17 replies to this topic

[Arkaon]

Afternoon,

 

Just started to dabble in this hobby with a recent purchase of a Hammershot. Was instantly impressed with just how much oomph there was behind this thing. Also, quite enjoy the hammer locking mechanism. 

 

 

That being said, I was wondering if you experts could point me in the right direction on a number of questions - I have checked the forums, and did not see what I was looking for. If I missed it, please feel free to slap me on the wrists, and if possible, point me in the direction of the missed info. 


Couple questions:

 

1) I have seen people talk about the BuzzBee Ultra-Tek Rapid Tek. Has anyone tested it against the Slingfire? 

 

2) How does the Maverick Rev-6 (Strongarm?) stack up to the older ones. I am enjoying the Pistol Blaster feel with the Hammershot, and am interested in more blasters of this variety. 
 

 

Also, someone in a previous post about a dart question I had mentioned that you no longer needed to modify the AR's in the Hammershot, and I looked all over, and couldn't find any supporting posts or information on this. Can anyone point me in the right direction, or elaborate? I see quite a few posts indicating that one of the first mods is changing out springs, and plates, and modifying AR's. 

Thanks for your time,

Arky

 

[The2ndBluesBro]

You no longer need to remove the AR from any elite blaster, not just the hammershot. I'm sure there's some info backing that up somewhere here, if not it's all over the various Facebook groups. The Sentinel/Rapid Tek (depending on your region) is better in every way than the slingfire other than the sling fire's stock being longer, but if you're modding anyway the sentinel's can be lengthened. It shoots harder stock, is easier to mod and can be made stronger due to the lack of gears inside and the sentinel has a metal priming lever that will never break even at high spring loads that would surely break the plastic lever on the slingfire.

Edited by The2ndBluesBro, 09 May 2016 - 12:29 PM.

[Arkaon]

Hey BluesBro!

Thanks for the info. Can you elaborate on why its no longer necessary to remove? I tried to find info on it, but I can only assume its buried in a post that I can't seem to find.

[Meaker VI]

2) How does the Maverick Rev-6 (Strongarm?) stack up to the older ones. I am enjoying the Pistol Blaster feel with the Hammershot, and am interested in more blasters of this variety.

The Strongarm is superior in every way to the Maverick. Both are slide-action, not the hammer-action of your Hammershot. I love a good old fashioned pullback pistol myself; the old Nightfinder or Tech Target Gun (TTG) and the new Firestrike are examples. The TTG is one of the longest range (stock) blasters I own, and all I did was rebarrel the thing.
 

Also, someone in a previous post about a dart question I had mentioned that you no longer needed to modify the AR's in the Hammershot, and I looked all over, and couldn't find any supporting posts or information on this. Can anyone point me in the right direction, or elaborate? I see quite a few posts indicating that one of the first mods is changing out springs, and plates, and modifying AR's.

Removing the ARs is something you do to make it so your blaster can fire homemade darts, which don't have the hole through the middle. The ARs also sometimes hinder performance, though in many recent blasters it's more work than it's worth to remove them and others absolutely require them to remain functional. They're usually an 'easy' mod though, as all you're doing is opening up the blaster and pulling out parts. Adding springs is also an 'easy' mod, assuming you can get/find springs to add.

[The2ndBluesBro]

Hey BluesBro!

Thanks for the info. Can you elaborate on why its no longer necessary to remove? I tried to find info on it, but I can only assume its buried in a post that I can't seem to find.

To be honest I'm not sure on the exact physics of it but basically people have tried removing it and they got maybe ~2fps better which is utterly negligible and they noticed pieces were breaking inside because of the increased stress. Also I think meaker is confusing the AR for the dart post in the context of preventing shorter/homemade dart usage, only the dart post has to be removed while the AR itself can stay in.

Edited by The2ndBluesBro, 09 May 2016 - 02:39 PM.

[Meaker VI]

To be honest I'm not sure on the exact physics of it but basically people have tried removing it and they got maybe ~2fps better which is utterly negligible and they noticed pieces were breaking inside because of the increased stress.

 

I think it's that, as you say, the blaster gets statistically no improvement; and that the ARs are actually doing a really good job stopping the plunger when there's no dart in the barrel. Since the plungers are more powerful, the ARs are important to stop dry-fire damage.

 

And really, there are *good* stock-dart replacements (koosh) that aren't more expensive than making homemade darts, so the impetus to remove the ARs is all but gone.

[Snoop Doggy doge]

Oh boy, Sentinel!
This THE best blaster out of box. For 15$ you get high FPS (reports from 80-100 FPS out of box!) 
The sentinel is cheap, durable, one piece, and with a few simple mods you have a superstock worthy blaster. It's fine to use stock at a war!
The priming lever doesn't use gears so it won't break, and while uncomfortable you can fix that. Take out the AR and pad it, it's got at least 20 FPS boost. There's a wave of mod support coming out for it, and the stock + short stock is easily remedied. Personally, I run mine pump action and with a ton of other crap on it, but I hear it's really easy to brass!
(Not brassing because than it won't be HVZ legal) I feed USCs and they fly really straight and serve me well. It's competing with my retaliator (with a 7kg spring) for my main primary, and is better than a retaliator with a 5 kg spring. 
 

