Nerf Rebel Ops Operation Vanguard Armorhawk Review

The four-dart smart AR blaster first appeared with the Quadrot, and it’s not going away anytime soon. That being said, the design can be refined a little, and to that end the Armorhawk delivers. It’s an Amazon exclusive that’s inexpensive and easy to add to cart with whatever else you’re ordering, and it’s a nice pistol for plinking. $10 makes it a good stocking stuffer for the kids!

More Ammo!

As with the earlier (and similarly named…confusingly enough) Ammohawk, the Armorhawk comes with an attachment for dart storage. In this case, it’s a clip-on piece with 15 posts for holding darts, making it super easy to reload your blaster. It also kinda makes the blaster look like a blue porcupine!

The blaster is simple in construction, with a medium-sized grip and a T-pull prime. A new-style NStrike rail runs down most of the blaster spine, with a small one up front, underneath the barrel assembly. It’s decently comfortable to use, and I ‘m having a hard time finding anything to complain about!

Performance

The Armorhawk averaged 72fps in my testing; interestingly enough, the top three barrels were all in that lower 70s range! It was only when I got to the very last barrel that I shot anything below 70fps. Even then, a low-to-mid 60’s shot is fine. I’m glad they’ve refined the barrel assembly to make these shots so consistent.

With a simple T-pull, you can easily fire two darts per second. And with the ammo attachment, reloading gets that much faster.

Internals

The Armorhawk only has six screws to remove, although there are some internal clips that have to be popped apart in order to separate the two halves of the blaster. Once you’ve done that, you can peek inside.

There’s nothing really new to speak of here; I just like taking things apart to see what’s inside.

Note that, like most Nerf blasters this size, the plunger head is the new style, being all plastic and clipping tightly onto the plunger rod. If you want to try a spring swap, do so at your own risk.

Final Opinion

Amazon has a fun new stocking stuffer available this year, and it comes with plenty of ammo! If you just need a sidearm or plinker for ages 8+, it’s hard to go wrong with the Armorhawk.