Pics and Reviews of All Nerf Guns

Review
The Nerf N-Strike Rapid Fire Raider CS-35 came out this week, and I’ve finally had enough time to play around with it to write a review.

The N-Strike Raider CS-35 features a 35-dart magazine. The magazine is detachable, and though I haven’t seen any replacement magazines for sale as of yet, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before you’ll be able to swap out your empty magazine for a fully loaded one. An additional bonus is that the magazine on the CS-35 is compatible with the Nerf Longshot and Recon.

The Raider CS-35 also features two firing modes — single fire, and slam fire. If you’re considering buying this Nerf gun, chances are, you’re most interested in the slam fire mode.

To use slam fire mode, you just have to hold down the trigger and pump the front grip. Each time you pump the grip, the Raider fires a dart. At first, performing this motion is a little awkward, and you’ll probably have some accuracy problems when you first get the gun from shaking it while pumping. However, it only takes a little practice until you’re able to hold the gun steady while pumping.

The rate of fire on the Rapid Fire Raider CS-35 is awesome. I’m averaging about 2.5 shots per second, which is a lot of fun. Of course, that means you can unload the entire magazine in about 12 seconds, so you’re going to spend a lot of time refilling the magazine. This is a small price to pay in my opinion, because this very well may be the most fun Nerf gun I’ve played with.

The range on the Raider is better than I expected, given the firing mechanism of the gun. You can expect to routinely hit anywhere from 25-30 feet. I haven’t had a chance to mod mine yet, but I’ve been told that removing the air restrictor can add about 10 feet to the range. This seems believable to me, as the internals look very similar to the Recon, which gets a similar boost from air restrictor removal.

All in all, I’m extremely happy with the Nerf N-Strike Rapid Fire CS-35. It’s one of the most unique guns that Nerf has ever made, the construction is solid, and it’s an absolute blast to unload.

Preview

The Nerf N-Strike Raider CS-35 will be coming to a store near you this fall.

This Nerf Tommy Gun looks really promising. It features a 35 dart magazine that you can empty in either single shot or automatic mode.

The N-Strike Raider CS-35 will cost $35 (yup, that’s one dollar per dart that the magazine holds). No official word yet on whether you buy new magazines to pop in and out, but here’s hoping.

One thing’s for sure: we’re really going to have to stock up on ammo, as I know for a fact that I will lose at least 34 of the 35 darts in about…well…35 minutes.

Regardless, I want wait to pump my friends full of darts while yelling ‘keep the change you filthy animal!’

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The Nerf N-Strike Element EX-6 Action Kit is essentially a re-release of the gun that comes with Nerf Disk Shot, which itself is basically an upgrade to the ever popular Nite Finder EX-3.

The first thing you’ll notice when you see the Element EX-6 in the packaging is the accessories. The package comes with a scope and a light, both of which attach to the top of the gun. Neither attachment works very well — particularly the scope, as Nerf darts sink rather quickly and don’t maintain a constant trajectory. The attachments also make the gun heavier and more bulky than is really necessary for a pistol, but they do look pretty cool when attached. The attachments are also compatible with other guns in the N-Strike line, including the Maverick, Vulcan, Nite Finder, Longshot, and Recon.

If you already have a Nite Finder, the biggest (and only IMO) reason to upgrade to the N-Strike Element is the increased dart storage. Whereas the original Nite Finder could hold only two extra rounds of ammo, the Element can hold five.

Internally, the Nerf Element EX-6 is basically identical to the Nite Finder, except that the light is now an accessory, so you don’t have to deal with the battery and wires. The plunger is also a bit smaller, but it’s just as easy (and worthwhile) to mod as the Nite Finder EX-3. Even the most amateur modders should be able to increase the range to 40 feet or more just by removing the air restrictor and plugging a hole in the barrel with tape.

It’s impossible not to recommend the Nerf N-Strike Element if you don’t already have the Nerf Disk Shot, as the increased dart storage capacity alone makes it a fantastic upgrade to what was already one of the best Nerf guns out there.

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Part of the Nerf N-Strike line, the Nerf Vulcan is one of the most ambitious weapons that Nerf has ever made.

If you’re thinking about buying the Vulcan, you’re probably attracted to the idea of firing off 25 rounds in less than 10 seconds. And really, who wouldn’t enjoy blasting their friends/kids/baby seals with that kind of firepower? Unfortunately, as appealing as the idea is, the Vulcan isn’t all high fives and fist pumps.

For starters, the price tag on the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan is pretty hefty ($40). The Vulcan also requires 6 D batteries to operate (unless you want to go into single-shot manual pump mode). As you would expect, it also takes a very significant amount of time to load 25 rounds into the belt after every 10 seconds of fun.

One of the primary complaints about the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan is its tendency to jam. In my experience, this problem can be mitigated significantly by keeping the belt straight and ‘feeding’ it in with your non-trigger hand. However, I can see that younger kids would probably have a hard time with this, and I’d imagine they’d grow frustrated rather quickly.

The range on the N-Strike Vulcan is also somewhat lackluster. Expect average shots to reach about 15-20 feet.

All in all, the Nerf N-Strike Vulcan is a great deal of fun and should keep you busy for hours — even if most of that time is spent reloading.

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The Nerf N-Strike Nite Finder EX-3 is a re-release of the original Nerf Nite Finder. Aside from the new yellow and black paint job that matches the rest of the Nerf N-Strike line, the EX-3 is the same fantastic blaster that Nerf warriors have come to know and love.

The N-Strike Nite Finder features a ‘laser’ sight (it’s really just a red light) that you can calibrate for aiming in dark lighting. Despite the packaging’s claim for precision shooting, you can expect no more than a 15 foot range with the laser under ideal circumstances. Younger Nerfers will probably get a kick out of the laser, but those older than 10 will likely think it’s pretty worthless.

Out of the box, you can expect the Nite Finder to shoot about 35 feet, which is pretty great for a single-shot spring Nerf gun. The accuracy on the N-Strike Nite Finder EX-3 is also exceptional, and the weapon can easily be handled by young and old Nerf warriors alike.

The Nite Finder EX-3 is a favorite among Nerf modders because of its simple internal engineering (removing the air restrictor requires nothing more than an exacto knife), and opening the case makes a fantastic introduction to the mechanics of a weapon for any kid.

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The Nerf N-Strike Switch Shot EX-3 can be bought on its own or as part of a bundle with the Nerf N-Strike Wii game.

The Switch Shot EX-3 gets its name from the fact that you can either use it as a regular Nerf gun or remove the barrel and stick a Wii Remote there. Unfortunately, it makes a better remote than a Nerf blaster.

The range and accuracy on the N-Strike Switch Shot EX-3 leave a lot to be desired, even for a single shot blaster. There really isn’t any reason to buy this as a standalone product, especially when the Nite Finder gets much better performance and can be bought for a fraction of the price.

Ultimately, the N-Strike Switch Shot EX-3 makes a fun remote to use when you want to shoot things on the Wii, but as a standalone Nerf blaster it falls short.

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