Board Thread:General Nerf discussion/@comment-37595644-20200524234115/@comment-26431461-20200524234949

There's nothing unrealistic about having to pull the bolt back and then putting in the magazine. Plenty of real steel firearms do that, and sometimes doing so is required, like the MP5, where the bolt needs to be locked back in order to fit the magazine. You might also find videos of people reloading AKs by pulling the bolt back and replacing the magazine, for tacticool reasons. Plus, most modern automatic firearms lock their bolts back after the mag is empty anyways.

The bolt-sled of most clip-fed springers is akin to most closed-bolt firearm designs, but of course, it's Nerf, so some liberties must be taken.

Most of the mag-fed RIVAL blasters don't need to have the bolt back to insert a magazine. This is why most can be "tactical reloaded" with one in the chamber, allowing for +1 capacity.

The CrossBolt, even though it is a stringer (actually, especially since it's a stringer and doesn't need a breech), also doesn't need to have it's bolt locked back first before replacing a magazine. One problem: it's a crossbow, and it's usually unreliable without modification.

If you do the appropriate modifications to a springer, like a Retaliator, by removing the mag release lock, you can remove magazines, albeit forcefully, without pulling the slide back. So if you modify a Retaliator, then it can also have "realistic" operation. I don't recommend it, because it can damage your mag's feed lips (which are connected to the mag's shells, and can pretty much tear it in half after a few uses. Don't do this with a SlingFire, I did it and one of my CS-6s got damaged. Thankfully it was an easy fix but I wouldn't do it again).

A long while back, Hogan Milligan informed me that the Alpha Trooper cannot do this, due to the design of the magwell, even if you remove the mag release blocks. Shame.

Also, with a Raider or Rampage, there is no mag release lock, so you can force in magazines before pumping the handle. Same risks apply though.

So to summarize, your best bet is something like a RIVAL Apollo or Helios, which do not need to have the bolt back in the first place. The Helios is my favo(u)rite since its bolt handle is spring-assisted, so you can insert a mag, pull the bolt back, release it, and it will get sent home by itself.

But all-in-all, "realistic" is subjective. The Centurion, even though the reloading may be considered "realistic", the bolt design really isn't when compared directly to a firearm bolt.

If you want true realism, get an airsoft GBB pistol or rifle.