PM on May 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

Oh and some reviews if you are looking for what to find.

Personally I always carried a secret shot as a back up because it was very accurate. Then some bigger gun that didn't require as much reloading.

PS both the links offer mods to gun on parts of their sites.
posted by magikker at 1:43 PM on May 5, 2007

Sling 'em by hand, or build a slingshot.
posted by The White Hat at 1:50 PM on May 5, 2007

I wonder if an Airzooka could neutralize incoming threats.
posted by advicepig at 1:51 PM on May 5, 2007 [1 favorite]

Me and my friends spent years playing nerfwars in our youth...

Usually, Arrows were most accurate, and had best range (as long as the ammo was true)... balls and darts most plentiful, balls being least accurate. My fave was always the 6 full arrow pump blaster...

The more automatic dart guns with clips were pretty good also, having one gun and a backup for close range was always essential.
posted by stratastar at 1:56 PM on May 5, 2007

I'm sad to hear the new Maverick is no good. The old Maverick (back when it was mostly purple instead of yellow) was definitely the best nerf gun ever, with the possible exception of the new sniper rifle.

Evidently it's possible to dismantle the sniper rifle, install a more powerful spring, and get even more ridiculous range out of the thing, but that might be a bit more effort than you're interested in.

The Wildfire used to the creme de la creme of nerf weaponry, as it was (and still is, I think) the only fully automatic nerf gun. On the downside, it takes forever to reload, as no quick reloading mechanism such as a clip, is incredibly loud, inaccurate, and prone to breakage. But if you can find one on the cheap, they are pretty impressive the first time you fire off a hail of 20 darts in 4 or 5 seconds.

Whatever you do, don't get the Firefly. I had one and it's worthless. The cylinder is open in the front so darts tend to fall right out when you're running around. The Maverick is cheaper and better (although you might have to dig around to find an old style Maverick).
posted by jedicus at 1:56 PM on May 5, 2007

Gee, my kid loves his Maverick. Only cost about $7 at Wal-Mart, which leaves plenty of your budget left for ammo.
posted by ilsa at 2:46 PM on May 5, 2007

I don't think $15 will get you very far with actual Nerf brand guns. You should definitely check on that. As mentioned, between balls, darts, and arrows, balls are definitely the worst choice. The only advantage would probably bet cost/ball so you can afford more extras.

Also, I would say DIY definitely is a viable option, if it turns out to be allowed. You might be able to make a cheap but effective gun yourself with some PVC or something, and a spring. It will probably be more awkward than a manufactured one.

Another thing to consider is if it is going to be just every man for himself, of if there will be teams. And if teams will change. If there will be teams, I would suggest everyone planning ahead of time for someone to get a good long range weapon, someone a short range one, someone a more multi purpose one.
posted by gauchodaspampas at 2:59 PM on May 5, 2007

No clue how to make one, but this is totally badass.
posted by jtfowl0 at 4:47 PM on May 5, 2007

Oh man the wildfire was awesome! i loved my arrowstorm also... Just not enough ammo for the long haul...

sigh... good times...
posted by stratastar at 7:27 PM on May 5, 2007

I used to have a 10-shot with a straight clip, rather than a barrel and it worked well.

But if I needed a new gun I'd definately extend my budget enough to get the sniper rifle.
posted by krisjohn at 7:28 PM on May 5, 2007

I have a Nerf Maverick, and it's fucking amazing. Several of us at work have 'em. If newer revisions suck, well, I can't comment on that. But the originals are absolutely rocking.

They're so powerful that we wondered how long it would be until the Consumer Products Safety Commission had them yanked.
posted by Mikey-San at 9:16 PM on May 5, 2007

I'm going to vote for the Maverick. It's standard issue at work. It's cheap and accurate. The jamming problem mentioned above occurs in two situations - using Nerf velcro darts (don't do that) and using normal darts but not pushing them completely into their cylinders.

Avoid velcro darts and load properly and you will have minimal jamming.
posted by zippy at 5:32 AM on May 6, 2007

Nerf guns are real big where I work. I don't have one of my own but we took a couple of cute demo videos when someone brought in the chain gun. One. Two.
posted by ae4rv at 7:46 AM on May 6, 2007

Ok, last summer I had some extensive Nerf Wars with some friends in my new apartment. I can tell you that the Maverick is pretty good as far as shooting off a bunch of darts without having to reload, though reloading it takes a bit longer than some other guns. My weapon of choice though, would be dual-wielding N-Strike Nite Finder EX-3. $6 dollars each, according to the official website,
and Target or Walmart should definitely have them. You can probably find a cheap pack of additional darts as well. I'd say it's by far the most accurate gun, along with the greatest speed through the air. The reload is quick, though its only single shot for each load. The gun is light and can be tucked into a pocket if needed, as opposed to the larger, more unwieldy maverick. If I was going into Nerf warfare, two Nite Finders would definitely be my pick.
posted by rbf1138 at 9:32 AM on May 6, 2007

In case it hasn't been mentioned yet, it's rather easy to find nerf guns at thrift stores (or at least the ammo). This might equal you with maximum firepower.
posted by drezdn at 6:21 AM on May 7, 2007

Helpful tip - you can buy a wide variety of nerf darts in bulk from Hasbro's web site, Amazon, or via eBay. The sonic micros are the best - they are aerodynamic and fly far and make a fear-inducing whistling sound.

If you go through a lot of ammo, buy home-made darts on eBay in qty 50 or 100. Make sure that these are for stock guns - many of these darts are made for guns that have had the air restrictors removed. The air restrictor is the plastic post that you impale the dart on when you load it. Modified guns don't have these posts, and the darts made for these guns are solid foam and won't fit a regular gun.

/nerfnerd
posted by zippy at 11:21 PM on May 7, 2007

Buy two Nerf Nite Finders.
Crack them open and remove the air restrictors.
Feel free to replace the barrel so you can make your own darts.
Hacksaw off the ammo holders.
The laser is *fairly* accurate if you sight it in at your desired distance. But you only get about 15 feet out of it. Feel free to replace the laser assembly with your own custom laser pointer.
I can stick a dart to the wall across my house (~55ft). Add a couple rubber bands to really slam the plunger down, and you can add even more distance.
I bought two of them or my son and I and we love pegging each other with them.
posted by JonnyRotten at 10:01 AM on May 8, 2007

Two guns, a barrel, and a bunch of ammo shouldn't cost too much more than 15 bucks. Backing rod is pretty cheap.
posted by JonnyRotten at 1:12 PM on May 8, 2007