Monday, August 6, 2012

Nerf N-Strike Elite Hailfire: Underwhelming


All hail the Hailfire; the all new 9-9 blaster from Nerf that has been in the rumour mill for a while now, being the flagship model for their new N-Strike Elite range. It is an all new original design that boasts the ability to hold the highest capacity of rounds of any Nerf blaster to date, semi auto fire (via 4AA battery run flywheel mechanism) and of course touts the new Elite performances of up to 75 feet! 

And yeah baby, we got one, and we were excited- remember the first time you first fired rounds from the Vulcan or the Stampede and you burst out laughing at the sheer power and fun you got from it?

The all new N-Strike Elite Hailfire.. err not so much. Full review after the jump.


The first thing I thought when I received the parcel in the mail was "this box is kinda small".. It's not the largest bit of kit on the block definitely. Standard customary late teens/early 20s looking dude in black skivvy with grim face on the box art. I received my unit from Amazon.com so it's still boasting the 75ft ranges which is a good thing.

 Back of the box just toots the Hailfire's features- the top grip handle doubles as an advancing lever for your clips, an accelerator button much like the Vortex Nitron that powers up the flywheels and slots for 8 clips, giving it a boot load of firepower.



It of course plugs the "Hailfire Upgrade Kit" given there are slots for 8 clips but you're only provided with four out of the box.
Gush gush: Hailfire blurb


Inside the box, is the blaster, the two piece carousel "ammo rack cover", the two piece handle attachments, four Elite clips and 24 Elite darts.. and a manual.


The Hailfire itself is actually quite small, given the hype- it's actually shorter than a Rampage/Raider in length and without the ammo covers it kinda has pump action shot gun style cues which I find lends itself to me wanting to grip the bottom/front of the blaster a lot.


I really have to make a point about the lack of clips in the package. Remember how the Stampede came with a 3 18 round clips and a 6 round clip? That was an impressive kit. Here, the Hailfire touts off the high capacity with 8 slots for clips, and they only provide you with four 6 round clips. Yes I appreciate it's a blatant ploy to get you to go out and buy more but really? 24 rounds? That's it? A Rampage has more than that out of the box.
The ammo rack cover comes in two pieces that you snap in place- it's supposed to be a semi permanent attachment an once in, does give the Hailfire a somewhat "Star Trek Starship Enterprise" look about it


On the top, you snap the handle pieces together and this works as both a grip to hold stabilise the blaster when shooting (a la Vulcan style) but is also the advancement lever;pushing it forward will advance the clips onwards in the ammo rack. It is made for small hands, so mine fit in nicely.



Still on top of the Hailfire is a nifty clear jam door just behind the handle. Gives you a nice view of what's going on inside every time you fire:)


Behind the jam door is the customary tactical rails for adding other Nerf attachments. While this is all good and well, adding any scope gets negated by the handle in front of it, not to mention it's kinda awkward to use a scope if you're holding it that way.  There's not a whole lot of other stuff you'd put on that position (MAYBE the Barrel break dart holder? Sorta?) so it's sorta impractical.



It's got a pretty snubbed muzzle which I like, and I also noticed inside there's NO rifling- just conventional straight line grooves.



Underneath the muzzle is another tactical rail, which is useful for attaching the Retaliator or Stampede front grip but not much else.  Unfortunately the rail is too short, so something like the Recon light juts out the back too much and interferes with the clip advancement. Fail.

Looks tough, but the Recon's light sticks out the back blocking the clip

At the rear of the Hailfire is the battery compartment; using a battery sled it takes four AA batteries which is pretty good as far as weight is concerned.


Like the Rayven CS-18 and Vortex Nitron, the Hailfire uses an "Accelerator Trigger" under the main trigger to power up the flywheels. It's in a good spot and feels pretty comfortable and easy to activate with minimal pressure. 

