I've come to the realization that there has not been a serious attempt to host a major war in the state of Connecticut since 2005 and that one failed at the last minute. So basically, there has never been one here.

That is embarrassing and has to change!

So the nerfers at Connecticut College are going to fire one up - we've got a venue here in New London that is like no other in the NIC. The cliffs of the ravine, giant glacial boulders, and thick trees create a playing area with an interesting dynamic of both very long range and very close quarters. This is definitely a place where CTF and Outpost could be successful. It's also a place where outnumbered and/or outgunned teams can win using superior maneuvering, as demonstrated last Summer. Despite the ridiculous ranges made possible by the cliffs, standoffs can be broken pretty easily if you like to move around and are not easily intimidated. Definitely a place where you need real skill, your gun will not save you here.

I regret not having pictures available at the moment, as we're getting a snowstorm, but it's still very early in the planning stage. In order to ensure that this does NOT fall apart, it will be carefully planned and finished on the local level before even being posted here. Therefore, we'll have a base of locals so that the war will occur regardless of NH turnout.

This first major Connecticut war will probably be run with an "Invite" format. Everyone will be welcome to attend, but our venue is on the college's property. We will be responsible for anything you do while on the campus, so it will be slightly different than what is usual. For starters, this won't be a "sit around the staging area and chit-chat" style war. We'll want to progress from round to round as efficiently as possible, as this is likely to start at 11 or 12 as opposed to 10 AM, given the distance New London is from NJ and MA.

Other Notes:

- Due to the extreme range potential in the ravine, uber long-ranged guns would insanely unbalance the game and are not welcome. Trust me, you don't need your plugged Big Blast because your ordinary standard gun will fire significantly farther here than you're used to. Some local nerfers use stock guns with high ROF and find success due to the nature of the cover. As mentioned earlier, this will be a skill war. Any standard gun that would have been accepted at older wars like the middle Apocs works here, but certain things might need clearing ahead of time. I'd rather not have to make a big deal out of guns and ranges, but the NIC has changed much in that department.

- I would discourage players from bringing lots of guns. The main playing area is a bit of a walk from the gate and possible staging areas are in the middle of the forest. Think like Nightshift's staging area in Saxon Woods - no facilities [hence why I don't want to spend much time in between rounds]. Personally, I'm just bringing a couple of primaries, a couple of pistols, and darts in a backpack. Wagons, bins, and huge bags aren't going to work.

- The first war here will likely be on a Sunday in April. The local base is college students and many of us have athletic commitments on Saturdays. We have held a successful Sunday war in the past. If we host in early May, a Saturday is more possible. The date will be selected so that it does not conflict with other wars in the region, as I'm hoping more people will be free.

- Finally, as mentioned earlier, our venue is not a public park, it is part of the Connecticut College arboretum. There are things you cannot do here, such as leave trash lying around. This is our home and one of the most beautiful campuses in New England. Use of the ravine and other grounds in the arboretum can easily be revoked if Campus Safety doesn't like what they see.

So I am hoping there is enough interest to widen local activity into a major war. If you're bored of the usual and want to try a unique venue, this may be one worth considering. The point of this topic is to see if there is interest for a war here, as I know coming up to New London from say the Jersey Shore is kinda sucky, having done it in reverse at 6 AM for almost every war I attend.

Faddle, you do realize that this is on the west coast?

Testing these out at CTNO this weekend (used the water bottle threads method), will have feedback then.  I've actually still been using regular PVC endcaps on my hoppers up until now...

So it wouldn't even adhere to hot glue? I know you want to avoid using hot glue, but if the stuff is that soft, I couldn't see that hurting more than domes if it's under a bumper and the bumper flies off the dart. I guess it's more of a problem if it flies out with the bumper, but without the foam.

I'm assuming this putty stuff isn't dense enough to use as a weight under a felt bumper? Would it be possible to like, burn a hole like usual and coil it under the bumper? I hate side wrapped dart setups (remember zeros?), they rarely seem to work out.

