Notes From a Maker

A semi-automatic mag-in-grip Nerf pistol has long been the holy grail in Nerf design. Fortunately, the hobby has come to a point where mag-in-grip pistols are now possible. While many are electronic and rely on tiny flywheels, very few are air powered due to many engineering challenges. This is a prototype design I'm working on that aims to solve some of those challenges in an unusual way. Difficulties with Pneumatic Nerf Pistols So why is it so difficult to design a semi-automatic Nerf pistol? There's a couple of obstacles which make it different and more challenging compared to a larger form factor blaster like a rifle. Dart Size Dart size is a huge constraint to Nerf design. Before the popularization of half darts, it was impossible to fit a magazine in the grip due to the darts being nearly 3 inches long. Half darts make it possible at last for magazines to be able to be held in the grip. Even still, the darts are larger than one of the largest pistol calibers, the .50AE, a...

The Nerf Rapidstrike is one of Nerf's fully automatic flywheel magfed blasters. Released in 2013, it was the first fully automatic flywheel blaster in Nerf's stable, and it remains one of the premier modding platforms for fire rate. While there have been other full auto blasters released later on like the Hyperfire, the Rapidstrike is more preferred for modding because of the pusher system, which can be pushed to very high fire rates without skipping darts, which the conveyor belt systems in later blasters are wont to do.  Target and Parts I am targeting a very budget build, utilizing relatively affordable components compared to what's out there. Battery will be 3S to maintain commonality with my Stryfe, as I plan on using that as my only battery. FPS will be in the 150-ish range, if not slightly lower to stay within the FPS limits of our local group. Fire rate will be as high as possible, and the highest I have seen so far is around 16DPS. Now that's not practical at a...