So, now to the clips. Loading clips is a matter of manually sliding them into the slots in the carousel with the darts facing outwards. It's pretty straight forward, but there are no quick release buttons, it's just gripping via a little nub in the slot and it's the same as unloading- it's simply pulling the clip out. To be honest I didn't really like this- I watched some friends under pressure trying to reload quickly and they either put the clip in incorrectly, missed the slot or were too gentle with it trying to take the clip out that they thought it was stuck.


It's not an easy blaster to reload on the fly; it's a lot easier if you can have the time to turn it over and load the clips and this takes time






 There are 8 slots, and they do accommodate all types of clip; depending on the size will depend how many rounds you can load but one thing I found was just because you CAN load up 4 35 round drums doesn't mean you should. I found issues with the Hailfire using non Elite series clips with jams. Keeping it with Elite series gear was fine although it looked a bit like a tragic mess given I was using an 18 round mag, a 12 round mag, and then a 25 round drum.

Nice and clean with only four 6 round clips..
Literally everything I had.. what a mess:P
Once the batteries were in and clips were loaded, we were ready to rock. I'd gotten over the underwhelming  general 'presence' of the Hailfire- and just wanted to fire off some rounds but there are a few things to consider..

Well firstly, build quality feels rattle-y. This is partly because of the massive exposed area of the ammo rack- it just feels flimsy and  too often the edges of the plastic uncomfortably cut into your hand.  The grip and trigger itself feel great, and the front looks tough, but it's.. all of the bits in between that just feel like it's almost.. unfinished.

Ergonomically, this is a blaster that just doesn't feel.. right. How am I supposed to hold it? One could in theory use it with one hand, but it's obviously very weighty in the front so it's not comfortable. With two hands, the supporting hand wants to naturally hold it on the under carriage, but the clips are in the way- the front of the blaster works well if you have small hands, but 1) the inside of your forearm rubs against the clips, and 2) once you're out of ammo for that clip, you've gotta advance it by using the handle on the top. Which is fiddly on the run.


So what does that tell us? The Hailfire WANTS to be held by the handle; it's designed as a suppressive fire "heavy" blaster but it just feels so small and.. well wrong to be held that way.

A practical alternative- the Retaliator grip is ideal..until you need to advance your clip
It also means forget any scope or aiming, but even if you do hold it by the handle, you end up with this awkward elbow thing happening that makes it all rather uncomfortable. This ain't no Vulcan, folks.



The big round centre of the Hailfire just gets in the way. Even if you have a shoulder strap, it feels like you've got a model spaceship strapped to you rather than a blaster, and it feels awkward whether it's slung on the side or your back or around your neck.... It doesn't lend itself to the whole "primary"/"secondary" thing. It's also not an easy blaster to transport- good luck getting it into your kit bag!


The reloading of the clips on the fly is a pain. We ran up and down my apartment and everyone who got to use the Hailfire would accidently try to insert the clips incorrectly, upside down, wrong way up and in that time would be absolutely hammered by opposing players. It's very much a "load once- fire off all rounds, discard" type of blaster we found in the end.


Onto the actual performances. It actually was also a little underwhelming here- perhaps because it IS flywheel, but I found the darts fishtailed more than the other Elite blasters, almost like using a modded conventional Nerf blaster with Streamlines. Accuracy wasn't fantastic either- but I guess you don't get the Hailfire for accuracy:) I also wasn't getting consistent ranges- some of them might have made the boasted 75 feet, but you had no real certainty that your next round would.


 If the Pyragon exceeded all of my expectations and got me excited all weekend, the Hailfire has been a massive thud to reality and made me just go "hmm yeah well it's o..k....". As a piece of kit, it's no worse than any other Nerf blaster- ranges are decent, build quality in parts is ok and it's novel and innovative to look at I guess. But it gets a massive thumbs down for ergonomics as it's awkward to use but is also lacking in cool factor aesthetics being so small and strange looking.