Note that at the power levels we usually play at, the actual material does not matter nearly as much as what its inner diameter is.  Shop by fit, not by type.  Don't think in terms of CPVC, brass, PETG, think in terms of .527, 17/32, medium wall, etc.  Note that PVC and CVPC are not manufactured to a specific ID, they will vary.  I have CPVC that is a fall-through fit for Elite darts.  You can use this knowledge to your advantage when it comes to 1/2" PVC - if you find pipe with a wider ID, you can sheath other types of materials inside it and connect that to a 1/2" coupler directly.  PVC sheathing is great for covering up exposed metal and running speedloaders.
 

I strongly recommend buying 3rd party China darts instead of using Elites in your BBB.  It has too much power for Elites, they won't be stable.  Have a look through the NH stock dart guide.  Maybe try ACC, VTN, USC.  They are also substantially cheaper, you can get a thousand darts for $30-40.

"1/2" PVC is a *trade name*, not an actual measurement of the diameter.  It's really around 5/8ths.

^ PVC and CPVC do not have precise ID specifications.  Even "magic" varieties vary, the magic label just refers to any fit that is large enough to sheath other materials, but tight enough that no e-tape is needed.  Your barrel might slide through the magic pipe or it might take a hammer to get it in all the way.  It's really a crapshoot, so you'll have to keep visiting stores and testing fits if you want to use PVC sheathing without tape.

Why would you want to use voberries in 2016?  There are better options all over.  For indoor usage, koosh is probably going to be your best bet.  Good perfomance at stock and superstock levels, good in flywheels, soft impacts.  See Nerfhaven's stock dart buying guide.

On all forums using IPB, usernames can be changed via the edit member function of the admin cp. AKA, PM an admin. I think what Shindig was hinting at is that changing a username is not smart when one is an established member of a community. People will not recognize you and probably think n00b. I'm still getting used to a certain username change that a member made a year ago at another forum! Basically, don't ask to change your name without considering what that will do to your reputation, then only proceed if you REALLY still want to.

http://nerfhaven.com...?showtopic=9775

^ In that image, you can see 4/5 of the pieces that need to go back in. I have all 4 placed as shown (colors on mine are different, but it doesn't matter since I know them by shape and position). The rectangular one is not in the picture, or if it is, I can't see it.

Thank guys, it's now auto-rotating again and actually firing, too. They meant business when they put that sticker on that says "Pull trigger slowly for best results". I had about a dozen darts get mutilated beyond the realm of physics before I figured that out, hehe.

So, another question. Right now it's hitting 72' - 84'. Not terrific, but I'll take it for now. How do you get it to accept a barrel? I have PETG in the turret, but when I try to sick PETG into the barrel, darts get stuck in it/jam. Even when the barrel is flush up against the turret, they jam. The airtank to turret seal has been improved with an O-ring, but still has open space. Is that imperfect seal reducing the power the gun needs to push darts through a 10" barrel? I know that Tim got his SM 1K to hit 120', so I know there's more potential in this thing.

Alright, I don't have a camera, so I can't show you exactly, but if you've ever modded an SM 1K before you should understand. I opened mine, did the standard mods (using PETG for the turret so I can keep the auto-rotate mech), and have run into a problem putting it back together. It catches and fires, but won't auto-rotate. When I do manual, it doesn't click like it should and doesn't line up the dart properly.

There are 5 little plastic thingies in there: a white piece with a catch wire, a small, rectangular black piece, a larger black piece that directs the turret to rotate one way, and two grey pieces. I know where 4 of them go, but am stumped on where the small, rectangular black piece goes. Lacking it could be why a soft trigger touch fails to rotate the turret. Yes, there is a pic of the internals in one of the writeups, but it doesn't show that small black piece. It shows all 4 of the others.

