Nerf Mods: A Beginner's Guide

Beginners can be easily repelled from the world of Nerf gun modding by seeing a modification "write-up" that seems complicated. Many modification write-ups do seem confusing at first. However, modding a Nerf gun isn't very hard--It simply takes knowledge of how a Nerf gun works and how a mod should be executed. With this knowledge, modifying Nerf guns is quite simple.

This Instructable will introduce you to the vast world of Nerf gun modifications. It covers basic concepts of Nerf gun modifications written for complete beginners--those who are interested in Nerf guns but unsure of how or where to start.

Step 1 Why Nerf?

Since this question is probably the most common response to hearing about teenagers and adults shooting each other with modified Nerf guns, This will be the very first topic I address. Most people respond to the idea of Nerfing with comments like "Aren't you guys a little too old for Nerf guns?" or "Shouldn't you guys be playing Airsoft or Paintball?" However, I believe that Nerf is a completely different experience than Airsoft or Paintball. One notable aspect is that Nerfing is much cheaper than Airsoft or Paintball. Although Paintball and Airsoft do offer a variety of guns, Nerf offers a different kind of variety: the modification aspect of Nerfing allows for customization of weapons.  For instance, one Nerf gun may be modified to shoot one dart very far or seven darts for a buckshot effect.  Multiple guns may even be combined. For instance, a secondary weapon can be integrated into a primary weapon as a backup shot when you reload your primary.

But, in the end, it is really all a matter of preference.  If you really want to read a more in-depth article about this, here's an article from NerfHaven.com - Nerf Vs. Paintball

Tippmann A-5 image courtesy of sebaraya.com
Nerf Nitefinder EX-3 image courtesy of hasbro.com

Comments

[superscientist1]

nerf is safer to cause in some cases people have been severly hurt from airsoft in one case a kid and his brother were fighting over an airsoft gun and the one brother accidentily shot his brother in the eye who can now never see out of his right eye again sorry if thats depressing but its true

[guerrilafighter]

who cares if its safer. if those brothers were smart they would have been wearing eye protection and had the gun on safety.

[guerrilafighter]

1 i can buy a quality airsoft rifle for $15.2 i have modded many of my guns to spray and my pistols to shoot farther. and 3 in a pro airsoft war you better have a secondary that you can reach quickely or you die. summary...airsoft owns!

[SteeleWorks]

Airsoft is a way better sport because you don't have to go around picking up darts and the ammo is cheaper, plus it gives you more of an adrenaline rush.

[james4]

Hey, do i see Drac's BBB mod on the bottom left corner at the intro pic?

[geek27]

Hmmm, I'm not familiar with that one!  What I did was a simple variation on a mod by joeyalgr.

[nerf___modder]

are there any mods for recon cs-6?

[airsofterz]

i dont understand. how are you supposed to get to the AR in a night finder. do i drill or something.sorry, im inexperienced and this is my first attempt

[airsofterz]

i got it nvm. i used a hacksaw and then broke it apart, and taped it together after.

[geek27]

Well, I know that the barrel assembly on the Nitefinder (it includes the wide orange plunger tube and the barrel) used to come apart if you pulled on the parts. That is, if you pulled, the barrel would come off the plunger tube and so would the air restrictor that is located in the barrel. Nerf does this sometimes, but they might have started gluing these parts together, so your barrel would be glued to the other pieces. In that case, using a hacksaw might have been the right thing, as long as you didn't cut where it would have damaged the pieces beyond function.

But, it seems like what you have is working. However, I can't imagine that the tape will hold for very long. You may want to try a glue, like epoxy.

[Football viking boy]

spring pistols for airsoft are a lot cheaper than nerf

[SaltyNerfer]

Hey, i want to mod my long shot. I already removed the ars, and im going to replace the spring and o ring. Should i do the barrel, too?

[geek27]

Well, doing a barrel replacement on the Longshot really isn't an easy thing. If you wanted to do a barrel replacement for your Longshot and keep the six-shot clip mechanism, you'd probably have to make a complicated breech system, like Forsaken_angel24's mod.  But, that's certainly not an easy modification...

Another, easier option would be to create a simpler breech system that would "single" the Longshot.  In other words, if you make this type of breech, you won't be able to use clips and you'll have to put a dart in manually between shots.  There are a couple of these, like this mod.

You could also just leave it like it is, with the stock breech setup.  Whatever you decide to do, good luck!

[SaltyNerfer]

Thanks for the help.

[ace1423]

AIRSOFT

[Boneshaker]

I just used your guide to modify a Nerf Sharp Shot, fires 50' with stock darts instead of the out of box 25'. 1st of many Nerf mods to come, thanks for posting.