This is a problem because I find it also impractical in actual battle with inconsistent performances and just impractical to load/reload- I'll be keen to see how Neil and his boys at the Canberra and Southern NSW Dart Tag crew go with it in play, because I myself just find it's not right for apartment warfare. We were looking for an Elite replacement to the Vulcans at the top of my stairwell.. Not sure this is it m'fraid.

I'd suggest the upcoming Stockade might be a better flywheel blaster, but as far as "fit for purpose"-I'm assuming the Hailfire is best suited for someone who doesn't want to move a lot, and happy to just sit back and fire away bootloads of rounds while also being protected at the same time while he/she reloads. It's not my thing, and while I don't mean to "bag" it per se, I think my expectations of what comes out of the Nerf stable to be a lot higher these days.

It's not BAD, but it's definitely well over priced for something that I doubt is going to get a whole lot of use in  UT HQ. We paid almost a hundred bucks (including shipping) and while for the purposes of this review I'm glad I have it, I'd definitely not want to be buying another at that price in a hurry.

59 comments:

  1. Absolutely kick ass review as always Pocket, that's some serious detail there! Like how honest you are with your reviews. Guess Hasbro should have taken the oppotunity to put you on the pay while they had the chance haha

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  2. How about with a voltage mod?

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  3. I always liked it more when we didn't know where you got the blasters from because it made it all so much more mysterious and exciting. Sounds like I won't bother ordering one, this is the first time i have seen it from all angles and you are right that it looks like something out of star trek. Beam me up scotty!

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  4. And now...I wanna see it with a half naked girl.

    Like a BOSS

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    1. I am surprised we didn't see one with the Pyragon given the amount of love Pocket was giving it:)

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    2. Give it time, Pocket probly just has not had the chance to pry the Pyragon out of his own hands to take the pics :)

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  5. Another 'on the money' review, keep em coming! BB

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  6. First honest review so far. Stick it to 'em UT!

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    1. True, every other review has been very biased and says the Hailfire is great without really explaining why. This one really gives me a good idea of what I'd expect if I got one. I think I too would be disappointed. Thanks UT you saved me some cash!

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    2. The Pyragon's accuracy kicks ass over the Hailfire. I'd hit target every time with the Vortex blaster while the Hailfire was random and darts fishtailed too much for my liking. It's not the HvZ game changer everyone's been saying.

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  7. So it would have been better if it were larger?
    As in Vulcan sized? (maybe a little smaller)
    I reckon a side mounted handle would have been good.

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  8. You talk about ergonomics and aesthetics and all that, are you really qualified to say whether it is or isnt? I'm sure Hasbro went through months of vigorous testing with designers and market research. No offence, I just don't think some kid who likes toys in australia is really the best person to be criticizing what looks like something well designed and thought out.

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    1. Actually yeah. I was/am a graphic designer in a previous life and my current day job involves working with usability, ergonomics, accessibility and mobility issues. I consult on social media and user research. And it's my opinion, you're more than welcome to get yourself one and let me know your thoughts.

      No offence taken. :P

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    2. Bahahahahha SMACK

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    3. I'm guessing this guy is either a troll or nerf exectutive(not you pocket, Anonymous)

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  9. I wanna get it anyway but probably wait till it's cheaper. It doesn't sound like it's worth importing.

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  10. I've never really been a fan of the way this frankenstein of a blaster looks, nor the way it functions. too much riff raff and not enough pop pop bang. Excellent review pocket, now I know to definitely not get one.

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  11. LOL, I was right from the 1st pic I saw of the hailfire. I'm not a professional designer of any kind but 1st thing that poped into my head was "my god that looks ackward" & flywheel sealed the deal. Thanks pocket for saving me & hopefully anyone who reads this review $50-$100 depending on how they were plaining on obtaining this one. Just wish I would have placed a bet with someone on the how good/bad the hailfire would be :)

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  12. It's a LOT easier to boycott Nerf in September now, now that I know the Hailfire is a piece of crap:-) Great review though, I'm sure in the right hands it'll be still ok. You're right that we just expect so much of Nerf these days that they really are running out of ideas. I see this advancement lever thing to be one of the first things to break.

