Nerf and "Assault-Style Guns"

EDITOR'S NOTE: You should only hear or read "nerf blaster" or "foam blaster" from Click Click BAMF venues in most cases. Nerf and competitors don't make guns. It's true, you can't really get around grouping these into the "toy guns" category, but as children grow older parents and communities can educated them on the differences. Banning "assault-style" toys will not solve the problems our society faces.

Warriors, you may have already seen the news circling around about this letter that a New York consumer watchdog group, Empire State Consumer Project, Inc., sent to Hasbro at the beginning of the month. The authors ask the Hasbro board of directors to "remove assault-style toy weapons from [their] product offering."

You can see the entire letter for yourself at the end of this article. Within the first paragraph of the letter, the two authors call the products appearing in a tv spot "extreme Nerf machine guns" and later deem them "emblems of mass destruction". I am impressed that these folks have undercut their own credibility so quickly. It usually takes these kinds of groups at least a couple of paragraphs to stretch their hyperbole to insane levels. The letter cites blasters from a recent Christmas commercial, none of which are automatic or represent any weapons of mass destruction.

As several others in the community have also said, I thought it was a The Onion article or similar when I first saw some of the coverage on this. There are people with a bone to pick on either side of the debate here and there are varying levels of coverage. I encourage you to read the letter for yourself, because it's better to be informed before you form an opinion (see below).

Speaking of a bone to pick, I have my own. I will say that I appreciate some groups who take issue with some of the styles Nerf has picked for their blasters. Don't get me wrong, I love me some nerf and other blasters. However, somewhere along the way, some of these blaster got a lot closer to the real thing.

Some of the Fortnite blasters have taken things over the edge. You can do you best to tell me how they are based off of a game, but several of the current Nerf Fortnite blaster get too close to the real thing for kids. We've lost a degree of separation. Is it earth-shattering? No! Am I all anti-Hasbro over it? No! But I do think it could get them into trouble down the road. Also, I feel that they have eroded a bit of the argument against the anti-gun activists. Not these anti-gun activists, mind you. However, there are people with reasoned arguments out there you could have a real conversation with.

Regardless, we aren't bothered enough to stop covering blasters or the fun we have with them. So next time someone says, "it's blaster not gun", remember why we keep some separation. This is why we don't paint blasters black and it's why many people don't like going full MILSIM in the community.

Just my two cents...

They'll likely never read this, but I want to reply and I want to focus on one question these two raise in their letter:

"How does promoting play with huge automatic weapons create joy, creativity and connection around the world, and across generations, and make the world a better place for children?"

Answers:

1. There are no automatic weapons in the spot you refer to in your letter. It's hard to take you seriously when you cite evidence inaccurately.
2. If we fix your errors and reframe the question to begin "How does promoting play with Nerf blasters ...", now we can get somewhere. The first answer is simple. Ask the question without the Nerf blasters part. Now answer it. There is your answer.
3. Please feel free to peruse the many offerings of nerf groups, arenas, friendly neighborhood games and creative content available for kids of all ages across the fine invention called the internet. The evidence for creativity and connection, intergenerational play and better communities is evident.  

Empire State Consumer Project by News 8 WROC on Scribd

AirForce Blowgun - Blow by Blow Review

Got the chance to get another review up! This time is the AirForce BlowGun from the company with the same name.

I just got done talking with the creators of the BlowGun and they've got some good news. They're checking out new samples from the factory right now that account for left-handed users. In addition, they tell me that a new design on the tube will get rid of the small jamming problem from using too much pressure to pull in a dart.

We should also talk more about the Range category. Becky from AirForce BlowGuns had some good responses to our review that I want to bring up. We should really acknowledge that the Range results will vary based on the individual operator (they include that on the box as well). We tested out the blaster with what I would consider an average force of breath. But the beauty of the blowgun design is that you can vary your breath to change the distance you are firing the darts. I am looking forward to trying this blasters in an upcoming, full-on battle to give it the best workout possible.

Maybe at some point we can add a chronometer and pressure or force measurement to the testing for a more thorough review too.

I'm looking forward to continuing to cover the AirForce BlowGuns. I think things will just keep getting better! ~Chris

Brand New - AirForce BlowGuns

Warriors, have you heard of AirForce Blowguns? I started watching these guys develop a few months back after an article that popped up in a search. The article was out of the Daily Herald in Utah and was titled Family works together to create fun foam gun for all ages.

The writer gives a lot of the background of the family and the start of their endeavors. But, of course, you're going to want to get a lot more on the operation of the gun and how it works. Well, we'll get that covered!

Check out the unboxing and be assured that a review is in the works:

Foam Assault - NERF in the News

Well Warriors, I guess you'd better be careful who you toy with. Apparently some cops will charge you with assault for firing a foam dart at someone. Also, KMOV reported this as an attack. Technically it is, but come on! You don't have to say dumb things just because the local law enforcement folks did. In my day job, I am an assignment editor for a local news station. I would go find the couple to react to the ridiculous charges or even a worker or manager from the store to tell you why they want to press charges.

Nerf Assault Blaster - The Elite Rapidstrike Review

Hey Warriors,

We recorded the NERF N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike review over the weekend. I'm pretty impressed with the output on this beast, but the accuracy left much to be desired. This is so close to one of the greatest blasters available but for that downfall in targetting.

I still really like this blaster and I feel that it does have application in a NERF war. As some other bloggers have pointed out, the semi-auto blasters like the Hail-fire or the Stryfe may still be better options for accurately raining darts on your enemies whereas the Rapidstrike could be a supressive fire hound.


~Chris