Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 Blue

received this item from the Walmart Spark Review Program for no compensation - just an honest review. The Nerf line-up just keeps getting cooler. The Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 is equally impressive when compared to the motorized Zeus version. NO batteries are required – as this is a Spring-action blaster comes with 7 high-impact rounds . The Easy-load magazine holds 7 rounds – which is slightly smaller than the Zeus’ 12 round magazine – which is supposedly not interchangeable between guns (Zeus’ 12 round clip will work in Apollo, but Apollo’s 7 round magazine won’t work in Zeus). The Rival line of Nerf guns are available as red or blue. This Apollo blaster has a trigger lock and a tactical rail for sights or other accessories such as a face shield – however – the functionality of the tactical rail on the Apollo Blaster is somewhat minimized by the fact that the cocking lever sits atop the Apollo Blaster – getting in the way of any sight you might try to utilize. You must pull this lever all the way back then push it forward prior to firing. Why it doesn’t return to the front itself is a mystery to me?!? To my knowledge – this is Nerf’s first use of the new ammunition that looks like really small gumball sized golf balls. Rated ages is 14+ - and let me tell you – this is pretty close to the sting level of getting hit with a paint ball – just no long lasting welt afterwards. The Apollo 7 round magazine is cool in that it allows for speed loading your ammo by just holding the magazine and pushing it down over your ammo 1 at a time. Really quick – really easy. The ammo really flies – with claims of over 100 feet per second and we believe it. It easily flew 100’ as well (and in our basement – it bounced off the opposite wall and had enough power & velocity to bounce and roll all the way back to us). It is no wonder that the Rival face masks were made – I’d hate to get hit in the face with one of these Rival foam balls. In my opinion – the facemasks should come with the gun – they are that vital if you are going to shoot at anyone else. There is NO clearing jam port - unlike the Rival Zeus – Nerf really should have had one here – and this is a major fail as jams are inevitable when using any Nerf gun. The pull on the cocking lever is pretty heavy – again – not for the young’uns. Some others have reported jamming issues with the Apollo – we didn’t have any such issues. Overall – the Nerf Rival Apollo XV-700 is an impressive gun, just wish the magazine clips were interchangeable between the 2 guns and the cocking lever was put on the side of the gun. Just keep the Nerf Rival line out of nerf battles for kids under 14.

Pulling back on the priming bar (lever) takes a bit of force – maybe too much for young players The handle is really big – thick enough to allow the clip to fit inside, but might be too large for smaller hands Great idea to have a safety near the trigger I haven’t fully tested the accuracy with a bulls-eye target, but velocity is superb and impressive. I used it to scare off skunks in the neighborhood The lever used to load the next ball into the barrel blocks the “site” I didn’t like the loud sound when fired Absolutely no recoil! I could shoot one handed, just not with accuracy because of the site being obscured by the lever (priming bar) Didn’t have any issues with orientation or alignment in loading the magazine into the blaster Reloading the magazine is a breeze. I especially like that you can just walk to the expelled ball and use the magazine to pick it up (placing it into the magazine itself) With only 7 rounds, it would be nice to have extra magazines This is the first “ammo” I’ve seen that you can use around the house without damaging things I do have a little concern about pets or children trying to eat the foam balls, but shouldn’t be an issue if players know to be children/pets aren’t present during play. I definitely prefer the foam density and composition of the balls to any darts