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www.TheJRE.com Presents
Reporting by Keyan Reid
I took a look at what I had available. I had 8 rounds left to me – 4 Tags, 2 Sonics and 2 micros. That would fill up all six chambers in my revolver, and give me two more rounds to pop in afterwards. That would be enough, right? Right. I’ve tried my hand at many a Nerf gun throughout my many years of thuggery, and the N Strike Maverick is definitely one of my preferred weapons to date. At least, fresh out of the box it is, but we’ll delve into that part of things later. First off, let’s get down to brass tacks here. The Maverick is a six round, manually-loaded pistol. It’s pumped via a slide mechanism atop the weapon and it automatically rotates the dart chambers with each pull of the trigger. Propulsion is pretty good for a Nerf gun, and the chances for a misfire or jam aren’t as bad as with some other dart guns (far from perfect, but I have seen much worse). The Maverick also uses the more standard N Strike darts (Tag, Micro, Sonic, etc.), meaning you’ll be able to pick up most rounds fired at you and load them right back into it to return shots. With my Maverick firmly in hand, I dragged the gun down the side of my arm, rotating the dart chamber and making sure a round was locked and positioned for my next shot. I sprang from my forgotten little corner and fired my first round – a wild shot meant only to unnerve my opponents – then followed up quickly with more accurate shots as targets came into view. I pulled the slide and fired off round 2, hitting one assailant in the chest as I continued to strafe the battlefield. My third round quickly followed, but like the first, it went wild and found no purchase. Shot 4 went far better however. In trademark Keyan Reid fashion, the fourth shot pegged one combatant square in the eye, causing them to drop their weapon and opt out of any further battle. I was doing pretty well, but alas, my flashy moves quickly made me one hell of a target of opportunity. It wasn’t long before most everyone was taking aim at me, and the odds simply weren’t in my favor. I moved quickly for the next spot of cover, but it was too late. Someone was taking aim at me with one of the more accurate Crossfire blasters, and I knew their dart would fly true. There was only one thing to do… I angled the Maverick sideways and pointed it upwards, exposing its widest portion to my attacker. Watching where the Crossfire was aimed at me, I angled the Maverick for an intercept and waited for the dart to be fired. Sure enough, the sheer bulk of the Maverick’s large pistol design provided adequate protection and I deflected the incoming round, leaving me completely untouched. I quickly whipped my heater back into firing position so I could take aim at my attacker, and I then pulled the trigger. JAM!!!! There’s nothing worse than having a glory moment stolen by malfunctioning equipment. My guaranteed headshot was thwarted when my Maverick failed to fire, due to one of the dart chambers registering off-center. After firing countless rounds through the gun, wear and tear was beginning to show slightly, and the dart cylinder was failing to register in the proper position more and more. A quick adjustment had the gun ready to fire again, but my easy opportunity was lost, and I was once again forced to take cover. In the end, I just pistol-whipped everyone and won the day. I mean, I am a JRE Thug and all. What did you expect? But here’s the AAR (After-Action Report) on the Maverick heater: The gun comes cheaply ($9.99 or less in most places) and is pretty handy in a fight. The six-round chamber easily lets you take advantage of your enemies’ reload time, and that’s a plus. You can run up and blast on them easily if they’re stuck with a single-load Nerf gun, like the Crossfire or something similar. On the down side however, the dart chamber’s performance deteriorates quickly and the gun becomes more and more subject to jams as time goes on. Still, all things considered, I would recommend using this as your
standard side-arm in any Nerf war. It may not stay in perfect operating
condition long, but the 6 round chamber and decent accuracy/power make
this a desirable weapon for any Nerf war. Just be ready to ditch it
when it starts going all wonky on you. Keyan Reid Rating:
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It
was 3am. I was tired, dripping sweat, hunkered down in some misbegotten
corner of a raging war zone. If I had allies out there, I didn’t
know about them. All I could hear were the quick drawing breathes of
people in combat to either side of me. All I could see were the rounds
being exchanged before me between the various factions.