Say what? Nerf in Connecticut?

We all know that the CT Nerf scene is dead, that there's a large void between Jersey and Mass. I'm looking to get something going here at Conn College in New London. There's - quite a few - people already interested, they just have to realize that the others are too. Once the scattered nerfers on campus are all connected, we could potentially get some awesome wars going. Perhaps we could host a venue in the fairly near future - the Conn countryside boasts some interesting terrain.

 

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

What do you think Hasbro does every year? I see what you're saying, but:

A: There has probably been a topic like this at some point in time before.
B: Don't wait for a company to come out with something you really want. Take the initiative and make it yourself. I've learned the hard way not to rely on companies too much. Want crazy ranges? High power? Go out and buy some PVC/fittings/other parts, and get all you desire.

Nerf is on very good terms with Hasbro. Count your blessings now or you'll end up like the Soaking Community, where I once tried to lead a boycott on Hasbro for ignoring us and giving us crap guns for the last 3 years. You don't know how well off you are in terms of good quality company-manufactured guns, so If I were you, I would either be satisfied, go homemade, or shut up.

It's sad that NH is so abandoned that last year's Apoc wasn't even posted here, but the event itself is not only still alive, but is actually growing, with over 100 players attending in 2022!

We have something special planned for you guys in 2023 - Apoc is becoming a 2 day event!

 

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DAY ONE:

 

APOC: 

Apoc FB Event Link

When: Saturday, August 5, 2023, from 10 AM – 6 PM

Where: Cousins Paintball, 750 Whiting New Egypt Rd, Manchester, NJ
There is a secondary parking lot when the main lot reaches capacity.  After parking, check in at the main office and then walk up the path to find the staging area.  This will be marked and admin will be on hand to help.

FPS Cap: 300 FPS for most games (ignore the 250 cap in the payment link, that was copy-pasted from Cata events).  Some rounds may have different/lower caps for different player classes and blaster types.  This will be clearly explained by admin at the start of those games.  UNO Master Rule Set

Gametypes: Flag Push, Carpe, Domination, King of the Hill, Pistols, and more!
 

Cost: $15.  This is the field fee for the paintball venue and is the best deal ever - you get a whopping 8 hours of gameplay on three massive fields with trenches, a village of wooden buildings, barrels, and even a pair of loser towers!  

Payment Link: APOC Tickets

What's it like? Here is a video from 2021 Apoc - We also have vendors now, so there will be a row of popular vendors offering equipment.  Procrastinated and need to finish your blaster on the day of the war?  No problem!

 

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DAY TWO:

BPOC:

When: Sunday, August 6th, 2023, from 10 AM - 4 PM

Where: Sports Domain Academy, 1075 US-46, Suite A, Clifton, NJ

FPS Cap: TBA, will edit this in when confirmed.  I'm not a BPOC admin, just a messenger.

Game Format: Flag Dash

Cost: $35.  This is the field fee for the indoor venue, you get 6 hours of competitive scrimmage gameplay in the Maryland flag dash format, which is extremely fun.  This is a casual scrimmage, so you do not need to have a pre-formed team.  Best part?  It's indoors, so no 90 degree Jersey heat or thunderstorms to worry about!

Payment Link: BPOC Tickets

What's it like? Here is a video from a comp clinic - prominently featuring me wiping out off-break, cause I'll never live that moment down.  It's like this, but with more teams!

We have a superstock group in the city, wars are held in Central Park near the Met.  Check the "CPNO" war thread for the most recent one.  There may be another one before the year is over, I dunno.

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.

Down with the Evil Empire-Red Sox all the way! Rooting for this team is costly, however, seeing as Yankee Stadium is literally 18 miles east of here.

Welcome back! Next time Hersh won't be there to save you though...

I might have to work that Saturday. Otherwise, I'll come.

I've turned caching back on, which should help.

That appears to have ended most of the slow loading for me, most actions now take about the same amount of time as before.

Most Berserker tanks are essentially 2nd gen 4B tanks. War organizers generally class them as such and there is no difference in performance. However, Berserker tanks the size of 1st gen 4B tanks do exist, they look just like 1st gen 4B tanks, but are black instead of white. You can tell them by the wide, raised band, larger back area, longer length, and that they don't have a drop-in fit for a Raider shell. I didn't think they existed until someone sold one in a thread on NH a few months ago without realizing what it was.