I'd just like to report that my Rainbowpump worked perfectly at BFNY back on Saturday, through a good 6 hours of cold and snow. No trace of wear yet on the catch. Hopper jammed several times, but I'll blame that on dart fit, I need to make a barrel for the stiffer, larger foam that I typically use.

Hey just wondering, has anyone used their Rainbow at a cold weather war yet? If so, how well did it hold up? I intend to use one from Ryan's batch in 5 days and it is looking to be about 30 degrees. I'm not too concerned, the thing looks pretty damn solid, but reliability in cold weather has always been on my mind since my Maximizer blew up last year.

tea ive got a rapidfire 20 but its pump is busted

Get some PVC, an O-ring, a hacksaw, tape, and go fix that. Not all that hard. I haven't actually had to replace a nerf gun pump, but I'm assuming that it works the exact same way as water gun pumps, except drawing in air instead of water, of which I've made tons of.

I didn't know that RF20s break that easily? Mine has been perfectly fine so far.

I can confirm that weather report, though it should be 69 instead of 68 with mostly sunny skies. Jersey's warmest winter since 1877. Enjoy El Nino + Global Warming. Unfortunately, I can't go due to another obligation from 10-1 PM. If I made the trip down there I would arrive by the time the war ends.

I'll make an attempt to get out there with a friend. If he agrees, 10 AM from Ridgewood is kind of a stretch, but not impossible. And if I can indeed make it, it won't be a repeat of my performance at APOC - I've got a heavily modded longshot this time...

The 5th or 6th are the only dates I could make. My Winter Break gets cut short due to track.

There is usually a March Madness at Mill Creek, but if that gets any bigger it would probably be elsewhere. There are a lot of historical wars - a set of about 3 older NJNOs in Glen Rock, and at least a dozen BCNOs at the same venue. Echnalaid also hosted at least one war that succeeded near New Brunswick and there's been Deal and Tindall wars.

There are several things to discuss, like the possibility of running this both Saturday and Sunday with a different location, doing superstock rounds instead of pistols, and making a playlist to minimize downtime.

Many changes are being made.  New host, new location, new name, probably Saturday rather than Sunday, basically a new war.  I'm going to make the new thread after work, but it may be fairly late tonight, so please wait until then.

Patience, Van, P - A - T - I - E - N - C - E

I've taken this to PM for now. It's still broken despite having opened, closed, and tested it about 5 times. Part of the orange piece with the catch spring on it broke off. That was probably my fault since I didn't notice how stressed it was. Thing is, even missing half of the tiny plate, it still is capable of firing normally about 3/5 to 6/7 of the time [as was the case before, leading me to believe that something else is wrong].

I don't really blame your friend for dropping it; he was like half my age. I'll just have to state that at future wars, I'll only loan guns if the borrower has a reputation of responsibility with other peoples' guns. None of my guns had ever been dropped in the past 4 years up until that point, not even by me.

Hey all,

I rarely ever post this kind of topic, but I've never encountered this kind of problem before [searching did not return anything particularly relevant]. This is a question for knowledgeable max shot owners, or those familiar with its cocking mech. If this isn't you, please move on.

Anyway, I loaned out my old MS at the "FaddleBattle" last weekend and someone dropped it. The gun functions normally sometimes, but sometimes fails to catch properly, resulting in either no shot or a very weak one. It also can fail to catch properly, but still deliver a normal shot [kind of like the pump-shooting problem in water gun trigger valves, but in this case the user retains control via the trigger]. I'm wondering if you think that this could be a permanent problem requiring opening or just an alignment issue with the catch that could potentially right itself on its own.

If it requires opening, what should I look to correct? I have no experience with fixing top-cocking guns. I feel kind of silly asking this question, but one can't perform a repair if they don't know what the actual problem is.

I have been a member of over 25 forums in the past 5 years...

I voted no.

Nerfhaven does not have the right atmosphere for an objective reputation system. I've seen those rating systems fail pretty badly in the past. They are not appropriate at a place where reputation is built through substance only. NH members are in control of their own reputation and may rise or fall on their own merits...ratings take that ability away and place it in the hands of many whom are not competent enough to decide someone else's rep, especially if they don't know that person and have never even nerfed with them.

