Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-27306930-20160307192201

I recently picked up a Recon MKII to see how the Modulus line benchmarks against classic springers like the Rampage and Elite Alpha Trooper. Well, to no one’s surprise, out of the box it performs pretty much the same as every other Elite springer, and frankly not even as well as a stock Rampage.

So here’s a quick list of things I don’t like. I’m not wild about the priming handle, it doesn’t feel natural in my hand. It’s got no slam-fire, not that I use that much. There’s a bug with the clip that prevents you from using anything other than a CS-6 (this will be surgically corrected later). The stock is too short to be useful for adults. The barrel extender is useless (more below).

Despite those shortcomings, it’s sturdy and light, I like the grip, and its accuracy is remarkably consistent. Of all my blasters, the only one that shoots more consistently is my EXDAT. After prying it apart, and I mean prying (there’s a stubborn hexagonal peg holding the shell halves together just behind the jam door) I was surprised how simple the internals are. You’ll recognize all the usual suspects: plunger tube borrowed from the Rampage, bolt sled, barrel, & dart tooth design copied from the Alpha Trooper, breach from Retaliator, the regular assortment of locks.

As with most springers, there aren’t a lot of options for quick and dirty upgrades. The stock spring is pretty pathetic. There’s no way it can achieve its advertised 90 foot range. The plastic part of the shell that forms the stock attachment point, and the base for the spring, is flimsy. It’s so thin I’m wondering what the realistic upgrade potential is. I notice there aren’t any springs at BlasterParts or OMW for the MKII yet. But I found a CycloneShock spring which fit in remarkably well and gave it a little boost. I also added some Teflon tape under the O-ring, filled the vent holes in the barrel with some epoxy, and gave it a good lube job. Putting this blaster back together is much more challenging than a Rampage or EAT. Things need to line up just so, and the trigger wants to pop out of its track with little provocation. Plan on losing the trigger spring a couple times before you get it back together successfully.

Lastly, my favorite, the barrel extender. I noticed there was a significant decrease in performance using the barrel extension. Some say barrel extensions decrease range but increase accuracy. Well, as they say ‘round here, that dog won’t hunt. It has decreased range and the consistency was no better with the extender on. Add one more part to my Box o’ Nerf stuff. 