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  13. Its not that bad. Someone's just bitter and pissed off that they didn't get the scoop on this like they used to before Hasbro came down on them...

    If you hate Nerf so much why have a blog? Just sayin'.

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    1. I don't think you can really say that, if you read a few posts earlier Pocket gave the Vortex Pyragon a massive tick for being an awesome blaster in it's own right. He's had excellent reviews on the Retaliator and Rampage, and he's taken pics of Nerf blasters with his hot model friends. I don't think you can suggest in any shape or form that he is "bitter and pissed off" at Nerf. Hasbro have harmed themselves and the community by making such a mess of things and they should have embraced UT the same way they do with the US blogs (though even then what about great blogs like Nerf Mods).

      I read Urban Taggers because it is so impartial and honest with its reviews. I have a feeling you're the one who's "bitter and pissed off" and just trying to stir trouble.

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    2. Pocket is not flaming nerf in some kind of lame vindeta over falling from nerfs good grace. He's just giving a very comprehencive review. And in fact at the end of the review he even says it's not bad

      "It's not BAD, but it's definitely well over priced for something that I doubt is going to get a whole lot of use in UT HQ. We paid almost a hundred bucks (including shipping) and while for the purposes of this review I'm glad I have it, I'd definitely not want to be buying another at that price in a hurry."

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  14. I don't think it was a BAD review at all. It didn't say it was garbage, it just says exactly what we all thought from the start, that it looks uncomfortable to hold. Then when we saw those One Direction pics, we all thought it looked smaller than we expected. There's nothing in the review that is by any means a surprise, it's just validating what we all thought all along.

    I was never impressed with it. I think the Strong Arm is the blaster of choice. I am interested in the Pyragon now though and it might just well be the first Vortex shooter I end up getting.

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  15. I'm hoping to get mine from Amazon tomorrow, although I am glad I've read this review because I would be very disappointed that they only provide 4 clips, what a bunch of tightarses. I also am surprised with the way the clips load in and out because it looks like it can easily wear out with over use. Is the handle a tight fit or wobbly because I can imagine trying to advance the clips will be really awkward.please answer -IrOnF15T

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  16. Still think you need to do more vids so we can see how it actually works in action but great review as always Pocket, really detailed and impartial. You da man!

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  17. Having just picked up a Hail-Fire, I honestly feel it was worth the wait for me. I'm 6' 1" and I don't think the blaster is too small for me, or my hands. The flywheel system IMO works better than any of the other semi-auto fly wheel dart blasters, and no where near as annoying loud as say the Nitron. The Rayven has a hard time being semi-auto. I haven't modded mine or anything, but when ever I fire my Rayven quickly, the blaster struggles to keep up, causing the darts to decrease in range. With the hail fire, every time I pull the trigger, no matter how fast, the darts fly out solid and true. The ammo rack is nuts to look at, at first, and I'll admit I thought it was silly, but now that I own one, its just a neat feature to be able to mix and match ammo magazines. I also think the hail-fire is more solidly built than say the, Pyragon, which mine is currently unable to operate for some reason since it keeps jamming, and won't fire discs successfully now. I think the pyragon is more "rattly" compared to the hail-fire and even its vortex brethren, praxis and lumitron. I guess I'll have to buy a 2nd pyragon to see if this is a common trait. I will agree with the review and say the hail-fire is best used as a "fire and toss" blaster, but still while its being fired, I had lots of fun with it. And yes, reloading is a pain, but hasn't it always been tiring reloading the larger drums, or multiple high capacity mags? You just have to reload more with this guy!

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    1. Ahem, your Pyragon's a faulty one. Read Tactical Tag's Review and you'll be amazed.

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    2. Ah, thank goodness. I was afraid it wasn't just my blaster that was faulty! Looks like I'm keeping the extra drum I'll be getting!