Ratings work at forums where post counts, join dates, ranks, etc. matter. Here they do not, so ratings would be detrimental for reasons mentioned above and in earlier posts. They are also abusable if you have a grudge and a brain. Ratings wouldn't even form half a reputation anyway; half your rep comes off the battlefield where people can match the username with the real live player. That's the more important half when it comes to a forum about nerfing.

That's why I'm getting out on Friday. The storm watch on SW CT is for 18-24 inches. The map is for 6-12. Judging by past snowstorms, I wouldn't count on the lower amount.

Okay, heres the situation: I had a ride, but now I don't. Would anyone be willing to stop by my house and pick deadshooter711 and I up? I live in the same town as the Smedley wars are hosted in, so it shouldn't be hard for anyone to find. I would give you some money if you could stop by my house and pick me up along the way.

I can if able. My car will tolerate up to about 4 inches of snow and some ice before it starts to have trouble.

I'm relieved that it was postponed now that I've seen what happened. At the time I wanted to leave, the roads here were already impassable. Currently at 11 inches of snow with the heavy arc still not fully setup. Never would have made it out or back.

See PM. Also, there is now a big storm forecast with heavy snow on Friday to Saturday. Plan accordingly if you live in areas that might get a lot of it.

Anyone driving out from Jersey who could give him ^ a ride? I would do it, but you'd either have to be willing to be ready to leave by 7 AM or leave on Friday afternoon before the war and spend the night in PA.

Paid my deposit. Not sure if I'll make it there on time though. Last time I did, but by laying down 100 miles before sunrise and making a mockery of 4 states' speed limits.

The screw can come out of the dart upon impact. I know since I made screw stefens without glue for 2006 Apoc and they didn't work out. The felt pads alone are not reliable, without glue they can easily come off, so you'd basically end up shooting screws at people. Even with glue, screws are not ideal weights because they have a stem that transfers weight away from the tip of the dart. You want all the weight forward.

Hate making slugs but love using them?
Can't get china darts to hop correctly?
An answer we've had for about a year but had been war tested by multiple people over a year to bring you to its current revision, the SCS. Easy to make, and have been made ON FIELD at wars, non metal (for those of you interested) this is a great alternative to the #6 slug that's been the staple of our community.

This guide will teach you how to make revision 3 of the SCS. 
Special note, you need wider bore barrels to hop these. Any barrel that's larger than 0.5 in internally should be able to hop this dart, however more powerful blasters like 4Bs, my rainbow or other airguns could use a smaller ID barrel such as .495 aluminum. CPVC is highly unrecommended unless it's true magic, PETG, .509 or .527 aluminum as barrel material.

 

So what do you need?
-USC dart(s) 
   (check the guide, use the search links for cheapest option)

-Something sharp and precise

   (an X-acto, razor blade, EDC knife it's really sharp)
-Quick sealing adhesive of your choice

   (gel style super glue highly recommended) 

-1/2 in felt pad 

   (Standard slug style felt pads)

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS

 

Alright so lets start. I'm using my EDC knife because I keep mine sharp. 

 

Cut the tip off that USC. Make sure it's a clean cut, 

Your cut really needs to be flat. On the left is a good cut, while the one on the right is unacceptable. 
This is why a razor or Xacto is highly recommended for this practice. 

 

Cut it to whatever length you want it to be, however we cut it to the standard 1.25 in long slug length


Now you're done. 
Just kidding this only works in higher power blasters, keep reading.


Apply adhesive of choice on the tip of the USC in the center.
Brass not required, only used to demonstrate this this step.


Apply felt pad adhesive side down onto the tip of the dart, centered.
You can singe felt before application but it's not mandated, as I don't.

