How to Choose the Best Nerf Gun for a Small Child (Ages 3 & Up)

What to Consider When Choosing a Nerf Gun for a Young Child

Finding the best Nerf gun for a young child is not always an easy task, especially when your child is only four or five years old. Most Nerf guns have age restrictions that are slightly higher than this, so it's not uncommon for parents to second-guess themselves about whether or not their child will be able to use the gun they've selected.

In light of this dilemma, I've compiled a list of top Nerf gun features that will result in your child having more fun with their new toy, without frustration. Even children as young as three years old can enjoy these toys.

I'm going to show you how to narrow down your selection by looking for specific features that are child-friendly. Some of them are all too often overlooked by consumers in the buying process. My goal is to help you make the best possible choice so that your son or daughter can spend less time looking for help and more time having fun.

The Top Nerf Gun Features We Will Discuss

Size, weight, loading/reloading, and how to prime the blaster (making it ready to fire) are all very important features and ones we will focus on for the next few moments. Each one will add an additional layer of safety and fun for your child. Therefore, you'll want to apply as many as possible in your search for that new toy.

At the end of this article I will provide a list of the best Nerf guns and separate them by age group. I've personally used many of these guns over the years and always had a lot of fun with my family, so stick around.

Let's get started.

Nerf Guns for Toddlers

When you look at the size and weight of a blaster, the first concern is safety. This is especially true for children as young as three years old.

Look for a Lightweight Toy

You want a lightweight gun so they can play freely without struggling to carry around their new toy. Large Nerf guns are bulky and usually require both hands to operate. This will take away from your child's natural coordination and could cause them to fall more frequently. The last thing we want to do as a parent is give our children another reason to trip or fall. As we all know, they do a wonderful job of this on their own.

Small Nerf Guns Are Safer for Younger Kids

Making safety our priority, I would recommend looking for a small pistol-style blaster. This will alleviate size and weight issues altogether. A small pistol can be held in one hand while freeing up the child's other hand to help them maintain their balance. One-handed blasters are safer for very young children and won't feel awkward for them to play with. Moreover, it will allow them to run around naturally without hindering their movements.

In addition to this, you won't need to worry about the Nerf blaster going to waste when it's time for your child to upgrade to a bigger gun. Pistols are always nice to have around. Chances are they will keep it in their arsenal as a backup weapon when they're using their new weapon of choice.

Example: The Nerf Jolt shown below is a great example of what I'm talking about. It's small and weighs only 2.39 ounces. A blaster of this size and weight would be easy to use for a child who's four or five years old

Front-Loading Nerf Guns Work Best For Young Children

While you're searching for that perfect toy, try to pay close attention to how the blaster is loaded/reloaded. Simple is better for a young child, so you don't want something overly complicated. The goal is to avoid a situation where your child has to find help every time they want to reload their weapon. Therefore, look for a Nerf gun that has the front load option.

This feature allows them to load the darts directly into the barrel of the gun. This process is much easier for small children because they don't have to struggle with a bulky magazine system or a drum. It's also easier for them to carry around a pocket full of darts instead of a bunch of magazines.

Example: Take a look at the Firestrike shown below. This may be an old Nerf gun but it's still one of the best examples of the front load design I'm referring to. Notice how the darts load right into the barrel of the gun. You can see how this process would be much easier for a small child.

A Nerf gun that's very similar to the Firestrike and gets amazing reviews is the Elite 2.0 Volt SD-1. It has most of the features we are discussing and my children were using blasters similar to this at ages five and six with little assistance. Also, it doesn't matter how long your child owns this style of Nerf gun, it will always seem to find its way back into their hands. The gun is designed to last, and for a child it's quick to grab and have fun.

In addition to this, the Volt SD-1 uses a pull-handle primer which we will be discussing the importance of next.

Easy-to-Operate Blasters Are the Best Choice

How the gun operates plays a critical role in whether or not your child will be able to play with their new toy by themselves. This is another key area where you're going to want to keep it simple.

The feature you want to pay close attention to is how the Nerf gun is primed. Priming is how you activate the blaster to be fired. I have found through experience that pull-handle primers work best for small children and are typically located on the back of the gun or bottom of the handle. Kids are able to grip these handles easily and use the leverage of their entire upper body to pull on them. Therefore, allowing them to operate the gun by themselves.

Example: Take another look at the Firestrike image above. Notice how the blaster has a priming handle that's located on the back of the gun. This handle needs to be pulled away from the blaster in order to activate (prime) it.

Most children have very little issue with this style of priming, and it's a feature that I highly recommend as a top priority. Both my son and daughter used blasters similar to this when they were between three and five and never had any issues.

Top 3 Blaster Features That Could Hinder Your Child's Playtime

Just as there are Nerf gun features you want to look for, there are also some that you want to avoid. These are features that could be counterproductive to small children and could possibly hinder their ability to play safely.

