Nightfinder Mod

The term modding or mod refers to changing a Nerf gun from it's stock or original form somehow. Usually it's in reference to making the gun shoot farther, but can also mean a new paint job, changing the barrel to shoot different types of darts, etc...

There are lots of things you can do to make a gun stronger and for that reason you want to figure out why you want to do this? With some of these guns the changes you can make range from just having a few more feet of power to being able to shoot stefans (homemade darts) that can break the skin. I've been doing a little bit of everything, but most of the changes I make are for use in family wars. There are young kids, we are usually at pretty close range and all different kinds of darts being used. I don't need much more power for most guns, but stock the guns just don't seem to be as powerful as they were when I was a kid.

Two major mods for improving power:

1. Air restrictor removal--All the new nerf guns have an air restrictor that inhibits air flow, lessens the impact of the plunger (acting like a silencer) and sometimes inhibits the use of streamlines and stefan darts (homemade darts). I recommend doing this for all stock guns. For my general use this is usually all I need to do.

2. Spring Replacement or addition--Buying a stronger spring or adding another second spring. This will get you the most drastic change in power. I have two nightfinders that I modded and used a spring purchased at Ace Hardware. They are close to the strongest guns I have modded. They scare adults. Spring replacement can be tricky. You need to find a spring that fits, (compressed and uncompressed) will provide you with more power, but also still work. With more power may come the need to strengthen other parts of the gun.

Some other things that may help are lubing the plunger tube, maximizing spring compression, plugging air holes, changing barrels, etc... Not all the guns are the same, but they are very similar. Once you get a few mods under your belt it just gets easier and easier.

If you want an easy starter gun a Nerf Nightfinder would be a great place to start. It's an inexpensive gun (can be found for $5.00 or less), easily modded and is strong and accurate. If you mess it up (i would argue that would be harder to do than modding it) then you are only out $5.00 bucks. Shoot, this gun has been around so long your niece, nephew, brother, sister, etc... probably already has one that you can work with.

Here's a quick explanation of how to mod a Nightfinder.



Here's a before and after video, as well as, some other modded Nightfinders.