Tactical rail

The tactical rail on the barrel extension of the Recon.

For the RIVAL feature of the same name, see Tactical rail (RIVAL).

A tactical rail is a feature found on most modern Nerf blasters.

Other brands and companies have similar accessory rails for their own blasters. This includes Buzz Bee's tactical rail, BOOMco.'s tactical rail, and X-Shot's tactical rail.

Details

Tactical rails can be used to attach compatible accessories to a blaster; this includes scopes, shields, flip-up sights, grips, ammo rails, and more. On some blasters, a tactical rail can also act as a crude form of iron sights.

Nerf's tactical rail found on most of their blasters is sometimes referred to as the N-Strike rail, since it was first introduced in the N-Strike series.

Locking system

The Demolisher 2-In-1's tactical rail with the 2014 locking tooth design. Externally, the tooth is identical to the previous design that used a spring.

The ICON Series Stampede ECS's tactical rail with the newer locking tooth design.

The latest locking tooth design, found on the Phoenix CS-6. The teeth are bendable tabs that are molded directly into the rail, rather than a separate piece.

The Rough Cut 2x4's spring-assisted locking tooth compared to the SlingFire's plastic tab locking tooth.

Tactical rails have a locking tooth that keeps attachments and accessories in place. Older blasters feature locking teeth that have a small spring or flexible piece of plastic underneath; these are pressed down and pushed back up when things are attached to them. This design would later be replaced by a new tooth design with a solid piece of sloped plastic, omitting the spring, most likely for simplicity's sake. Some new blasters feature the tooth molded directly into the tactical rail, making the tooth no longer a separate piece.

Inverse tactical rail

The tabs that compliment this locking system, as seen on tactical rail accessories, have been featured on a few blasters, which are designed to be attached to another blaster, such as the N-Strike Titan AS-V.1 to the Scout IX-3. These are referred to as reverse or inverse tactical rails. The tabs latch onto the rail by sliding in the attachment from the front; they can also be snapped on one lip at a time, though this is not recommended.

Most attachments have tabs that are also spring assisted with a torsion spring to allow them to clamp tightly onto the rail, as well as a notch between the tabs that mates with the lacking tooth. However, some attachments have fixed tabs, such as with N-Strike Modulus Stunner clips.

History

The first tactical rail was found on the 2003 Scout IX-3. Originally, the tactical rail was designed and intended just as a way to attach the Scout onto the Titan AS-V.1 to form the full Unity Power System blaster. The following year, it would be seen again on the N-Strike Nite Finder EX-3 and the Dart Tag Hyperfire.

In 2014, around the release of the N-Strike Elite Demolisher 2-In-1, the design of the locking teeth was updated to omit the spring. Instead, the locking tooth was a single piece of plastic with built-in leaf springs that provide the flexibility needed for the locking teeth to spring back up. Externally, it and the previous design are identical, although one may feel slightly different to the touch.

In fall of 2015, with the release of the Modulus ECS-10 and other blasters, the locking teeth design was once again updated, this time replaced with sloped, solid plastic teeth instead of the previous two's spring-assisted design. These have been used on all blasters with tactical rails since, with the exception of rails on some re-releases of older blasters. Some re-released blasters have been retroactively fitted with sloped locking teeth, such as the Amazon versions of the Hammershot and Elite XD Rough Cut 2x4.

In 2020, with the release of the Elite 2.0 series, the locking tooth design was updated yet again, with the tooth being molded directly into the rail instead of being a separate piece, most likely as a cost cutting measure.

Products with tactical rails

For a list of all Nerf blasters with tactical rails, see Category:Blasters with tactical rails.

For a list of all Super Soakers with tactical rails, see Category:Super Soakers with tactical rails.

For a list of all accessories or miscellaneous products with tactical rails, see Category:Products with tactical rails.

For a list of all Nerf blasters with inverse tactical rails, see Category:Blasters with inverse tactical rails.

Trivia

• The Nerf tactical rail seems to be styled similarly to the Picatinny rail system commonly found on real/BB/airsoft guns. The two are not directly compatible; while some Picatinny-based gear can fit securely on Nerf rails when clamped down tight enough, most do not, and the most secure way to add Picatinny accessories to a Nerf blaster is by using an adapter.
  • The Picatinny rail would later see use with dart blasters under the Dart Zone Pro and Adventure Force Tactical Strike series, as well as within the 3D printing homemade blaster community.
• The Stampede ECS currently has the greatest number of tactical rails found on any Nerf blaster: six.
  • The Modulus ECS-10, the RapidStrike CS-18, the Tracker ECS-10, and the Phoenix CS-6 tie for having the second-most tactical rails on one blaster: five.