One note is that the pin pull speed makes more difference than the tank size. Due to quality control or factory variation or whatever, some tanks have faster pin pulls than others and some OPRVs have higher stock tolerances than others. A 2nd gen tank usually hits around 250 FPS, but a faster pull and higher OPRV hits in the 270s, so shop around for the best components.

It works the same way you would normally return carbonated soda and beer bottles.  Most grocery stores have a room marked "Bottle Return" or Bottle Deposit" near the entrance doors (outside the store itself).  In 2016, it's all automated with machines for different types of bottles, it will say what each one is for.  Simply insert the bottle, the machine spins it to read the information, and then it is either accepted and crushed or rejected and returned to you.  When you are done, the machine prints a receipt.  Collect the receipts, head into the store, and redeem them at the customer service desk.

Depending on the store, you can get an attendant to accept some of the rejects, as well.  They are more likely to do this if their store sells the brand that was rejected.  If you have brands that aren't sold in New York, they will probably be rejected (out of state bottles cost the store money).

These are my recommendations:

1. Instead of a Rapidstrike, buy 2 Stryfes.  This lets 2 people use flywheels for the same price, and Stryfes are more versatile blasters.

2. Buy 2 Rampages or Retaliators off Ebay or somewhere other than retail.  Again, you could get 2 of those secondhand for the price of 1 at retail.

3. Strongarms are popular, buy several.

4. Skip the Jolts and get Hammershots.  The one-handed priming will allow people to dual wield and they are fun in general.

5. Skip the Magnus.  You only get 3 dart capacity for that $14ish dollar price tag, and the darts are expensive.

6. Skip anything to do with the Modulus.  Complete waste of money for this specific purpose.  Instead, get several Buzz Bee Sentinels.  Those will be the strongest blasters assuming everything is stock, and perhaps the most fun to use given the cowboy style lever action priming.  They are compatible with Nerf brand magazines and drums.

7. Skip the elite darts.  For one, elite darts suck, and two, they are expensive.  Instead, buy darts secondhand off Ebay.  If you have time to wait, get them from China for around $3-4 per 100.  See the NH stock dart buying guide for the differences between darts and their advantages/disadvantages.  If you don't have time to wait, still buy these types of darts, but make sure the seller is domestic.  You'll pay more and they may be used, but you'll still get way more darts and better darts, for way less money, than buying elite packs.  You'll want as many darts as possible, a couple hundred is not going to cut it.  Factor darts into the budget last, after you've purchased the blasters.  Whatever is leftover should go to darts.

8. Doesn't really matter what you get, as long as your sister will like it and have fun.  See what her style is.  That said, probably skip the string-powered bows.

9. Consider going on Ebay again, for extra magazines.  18 rd mags and 12 rd mags are good buys for around $5 each or less.  Try to get them in bulk.  The recommended blasters chew through darts and mags, so you'll want a lot of extras.

With those recommendations, you spend about $200 on about 15 blasters, and then have $100 left for darts and mags.  If you have time to wait for China shipping, you could have 8+ mags and 2,000 darts.

The bottom line: Try not to spend more than $25 on any individual blaster, so you can maximize how many you have while still providing good ones, and buy way more darts than you think you'll need.  Whatever budget is left should go to darts and mags.

 

The [HTML] BBCode tag is an XSS threat and I don't think it's ever been turned on here. You'd have better luck re-formatting your post than trying to convince the admins to allow an injectable tag.

Speaking of pics, you ^ owe us some from that Mill Creek war!

If there's really nothing, it sounds like you'll need to take the initiative to start it.  You need to have the hunger to make it happen, another host is unlikely to pop out of the woodwork.  Obviously, check past wars on NH to see how they were organized, what works, what doesn't work, etc.  

NIC/DIY style events may be difficult to support at first, you may find more success starting with superstock and gradually progressing to NIC/DIY.  Superstock is widely popular and draws a lot of participants with minimal barriers to entry.  Get a baseline group of regulars and encourage an arms race.  Don't set an FPS limit, allow slugs, and let people mod up at their own pace.  It's better to have a few NIC/DIY rounds at a primarily superstock event and lots of players than none at all.  Ironically, many primarily NIC/DIY events now run some superstock rounds, and for the same reason - to encourage more people to come play.  If you can build up a large base of players, you can then exploit their varying tastes to support a pure NIC/DIY level event.  Just remember to keep your base happy by catering to all its needs, not just some.  If they want multiple styles of nerf, include multiple events or mixed events.

