Nerf N Series Pinpoint Review

Somehow, I never got around to reviewing it, but the Eaglepoint was one of the hottest toys of the Elite 2.0 line overall, not just for the holidays when it was some deep discounts. This was a point the marketing team brought up at the visit to Hasbro HQ earlier this year, so of course the N Series was going to have an inexpensive, bolt-action blaster in the line.

The Pinpoint fits that role, but it’s not a perfect fit. The blaster itself feels nice in hand, but between the crunchy prime and some jamming issues, it could have been better.

1337 SN1P3R BR0

Clearly, death awaits me if I fire this at my wife.

The N Series Pinpoint is the fantasy blaster of the line, as far as the target audience is concerned. I comes with a bolt-action priming handle on either side of the blaster, a molded “scope” (only for play value, not to actually help with aiming), and an extended barrel. Notably, you need to insert the barrel into the blaster when you open the package. After that point, you can use the blaster as intended.

The Pinpoint is the first blaster in the N Series to use a magazine. The included one fits ten darts, and it notably operates in a style similar to that of the Ultra Speed magazine. Tabs on either side retain the darts, and upon insertion, the tabs release to allow the free flow of darts.

On the plus side, this mechanism lets you insert or remove the magazine regardless of priming handle position – a real plus for child operation. On the minus side, it also means there’s likely a free dart to fall out if you pull the magazine out before it’s completely empty. Such are the tradeoffs.

The blaster features a relatively easy prime in terms of spring strength. However, the ratcheting mechanism seems to make it rougher than it needs to be. I don’t know if it’s the ratchet (which is meant to only let you fully prime and then push the bolt forward before firing) or something about how the blaster shell is made, but it seems rougher than it needs to be. I may be spoiled by my fancy pro blasters, of course, but the concern is still there.

Performance and Gameplay

In use, the Pinpoint isn’t a standout blaster or a terrible one. However, in the games I’ve used it in, I’ve had issues with jams, especially when pushing the limits of the blaster’s rate of fire. The blaster is, for better or worse, meant for slow operation. Given that kids aren’t always deliberate in their use of toy blasters…that seems unfortunate.

In any case, if you’re careful with priming the blaster, you can make two darts per second happen.

On the subject of velocity, I’ve been averaging 89fps with the N1 darts. For a stock blaster for kids, that’s great. Even if the darts visibly curve around a target XD

Internals and Mods

The Pinpoint is pretty familiar on the inside for us hobbyists – the plunger tube is large, with a speed hole for accelerating the plunger faster before firing the dart. The breech is scaled up a bit for N1 darts. And you have various interlocks for ensuring you perform blaster operations (priming, closing the breech, firing) in order.

Some people have already begun modifying the blaster for using alternative ammo, namely half-length darts. Here’s a link to a file set on Printables, should you feel like trying that out!

You’ll need a new barrel, or course, but if you’re 3d printing new parts, I’m sure you’re the type to figure things out.

Last Thoughts

The Nerf Pinpoint fills a vital role in the line, given the desires of kids. It could do it better, however. I’d personally wait to find this on sale.