Review: Nerf Elite Shellstrike DS-6 (grey trigger)

It's been several years since I've bought a new blaster, as the majority of them have simply not appealed to me. I've always had a soft spot for shell-fed shotgun blasters though, so I was quite excited for the Shellstrike to finally arrive. When I finally found it in-store, it turned out to be cheaper than I'd expected, so I picked it up immediately.

Those of you excited to see another post from me, don't get your hopes up. I'm still pretty out of the Nerf scene and will probably continue to do so until my life settles down a little.

The Box

It's a box.

The Shells

 

The Shellstrike uses three-dart Nerf shells introduced with the Trilogy. They are much thicker than those used by the Sledgefire. Unlike the Sledgefire, they are slated to be available separately in their own retail pack, though I do not know if it will be made available in Australia.

The shells have small indentations on their sides.

The Shellstrike Blaster

The Shellstrike is a large pistol-sized blaster. Like with more recent blasters, it is relatively lacking in painted details.

It has one tac rail, on the bottom for some reason.

I personally find the handle to be a tad small, particularly at the top with the small jutting-out lip.

Below the barrel, the handguard has storage for two shells.

There is a small rubber piece sticking out in each slot that ensures the shells stay in place.

The barrel opens up by pushing down a lever on the left side. This lever retracts the plunger mechanism, allowing the barrel to pop up. There is no mechanism that ejects used shells, so they must be extracted manually.

There are a few small ridges inside the barrel that fit into the slots in the side of the shells. These hold shells in the barrel and prevent them from falling out the back.

 

The priming mechanism is also separate from barrel opening, being a simple pull-back at the rear of the blaster. The pull is quite short, and the handle automatically retracts after priming.

After loading a new shell into the barrel, you simply push the barrel back down to close it. You must ensure to push the barrel all the way to lock in place correctly, and ensure that the plunger seals with the shell properly. If not done properly, the Shellstrike with dry-fire to no effect.

Interestingly, there are no locks that prevent the trigger from being pulled at the wrong time. As each mechanism is completely separate, provided the ARs are still intact, there is no significant threat to any part of the blaster from dry-firing.

Performance

Unfortunately, I no longer have my Chrono on hand, as it is still in storage with all my other Nerf stuff. Based on approximate range and (very rough) visual judging, I wouldn't expect more than 45-50FPS per dart with a full shell. Range-wise, it achieves around 8 metres or so. Naturally, with fewer darts loaded, it can perform better. With a single dart, I was seeing approximate ranges of around 12 metres.
Accuracy, as you'd expect from a shotgun-type blaster firing Elites, is pretty poor. Firing multiple darts at once does help a little, but it's not at all reliable.
Rate of Fire is very poor. On top of the Shellstrike being a single-shot, shell-fed blaster, it lacks any shell ejection system and has a separate priming mechanism. With practice and no fumbling, I can remove the old shell, load a new shell and prime the blaster in about 3-4 seconds.

Game Utility

Barely any in stock form. The Shellstrike is a single shot blaster that takes quite a while to reload, and is not notably powerful or accurate. It is also quite bulky for a pistol-type blaster.

Value and Summary

I bought the Shellstrike from Kmart for 17AUD, which in my opinion is a good deal for a shell-fed shotgun. A Disruptor retails for around 10-15AUD, and anything mag-fed usually comes in at 25AUD+. Of note, the Trilogy retails for somewhere around 50AUD, and has only slightly more utility with automatic shell ejection.
The Shellstrike is not at all practical. It is slow-firing, clunky, and does not perform notably well. It is a purely silly fun blaster, and it fully embraces that role. I really enjoy using it, and at such a low price point, I think it's definitely worth picking up if you like pure fun blasters.

Power: 6/7
Accuracy: 2/5
Rate of Fire: 1.5/5
Usability: 3.5/5
Value for Money: 4.5/5
Overall: 3.16/5

Personal Rating: 4/5 - It's totally impractical, a bit clunky, and somewhat oversized. It's also simple and a lot of fun. I like it.

Internals and Mod Potential

***NOTE*** This image is from reddit user JWhales8, as I have not gotten around to opening mine up.

The Shellstrike is relatively simple. Anything below the trigger is completely superficial, so can be removed for minimisation and/or integration. The plunger tube is reasonably wide, however the blaster has a very short draw. There is some potential for improvement with a stronger spring, however this makes both priming and opening the barrel much more difficult.