There's a war in Upper Saddle River being planned, you could try to coordinate with them as it's nearby. Otherwise, I'd give it a few weeks, Jersey's got a lot going on.

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.

How about a lock on this topic? Not worth responding to.

NH has an old saying that you should adapt your barrels to your foam supply, not the other way around. It takes *far* less effort to tailor barrels to your existing foam vs tailoring foam to your existing barrels.

I used to stretch log home (white, dense, thick) foam and it sucked. It's a time intensive process to get the fit just right for each dart individually. High quality foam does not stretch easily on its own, you need to heat it a bit first. Use the foam straightening process for heat (kill 2 birds with 1 stone) and then immediately stretch the blanks while still warm. Patient, but firm fingers yield the best results.

Stretching your foam should not have any negative impacts on its integrity or longevity. I still have a few darts that I made in like 2006 that are still perfectly usable. However, you will introduce inconsistency in the shape. The middle does end up more pinched unless you have a ton of patience.

McMaster foam is pretty variable. That's what I used to use and still have half a spool of. I stopped ordering it when I got a horrible batch that was of Frost King quality. High temp glue guns could be used on it when domes were legal. You simply doused the dart in ice water immediately after creating the dome. With slugs…yeah go low temp.

Now, of course, I don't stretch my foam. I found barrels that provide a good fit. Now, I crank out darts more than three times faster than when I used to have to stretch the foam.

You can nest certain barrels in PVC, taking advantage of PVC couplers while also protecting the barrels. Homemades almost always use PVC stubs or couplers to attach hoppers/barrels, so if you ever want to step your game up to those, it's good to have barrels that fit PVC.

Some sizes of aluminum, brass, PETG, and copper will nest in 1/2" PVC pipe if you can find the right batch. Most 1/2" PVC is too tight, but you need to just keep looking.

One of my pet peeves is that people think a certain type of barrel always has a certain type of dart fit. With PVC, CPVC, and even some PETG, this is untrue - the ID varies wildly because the manufacturers don't care. You just need to stumble upon the right batch. Bring a dart with you and check the pipe on the shelf. Eventually you will find the ID you need for that foam.

Charlotte True Fit pipe sometimes has an unusually large ID that will sheath many other barrel types. It even sheaths CPVC without hammering and you actually have to wrap it with tape or glue it because it will fall right through the PVC!

Likewise, some CPVC have significantly larger IDs than usual. Curtis had a piece of this just this past weekend. I've seen it happen in Gold pipe and now in Genova, so it's definitely still in the wild. I used to think the wider CPVC was endemic to eastern CT, but it's clearly not now.

So, if you want to use CPVC with your Best Materials foam, just keep looking for the right batch. You don't have to ditch that barrel type if you like it. Although, keep in mind that you might not find the right fit for a while. In the meantime, you can glue certain pipes into a CPVC coupler. It's kinda ghetto, and you need to make sure the pipe remains straight while the glue dries, but works just fine.

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.

Measuring from the tip of the muzzle is the only honestly acceptable way. Personally, I measure using 4ft sidewalk blocks and a tape measure. 0 distance lines up with a fence, so the barrel can be placed exactly at 0 and exactly at level angle. Measuring from you are standing isn't measuring range, period.

Forums do that randomly. You may also see messages that say "There seems to be a problem with the database" or "Configuration error". Usually the site works again after a few minutes or even the next load. On some types of forum tech, the forum glitches instead of crashes, so you might see your username doubled or something. Don't worry about it unless it stays that way for longer than a few hours.

I'm not sure how NH is configured, but some forums are set to crash when the load exceeds a certain value, and then work again when the load falls back below that level.

In general, less dense foam expands more when heated. Some very dense foam varieties barely expand if at all. If you can identify the manufacturers for the FBR options you have, it would be easier to figure out. But, there are also variables beyond the material itself, such as how you heat it and for how long. Individual batches can vary, as can batches between different stores and countries. As Beaver said, there really isn't a set answer for this.

I personally would sell them now, but it really depends on your age. I haven't played Magic in 6 years and no longer have any cards. At least here, no one in my age group really plays Magic anymore.

They already have 1,781 likes. HvZ Nerf draws vastly larger crowds than NIC style.