[shmmee]

The newer (post n-strike) AR's have longer fingers (the 3 outer posts that contact the back of the dart) on the end. The N-strike AR fingers were shorter and would shut off air flow while the plunger still had some oomph to transfer to the darts. The longer fingers keep the air flow moving until just before the plunger smacks into the end of the plunger tube. In short - the newer AR's are tuned to make the most of the plungers potential. The older AR's (the ones we would rip out) were overly conservative in the volume of air they allowed to pass to the barrel.

 

Some blasters use the AR's as a smart barrel selecting system (i.e. ruffcut, triad, messanger, zombie strike crossbow...) automatically directing air flow to the loaded barrels and shutting off air flow to the unloaded barrels. Removing the AR's from these "smart AR" blasters will divide up the available air between all the barrels and cripple performance.

 

You get almost no improvement in removing the AR from a single barrel blaster. You get a chunk of useless plastic if you remove them from a smart AR style blaster.

Edited by shmmee, 10 May 2016 - 10:38 AM.

[Arkaon]

So, how do I tell if there is any benefit to removing the AR?

Would removing the AR in a Strongarm be a good idea?

Has anyone made a list detailing which blaster benefit?

[Maniacal Coyote]

1. So, how do I tell if there is any benefit to removing the AR?

2. Would removing the AR in a Strongarm be a good idea?

3. Has anyone made a list detailing which blaster benefit?

[Formatting added to help answer your question]

 

1. If a blaster can fire repeatedly without reloading, and has no turret/cylinder, magazine/clip system, or multiple barrels, it's probably got a Smart AR.

 

2. Yes, if you pad the plunger head. You don't want your blaster to break itself.

 

3. No, but you can just look things up on the wikia.

[Meaker VI]

So, how do I tell if there is any benefit to removing the AR?

Would removing the AR in a Strongarm be a good idea?

Has anyone made a list detailing which blaster benefit?

 

Eh, there is basically no benefit to any blaster you can buy in a store today. Older blasters (Longshot, Maverick) might; but the amount of benefit was never that high unless you did other work in my experience and the biggest reason to do it was to use stefans/slugs.

[ElliottW]

I have had a mixed experience when it comes to removing ARs. Many modern blasters do not perform any diffetently without their ARs. Some perform significantly worse with the AR removed, like the StrongArm. Some are quite a bit better, such as the Elite Alpha Trooper, especially if you have upgraded the spring. So it's still a mixed bag, and you're taking your chances unless you can find someone trustworthy who has tried it previously and had positive results.

[DjOnslaught]

I have had a mixed experience when it comes to removing ARs. Many modern blasters do not perform any diffetently without their ARs. Some perform significantly worse with the AR removed, like the StrongArm. Some are quite a bit better, such as the Elite Alpha Trooper, especially if you have upgraded the spring. So it's still a mixed bag, and you're taking your chances unless you can find someone trustworthy who has tried it previously and had positive results.

Yes but most of the resells or upgrade to elites have not had fully upgraded internals (IE... the elite longshot.) In that case you'd still get a increase in effectiveness for that style of mod.
Most of the newer stuff has a smart AR or a better plunger system which makes removing the AR unnecessary and in some cases can make the gun stop working properly (like a friend's vagabond. )

[FoamFlingingFoamFarmer]

So, how do I tell if there is any benefit to removing the AR?

Would removing the AR in a Strongarm be a good idea?

Has anyone made a list detailing which blaster benefit?

1. Just know that there is barely a benefit of removing the AR from any elite blasters, including blasters in the newer lines like Doomsland 2169, which all have a direct plunger system. That statement especially applies if you are comparing just AR removed to just stock, with no other mods on both. I think it helps when adding a stronger spring. The older plain N-Strike blasters and before that have an inderect plunger system, and the AR should be removed. I'm not sure on the exact physics of how the AR affects the two different plunger sytems though. I don't think another quote is required here, but right above, Elliot W says the "elite" longshot. The new blue longshot is not an elite blaster. Look at Coop's or anyone else's review, and the box doesn't actually say elite, it just says N-Strike, so that doesn't really count as an elite blaster. The point is that removng the AR from any of the current longshots will help.

The Strongarm is superior in every way to the Maverick. Both are slide-action, not the hammer-action of your Hammershot. I love a good old fashioned pullback pistol myself; the old Nightfinder or Tech Target Gun (TTG) and the new Firestrike are examples. The TTG is one of the longest range (stock) blasters I own, and all I did was rebarrel the thing.
 