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  18. I am going to respectfully disagree with you here. I am a huge HvZ player, so maybe the way we intend to use are blasters are different, but I love the Hailfire. It's much lighter than the Vulcan/Stampede and less bulky, making it way easier to use. It is semi instead of full auto, meaning you can be more precise with your aim. But I did like the review, and if everyone agreed on everything than the world would be a boring place.

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  19. i didn't like this blaster since we 1st saw it, and now i know it is just as disappointing as i 1st expected, why has nerf failed at giving us a good flag ship blaster for the past 2 times, the hail fire and the nitron.

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    1. Electric doesn't translate into flagship(though if you squint just right the hailfire kinda does look like the enterprise). I vote the Pyragon as the flagship blaster for this season, the hailfire is just the ugly cousin.

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    2. Pyragon was really a revamped Praxis whereas a flagship blaster is normally a completely new and unique design, which the Hailfire is. And its the one that's to be released on 9-9 too. So Nerf is expecting the Hailfire to be the flagship model.

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    3. >Pyragon was really a revamped Praxis
      Maybe in the same way every RP CS blaster is a revamped Recon. When you look at the Pyragon and the Hailfire, both of them have the highest ammo capacity of their respective lines. One of them fires faster and harder than the rest of its line, the other is, well, the Hailfire. They are both the flagship blasters of their lines (Nitron has surely been dethroned), it just happens that one of them brings a lot more to the table.

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    4. OMG! Everyone thinks the Pyragon is a revamped Praxis. It is NOT. It has slam-fire, a 40 disc drum and BETTER ranges.

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    5. Exactly! The Pyragon has a foregrip, a magazine and excellent ranges.

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  20. I think the best option is to mod it so the pumping of the handle is underneath on that tac rail. Allow for proper holding AND for use of the top tac rail.

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    1. Best mode would be get it for the clips(oh wait you can get the upgrade pack for those) and then give the poor awkward mutant a merciful death(I hear sledge hammers work good on a cathartic level)

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  21. I'd rather they made an Elite Vulcan with a redesigned belt that could be extended or another blaster that used the belt in general, brought back fond memories of my old Razorbeast. Then again I am still hoping beyond reason for a ballistic ball BullSharc GL-8 (or whatever the name was) like in the Wii game.

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    1. I'm no engineer, but I'm guessing Nerf is embracing the flywheel design because of of it's innate simplicity and low power consumption. It's how you can get away with 4 AA batteries instead of 6 D cells.

      The spring in an Elite Vulcan would be even stiffer, and require a more powerful motor to cycle, in turn requiring more power. I doubt we'll see any more electric spring blasters from Nerf, though we can all dream of an Elite Vulcan :)

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  22. Thanks for the truthfull reviews I pick my nerf guns of youre reviews thanks for being honest. I am just going to wait and see with this one but im definitely getting a stockade.

    p.s. what did you tink of the barricade

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  23. I got one a couple days ago and it is beast, I don't know what your talking about. I used American Duracell batteries and it works better than my rampage, retaliator

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  24. You know how sometimes you read a review about a movie and one guy loves it and one other hates it? I don't see the difference between that and this. Just cos Pocket doesn't find the Hailfire impressive doesn't mean you won't. I think the review is pretty detailed and shows all sides to the blaster.

    I got mine yesterday and I agree with everything that's been said. Accuracy is awful, fishtailing darts and lack of consistency. It's also horrible to hold and I also believe badly designed. I have been waiting for it for months and was really excited but I don't think it'll ever be one of my favorites.

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  25. Here's a question I've wanted the answer for since I first saw the loading system, hopefully since you've tried this out you can help;

    Would it be possible for a two-man crew, fixed in a static, defensive position and a large pile of loaded clips, be theoretically able to lay down a sustained and continuous barrage of fire for as long as the batteries hold out? as in, is it possible for one person to be firing the Hailfire while a teammate proceeds to swap out empty clips in the loading mechanism for full ones - and in the process make it possible for true non-stop firing?

