When in Detroit…

Fear this:

http://images.google.com/images?q=police nonlethal nerf round&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&hl=en&tab=wi

See that blue round in the first row? Apparently, Detroit police can use THAT as a nonlethal countermeasure for crowd control.

With the original link provided, here’s the article:

“If Final Four fans get too rowdy, cops have Nerf attack ready

By AMBER HUNT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • April 1, 2009

Detroit Officer Brandon Cole loaded the Nerf round into a launcher, warned onlookers to back away and fired.
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Wham.

The projectile slammed into a tree trunk, leaving a little puff of smoke in its wake.

Cole smiled slyly: “It’d make you leave, right?”

That’s the goal of the non-lethal Nerf round — a blue sponge grenade meant to temporarily incapacitate security threats through blunt trauma. Used properly (read: between 5-120 feet away from the target), the grenades don’t break skin or even break a rib.

Instead, it’s “pain compliance,” Cole said. In short, it hurts, hopefully halting any hijinks that too-feverish Final Four fans might start.

“We’re basically getting prepared,” Cole said.

Not that Detroit police hope — or expect — to have to use any of the non-lethal gadgets their “grenadiers” with the Tactical Mobile unit practiced with today. But Michigan State University has had Final Four-related riots in the past.

If things do get out of hand, Cole said it’s better to use tear gas and sponge grenades than bullets.

Among their arsenal:

• Tear gas that can be deployed grenade-style by pulling a pin and lobbing the can into a crowd, or shot by a 12-gauge launcher or 37-mm gun. Officers usually launch a smoke-only grenade first to test the wind.
• The so-called Nerf rounds, which are shot from a 40-mm gun and travel 300 feet per second.
• The 12-gauge bean bag launch (remember those welts left on Johnny Knoxville in “Jackass: The Movie”?), which are smaller and do more damage than their Nerf counterparts.

“It’s all just physics,” Cole said.

And, hopefully, unnecessary.

“This is just precaution,” he said. “If they know we’re out there, we hope they’ll stay in line.”

Contact AMBER HUNT : 586-469-4682 or alhunt@freepress.com”

Damn… definitely a far cry from getting shot with one of these (http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&um=1&sa=1&q=nerf+ballistic+ball&btnG=Search+Images&aq=f&oq=), eh?

Most extensive one to date-

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What you see above there is my most extensive mod to a nerf gun to date. It started with the disk shot blaster that comes with the whole target game skeet shooting set.

  • seen here

    • I’ve already closed her up, but I managed to double the spring intertwining the stock spring with a spring from an old busted up sharpshooter II I had. It managed to fit just fine, thankfully. It didn’t require me to cut anything shorter.

    However, this also meant that I needed to find a stronger small spring for the trigger catch, as I found the stock spring just didn’t… well… catch. It would go off regardless of whether I pulled the trigger or not. A spring I had from an dried up pen fit the bill just nicely. In fact, I doubled those up too in order to make it stay in place.

    The barrel is a stripped marker, and I was lucky enough to have a Rose Art marker which didn’t have the same stubs on the inside you would find with a crayola marker. Stubs = friction which makes for a sad, slow firing panda. I used some super glue and electrical tape to attach the barrel directly to the plunger.

    The plunger head I wrapped in electrical tape, and then put the o-ring over the e-tape in the hopes it creates a better seal. I can only hope. A little silicon lube on the plunger head then made things right as rain.

    You’ll see from the front of the gun I had to remove the orange muzzle when I replaced the barrel, the hole in the muzzle just did not accomodate the marker. After I took the above pics, I used a little mighty putty to reinforce the barrel in the gaps. So far, so good. Leaving out the muzzle piece also meant the barrel assembly inside would shift with each pull of the priming handle, and over time that could be a problem.

    I haven’t performed a full on range test, but there’s definitely an improvement over the stock blaster. The satisfying slam of an AR-free gun, the darts move faster, and there’s a little kick, which is nice. Even a little more lift on the dart when it exits the barrel, so you know it’s good. Either way, all in a day’s work. Now to get started on that longshot that I’ve been putting off for a while…

    Edit 04/06/09:

    Now with video!

    Damn… who knew?

    Ripped from Nerfhaven.com….

    http://5ones.com/nerf-sponsors-dew-tour-900/

    “…They’ve signed on to sponsor the ‘09 Dew Tour. And… as part of the sponsorship, the DEW Tour Festival Village (whatever that is) will host the first ever NERF dart tag world championships.”

    Yeup, a full-on sponsored competition by Nerf/Hasbro! Who knew? Who thunk? A lot of the battles I’ve ever known/heard about were pretty informal deals. Stock class, dart tag… it’s kind of exciting!

