Stampede ECS

The Stampede ECS, also known as the Blazing Burst ECS in Japan, is an electronic clip system Nerf blaster. It was released on September 9th, 2010 under the N-Strike series. It requires six "D" batteries to be operated.

The Stampede comes packaged with a Blast Shield, a Pop-Out Bipod, three eighteen dart clips, one six dart clip, and sixty Streamline Darts.

Details
The Stampede is a battery-operated motorized direct plunger blaster. It does not feature an external priming mechanism. It features six tactical rails, the most of any current Nerf blaster. One is on top of the carrying handle/built-in iron sights, one is above the barrel, two are beneath the barrel, and the last two are on both the left and right sides of the main body. Any accessories mounted on the latter two or the carry handle are blocked when the included Blast Shield is attached above the barrel.

Like most blasters, the jam door is located on top of the Stampede, under the carry handle. It does not have a lock and can be opened at any time to remove jammed darts. Clip release buttons are located next to the trigger, on either side of the blaster. The power lever is on the left side of the trigger.

Two points for clipping a sling or a carrying strap are located at the back of the blaster near the battery compartment. There are also two points located at the front of the blaster; above and below the muzzle.

Firing mechanism
The Stampede is fully-automatic, but a single shot can be fired by pulling back the trigger for about a second due to its slow fire rate. The Stampede features a motorized direct plunger system, giving it a unique priming and firing style. Its internals push forward first. In doing so, the Streamline Dart to be fired is pushed into the breech and the blaster is primed simultaneously. The piston is then released to fire the dart using a mechanical equivalent of a slam fire trigger. A return spring (the visible black spring) resets the firing mechanism, letting a new dart rise up the clip.

It should be noted that because of its firing mechanism, darts that are not loaded perfectly will become damaged. Consistent use will result in darts missing small pieces on the rear. This does not seem to affect the blaster itself although it will affect accuracy.

Weight distribution
The Stampede ECS is one of the heaviest Nerf blasters. Most of the weight is located at the rear of the blaster where the "D"-sized batteries are held, meaning that the center of gravity is backwards from standard firing position. This can be mitigated by adding weight to the front in the form of attachments, but will overall increase the weight.

Another solution is to use IMR batteries in 14500 format ("AA" size), fitted into converter shells. In addition to reducing rear weight, these will also provide an easy and convenient voltage upgrade, raising rate of fire.

History
The Stampede ECS was originally known during the prototype stage as the Stampede ECS-50, and would have featured a high-capacity fifty dart drum. Mock-up packaging was even created for the blaster, however the fifty dart drum was unreleased due to complications. The name was then changed to Stampede ECS-18 and finally to the Stampede ECS. Despite this, many still refer to it as the Stampede ECS-50.

One of the first sightings of the Stampede ECS came in May 2010, when a NerfHaven user posted an image of the prototype blaster, which then began to circulate on forums. It was compared to the fictitious Spartan NCS-12 from the Nerf N-Strike video game.

The Stampede was the biggest release from Nerf in 2010. To help promote it, there was a blaster re-release campaign called the Clear Series.

The blaster was succeeded in 2013 by the N-Strike Elite Rapidstrike CS-18.

The Stampede was re-released in 2019 under the ICON Series to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Nerf brand.

Color schemes
The Stampede ECS has been released in the following color schemes:


 * N-Strike (yellow, black, gray/gold, and orange)
 * Sonic Series (clear green and orange)
 * ICON Series (yellow, black, gray, and orange)

Modification
Voltage modification for this blaster is limited by its ability to mechanically fire, not the failure of its electrical parts. Recommended voltage is from 12 to 16 Volts, but overheating and jamming problems may occur more often when fired for too long. As the blaster uses a direct plunger system rather than a flywheel system, voltage modifications will only increase its rate of fire and not affect its range.

Trivia

 * Some people confuse it with the Stampede REV-12 from Nerf N-Strike and Nerf N-Strike Elite. The only similarities between the two are the names. Some also confuse it with the Spartan NCS-12 due to their similar appearances.
 * Before the official name of the blaster was revealed, it was unofficially known as the "Spartan" by the public, named after the Spartan NCS-12.
 * The Stampede ECS is the second blaster to appear in the Vortex trailer, the first being a Gear Up Raider CS-35.
 * The commercial for the Stampede is the longest for any N-Strike blaster.
 * In some rare cases, if the blaster is turned off while holding the trigger, it may fire automatically when turned back on, even if the trigger is not pulled.
 * If the Blast Shield is placed in its normal position atop the blaster, the iron sights and top tactical rail will be blocked. By attaching the shield upside down on the front-most bottom rail, the sights are now usable and the top rail can be used to attach scopes.
 * It has been noted that the internal piston mechanism is heavily reminiscent of the kind of gearboxes found in airsoft guns (albeit upscaled in size to account for the larger projectile).
 * Some stores carried and listed the blaster as the Stampede ECS-50. Some variants even have the words "ECS-50" written on the shell.
 * Based on several observations using a thirty-five dart drum, it appears that a fifty dart drum would fix several problems with this blaster. It would re-balance the weight, and also make the bipod less awkward to use.
 * The Stampede ECS inspired a bootleg version from Chinese knockoff company Leyuan. The blaster was called the “Heavy Shock Wave.” Reputedly, its dart heads easily detached from the dart bodies.
 * In modern firearm terms, the Stampede is an open bolt weapon like most real submachine guns and light machine guns. The bolt starts in the rearmost position and is driven forward on trigger pull to load a round from the magazine and immediately fire it once in the forward position, and finishes the cycle by returning to the rearmost position again. In firearms this is usually accomplished by releasing tension from a spring to drive the bolt forward, but on the Stampede this is done electrically with a motor and gearbox.
 * The Stampede is also the only Nerf blaster that can truly claim to be open bolt.
 * Flywheel blasters, though technically an open mechanism, do not use a bolt and directly push darts from the magazine instead of chambering them.
 * All manually-primed spring blasters are closed bolt weapons; only firing with bolt in the forward position.
 * Air compression automatic blasters (like the Magstrike) all use either an indexing clip or revolver mechanism and do not have a "bolt" to chamber rounds.
 * The Vulcan EBF-25 in fully automatic mode cannot be classified since it can be paused mid-cycle by releasing the trigger, despite the belt is loaded (preferably) from the open position. In single-fire mode it is a closed mechanism. Furthermore, calling the piston mechanism, which fires darts directly from the belt magazine, a "bolt" is a bit of a stretch. A real belt-fed machine gun removes the round from the belt and chambers it with the bolt.