Well, now you're done. This is all you need to make the SCS. 
That wasn't hard was it? It only takes 30 seconds per dart if you get good at it.
With an assembly line, it's not hard to pump these out by the hundreds.


Other notes

I have hundreds and hundreds of rounds' worth of chronograph data by video on them.  Most tests were conducted in a 16" .527 alu barrel, with a hoppered 4B at 10 pumps, in Connecticut summer temps and humidity with calm winds < 3 MPH.  Freshly made SCS hit between 279 and 294 FPS.  Worn/battle used SCS hit between 263 and 286 FPS.  The vast majority of shots group within a tight band of 10-15 FPS of variance in each category.  Due to the core of the dart being manufactured, they are very consistent in velocity.  No appreciable difference in velocity was found between 1.25", 1.5", and 1.75" SCS.  Longer SCS tend to fare better as they get worn out, but that's about it.  They work at full length, too.  You can only fit about 4-6 in a standard hopper, but they go just fine.  Full lengths work in superstock blasters, but they are not being given enough power and it shows.  I probably wouldn't try these in flywheels, just use regular USCs.  NIC springers run SCS of any variety very well.  Van's Demon Rainbow runs them even without a felt pad, where my 4B wouldn't.

SCS typically weigh between 0.90 and 1 gram and behave like #6 slugs.  In my target tests, SCS outperformed both #6 and #8 slugs in accuracy and precision, consistently landing on line with the target and in tighter groupings.  My own beige #8 slugs got absolutely crushed by SCS in these tests.  Due to the core of the dart being manufactured, they fly amazingly straight.  Every now and then, one will veer off, but it's like 1 in 20 vs some types of darts that rarely fly straight at all.  I was able to consistently buzz a camera-sized target on a skinny metal pole with the SCS from 50' and then 80' away, while slugs were often way off (noting that 80' is around the max range of the vast majority of NIC war legal primaries with slugs when truly fired flat).

SCS setups definitely need to be optimized.  As noted before, they will not work at all in CPVC, even magic CPVC, or similar tight barrels.  They need brass, aluminum, PETG, polyester, etc.  The condition of the foam also matters a ton - foam in new condition likes a wider barrel, used foam likes a tighter one.  Sch 80 PVC often runs used SCS very well.  .509 alu should run used SCS optimally (.495 is a bit tight, .527 is too loose).  That said, if you run really worn out SCS through .527 alu, it will still hit 250-271 FPS, it's just much less consistent and prone to going wide, it basically acts more slug-like.

I know this sounds like an infomercial, but that's how awesome this dart type is.  Silicone domes should probably outrange SCS a bit, but SCS should totally murder them in accuracy and precision.  That vs the ease and quickness of dartsmithing, no cornstarch or feeding issues, make SCS the best non-metal NIC darts I know of.  Nothing in superstock is more accurate AND precise than USCs, and this mod makes them hopperable NIC darts.  They *should* be the most accurate NIC darts, with one caveat - wind.  They act like #6 slugs in wind, not #8s, as #8s are heavier.  On an open field with strong winds, #8 slugs should still edge out SCS.  For that reason, I still use slugs.  However, I am switching to SCS for all indoor wars.

There may be some complications with the trains. Supposedly the Shore Line East does not operate on weekends, but Amtrak does. I'm not sure if transferring from Amtrak to Metro North occurs in the same station [I plan to transfer in New Haven, which has more than one]. Also, should I choose Mamaroneck over Larchmont? I looked at some maps and saw that Mamaroneck station is like down the road from the war location.

So far my plans are confusing, but keep me as confirmed. I have always found a way to attend wars that I confirm to in the past and intend to keep it that way.

Real nerfers can walk the mile. Well, unless you've got a shitload of stuff [OMC's wagon at Apoc comes to mind]. The reason why I'm probably getting off at Mamaroneck rather than Larchmont is that it's so much closer. If someone were to forget to pick me up, I could just walk it, which also appears to be around a mile, mile and a half, not bad.

