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The Bulldog is Nerfs second Mega Accustrike blaster to hit the market, following the relative thud that was the Mega Thunderhawk one blaster I never got around to reviewing, but never felt guilty about because it wasnt that good.
Although the Bulldog is an objectively better blaster, it performs decently with Mega Accustrike darts. The performance was not much different from the Tribreak, a three-shot Mega blaster. At the very least, at its a solid pistol for the Mega line, given the current trends in blaster pricing.
Expand And Blast
The Bulldog arrives fully extended in its package, with the stock set back as well as the foregrip flipped up. However, the dart storage piece as well as flip-up sight are still in the package. Don’t throw them away! You also get six Mega Accustrike Darts. The blaster’s body is approximately the same size as a Stryfe or Retaliator. With the stock extended, its the right size for kids, but a bit small for an adult frame.
The Bulldog’s box shows some very interesting design choices. The deploy button sits on the right side of the blaster, and when pressed lets the user extend and retract the various features. The main grip of the blaster is somewhat small, especially considering the contours on its finger side. The trigger space is also small. However, it does have an open trigger design so that larger fingers can be accommodated.
You will see different level marks on the front sight, just like you would on a ladder sight. The Bulldog comes with Mega Accustrike darts. However, the ladder sight can be useful for aiming your darts after some practice.
You can remove the ladder sight from its socket and replace it with the tactical rail at the top.
The front foregrip is simple in shape, with light texturing, and while its not the most comfortable, its adequate.
Explore Inside
The Bulldog’s setup is very similar to that of the Tribreak. However, all pieces are in line and not at an angle. The plunger tube sits at the top, and feeds into a Smart AR assembly that fires whatever dart is next in line. As we’ve seen with many Hasbro-built blasters, the plunger head doubles as the catching area. Although the spring inside isn’t particularly strong, it serves its purpose.
The racks and pinions that extend the stock and foregrip are hidden beneath all the bits of power.
It should be noted that, if you choose to do anything to the inside of the Bulldog, you will need to reshape a few things. The spring inside actually reaches full compression upon priming. In addition, there are several ridges built into the plunger head and the spring rest. These ridges are not structurally required, but it is impossible to stack an additional spring above the stock one. As always, blaster modification is a known part of the hobby, and is not encouraged by Hasbro or any other manufacturer. It just so happens that things are sometime built to discourage that.
Performance
On average, using the included Nerf Accustrike darts, the Nerf Bulldog averaged 67fps with the first barrel, and 59fps with the final barrel due to the smart AR, this drop is expected. It also performs about the same as the Tribreak.
I got up to two darts per second in rate of fire, but since theres only three shots, thats not saying a lot. Reloading is improved, however, by the included three dart storage clip.
Conclusion
The Nerf Mega Bulldog is a decent blaster, and it does a better job of showing the effectiveness of the (more expensive) Mega Accustrike darts. Although it is a little too small for adults, the pistol serves its purpose well. The expanding platform gimmicks work well and don’t feel fragile in any way. Although I prefer the Tribreak, the Bulldogis a great choice for a Mega blaster.
