So I have been working Hard on my Single shot pistols lately, much to some people's terror, Jealousy, bafflement why they cost so much and just plain dumb human fear. Now I can understand stock blaster, stock plunger tube, that much power, fits in a glove box or pocket you know what I mean, "fear"! ("Don't let johnny have that, He'll shoot his eye out!")
No i'm not touting my own horn here, sorta bringing up a notion that is putting the single shot pistol back behind everything else. Behind the Stampedes, Rapidstrikes, Longshots, Stryfes, Retaliators and airguns like the Panther and the 3k. Just saturate the playground with 1000 rounds of darts at once, that seems to be the direction of half the Nerf meets I go to. It's just not the way I play and pretty soon, if not more of the single shooters that are not rifles like pullbows are not better supported and easier to make pull 100+ flat typically, the Nerf battle field might see pistols diminishing soon.
Sorry guys, my nickname is indeed "Sharpshooter" Hell my 18 Kg R-Spec Ultra Match Firestrike is in the Glove box of my car! I am the worst offender of the no bystanders rule outside of Nerf battles at the request of game organizers. I have shot at Theme park employees, in movie theaters, former rival High School Principals, Snipe birds, raccoons and some chick who threw a sparkler rod at me 2-4th of July's ago. Lets face facts, I am an Assassin, and a mighty single shot pistol that can clear 130 feet or better of flat ground is the key to being one and getting away unnoticed. Even If I miss, it really makes people jump, especially when you have enough power to clear across Marina Del Rey from the slips to Chace Park and nobody knows where the dart came from!
I don't advise others to do so, teenagers, hell most teens can't even draw an 18 Kg Firestrike, my own father could barely draw the Bird Of Prey today, built in childproof, gotta love it!
What major company will make a better plunger rod? Other than Ve nom of the NIC? maybe nobody? The Rebelle line seems to have a pretty good plunger rod, and I never ever needed Polycarb as a trigger catch, but honestly I think many people are missing the boat at the major mod parts companies. So I asked em, Dninja Heng of Xplorer had most of the vision, gave me the most serious of consideration of anybody, hell he bought 2 of them, more than fair, but that's where it sat after that. Orange Mod Works tried to pass it off their forum as "Oh yeah, basic modder project." It is far from it, let me explain why....
Even an in depth revolutionary mod project like the first open breach Retaliator that can shoot 110 flat is nowhere near as hard. People couldn't believe it, or maybe they did but for some reason they hated it. So many arguments online, when does anyone ever not argue with me about something? And I can't say some of them weren't my fault. Some people are welcome and constructive, and some just have some flea in their ass. But here in this quest, at least I had reinforced parts like the lovely Xplorer composite plunger's and metal catches made by Orange Mod Works.
But a Firestrike, much more limited? You have a Plunger cap that once it is glued in place, you can't remove it (put in your springs wrong, your catch wrong and you are fucked!). You have a plunger rod so soft, they were made probably from old recycled JEM dolls. You could use PVC as barrel, but I have fear of cracking and popping the barrel off during firing sending the plunger head crashing into the coupler. This is because a friend heavy in math skills said to me one day that the 16 Kg probably approaches 135 PSI and that a 18 Kg might go as high as 165. I don't know if he was right, but since it's low air volume, all you can do is increase the pressure, so probably close.
So you have to be good with brass, really good as in no burrs, no bends, no kinks and no pipe cutters except the back of the brass tube. I protect my barrels with a 9/16th's barrel sleeve. You have to cut the damn thing with a file and then get it perfectly round the same length and get a perfect air volume of the brass tube, which increases for every increase in power I go to use the power effectively. Oh but that's not the best part, you have to make a spring catch/separator in the back or it eats the catch on the already soft plunger rod, boy it is so fun drilling a hole and filing a perfect rectangle in that $.89 piece of thin steel that I just want to top it!
So why not make these parts premade? My guess? These blasters are made for crazy playboys like me and widespread fears that parents will throw a trombone if their kids had it is probably the reason. But I make them, You can buy them at my store, they are not cheap, but neither is anything else that is fun.
If I worked on what everyone else does, that wouldn't be progress would it? Lots of people get great results, and I mean really fucking great with how/what they build, but I like to be different. I mean a longshot for example, everyone has modded one if I went and done it, it would be nothing special, besides I think the best is already built, and I didn't build it.
Have A Day.
--Cartaya
