Nerf does a great job making sci-fi looking blasters. 2013 has seen 
Nerf turn away from the yellow/orange color scheme opting for a more aesthetically pleasing blue/white, but that hasn’t been their only change; Nerf has also kicked up the power. The new line boasts up to a 75ft range on everything. This is great for those of us who don’t mod their blasters. When I saw the Rough Cut I knew I had to have one.
The Rough Cut holds 8 darts that can be fired either 1 or 2 at a time. This isn’t so much of a shotgun as I have heard it described; it is more along the lines of Zoe Washburne’s Mare’s Leg from Firefly. Though unlike Zoe’s the Rough Cut does not have lever action, it pumps like, well, a shotgun. No matter what gun you compare this blaster to; it is still looks really nice.
The darts load right on the front of the blaster so you never have to worry about clearing a barrel jam. Even if you get a misfire you pump the gun and are moved to the next pair. After over 100 test firings there wasn’t even 1 misfire. That impressed me since there have been other guns I have tested that couldn’t make that same boast. The unique feature of the Rough Cut is that you can fire 2 darts at the same time. If you cock the gun and squeeze the trigger part way one dart fires. Squeezing the trigger all the way fires the second. If you just squeeze all the way both darts launch. The darts launch with the top two going first then second row and so on.
The range is slightly less than the good folks at Hasbro would lead you to believe. Still, the range is nothing to laugh at with a distance of 50+ feet. For me isn’t the range but the accuracy and the Rough Cut is pretty accurate. The accuracy increases when test fired in the house but because of the power you can’t really test distance. Speaking of firing indoors, the darts bounce off the walls with definite force.
When pumping the gun to get off quick shots I didn’t have any issue. Since the next shot 
doesn’t have to be loaded into a chamber you can fire off all eight shots as fast as you want without a jam. Hasbro must have upgraded the design of the pump mechanism because the Alpha Troop has a similar pump and it was nothing but trouble. After 20 shots with the Alpha Trooper I not only broke the pump but the gun itself lost screws.
As I mentioned earlier the Rough Cut is a great looking blaster and is part of Nerf’s N-Strike Elite line. The blue/white scheme looks great on this one. The Rough Cut has a tactical rail located on the top of the blaster where you can put pretty much everything you want. There are also rings where you can connect a strap. Personally I think that a holster to strap it to your leg is a much better way to carry this blaster.
I do like the Rough Cut. The only problem is that there are only 8 shots and no place on the blaster to store extras. That being said the Rough Cut is the perfect secondary weapon in your next battle with zombies. The Rough Cut is not recommended for children under 8 and retails for $19.99
