Xshot Skins Goes Pro!

Big news hit the Nerf forums and chat rooms yesterday: the rumored Xshot Pro Series is finally coming to stores! A product entry on The Entertainer revealed the Skins Longshot blaster, listed for just £34.99 ($40-$45 when converted). Let’s take a look!

Plinking in Pretty Colors!

Let’s admit it: most of the “pro level” injection-molded blasters so far have been pretty plain in color scheme or shape. With Xshot using the same process as their other skins blasters, they can put whatever design on the blasters that they want. And the first one is quite striking!

The Longshot is a bullpup-style platform, with the magazine and loading mechanism behind the main grip and trigger. Also, judging by the pictures, the barrel somehow goes through the plunger tube, in a nearly unique coaxial design. I say “nearly” because the only other example is an old community design from Orion Blasters, the Taurus. Here’s a video.

Orion Blasters moved on from this blaster to make the Lynx, which only uses half darts. The Xshot Longhot, however, can use full length darts or half darts (viz an adapter). And sources say the adapter fits both Talon and Katana-style magazines.

Even so, the design is extremely similar, as you can see in a side-by-side picture. And the fact that it says “ORION” behind the magazine well (seriously, zoom in on the picture) would seem to at least acknowledge that. I don’t think Xshot would need to license an abandoned community design…but it does seem like this is where they got their ideas from.

Finally, there’s no word on blaster construction or durability. After all, Xshot doesn’t usually make blasters with the modding community in mind. Is this only made to compete with pro blasters on store shelves, or can it be made to shoot farther? For now, we don’t know.

Does $40 buy something tournament worthy (assuming a replacement spring is handy)? Or is Xshot continuing the previous trend of aiming for more affordable options (after all, a Nexus Pro or Max Stryker is around $6 these days). We’ll see!

But if I can make one request from Xshot: if you’re going to have a Pro Series Skins blaster…can you hook up the Eh Team with some sweet gift packages?