Nerf Longshot vs Longstrike

This is a comparison of Nerf's two sniper rifles - the Longshot and Longstrike.

Funny Experience with Whiteout Longstrike

So those of you who read my Longstrike review (below) know that it sucks.
Naturally, I opened it up to mod it.
So I open it up and take out all the main bits - the breech and plunger with related parts.
I remove the terrible Longstrike spring and prepare an OMW spring in its place.
Of course, I go to remove the ARs. Normally in a CS blaster I have to saw or drill the AR out, causing a mess and much stress.
Once I isolate the breech, I notice it seems loose. So I tug on the back of it (the part with the o-ring) and it simply comes off, dropping out the AR and exposing the peg. It turns out that unlike most CS blasters, this Longstrike's breech wasn't glued together, meaning much less pain and stress for me. Happy days!

Of course this is a very rare occurence, but on my part it was extremely fortunate because it means I save about half an hour in modding time (it only took me half an hour, normally takes about an hour). I've heard of it happening to old NFs and once on Oznerf from a Sonic Nitefinder, but never for a CS blaster.

I believe the loose breech is the cause of the abysmal ranges - other people's Whiteout Longstrikes have been achieving 45ft - 13m ranges.

Nerf Longstrike CS-6 (Whiteout) Review

Today I'm reviewing a much hated blaster - the Longstrike CS-6.

Some quick history about it's hate club:
The Longstrike CS-6 was introduced as Longshot CS-6s were becoming more rare. The Longstrike was meant to replace the Longshot as the sniper rifle of N-Strike. Unfortunately for Nerf and the Longstrike, Nerf fitted it with a reverse plunger, and the barrel is ridiculously long, resulting in poor ranges. That coupled with the Longstrike replacing the Longshot in stores made people rage around the world.

General Dart/Disc Usage Tips Part 2

More of a tactics post than a general usage post.

Strafing: The act of moving past or around another object at reasonably high speed with given intent. Differes between contexts, but in this context refers to the way one may run past another while firing, in an attempt to hit their opponents while not being hit themselves.

Modded Nerf Supermaxx 1500 (new style)

As I said in the SM1500 review, I will show the terror you can make with an SM1500. And here it is:

Complete with rear loading hole for ease of reloading.

No official ranges yet (getting dark) but minimum 20m with hot glue filled Streamlines.
Accuracy is perfect as always.
ROF is reduced by about half a second.
The barrel material is 16mm UPVC instead of the usual 13mm polypipe.
I've still got some tweaking to do with the turret-outlet seal.

EDIT:

 Cleaned up the rear loading hole a little and shortened the barrel. Also tweaked the air seal a little. Should be getting 30m+ ranges.

UPDATE: 22/6/12
Now have official ranges. On a wet day (thanks a lot Melbourne winter), achieving consistent and accurate 32m ranges with hot glue filled Streamlines.
Held relatively level to ground, between waist and shoulder height.
EDIT: Probably don't pay these ranges too much stock.

Also tweaked the air seal so ranges are good but ROF is increased closer to original levels.

I would definetely use this in a Nerf war.

Nerf Supermaxx 1500 Review

This is a review of the long discontinued Supermaxx 1500, otherwise known as the SM1500 or SM1.5k.

As made obvious by the two pictures, the SM1500 has two incarnations - one from 1997 (above) and one form 2000 (below). The one I'm reviewing today is the 2000 incarnation, which is supposedly more comfortable than the 1997 incarnation, but still performs the same.

Nerf Stampede Test Fire

A simple test fire of my Stampede ECS SMG. It has 4 14500 Trustfire batteries for an extremely high ROF.
EDIT: Please don't use Trustfires, especially for high draw blasters like the Stampede. Use eFest, AW or Windyfire IMRs.

Approx 4 seconds of full auto.
18 darts.
18/4=4.5 dps.
4.5*60=270 darts per minute.

