Slam fire

The Alpha Trooper CS-12's slam fire mechanism.

Slam fire (alternatively slam-fire), or rapid fire, is a type of firing mode that allows darts to fire more rapidly on certain Nerf blasters.

Details

Slam firing involves holding down the firing trigger and priming the blaster, rather than requiring the blaster to be primed first before the trigger can be pulled. As both actions are combined together, it speeds up the firing speed of a blaster, as there's no need to pause to prime the blaster. Darts fire specifically following returning the priming handle back to its original position, rather than upon the actual point the blaster is primed.

More often than not, slam firing will cause a blaster's accuracy and firing range to decrease, the former due to the action of slam firing often destabilizing. Slam firing blaster may also lead to jams and damaged darts if done improperly. The way darts feed into a blaster can be a factor in this, due to not having time to properly seat into the blaster before it is fired.

Slam firing should not be attempted on a blaster that is not intended to do it, as attempting to do so may damage or break the blaster's internals or priming mechanism.

Mechanism

Different mechanisms have been developed to achieve slam fire.

Slam trigger/trigger disconnector mechanism

The slam trigger mechanism is composed of three parts: the firing trigger, the catch, and a slam trigger. The slam trigger is activated when the priming handle reaches the forward position. Neither trigger is directly connected to the catch, but rather they are both connected to a floating piece which disengages the catch only when both triggers are pulled. Both the firing trigger and slam trigger act as a double-requirement for the blaster to be fired, and can be considered somewhat of a safety lock.

When slam firing a blaster, the blaster first checks for the firing trigger to be held down to initiate the slam fire. Following that, the slam trigger checks for the position of the priming handle or slide. If it is completely forward, then it will allow the catch to actuate and fire the blaster. Another way of thinking about this mechanism is that the firing trigger is disconnected from the catch until the priming handle is forward.

While not technically a part of the slam fire mechanism itself, most slam trigger designs use a return lock in place to keep the blaster from being primed twice. This helps to prevent damage to the blaster or its darts. Additionally, this lock prevents the priming handle from moving backward when the trigger is pulled, since pulling the trigger may also move the slam trigger backward away from its engagement point due to both pieces being connected.

Examples of blasters that use a slam trigger mechanism are the Alpha Trooper CS-12 and Rough Cut 2x4.

Double catch mechanism

The Quatroblast's slam fire mechanism uses two catches instead of one.

Another way of achieving slam fire is to use two catches for the plunger rod; one activated by the trigger and the other activated by the priming handle. The plunger rod is only released when both catches are disengaged, i.e. when both the trigger and priming handle are pulled. The double catch mechanism is less complicated than the slam trigger mechanism and has the same robustness as a regular catch, allowing this design to be a high-performance blaster.

Examples of blasters that use a double catch mechanism are the SurgeFire, the Quatroblast, and the Trion.

Moving trigger

In this design, the trigger is attached to the priming handle and physically moves away from the catch while priming, which disconnects it from the catch. Only when it is returned does it disengage the catch.

Examples of blasters that use a moving trigger are the SLAB.

Downsides

A downside to using slam fire is the inability to deprime a blaster, as the firing trigger is disconnected from the catch if the slam trigger is not actuated to the catch. While this may be less of a problem with unmodified blasters, those that have been modified with stronger springs or removed air restrictors can be damaged this way, if the blaster is dry-fired without a dart loaded.

Pseudo-slam fire

Pseudo-slam fire is a term used for blasters that have a firing mechanism similar to that of a slam fire one but lack a firing trigger. Darts are fired when the priming mechanism reaches a certain position and releases the internal plunger. While this is similar to that of HAMP-action blasters, this mechanism helps to store energy more efficiently.

Examples of pseudo-slam fire blasters are the Nerf Mega ThunderBow, and the BOOMco. Mad Slammer, and the Dart Zone Powerbolt Belt Blaster.

Fan-fire

Fan-fire is similar to the slam fire mechanism but is only possible to do on a hammer-action blaster. This involves holding down the firing trigger and repeatedly priming the blaster with its hammer. In the case of these blasters, the priming mech must be pulled all the way back to actuate the rotation mechanism for their cylinders, otherwise, the cylinder will not auto-advance to the next dart.

Like slam firing, fan-firing a blaster decreases firing range and accuracy.

Bow-fire

While not advertised as a feature like slam fire or fan-fire, it is possible to bow-fire a blaster with an external plunger rod, such as the Jolt EX-1 or Firestrike. Perhaps even more simplistic than the other two due to there not being any locks within the blaster that actuate cylinder rotation or priming checks, all that is required is to hold down the trigger and pull back and release the priming rod.

Like slam firing, bow-firing a blaster decreases firing range and accuracy.

History

The first Nerf blaster to feature the ability to slam fire was the 2009 N-Strike Raider Rapid Fire CS-35.

Modification

When blasters are modified for higher performance, they often are not meant for slam fire use. Not only does dry firing the blaster have a chance of damaging the internals, but stock slam fire catch springs also cannot handle quick use from a higher spring load.

It is not unheard of to convert a blaster to being able to slam fire through the use of a kit; however, these are uncommon.

Blasters that can slam fire

For a list of blasters that can slam fire, see Category:Slam fire blasters.

Technical slam fire blasters

The following are Nerf blasters that can slam fire but are not advertised as such.

• Doominator
• DoubleBreach
• Pump SG
• Ripshot
• Rukkus ICS-8
• Secret Shot
• Speedload 6
• Spylight

Trivia

• The Scravenger features an alternative slam fire mechanism that features a physical switch, rather than through holding the trigger and continually priming. This may have been done to make slam firing easier on a lever-action blaster.
• Only one Super Soaker features true slam fire: the 2013 Nerf Super Soaker Flash Blast.
• Fan-firing is recognized as a viable way of using the Hammershot in its included instructions.