Removing the ARs is something you do to make it so your blaster can fire homemade darts, which don't have the hole through the middle. The ARs also sometimes hinder performance, though in many recent blasters it's more work than it's worth to remove them and others absolutely require them to remain functional. They're usually an 'easy' mod though, as all you're doing is opening up the blaster and pulling out parts. Adding springs is also an 'easy' mod, assuming you can get/find springs to add.

The reason the Strongarm is better is obviously it shoots harder, but in addition to that, the turret is also better with the Strongarm because it is more snappy and crisp, while the maverick's turret doesn't feel as clean, and can sometimes not turn properly if met with just a little resistance. I also agree with MeakerVI that the pullback pistols can shoot really hard when rebarreled

 

It's not always removing the ARs that make the blasters fire homemade darts like stephans and slugs, but clipping off the dart pegs or whatever goes into the hole of the dart to help align it which I think isn't even a needed thing when using the stock darts they were designed for.

 

Hope this helps someone!

[justajolt]

To answer your second question, if you're enjoying the pistol feel, consider a modified Barricade (3S motors... 100fps if you get it right and 10 darts as opposed to 5) or a minimised (remove the dart-holding stock and chop the barrel off) Doomlands Lawbringer for 12 shots!

 

They're both a little chunkier, but phenomenal pistols!

[C-A 99]

Summary of removing the AR:

Pros:
- Increases reliability when firing worn darts.
- Very slight performance increase with stock internals; about 10-15 FPS or so (depending on darts).

Cons:
- Need to remove locks to allow de-priming, which will disable slam-firing (if available).
- Modern Hasbro Nerf blasters have extremely weak plunger heads; dry firing is even worse now. (Although the plunger heads will wear out over time even if you leave the AR intact.)

The Verdict: Don't do it unless you're familiar with the blaster or need that very little bit of extra performance/reliability. Don't do it if the blaster will be loaned out. (Duh.) I avoided doing so at all to the Strongarm and Hammershot (and similar blasters), since the AR is only present on the plunger and is fairly unintrusive. (Even compared to the ARs used in a breech.)

Note on Smart AR's: They have inferior reliability. Outside of the Triad and Rough Cut, I wouldn't even bother. If your darts are worn or sit in the barrels for a long time, you may have to push them in before/after firing, since air leaks can push them out before they're supposed to which will prevent the dart from firing. The AR is really just a valve to allow or constrict airflow, and if the dart isn't loaded far enough, it won't fire at all.

My main picks for modern Nerf stock/superstock class:

- Sidearm-sized blaster. Strongarm or Hammershot/Sweet Revenge (SR has better handle).
- Magfed sidearm-sized blaster. Retaliator or Champion are good choices.
- Buzz Bee Sentinel. Leave it stock, or drill out the AR/remove the locks/add plunger padding. Removing the AR gives about a 20 FPS boost (depending on darts). This blaster not only replaces the Rapid Fire Tek, but will let you stomp over the kids with expensive mod kits at a mere $17 (or down to $10ish when on sale). Cabelas and Kmart have them, but their availability is supposedly increasing.
- Flywheels: Stryfe or Demolisher, rewire it with a new switch, optionally swap out the motors, and get LiFePo4 batteries or IMR (LiMn) batteries. Do NOT get anything with "fire" in the name. (They will catch on fire.) Demolisher has slightly better stock motors, I believe, but a Stryfe has a large sidearm form factor that's perfect for close quarters gameplay.

Don't really need flywheels either unless your playing circumstances forces you to play a little dirty. (i.e. 6-man teams who are all carrying flywheels and filling the air with darts in confined close quarters where higher performance blasters are unavailable or unallowed.)

Get some darts too, and get them from eBay. Look up Snoop Doggy Doge's guide for the details. The short answer is to get Koosh or USC darts. Koosh are reliable in flywheels but cost 10 cents each. USC's are just under 3 cents apiece now and are very reliable in magfed springers. However, their length is not consistent (about one out of every 10 or 20 darts is too short), so I usually modify the dart pusher of the blaster to accommodate. However, they work well in every other blaster type so I stick with them. Koosh, USC's, and ACC's in general all have comparable accuracy. The only eBay dart with significantly inferior accuracy is the Voberry, which is a hollow-tip dart that's basically a replica of the Elite.

Never buy darts in the store, not even the Buzz Bee nor Elite suctions.

[The2ndBluesBro]

Lots of stuff

The FPS gain you list for the AR removal is accurate for the old n strike blasters and the longshot (and similar blasters like the sentinel) but elite blasters only get ~2 FPS because the AR is better designed.

[Maniacal Coyote]

I've found a website that sells ACC darts, which work well in airguns, springers, and stringers (like the Crossbolt and Codebreaker), but the heads slip in flywheels. On the bright side, you can cut them down for use as stefans.

They're 4 cents per dart, if you get a 50-pack.

Just search "Nerf darts black" on wish.com