Basic Nerf Receives Elite Stuff

Basic Nerf received their Elite gear, consisting of a Retaliator, Rampage and some extras.
Vids:

 

 

Nerf Longshot Test Fire

Test fire of my modded Longshot.
Using an OMW AT spring (5kg+), Serv Stampede Spring (10kg+) and stretched NF (old) spring (2.5kg?).
Totalling approx 17kg+ load.
Impossible to prime with one hand.
Ranges 25m+
EDIT: Don't pay those ranges too much attention, as reasonable as they are for a high power Longshot, they probably weren't measured properly at the time.
Reinforced Boltsled with aluminium sheet.
Stock breech and stock Streamlines.
A brass breech and good stefans would get it hitting 30m+ reasonably easily.

Dual Wield Barricades (Take 2)

I redid the Dual Barricade video because it was a little dark, so I was forced to video a small room rather than show you the actual power of the Barricades.
EDIT: Please don't use Trustfires, use eFest, AW or Windyfire IMRs.

General Dart/Disc Usage Tips Part 1

This will be a small post about about how to use your darts. I will add more pages if I discover more.

Rayven Range Test

Simple range test of the Rayven with 3 Trustfire 14500s and a screw for a dummy battery.
Average ranges 20-25m with stock streamlines.
EDIT: Ranges are probably worth jack since these shots were probably not properly flat. Also please don't use Trustfires, they suck. Use eFest, Windyfire or AW IMRs instead.

Rayven Test Fire

Quick test-fire of my Rayven. It has 3 Trustfire 14500s and a screw for a dummy battery.
EDIT: Trustfires are awful for Nerf uses, please use IMRs instead. eFest, Windyfire and AW are reputable IMR brands.

Ranges without the barrel are around 70-80ft.
Ramges with the barrel are probably 60ft+, with far better accuracy.
EDIT: Ranges are probably rubbish, don't pay them much attention.
The barrel has been taken from an LSFG and put into the Recon barrel.
Super bright torch on the side :)

Note about the barrel, the rear end is funneled because it drastically reduces misfires. It used to misfire every 6 shots, but I've now managed to run 30 darts through it without incident.

Dual Wield Barricades + iTouch Mount

A simple vid showcasing my iTouch on a Tactical Rail mount i made using a Recon light, a saw, a few bits of aluminium and some hot glue.
Also showcases the fun you can have with 2 Barricades and 4 Trustfire 14500 batteries.
EDIT: Please don't use Trustfires, use IMRs instead. eFest, Windyfire and AW are reputable IMR brands.

No official ranges, but should be 60ft+.

I'm going to redo the vid, so you can see the darts in flight. I'll also do a range test during that.

General Blaster Usage Tips (Part 2)

Clip System:

1. When debating whether to use 18 clips or drums, consider how you're going to be using your blaster. 18 drums are a lot smaller than 18 clips, so are good for fast-moving CQC. 18 clips have less misfires and jams, making them more ideal for rapid fire blasters like the Rayven and Stampede.
2. DO NOT DUAL WIELD (exception: Rayven). It's extremely difficult to re-prime, especially given the size of most CS blasters, and reloading can be a pain. Rayvens are the exception because their semi auto nature coupled with their size lend themselves to often being one-handed. The spare hand can be occupied with another Rayven. Even if you run out, the Rayven is extremely easy to reload, even when dual wielding. Stampedes are too large and heavy to effectively exploit their full auto nature.
3. If there is built in clip storage, use it.
4. All CS blasters either have the ability to attach a stock, or have a stock attached already. Attach a sturdy or useful stock (e.g. Recon Stock for extra clip storage, Raider stock for stability), because it'll improve your stability (and hence accuracy), and in the case of the Recon stock hold a 6 clip/18 drum for you.

