Dart post

A Spectre REV-5's dart posts.

A dart post, dart peg, dart stem, or barrel post is an internal component found in the barrels of many blasters.

Details

Dart posts are often barrel-length posts that fit inside a blaster meant to help fire darts in a number of ways. These posts help with firing accuracy by a small margin, as they help guide and stabilize ammunition as it is fired. They can also help prevent foreign objects from being loaded into and fired out of a blaster, as well as prevent darts from being loaded backwards.

Blasters that use the clip system and have flywheel internals do not include a dart post, as the darts themselves are propelled through the blaster by a set of flywheel, rather than launched through air propulsion of a plunger system. Non-clip system flywheel blasters, however, may still use dart posts.

Reverse barrel

Some blasters, such as the Air Tech 1000, the Rocketstorm, or various missile or arrow blasters, utilize the post themselves as the barrel; these are sometimes known as reverse barrels. With these blasters, air is delivered through the them, rather than through a barrel that ammunition is loaded into. Few blasters will have a barrel around the post regardless, such as the Warthog.

Modification

Dart posts can be removed to help with air flow. Removing them can also allow for the use of other dart types; many N-Strike blasters cannot use Streamline Darts or Stefans without removing the post. Specifically with Streamline Darts, a short stem built into the dart head specifically will get in the way of being able to load them all the way into the blaster, which creates a faulty air seal.

With some blasters, such as the Nite Finder EX-3, dart posts are easily removable, only requiring the disassembly of the blaster and the clipping of the post itself. There are specialized 3D-printed tools that can twist-remove dart posts.