Nerf Pro Gelfire Ghost Review

The Nerf Pro Gelfire line didn’t exactly have a start that yelled “Powerhouse”. The Mythic shot at lower velocities than most other major competitors, and the Legion, while inexpensive, had its own issues.

With this fall’s releases, the Gelfire line improves upon its less than impressive beginnings. The Ghost may not have the highest rate of fire, but it offers both a unique method of play and (and I’m startled to say this) actual accuracy. Accuracy by volume might still be king, but the option of “sniping” at least is worth a look.

Just Add Barrel

The Ghost fires at an average of 202 fps in my testing. That’s at least on part with many of the battery-powered gel ball blasters currently on the market. The Ghost, however, is a bolt-action, single-shot blaster. Given the low rate of fire, it needs some way to distinguish itself.

Nerf accomplishes that by including a large barrel attachment. Most of the barrel’s bulk is unnecessary; it’s not an actual barrel extension that would harness more power from the plunger system. Instead, the extended barrel includes a hop-up tab.

If you’ve ever used a Rival blaster (or several other blasters, ranging from airsoft to paintball), you’ve seen a hop-up tab. It’s a small tab that the ammo is forced to go past, and it induces backspin on the round in question. Physics then leads to that round generating lift as it flies, leading to a straighter path and more range.

Most of the gel ball blasters on shelves in stores don’t feature hop-up of any kind. Admittedly, that’s strange. After all, the concept isn’t new, and if you’re going for a “professional” blaster that shoots around 300fps, there’s probably a hop-up mechanism on it, be it in stock form or an upgrade. In the United States, though, gel ball as a recreational activity has only recently taken off. This means that the Ghost can differentiate itself from other things on the local (read: Walmart or Target) market.

The Ghost has a 100-round integrated hopper, loaded via a hinged door. It also has, in addition to the rails (which are Rival/Hyper spec), adjustable sights, both vertically and horizontally. The stock is extendable, making the blaster fit more people than you’d expect. A simple latch is used for attaching or removing the extended barrel – you can run the blaster without it for close quarters, of course, but you’ll lose the accuracy and range the hop-up tab grants you.

Naturally, there’s a small safety switch near the trigger.

Oh, and did I mention? The priming bolt screws in on either side.

Performance

As stated above, I averaged 202fps with fully hydrated Gelfire rounds. Additionally, it was remarkably consistent, only deviating 4fps at most.

Rate of fire, naturally, was quite slow, only firing one round per second at most. On the bright side, having to manually prime a blaster (which should be easy here, considering the target age range of teens and above) results in constant hopper agitation, leading to very few misfires.

Internals

The inside of the blaster isn’t anything too special. Getting to it, however, is a bit annoying – the red plastic around the grip is both clipped in and glued in place.

Once the blaster is open, however, it’s easy to understand. The priming handle pulls back on the plunger assembly, compressing a rather strong spring. Return the priming handle and pull the trigger to fire.

Last Thoughts

Is the Ghost the best gel ball blaster you can find for the money? No. $50 is a decent chunk of change, and you can find $50 deals on other, full-auto blasters (depending on season, of course). But the Nerf Pro Gelfire Ghost offers a unique experience, both in actual play and in accuracy. It’s certainly not necessary for the collection, but given what’s in the package, it’s worth a look.