9 replies to this topic

[arfink]

I picked up a Hammershot at Target because it looked like a really fun gun, and I have to admit that in stock form this is a very respectable little 5 shot revolver. It seems to get typical elite ranges and the green darts are made of the same foam as the blue elite darts. Of course, I wanted more, so I opened it up to see what could be done. First, just remove the 11 screws holding it shut, it's really easy and straightforward.




The shell is composed of 3 pieces which are held together very firmly and makes for an impressively heavy and solid feel. I didn't attempt to get them apart, but it looks like they will come apart for easier painting.



The cylinder lifts right out, and removing the pegs would be a piece of cake. I didn't remove them yet, but will get around to it when I'm ready to rebarrel this. Also note the screw inside the cylinder indexing mechanism. You can remove this screw to gain access to a spring-loaded mechanism that causes the indexing mechanism to slip if you twist the cylinder while the blaster is cocked. On the Maverick people liked to glue this kind of mechanism into one solid piece to remove slop. However, I found that this mechanism has hardly any slop at all compared to the Maverick, and given how slim the indexing tab looks, I wanted to leave that functionality in place so I don't accidentally bust the indexing tab off. YMMV, but hey, the screw is there, so you can play with it on your own blaster.



The AR is built into the plunger tube, and is remarkably easy to get off. You first need to remove the main spring from the handle of the blaster, which you can get off by wiggling the arm it's attached to. It should slip right off. Note the orientation of the spring: one end is fatter, and that is the end which must face downwards when you reinstall the spring.




Once the main spring is removed, you can remove this white cover. This cover holds the trigger and sear in place, as well as a small spring to return the trigger. The sear has a projection that bumps into a white rubber bumper on the cover piece you just removed. This bumper is very cool, and will prolong the life of your blaster once the AR is out, by helping to stop the plunger head before it smashes through the more delicate front portion of the plunger tube. Remove the trigger, trigger spring, and the sear assembly. This will also remove the plunger head from the tube, allowing us to remove the plunger tube.



The tube is held in from the back by a small white tab. You can squeeze the outer white plastic shell or pry with a screwdrives to give this enough clearance to slip out. There is a second tab which will also get stuck on this same spot, just squeeze or pry again to slip the second tab out as well. Once the plunger tube is removed, you can remove the front of the tube and the air restrictor.



I found that it is very difficult to remove this part without cracking or leaving stress marks on the white tabs holding it in place. However, the front part doesn't actually bear the brunt of the plunger head, so the connection doesn't need to be rock solid. Once you have it off and remove the spring and AR piece you should probably glue it back on, unless your tabs are not totally smashed to heck, in which case you can just use the clips. There is a white thing inside the plunger tube that holds the AR assembly, however, I chose to leave this in place to preserve some of the structural integrity of the plunger tube, since it seems rather thin. Also, it is very important that when you put the orange part back onto the plunger tube that it is facing the same direction that it was when you removed it. Make a note of the correct orientation or the seal with not line up with the cylinder!



To finish, assemble everything again in reverse order, and insert the spring last. Again, make sure you put the fat part of the spring facing the bottom of the handle.

Ranges did not really seem improve that much by removing the AR in this blaster, however it did provide me with a couple of nice advantages. First, you'd need to remove it anyway to fire slugs. Secondly, the AR makes the cylinder rotate less smoothly, which can cause the indexing mechanism to not quite perfectly align with each shot. I find that with the AR removed, dry firing is not as great a risk to the blaster internals, due to the rubber nub which stops the sear from moving, rather than stopping the plunger head against the plunger tube. The stock seal seems very good, and I have no plans to modify it. I'll post more information when I have successfully rebarreled the cylinder, which will probably provide the most significant increase in usefulness for this blaster.

There is also a good amount of space behind the cylinder which could conceivably allow for a rear-loading modification, however, given how short the barrels are and this blaster's role as a secondary, front-loading shouldn't really be a draw-back.

Edited by arfink, 11 August 2013 - 02:52 PM.

[arfink]

I do NOT suggest you replace the main spring on this blaster. The main spring is already very stiff, and the hammer actually doesn't give you enough mechanical advantage to press down a spring that is much stronger unless you want to use both thumbs, which would take away the appeal of priming and firing with one hand. Also, I don't think the plastic would support a bigger spring anyway.

Edited by arfink, 11 August 2013 - 03:01 PM.

[VelveetaAvenger]

Ranges did not really seem improve that much by removing the AR in this blaster.

I noticed this too, my theory is that the plunger tube is so short it can push all the air out before the A/R closes.

You don't happen to have a Specter do you? I was wondering if the turrets are the same dimensions.

Edited by VelveetaAvenger, 11 August 2013 - 03:11 PM.

[nine]

So, is the catch located on the plunger rod or with the spring? The different design looks intriguing, especially the rotation and alternate spring location.

[arfink]

The catch isn't on a rod like most Nerf blasters, it's actually a rotating trigger mechanism with a sear, just like in a real pistol. The trigger rotates on a pin, allowing the sear (with the hammer attached to it) to rotate forward, pushing the plunger into the tube.



@Velveeta: I don't have a specter, but I'd be willing to get out the calipers and measure the cylinder for you if you like.

Edited by arfink, 11 August 2013 - 03:23 PM.

[mysterio]

A few things wrong with your post. The shells do NOT come apart easily, unless boiled first at the very least. They are glued and pegged together.

The hammershot spring can also be precompressed by placing a segment of cpvc on the rod, and doing so will not have that great of an impact on overall comfort.

Otherwise, good post.

[VelveetaAvenger]

@Velveeta: I don't have a specter, but I'd be willing to get out the calipers and measure the cylinder for you if you like.

Nah, don't worry about it. I was thinking they might be easier to rebarrel, but since they have different advancing teeth it's probably more trouble then it's worth.

[arfink]

A few things wrong with your post. The shells do NOT come apart easily, unless boiled first at the very least. They are glued and pegged together.

The hammershot spring can also be precompressed by placing a segment of cpvc on the rod, and doing so will not have that great of an impact on overall comfort.

Otherwise, good post.

Oh, I meant to imply the shell would be easier to paint once they were apart, not that they were easy to get apart. My bad.

As for the spring, I actually did try a chunk of [k26] but even just getting it in there made me nervous, so I pulled it out and forgot about it.

[ShaNayNay]

This has a lot of similarities with the Snapfire 8. Same AR, same short and fat plunger tube, nearly identical trigger mech, three layers of shell (HS seems to be glued together instead of screwed together one on top of the other) and similar stiff springs located in the handle.

I'd also like to throw out there that some of these new Nerf elite/Zombiestrike/Rebelle turrets are rather hard to rebarrel as the turrets are more or less one single part. Rather than trying to hammer brass down the barrels, I've found that one can further increase range simply by using foam slightly thicker than elite darts. Making darts with foam that is springer fit in PETG fits into these new barrels quite well and boosts ranges over slugs that are springer fit in CPVC.

Basically all you are doing is tighening the fit on the foam by increasing dart diameter instead of decreasing barrel diameter. I don't know how hard it would be be to rebarrel this blaster in particualr, but I know that this is a preferable method for some of these newer turret blasters.

Edited by ShaNayNay, 12 August 2013 - 09:57 PM.

[arfink]

I have access to a drill press, and so rebarreling a single-piece cylinder like this would be pretty straightforward for me to do, I think. But for those without access to tools, I suppose it could be a problem...