My ProChrono Digital chronograph measured the speed of the darts fired by this stock Modulus LongStrike blaster at an average of 74 feet per second (FPS) using Nerf Elite darts (it is capable of shooting any standard Nerf Elite darts; blue, green, white, orange, purple/grey, Starwars themed, Accustrike, and decorated Rebelle darts). The standard average velocity of a Nerf Elite blaster is 70 FPS, so that makes the new LongStrike an overachiever. Having always been in the shadow of the Nerf LongShot in terms of performance (and ease of modification), the original LongStrike was always dismissed as grossly underpowered and it’s use of a reverse-plunger system was something the Nerfing community had come to despise. This was a travesty because the LongStrike had an attractive shell design that many consider to be the nicest sniper-type blaster of all time, myself included. With this new LongStrike, the Nerf engineers needed to upgrade the platform to a direct plunger system (which is what all the other Nerf Elite “springer” blasters currently use), yet keep the same shell proportions of the old LongStrike. The very first thing I noticed about the Modulus LongStrike during assembly was the orange bolt action priming bar was improved. The orange cone-shaped handles were the same, but the bar was threaded on one end, making it able to be screwed on and off at will. All previous bolt-action handles were not meant to be removable once clicked into place. This move is a first for Nerf and a move I hope will be continued in the future, especially since they installed an irritatingly loud ratcheting noise that made the Nerf Mediator an obnoxious blaster to prime. There are 5 loud clicks in quick succession to report that the blaster is being primed, and more importantly, preventing the user from double-priming and thereby avoiding a jam. While I feel that this is an unnecessary precaution, perhaps the Nerf engineers had a good reason for fool-proofing it while at the same time making it the loud (I am sure there is a way to achieve the same end in a quieter manner, but I concede that I am no engineer). The main blaster body has upgraded tactical rail divots (they are larger and do not employ the use of springs) over the old LongStrike. There are 2 top tactical rails on the main blaster: 1 above the front barrel, and 1 closer to the tiny Orange rear iron-sight aperture that protrudes out from the blaster shell. Below that iron sight is a hole that functions as a priming indicator that shows Orange when the blaster is ready to be fired. I find the ergonomics of the steeply slanted pistol grip to be comfortable. The ambidextrous magazine releases located in front of the main trigger on both sides are much appreciated, especially for those who don’t have long enough fingers to jettison their mag in one go (and needing a visual to locate the lever in order to change their magazine). On the left side of the blaster there are 2 new lock-release buttons above and below the priming handle that seem to be activated with a pen tip. These are very useful just in case one of the internal locks seize up, saving you the time and trouble of having to open up the blaster to fix it (or having to throw it away). After having tested out the Modulus LongStrike, I am happy to report that *I have had zero jams or smashed darts; I did not need to open the Modulus LongStrike’s black jam-access door even once, but it is there if in event there is one at some point in the future. This was a chronic issue with the old LongStrike, but I believe that this time the Nerf engineers have succeeded in properly resurrecting the LongStrike where the Nerf Tri-Strike had failed. I was wondering if the LongStrike would be using the finicky Tri-Strike’s internals but it appears that the Modulus version of the LongStrike has it’s own. The reason I believe this is because it does not have slam-fire. Allow me to explain: the slam-fire function is the ability to hold down the trigger and shoot a dart off every time the blaster is primed, typically sacrificing accuracy for a higher rate of fire or Darts Per Second (DPS). The Tri-Strike has this function, but being a sniper rifle type blaster, a sniper operator should know that he or she has no business sacrificing accuracy for anything. So I have therefore concluded that both of their internals cannot share the exact same parts. That makes the Accustrike RaptorStrike the currently closest brethren that the Modulus LongStrike has, but with a 64 FPS average, it is not as strong as the Modulus LongStrike. To the average Nerfer, power is thought to be the most important factor when choosing a blaster, but I would argue that it is actually the “effective range” of the blaster that should determine it’s true usefulness. To be able to consistently place a tight grouping of darts within a reasonable distance from your target is the best blaster in my opinion. Truth be told, it is in the ammunition that brings about the biggest difference in accuracy for Nerf blasters: the Accustrike, Accu-fakes, or Waffle-tip Darts (this is a side note, but I am the one who nicknamed the Waffle tip darts, true story) are known to be the most accurate of darts, but they are sold separately. Not to be discouraged with the Nerf Elite darts that come with the Modulus LongStrike though, you do get 18 of them with 3x 6-dart RaptorStrike magazines. These low-capacity magazines also match with the sniper genre and fit in the dual magazine holders neatly incorporated into the fixed shoulder stock of the LongStrike. Unfortunately, this part looks like a direct mould of the original LongStrike so while the interior of the mag holder’s well is built to hold the original 6-dart mags, it will not hold any mags of larger capacities. The RaptorStrike’s angled base 6-dart mags do fit in the mag holders, perhaps not the way they were intended to, but they do stay in place nicely. Higher capacity Nerf mags and drums will definitely work normally in the LongStrike, which is the main thing. Unlike the upgraded removable priming handle, the shoulder stock will stay attached and cannot be removed; it is a stand-alone model and was never intended to be removable, although if you open up the blaster... on second thought I do not recommend that you do (I still have flashbacks of frustration from bad experiences with modifying the original LongStrike using overpriced Orange Mod Works kits that broke within a week). Anyway, there are 3 points to attach a sling mount on this blaster, 2 of them are on the shoulder stock: 1 on the upper rear corner and 1 underneath the shoulder stock, and 1 more under the muzzle. The only returning attachment from the original LongStrike is the long barrel attachment, but it had to return because it adds a lot to the look and appeal of a sniper rifle; it is almost a direct reprint of the LongStrike’s long front barrel. This barrel was ahead of it’s time in that the width of the tube in the barrel was much wider in diameter than that of other Nerf barrel tubes. This wider diameter decreases the chance of a dart touching the sides of the tube while it travels through the barrel, thereby preserving most of it’s kinetic energy, but this phenomenon of “barrel-drag” still resulted in slightly shorter dart ranges. While doing my testing, I was still able to discern a drop in muzzle velocity from the 74 FPS average without the front barrel attached, to a 68 FPS average with the barrel attached (it should be noted that the length of the barrel attachment forced me to keep about a foot further back from the chronograph for that part of the test). Obviously during play, most people will not notice this difference, so I still think that using the barrel should be perfectly okay. This front barrel attachment retained the same proportions and flip-up sight as the original, but there are 2 detectable upgrades to it: the inner tube is set further inward to be more compatible with some of the
