The Liberator first piqued my interest when it appeared at the Dart Zone booth at Foamcon this summer. A shotgun platform, with an internal magazine? That’s a solid setup for Rival-type blasters. The end result isn’t quite what I was hoping for, but it still performs decently well. And it has a bit of room for older users to make it better.
Compact Blasting
Sadly, this process does not allow easy reloading when the blaster isn’t empty; balls sitting inside the blaster get in the way, and trying to squeeze ammo into the mag can result in accidentally double-freding the blaster.
Also on the Blaster…
The blaster features a top rail, though there aren’t any accessories for it. The blaster also has sights – the front sight blends in with the orange barrel, but can flip up to different positions.
Performance
Stock performance is lower than expected, with my blaster averaging 78fps. Rate of fire was at two balls per second, normal for a Rival spring blaster.
Modification and Use
It’s at this stage that the Liberator starts to shine – I used the blaster in this format at a recent indoor war, and it had the ranges to compete with most other blasters on the field (with extensive cover, and good aim). The reloading issue wasn’t as much of a hindrance in practice; it was simple to just wait to reload, then depending on time constraints with the enemy team, fill partially and keep going.
Last Thoughts
The Liberator had me excited, so perhaps the end result is more of a letdown due to expectations than blaster quality. Even so, it’s a solid (if underperforming) ball blaster than can be easily improved and can hold its own.