Wayback Machine Joyride: Secret Shots

My apologies for the lousy title, but that's what I'm going to be dealing with: blasters that are named "Secret Shot" or "Secret Strike". Yeah, there are quite a few. Get ready to go for a joyride in Zook's Wayback Machine!

Drive it like you stole it! (Well, to quote the Doctor, "I borrowed it.")

This joyride has been brought to you by Simply Thrift and Goodwill. I'm crediting them because the old Secret Shot blasters are from those places; thrifting is so much fun!

Before we step into the WBM, let's look at the 2015 Rebelle Secrets and Spies Secret Shot; it is a pump-action, bulky precursor to the 4Victory. It folds up into what looks like, from a distance, a cheesy purse for young girls, sorta like how the Deploy CS-6 looked like a toolkit from afar. The "secret" gimmick is that if one presses the "diamond" near the handle, this unfolds into gun-mode. Unfortunately, this blaster looks extremely uncomfortable to use.

How this works:

To prepare:

1. Load 4 darts into the barrels.

2. Pump the slide to prime.

3. Pull the lever near the hinge to fold this blaster up.

When you need this:

1. Hold by the handle up top with your off-hand.

2. Press the faux-diamond with your thumb.

3. Grab the pistol-grip with your shooting hand.

4. Fire.

5. Pump again.

6. Repeat steps 4 & 5 until all barrels are empty.

Now, let's go back to 2001, when the Secret Strike was released in the "Power Nerf" series. This blaster had no "secret" gimmick, unless one counts its diminutive size. Until the Jolt EX-1 was released in 2011, this blaster was the smallest N-Strike blaster.

It was re-released in 2003 in the unnamed 2003 series, and again in 2004 in the N-Strike series as the Secret Strike AS-1. For a pocket-sized pistol, this thing could get good range!

I had the AS-1 for a while, and it was a very good blaster. With the firing-button on top, I could slip this up a sleeve and take potshots at my youth pastor. (Back when I had this blaster.) Sometimes, I would shoot at a 2nd-story window and stick it from at least 30 feet back. (Over 35 feet to target)

If this could hit a target 30 feet away and 20 feet up, this could easily take somebody out within 60 feet. I think that this outshoots the Jolt!

How this works:

To prepare:

1. Load dart in muzzle.

2. Pump 8 times.

3. Drop down your sleeve.

4. Meet with the other team's captain in a "no weapons" situation.

To use:

1. Whip your arm to the side to get the AS-1 to slip into your hand.

2. Aim at the moron who forgot to have his minions check your sleeves for weps

3. Begin the aggressive negotiations.

Now, let's jump back to the '90's. First, we're going back to 1995, when the original Secret Shot was released in the Action Nerf series. This pistol was a non-descript spring-powered pistol with one dart-holder on top and another dart-holder in the grip. However, this has a royally annoying gimmick: the dart-holder on top actually is the barrel-selector.

Karate Duo got his at Goodwill and has let me use it in the past; it is still stock, but it is more powerful than many modded pistols.(Including your Lock 'n' Load, Drac!)

How this works:

1. Fire the primary barrel

2. Re-prime the blaster

3. Flip the barrel-selector down

4. Point the grip at your target and pull the trigger

To finish things off, let's pop over to Nineteen Ninety-Nine! No, we're not visiting any parties; we're just going back to when the Secret Shot II was released in the Airjet Power series. Although the blaster was released in 1999, the copyright date on the blaster actually is 1998. This pistol was the most powerful "secret" blaster, even though it had lousy range. How can this be? The secret to this mystery lies in the ammunition.

The Secret Shot II used "Mega darts"; sadly, these "Mega darts" are not the same size as NSE Mega darts. Too Bad!

Anyway, the air-powered system is powerful enough to propel a Micro-caliber dart past the century-mark, if only I could get my mitts on some 1/2" pvc.

When I first saw this at Simply Thrift, I thought it was a broken precursor to the Jolt; I thought this because I saw the pump sticking out of the grip and pulled it out without any resistance. I then pushed it back in and realized that it was fully operational; it just wasn't a springer.

What is its "secret" gimmick? Well, initially, it looks like it has a scope. However, that "scope" actually is a dart-holder. When the top trigger is pulled, the "scope" swings down and seals over the muzzle.

How this works:

1. Fire the blaster by pulling the bottom trigger.

2. Pump the blaster up with 5 pumps. Use your non-shooting hand for this.

3. While pumping, pull the top trigger to drop your second shot in place.

4. Fire your second shot at the gomer who thought that you were out of ammo and popped out from cover.

 

 

Well, I hope you enjoyed taking a look at those oh-so-fun "secret" blasters. If you have any comments or suggestions for my next Wayback Machine joyride, leave them in the "Discussion" section below.

Maniacal Coyote
Nothin' Foam
nothingfoam.blogspot.com