    Oh well, one can only hope it’ll make its way through Chicago.

    News! First in awhile.

    http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15226&hl=belt

    The link above will take you to nerfhaven, a fave site of mine (and handily linked to the right). The thread contains some early pics and pretty sweet info regarding a new nerf blaster, the Raider CS-35. Details are sketchy as to the actual performance of the blaster, but after 5 pages of speculation the thread had to be put down.

    So let’s look at what we can figure:

    1) I’m guessing the body and shape is taken from the WII Nstrike game, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT7Q_5I-UVs&feature=related @ 0:24). Some differences include the priming handle along the underside of the barrel, not just a slide as the game suggests.

    2) We see the 35-ROUND DRUM MAGAZINE. Yup. We thought the Vulcan had a lot of ammo to it. Good luck cleaning up! The drum mag looks to attach to the left side of the blaster, and it can be replaced with the more traditional 6 round mags. Yes, you nutjobs that want to, the press release makes it sound like the drum mag can be attached to other “CS” type blasters like the Longshot and the Recon. Why you would do that, I can only guess. At first I was excited to see this: http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=15077&hl=belt but with the Raider in the future only good things can come of this.

    More on this later, I think. It sounds badass for the pure number of rounds you have available without the need for batteries like the vulcan. Cumbersome, yes. Fun? Of course!

    Longshot: CS-6 in review

    Longshot CS-6
    Ammo: new streamline darts
    RoF: six shots/clip and bolt action = really fast.

    One of the newest toys out right now is the Longshot CS-6. It is advertised as “the longest nerf blaster ever!” Part of the n-strike line, the Hasbro definitely seems to speak the truth with this blaster at roughly 3 ft. long.

    For starters,the LS is composed of two weapons: rifle styled blaster and a front pistol that connects to the barrel, probably to keep with the theme dictated by the Titan/Unity Power system. the pistol is front-loaded, allowing one round before needing to reload. The rifle is an entirely different matter. it utilizes a clip system, not unlike the sawtooth and electric eel of years past. Six shots, and without the need for shells. The gun uses a bolt-action mechanism which loads the darts from the clip. pull back on the lever, fire, and pull again.

    performance
    As can be expected from a clip-style weapon, the Rate of Fire is high. Depending on your phyisical abilities one should be able to empty a whole six shot clip in at least 3 seconds, and that is estimating on the slow side. Ranges depend on stock vs. modded. The highest recorded data on range is 97-100′, while stock the gun can get around 35 feet. Naturally, ranges can vary depending on the mods performed, dart ammo used, and outdoor conditions (if applicable.) Accuracy can be a little off as well, the new streamlined ammo tends to spiral widely upon firing.

    BELLS & WHISTLES
    The blaster comes with 2 clips, at six rounds apiece. There’s a rail for an included scope to attach, as well as an extendable stock that doubles as a holder for the second clip. The front sidearm also attaches and removes from the main longshot weapon quite easily.

    Streamlined ammo is not readily available at this time but it is possible to convert stock ammo for use in a Longshot by removing the collar.

    Aesthetically, I do love how the LS feels and moves when shooting, running, etc. The rail on top has since had an additional accessory released for it, a take-off on the light a Nite-Finder has. Don’t get excited it is no laser sight or anything just your basic red flashlight. Just the quirkiness of having a sight on a Nerf weapon was enough to sell me on it. Even stock, the gun is a heck of a lot of fun and in the end isn’t that enough?

    We’re live! Tales from the Front lines…..

    Man, it’s been a long time since the last entry. In the past few months though, a lot has happened. The Magstrike and Longshot came out, to both thunderous applause (kind of) and whispered cautions (if not outright assdickery.) So the run-down:

    Magstrike:
    10-shot, fully auto or (relatively) semi-auto depending on how the weight of your trigger finger.

    Aesthetically, the thing looks pretty sweet albeit a little like a paintball gun. The bladder/stock adds to this effect. Basically a sleeker looking Powerclip (see http://www.nerfcenter.com for pics of the Powerclip) the thing rattles off a spray of ammo among the ranks of the Wildfire and RF-20. The ammo fires out of a 10-barreled clip that auto advances from the internals through the top of the gun. The system is meant to be used for dart tag games and variants, hence the inclusion of the goggles and vest along with 20 dart tag darts. Depending on your tastes you can choose Church or Sarge. I mean, red or blue. The clip can be loaded with either stock ammo with suction/whistler tips, but more on the effectiveness of that later. Sizewise, the gun has a bit of heft to it, for even a grown adult such as myself, and the stock fits rather comfortably against my bicep when using both hands. Honestly though, this gun is made for guns akimbo.