[64bitgenius]

i got my nitefinder to shoot 100', but due to the spring power, the entire thing blew into pieces :( My hand really hurt from the shock after shooting it.

[geek27]

:-)

[mjames-books]

do you have to use the stefans or can you just use normal stock darts will the fit in some mods????

[geek27]

That's a good question. Honestly, if you're modding a gun to have barrels made for stefans, you will be able to fit stock darts in the barrels. However, stock darts work better with some mods and some blasters than others. For example, if you mod a Nitefinder to use a fairly short barrel (like Gengar003's mod, which calls for a 4" barrel), it will be able to shoot both stock darts and stefans.  However, since you're able to rear-load stefans, you can get better range with them.  I'm guessing that stefans would go about 40-50 feet flat on the modded Nitefinder and stock darts would go 25-35 feet.

But, if you have something that calls for a longer barrel, chances are that it won't shoot stock darts very well at all.  The barrel is long so that the stefan will fly a far distance and have a stable flight.  If you front-load a stock dart, the gun will probably fire it and cause the stock dart to spin out of control.  Longer barrels are generally used for more powerful guns, and if the dart doesn't have a long barrel to travel down (stock darts don't because they're loaded in the front of the barrel), the dart will spin out of control.  So, if you are modding a Nitefinder or similar weaker gun, stock darts will probably work just fine.

[puppetmaker77]

What kinds of O-rings do you usually use for these different methods for a Nite Finder? Like what size? The ones on HomeDepot.com seem to be categorized by some sort of number system.

[Arvex]

Probably varies by which Nerf blaster's plunger you have.

[jumpingcat]

can you help me please ... i just modded my raider and the priming handle gets stuck HELP

[SteampunkManiac]

do you have a good way to mod a Deploy CS-6?

[geek27]

Sorry, but I don't know any good ones off the top of my head. There is always NerfHaven though (but that'll require a bit of searching around)!

[meman111]

how would i make a strong barrel setup for the nite finder?

[64bitgenius]

two words, hot, and glue.

[~Z~]

3 words, Hot, Glue, and Fails.

Epoxy+Goop+CA Glue(Super glue)

[Revan_Taros]

i found a use for the air restrictors. take a dart of your choice (i recommend the purple/yellow buzz-bee darts) and take the tip off and set it aside. take an airsoft BB (of your weight) and place it in the hole of the dart. take the AR and push it down onto the side of the dart that has the BB in it. i tested this on a couple of my guns. it works quite well in them, but i have not tested it in a stock gun. for use in front loading guns (scout, nitefinder, hornet etc.) you can leave the prongs on. for use in CS guns, simply break or cut the prongs off. i might make a you tube video of this. let me know how this works.

[ibarnes]

I have also found a use for them, in the nitefinder. Take a dart, any stock dart, and cut the tip off.
Then, take the air restrictor and glue it to the dart, i used Tacky Glue, but im sure others would work, just not hot glue cuz it melts the darts.

[TSC]

Were do you get Stefans?? Cause I can't find them!

[geek27]

Stefans are homemade darts. You make them from foam backer rod and weights.

My stefans are CaptainSlug's stefnas.  This method of stefan making is the less-popular method of making darts, but I find that I produce better stefans following CaptainSlug's method.

There are also a number of instructables on making stefans.  Just search "stefans."

[TSC]

I know that there homemade darts! I mean were do you get the stuff to make the darts??

[william_da_sexy]

u make stefans yourself, lots of tutorials on i. GL

[geek27]

You can get foam backer rod (it may also be called "caulk backing" or anything else involving caulking) at a hardware store in the caulking aisle or area. If you are using weights (fishing weights or BBs are used), you could probably get fishing weights and even BBs from a sports store. If you want to make Slug stefans, you honestly have to buy online. You can't find the felt discs and washers you need for the stefans in the quantity you want at hardware stores. You have to buy these through McMaster.

Enter the item's part number into the McMaster "find" bar.  They are as follows:

Felt Discs - 8771K22
Washers - 91083A009
Foam Backer Rod (If you can't find any at hardware stores) - 93295K43

Mind you, that foam backer rod comes in lengths of 250 feet.  That's why it's so expensive ($35).

[TSC]

OK thanks!

[epitcher1]

im moding my longshot got any good ideas

[geek27]

Well, modding a longshot isn't very easy... if you wanted to go with the best mod in terms of performance, I'm sure that ForsakenAngel24's brass breech mod is one of the best.  However, that one is quite complicated.  If you want to search other mods, I will do my standard direct-you-to-the-Nerfhaven-mods-directory move.  And here it is!

[epitcher1]

ok thanks um do you have a good way to mod the spectre rev-5

[Squirreleo]

How exactly would you create a breech, preferably brass, that shoots streamlines? (kinda new to this, steps and materials if possible)