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    1. This probably could work if you had an infinite amount of clips.... Though, as Pocket said, it's awkward to reload, so I could imagine that it's probably hard for one person to try and reload while one person fires............

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  26. Great review. As an adult player of nerf with a full time job and fairly busy life, I appreciate the concise reporting mixed with honest, whine-free opinion.

    A question for you: were you using rechargeable 1.2V NiMH or standard 1.5V alkalines? Nerf probably touts their 75 foot range using alkalines I'm guessing.

    With some 3.5V+ lithiums (and a battery blank or two) do you think the increased performance and simplicity of the mod would make up for the awkwardness of the blaster? You're only running with 6V stock using alkalines, and I'd reckon you could comfortably bump it up to 9V or so without worrying about burning out the motor.

    What do you think?

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  27. I must agree with you Pocket, this gun is terrible. I bought it, and I hate it. The elite darts are cool, but the gun itself is small bulky and awkward, just as you said. The ranges are okay, but I decided I'm going to return it back to Amazon and get the Pyragon. People seem to be raving about it and there's a video on nerf.com of a Nerf employee emptying all 40 xlr discs is 8 point something seconds.

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  28. Learn how to do a review first before you start bitching at the company that saved your ass. They could've taken your dumbass to jail. If Apple could do it, why wouldn't Hasbro be able to.

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    1. Big words that make little sense.

      "Learn how to do a review?" What, not be honest? Hailfire is crap, Pocket's been more than fair in this review.

      Secondly, if Hasbro had anything on Urban Taggers, I have no doubt they would have taken this all the way. They didn't, they got embarrassed in the process, and there's no "ass saving" here.

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    2. He's clearly a dumb ass troll. Ignore.

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  29. My friend picked up one of these recently and he was also very disappointed with his purchase. It's not easy to run with given the awkward shape of it. People keep saying "it's not meant for that..." at the end of the day the rate of fire is no different to a Barricade or Rayven really. It's the ability to have lots of clips that is it's selling point but its awkward to reload. I won't be buying one for all the same reasons listed in the review.

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  30. im gonna get the hail fire because its the biggests nerf gun that nerf made.

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    1. Just saying, its nowhere near their biggest blaster. It looks about the same size as a Pyragon. If you want a big blaster, get a Vulcan.

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  31. If they made an entirely new nerf blaster for the Elite series, I'm pretty sure we're gonna see more in the future. BTW, if you look at it closely (and with some imagination) the Hailfire without the ammo rack cover kinda looks like a shotgun if you think about it. Maybe nerf is gonna reuse Hailfire parts and just slap on a pump handle where the tactical rail is on the bottom. Just an idea, but a great one indeed :)

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  32. I agree that it is unweildy with the handle on top, and i think thay it would be possible to create a pump action bottom grip that could otate the clips. I dont want want to buy one of these to figure out how to do it, but with some engenuity and the ability to machine parts im sure its possible. I feel tjat with this it could become a very effective weapon

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  33. Pocket,
    You spelt 'boasting' wrong.

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    1. Ooops. Basting.. sounds like a turkey:D Fixed, thanks for the pickup!

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  34. $100.00 USD?!?!?!? Where the hell are you shopping! Damnit that is $70 more than retail price at the cheapest I can check for!!! Now would be a time to "explore new sources"

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    1. At the time of this blog post (should always check that, especially when making these sorts of comments) they were not officially out yet and available on Amazon for around 60 bucks. Shipping to Australia is expensive, hence all up it works out to be around a hundred dollars. These days they're available locally for around 40.

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  35. Perhaps u can mod this thing, remove that unnecessary revolvingclip holder and two piece round shape and throw in just a straight magwell. make it into something that looks like a shotgun from gears of war. Remove the handle so u can use the top rail for a red dot site ir scope. bring back some practicality in design(r.r.)

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