Nerf Tactics: Small-arms Tactics: Nerf Stampede ECS

just a really cool picture of one

Nerf N-Strike Stampede ECS
Length: 2.5'
Rng: S-M
Electronic Automatic
Clip System
Safety Switch, foregrip

this weapon is a really good idea. it really is. an automatic Nerf gun that uses clips and is not as bulky as the Nerf Vulcan. when I saw it being advertised, I nearly peed my pants I was so excited. it had looks, plenty of rail space (for all my fun gadgets), a cool-pseudo-bullpup look to it, AND it even had a shield and convertible bipod/foregrip! even before I fired it, I loved it! all the batteries it required gave it a very nice-feeling weight, and the fact that I didn't need to cock the gun to check my ammo was phenomenal!
Two things I also enjoyed: the safety switch and the clip release (two really small things, I know; but I still like them)

then I fired it. this is where the gun becomes a horror story.
it had little to no effective range. the darts came out slower than a paraplegic convalescent who travels by crawling, and there was a half a second time interval between the trigger pull and the dart actually being fired (this may seem like a trifle until you are in a CQB environment, where a tenth of a second is almost too long). I was heartbroken! I wanted SOOOOOO much for this gun to be the best gun since the Longshot, or even an improvement on the Vulcan, but it doesn't even come close!
even in a field test, I tried using it in combat and ended up feeling embarrassed as an enemy well within normal Nerf gun range was too far away for my stampede to reach!
in short: I love the looks of it, IT HAD SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!!, but the performance is pathetic.

The Stampede's low rate of fire and restricted range make this gun at best difficult to utilize unless one was providing cover fire in a CQB environment.

***DISCLAIMER***
I do not mean to insult the engineers, who undoubtedly spent months designing the Nerf guns. I just tell things like they are. I do not know exactly what restrictions are in place to protect the lawsuit-happy, but I do know this: the Stampede could use some better mechanics (it has been done!). if anybody from Hasbro is reading this and does feel insulted, my apologies.