When I do use another gun it is almost always left hand, my non-dominant one. Using homemades has really strengthened my left, so now both hands have equal accuracy. I don't use a holster; I put a sidearm down when reloading. Tucking it under the arm works also.

Pros:
Getting more hits than ever before in a single war, for some reason I was super-accurate that day. Even had an intimidation factor going for the max shot, showered hits all day long.
Finding impossible angles in the playgrounds and making many of them.
The first pistol round, it was like a turkey shoot.
The CTF round - we rushed in, took the flag, and rushed out.
Trying a lot of different types of rounds.
Getting lost in New York on the way out - which was really fun - was in the bottom of Ground Zero, saw the Empire State Building, UN, and other places mostly by accident. Took 3 crossings of the Hudson to get the PATH line right...

Cons:
Shooting my barrel right off and over the fence during a siege round.
The long lag tme in between some rounds.
The train ride in at 5:30 in the morning.
Having the double playground round stopped by the little kids.

It's really not that hard: There are screws at both ends of the yellow rotating barrel. Take the screws out of the rest of the gun and then you'll be able to reach them. Or you can reach them first if you have a small enough screwdriver.

And read the COC again, especially this clause: "Use capitalization and punctuation correctly."

If I am cold, which I expect to be in the morning, there will be a lot of rounds and not a lot of downtime.  There will be plenty of opportunity to use everything.

Connecticut Nerf Out - Sunday, January 29th 2017

This war allows us to stack 2 events on the same weekend (NYCNO is the day before!)  Mix of DIY and Superstock with mobstacles for cover.  We will be nerfing regardless of the weather, so dress warm.

 

 

Play Times: 
10 AM to around 4 PM.

 

Venue: 
West Rocks Middle School
81 West Rocks Rd, Norwalk, CT 06851
Parking: 41.133884, -73.414676




Backup: 
Cranbury Elementary School
10 Knowalot Ln, Norwalk, CT 06851
Parking: 41.156607, -73.402940

Lunch: 
Bring your own.  Due to the forecast for mid 30s, I don't plan on having much downtime.  There will still be rounds to play during lunch.

 

Rules:
Eye protection is mandatory, regardless of age.
Barrel taps ARE allowed (TAG WITH YOUR HAND, not your barrel)
Blaster hits count and hits to anything you are carrying count.
Shields and melee are not allowed.
 

FPS limit: 

For DIY rounds, try to keep your average at or under 300 FPS.
For SS rounds, try to keep your average at or under 150 FPS.
 

Allowed Darts: 

- #6 Slugs
- #8 Slugs
- Suction Cup Slugs (SCS)
- Silicone Domes
- Stock Darts of any variety and any length

Check List:

- Winter jacket
- Gloves
- Hat/scarf/etc.

- Lunch
- Water
- Money
- Blaster for a raffle. (NIB Maximizer, System 2000, 1500 Arrow Shooter, etc)
- Darts.  This one is kind of important.  Bring at least a couple hundred.
- At least 2 primaries.  We will have loaners available.
- Pistol, maybe.  I keep bringing one and we never end up doing pistol rounds.

Game Types:

- 3-15
- 5-0
- VIP

- Uma Thurman if I remember to bring the soda bottles
- 2 Flag CTF
- Speed rounds

Raffle:
If you want to participate, bring a $10-20 blaster to toss in.  We'll assign everyone a number and pick from a random number program.

Confirmed Attendees (8): 
A wild DX
Jaxon
Van James
CA99
Zach
Zack
Joe Med
David

Maybe:
Ron
Ethan

 

 

 

 

 

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'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.

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 know where Hanover is and unfortunately, it's a good distance away, about 3.5-4 hours. The eastern New England Nerf scene has evaporated, they used to have wars near Boston, but not anymore. All we have left is CT and central MA, a scene that is stable and growing. You are welcome to play with us if the drive is not a deal-killer.

You may have more local luck if you organize a game with Dartmouth students. See if they have a gaming club on campus and are interested. The vast majority of college players don't even know about the NIC.

This shouldn't be of any concern. My homemades actually shred darts if they are placed too far in the barrel. I personally don't think a little indentation is worth worrying about.

That should be a mandatory video for all new members to watch.

We recommended it about 2 years ago in the Water War Community. N00bs simply ignored it. Weird how history repeats itself?