1. Toys That Require Large Batteries

For example, if you do decide to purchase your child a blaster that requires batteries, try to avoid those larger than AA. Batteries can weigh the toy down significantly and it's not usually something we consider while shopping. Also, as I look back over the years my family had just as much fun with single-shot blasters as we did with motorized Nerf guns. This is partly because they're inexpensive, but more importantly, everyone is using a similar gun. Bigger is not always better

2. Blasters With Slide-Action Primers

Another feature to keep an eye out for would be Nerf guns that come with the slide-action primers. This style of primer is better suited for older children around 7 years old and up. The primer is typically located on the back of the gun, and it's designed to replicate the same action as a real handgun. These are much harder for small children to grip onto and pull back, therefore operating the gun might become a problem.

The Nerf Maverick in the picture below is a perfect example of this style of blaster. The slide-action primer is the back portion of the gun where the "Nerf" logo is, right above the trigger. To operate the blaster you would need to grip onto this portion of the gun and pull back. You can see how this process could be difficult for a young child.

Furthermore, the key takeaway here is not that slide-action primers are bad, but the importance of putting this style of Nerf gun into the hands of the most appropriate age group. Which I believe to be age seven and up.

3. Magazine-Fed Nerf Guns Are Not the Best Choice

We have already talked about the benefits of a front-loading blaster and how much easier it is for kids to operate. For this reason I would recommend not purchasing them a Nerf gun that requires larger magazines. The reason for this is it increases the footprint of the blaster which in turn affects the child's mobility. Also, it creates pinch points when you swap out the magazine.

If higher ammo capacity is what you're after, then let me suggest guns that use a stacked barrel system. These guns also use an open-face design which means darts will load directly into the barrels. This will give your child a couple of extra shots without the necessity of a magazine.

The Nerf Elite 2.0 Prospect QS-4 below is an example of what I'm talking about. Notice the 4 stacked barrels that are easy to reload but also give an additional 3 shots.

My Top Nerf Gun Recommendations Listed By Age Group

Hopefully this article was informative and helps you shop with a bit more confidence. Regardless of what you choose, I'm sure your child is going to love their new toy.

Below I have listed by age group the best Nerf guns to look for, and although this article was best suited for children ages four, five, and six, I will take my recommendations up to eight years old. It's also important to note that these are recommendations based on my experience and may not apply to all children.

The Best Nerf Guns for Toddlers

Of all the age groups, I find toddlers to be the hardest to shop for. This is primarily due to the lack of choices available, but don't let that deter you. I have a couple on my list that I believe your child will enjoy.

The first is a newly released set of blasters from the Micro Shots series called the Ender Dragon and Elder Guardian. It is a pair of Minecraft-themed blasters that come together in a 2-pack. They're both single-fire Nerf guns that use pull-handle primers which are located on the bottom of the grip. Moreover, they follow the Minecraft theme which is very popular.

• Size: Small
• Weight: 2.39 ounces
• Loading: Dart loaded into barrel—front load.
• Operation: Priming handle located on the bottom of the blaster.
• Price Range: $15.99 to $18.99

Another great option is the Nerf N-Strike Nanofire. It's also part of the Micro Shots series and has all the features we are looking for. It's lightweight, easy to operate, and simple to reload. As an added feature you can store two reload darts on the blaster. Sometimes it's the little things that spark some excitement in our children.

• Size: Small
• Weight: 3.06 ounces
• Loading: Dart loaded into a barrel—front load.
• Operation: Priming handle located on the bottom of the blaster.
• Price Range: $9.99 to $11.99

The Top Nerf Guns for Children 5 Years and Older

The Assembler Gear is a series of themed blasters that support the Marvel franchise, so if your child is a fan of the Avengers I would absolutely start here. The Iron Spider is not only popular but it has great customer reviews. These blasters are designed to be interchangeable, which means you can create a number of different looks for each gun.

• Size: Small
• Weight: 1.45 lbs
• Loading: Dart loaded into the barrel—front load.
• Operation: Priming handle located on the back of the blaster.
• Price Range: $19.99 to $24.99

The Assembler Gear series also has the Black Panther inspired Nerf gun which is another one of my top choices. This blaster is customizable with other blasters in the series which is a unique feature. So not only can you take portions of this gun off, you can also add pieces from other guns within the series to this blaster. In addition to this it has a pull-handle primer and a front load barrel for easy reloading.

The Best Nerf Guns for Kids 8 and Up

This age group is sort of the sweet spot. Some of the best Nerf guns on the market have a recommended age of eight and up, which should make our job easy. In fact it's quite the opposite and this is due to the overwhelming selection that's available. In addition to making sure you don't purchase something they already have. I ran into this problem with my children. After a while you begin to forget which Nerf guns you've purchased for them. I would, however, like to offer some of my top choices.

Some of the Nerf guns I suggest can be used by younger children, although it would be wise at first to keep an eye on them just to ensure all is well.

My Top Nerf Handgun Pick for Older Kids

The Commander RD-6 is a great all-around gun. Don't be surprised if it becomes the go-to for your child. There's a reason it continues to get the most feedback in the Elite 2.0 series while maintaining one of the highest customer ratings. The gun is well-designed and made to last. No batteries are required, although it does come with two firing modes, single-fire and slam-fire.

I know we discussed earlier that slide-action primers are not the best options for younger children; however, for kids in the seven-to-eight-year-old range it's perfect.

© 2014 Wess Pain

Comments

Isaac on January 25, 2019:

I really liked your video. Do you have any longer range nerf guns you recommend.