Revolvers:

1. DO NOT DUAL WIELD (exception: Barricade). The effort it takes to prime both blasters, as well as the loss of accuracy by using one hand to hold the blaster is just not worth the increased capacity. Reloading is also a pain. Barricades are the obvious exception because, being semi-auto, they have no need for priming, and the 20 dart capacity you get from dual wielding is enough in most cases to give you a reprieve long enough to reload.
2. If there is built in dart storage, use it. (relevant only to the N-Strike Firefly and Elite Stockade)
3. Don't bother attaching anything. In the case of the smaller revolvers (e.g. Mav), it'll get in the way and hinder your ability to use the revolver effectively, as well as increasing size which reduces holstering ability. In the case of the Barricade, it's meant more for quick-draw rapid fire, not precision sniper shots. A stock will hinder your ability to quick draw it, as well as limiting mobility. In the case of larger revolvers, it'll get in the way, and even without a sight accuracy is usually pretty good. (exception: Barrel Break's dart holder attachment)

Single Shots:

1. If you're ok with a saw, cut off unnecessary portions off your single shot. (e.g. NF's light, small parts off Jolt handle, any useless parts) It'll make holstering a lot easier.
2. Definetely don't use attachments. They'll just increase size and generaly not provide much. (exception: Barrel Break's dart holder attachment)

Vortex:

1. If facing dart blasters, exploit your superior range and accuracy. Surez you may not have the capacity to match clip system blasters like the Raider (until the Pyragon comes out), but your ability to vastly outrange them means they may not even be able to exploit their superior capacity. ***WILL BE RENDERED INCORRECT BY ELITE*** Elite no longer 75ft-50ft (15m) flat. Vortex has higher flat ranges
2. If facing dart blasters, ensure you have a dart blasting backup, so you can use your opponents' ammo, or your allies' ammo. Discs are much rarer than darts due to them being new, so make sure to pack dart blasters.
3. Practice reloading discs. Being used to darts, I found it a little disconcerting with the way I loaded discs, thus reducing my reload speed. Getting used to reloading discs can increase your reload speed, as well as make you more comfortable with yoru blaster.

Airguns:

1. During combat, ALWAYS LEAVE THEM PUMPED UP. In storage, ALWAYS EMPTY THEM.
2. Airguns in general are either: high power, rapid fire, or semi auto. Exploit these advantages. High power airguns are unmatchable by conventional spring powered blasters, and usually they come with high accuracy, so go snipe. Rapid-fire airguns are unmatched. Their ROF is incredible, vastly outshooting all other blasters. Semi auto airguns give you an advantage of springers - you can simply pull the trigger several times to fire several shots.
3. Always back up airguns with spring powered/electronic blasters. If you've just emptied your airgun and some enemies rush you, you don't have time to re-pump your airgun. Switch to a spring/electronic blaster so you can at least retaliate and give yourself time to repump your airgun.
4. An exception to 1), don't leave your airgun pumped up if it's not going to be used within about 30 min. You don't want to risk damaging the bladder/tank/etc because it can reduce power, or even cause the blaster to stop working.

General Blaster Usage Tips (Part 1)

This will be a large post in several parts, detailing usage tips related to blaster types, not specific blasters. Parts will be added as I experience more issues/think of more tips.

Shout-out to fellow Blogs and Affiliates

Just a shout-out to a fellow blogger, Mr1835Link, who runs fellow blog "S.O.F.T".
Although it's new, the reviews are great quality, as are the pictures. I highly recommend frequent visits as he's likely to make more and more high quality reviews.
We've become Affiliates for mutual benefit, and I'm sure this partnership will last for years to come (assuming both blogs stay running).

EDIT: Another shout-out to a fellow blogger who's been around for a while: Basic Nerf.
His posts are of a consistently high quality, pictures are great, and being a stock US blogger is officially recognised by Nerf and occasionally receives free stuff. I've followed Basic Nerf's posts for quite a while, and he's one of my favourite bloggers.

I'm proud to be able to call both these quality blogs Affiliates.

Links here and here.