    I said it. AKIMBO. JOHN-WOO CALL ME “TEQUILA” STYLE. If not for the 25-30 pumps needed to prime the weapon, not very feasible in a long-drawn out skirmish. However, one can do the job QUITE nicely. 10 shots, reloading is a snap by pulling out the spent clip from the top of the weapon and sliding the fresh one in with little effort. Despite the split-second break that an RF-20 or Wildfire does not experience in reload, the Magstrike is the victor in target reliability.

    The Wildfire and the RF-20 used a circular, 20-barreled design which got the darts towards the target, but in 20 different locations so the darts had a wider spread but no consistency. With the magstrike firing from a single point (well, 2 since the dart holes are staggered in the clip)the darts at least follow a more similar trajectory where the variance is less than it would be on a wildfire or RF-20. In situations where inches mean the difference between making your shots and falling into retreat, I like the magstrike.

    This gun is by no means perfect though. While a good mechanic, the gun itself seems prey to unreliable performance. The clip barrels may/may not hold the darts if the clip is held facedown. If the darts slip, this means that they will not have the air focusing behind them and instead it will travel around the darts, affecting range and power. I found this especially true of stock sonics, micros, and firefly refills. Even some taggers may be too thin for the barrels on the magstrike clip. I recently took my magstrike out onto the field of battle and ended up switching to my trusty Blastfire because my darts always fell short of the target. Literally, someone managed to avoid all my shots because the darts fell a foot short of where I expected them to end up. That’s partially user error too and fugly ammo, but all the same I didn’t have any taggers at the ready to try out instead. Another issue reported (but not witnessed by me) is misfiring. I don’t recall that happening but that necessitates study. At nerfhaven, someone noted the clip slides back into the body of the Mag, making it possible that empty barrels would fire instead of the loaded ones. A fix has been posted, involving layers of electrical tape. I need to test it range and accuracy wise against the wildfire, rf20, and with tagger ammo loaded in order to ensure the reliability of the initial action. Sadly, I do not own one of the Powerclips so testing the reincarnation against the predecessor is no possible. Right now I want to believe in the Magstrike and further testing/usage is necessary, but I can’t say I feel comfortable enough to call it an “arsenal standard.”

    Transmission out, stay foamy.

    The Future Becometh!

    http://nerfhaven.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5961

    The above topic contains information/discussion about the latest in Nerf gaming. The “Longshot CS-6” and the “Magstrike.” Are upcoming new releases, most likely for the fall (I can tell you right now I hope that’s wrong and we get them in time for summer.)

    The Longshot and Magstrike both use a clip system, which to me is a huge new trait to recent years. More importantly, they’ll come with one additional clip. At the very least a whole new dynamic can be added to the nerf environment. Suppressive fire? Maybe. Steadier shooting? Definitely? Camping? Not with Nerf weapons.

    Modifications have proven that clip systems are possible with nerf weapons, but this makes it way easier for people without the skill, time, and material to do those mods. People like me and my nerf group. We hang out and shoot each other, but we don’t go into boosting performance like a lot of other folk do.

    The important thing here though is that the clip system changes the way we will play. Cover becomes more of an option. It might even slow down the game, with someone waiting a few more steps behind keeping their teammates covered with a longshot as a group of magstrikes proceed ahead. On-the-fly reloading instead of the traditional stop-and-pop that single shot folks do. Getting caught with a pouch of ammo but fumbling around? Fixed! Streamlined set up to work with? Done!

    Of course, maybe I’m getting all worked up over nothing. The Longshot’ll be a bust, the magstrike’ll prove to have been overrated… but dammit I refuse to believe that.

    With the new clip system comes new ammo. Apparently the darts are now going to be collarless, and streamlined to be a tip that’s in-line with the foam of the dart. Not going to change with current guns, but it’ll be easier to use homemade ammo in the clips too, I wager.

    But what of the old guns, the tried and true? My wildfire, my BBB? Hell, my Blastfire? Will the new system prove to be more useful out there? Maybe not. I do plan to lighten the load, but there will always be the original feel of some of the weapons for me. Even if they are single shot weapons.

    I’m excited to see the new stuff, the new innovations that Hasbro is using with the Nerf line. It’s getting warmer, and my trigger finger has had an itch for the past 3 months that I can scratch REAL SOON.

    See?

    See that? Outside? It’s snow. Wet. Going sideways.

    Winter is hell on Nerf. At least in Chicago.