I have a slight change in plans [though NOT bailing]. As it turns out, I may be at home on Saturday/Sunday, meaning a ride from home rather than a train from school. While I'll still need a ride to the station after the war, I will be on time for the start.

Even if my Maxshot doesn't arrive in time, I still can't wait for this war. The terrain is absolutely amazing.

From what I believe, not only is NH not a democracy, it's not even intended to be a community. It's meant to be a resource for nerfers and only a resource. The place to come for information on mods, homemades, and to find or organize wars. The forum-related aspects were never supposed to have any significance - post whores, post counts, bans, flames, n00bs, admins, CoC, all of it shouldn't be the focus of the Haven.

Now obviously bad posters can be distracting, but quit complaining and just focus them out. Only see what you want to see and train your eye to ignore the bull. That includes members. Don't even interact with someone unless they have established at least some kind of good reputation. Make them earn their posts and their audiences. Normally this kind of impersonal filtering of people is not something I would recommend, but NH is huge and calls for a different style.

Personally, I would not even recommend these kind of topics. Let the admins do their jobs and as members, we should do ours. NH runs smoother when the members post/read mods, homemades, and organize/find wars while the admins run the forum and maintain order. Interaction with the admins in real life is fine, but just let them do their thing here in peace, they already have enough on their plate.

When I first joined, topics were not even closed. Members were expected to know when to stop. Those were the good old days.

Why not let these threads in which you are trying to ban a fellow member for rediculous reasons, become chatrooms. You guys are making a huge deal out of nothing.

And throw the reputation of NH out the door? Cast away the very concept of an online FORUM? At the very core of what makes a forum is ideas communicated in sentence and paragraph form, following at the very least the basic rules of English grammar and spelling. Basically, in no way is a forum a chatroom, and in no way does chatroom trash ever belong on one. There is plenty of time to form well thought out posts, to correct errors, and create cohesive thoughts.

Allowing AIM style talk anywhere here would be a slight to the progress made in trying to eliminate such useless crap posts. So it is a big deal, and not out of nothing. [After a month-long debate, my friends and I determined that "nothing" cannot actually exist ]
Forum admins around the world fight to rid their forums of chatroom talk. It really degrades the quality of a forum and definately impacts what members and outsiders think of your forum. Try running one some day, and have it last for over a year, then read this again and see how your attitude has changed. Better yet, how about helping to run 8, then read this again and see how your attitude has changed! I'm sure you'll be just as sick of worthless posts as I am.

EDIT: I took too long to post this....argghh

For what it's worth, the only time I've had blood drawn was from the side of an exposed washer slug that caught me on the finger at an angle. Granted, such a scenario is incredibly unlikely to be repeated, and the mark is just a tiny slit instead of a large circle. However, it is permanent, while every dome welt I've ever taken was only temporary. Metal balls bruise, metal washers slice.

This is why I'm more concerned about the exposed rims of slugs than the heads coming off. I've never seen a head come off mid-flight. In theory, everyone reads Ryan's improved slug-smithing thread and, in theory, our wars ban shit slugs. In practice, up to half the darts present have metal showing all the way around. Some of this is from #8 washers being used on foam too narrow for #8s. I don't think we should even use #8s anymore for micros, as they show metal even with my fat log home foam. The rest is from people not caring or people not knowing.

Also worth noting is that slugs made with low temp glue will fall apart from normal impacts, the hold is poor.

As posted on NMW, I liked slingshot domes better for a variety of reasons. They were cheaper, easier to make well, faster to produce, and more accurate. But, I know a lot of newer players don't want to get hit with domes, and they are our future. We also have more powerful primaries now. Those things would need to change for domes to make a comeback.

And I don't think that silicone domes are ready to be used as a standard dart. Making darts is my least favorite nerf activity, so anything that makes that process take even longer and be even more quirky is not a step forward in my book. Also, hoppers...

Realmtrotter
Robert
Rob or DX

I've cleared my schedule, let's do this.