Nerf Mega Mastodon: The First Mega Flywheel Blaster is Enormous!
The Mega Mastodon is a Nerfy Mammoth....

Alright guys, what’s going on? This is Blee from NerfGunAttachments Bleenga Nerf and this is the Nerf Mega Mastodon review! The Mastodon is the latest Mega blaster from Nerf and this thing is the most appropriately named blaster on the lineup. This thing is large and, as you’ll see later on, in charge — very much so. This is the Nerf Mega Mastodon! Wow!

Nerf Mega Mastodon Heavy Gunner Review

The Nerf Mega Mastodon is a full auto flywheel blaster with a 24 dart capacity. It is the first flywheel blaster on the Nerf Mega lineup! When you think about it, it’s crazy they still haven’t gone back to using magazines for the Mega blasters. But they do have this huge 24 dart auto rotating drum cylinder thing in here and that’s pretty crazy, too. I like it because you know you can top it off any time and that’s always a good thing.

What’s In The Box?

In the box you’ll find the Nerf Mega Mastodon blaster itself, three separate pieces to the cylinder (which you have to assemble yourself), a large carry handle, cylinder guards, as well as the cylinder cage for underneath the blaster. You’ll also find 24 Mega darts as well as the instruction manual. Kindly discard the manual.

Assembly

I know you see all those pieces in the box. You know you’re going to have to put this bad boy together. Luckily, it’s a fairly easy and seamless experience. First, slide the three pieces of the drum/cylinder onto the rotation mech. Then pop the drum handle into the hole above. It’s ambidextrous, so pop it in on either side. Next, apply the cylinder shrouds on top of the cylinder, one on each side. Finally, attach the cylinder cage on the bottom and you’re done. Good job!

External Features Of The Mastodon

So going over the external features of the Nerf Mega Mastodon, up at the front of the blaster you have your standard Mega muzzle. No barrel attachment point because they don’t make any Mega sized barrels, except the Centurion barrel. But that’s not interchangeable.

Two tactical rails lie up top and between that is a carry handle that you’re absolutely going to need, believe me. The Nerf Mega Mastodon is super heavy, but it’s very comfortable and easy to pivot the blaster with the carry handle. If for some reason you opt not to attach the carry handle, there’s a nice spot underneath the blaster that makes for a good hand rest. This is if you’re strong enough to hold up the blaster this way.

The grip is sloped but not too much. It honestly looks super short and stubby, but this is just because the Mastodon is so large. The grip is oddly a bit smaller than you’d think for such a giant blaster, though. It fits my hand comfortably, but just barely. The rev trigger and firing trigger are comfortable and smooth. No complaints there.

Last thing of note is the two sling mounts, one on the rear of the blaster, just above the grip and the other towards the front of the blaster, just above the muzzle. The Nerf Mega Mastodon comes with a quality sling that you should definitely consider using. Seriously, this thing is heavy…. especially once you load the batteries in. Nerf knew this and that’s why it’s the only Nerf blaster that comes with a sling.

On the opposite side of the blaster, the only things of note are Nerf’s cheap economy paintjob and the battery compartment. This battery compartment holds the x6 D sized batteries you’re going to need to operate the Nerf Mega Mastodon. There’s also a jam door here to clear any jammed Mega darts.

That about does it for the external features of the Nerf Mega Mastodon.

Mastodonian Aesthetics

Earlier, I said the Nerf Mega Mastodon was the most appropriately named blaster ever. And it’s true, just look at this thing. It looks like an elephant. And it’s as heavy as one, too. Size jokes aside, it’s a pretty cool looking blaster. Definitely an LMG class blaster and that’s pretty rad. I also absolutely love the giant MEGA branding on the side of the blaster.

Mega Ergonomics

For such a large Nerf blaster, the Nerf Mega Mastodon is fairly comfortable. However, if you’re using it for an extended time, the weight may catch up with you. It comes with a sling, but it isn’t padded so that might get annoying for you after a while, too. Overall, the combination of the sloped grip with the carry handle and sling make for a mostly manageable Mastodon.

Taming The Mastodon (How-To Operate)

To operate the Nerf Mega Mastodon, first make sure it has its 6 heavy D batteries loaded properly into the battery compartment. You’d be surprised at how many people think their Nerf blaster is broken when really they forgot to put in the batteries. I prefer the AmazonBasics batteries because they’re cheap and reliable.

Next, make sure you load up the enormous cylinder with 24 Mega darts. One dart for each chamber in the cylinder. You can freely rotate the cylinder to load in the darts without any fear of damaging the blaster.

Finally, strap yourself in with the sling across your shoulders. Assume a wide stance and grab the grip with your main hand and the carry handle with your off hand. Hold down the rev trigger for about 2 seconds. You should hear the flywheels spin up and peak. Now it’s time to unleash the foam. Hold down the firing trigger until your cylinder is empty.

Mega Performance Potential?

Let’s jump right into a firing test and see what this thing can do! As always, clicking the video below will jump straight to the Firing Test portion of the video review.

I ran a bunch of foam darts through the Nerf Mega Mastodon and the results were mostly favorable. The Mastodon was shooting at an average rate of almost 80 feet per second, which is pretty good for Mega. So in a way, this level of performance justifies the large size. The Mega Mastodon is fast and powerful and just an absolute blast to play with.

I had a lot of fun with this thing, but as you can see in the video, I did get a jam. One dart got caught in the flywheels and jammed up the auto-rotation of the cylinder. The jam was easily cleared, though, and then the fun continued!

Nerf Mega Mastodon Final Thoughts

Nerfers and Gentleman, guys, it’s time for my final thoughts and opinions on the Nerf Mega Mastodon. This thing is HUGE. If you’re going to use this in a Nerf War, it should probably for a stationary position where you set the blaster down and sit or lay behind it. The cylinder cage means the blaster can be set down and still fire without interrupting the auto-feed rotating cylinder. So you can hold down a stationary position like some kind of fortified area.

If you’re NOT using this in a stationary position, then you’re most likely a human tank and you have no problem wielding these freely. If that’s the case, you might as well grab two of these things and dual-wield them. You GigaChad, you…

For the rest of us, the Nerf Mega Mastodon is huge and it’s heavy. There’s no way you’re going to be effectively running and gunning in a Nerf War with this thing for too long. But, that’s the only negative really. The size and weight of this blaster is substantial. Trying to hold it with one arm is doable, mostly, but for how long? That’s the question.

Besides that, the Mastodon is pretty awesome. I haven’t done an official range test, but the power and, surprisingly, the speed that this thing shoots at is just very impressive. The sound that the drum makes as it’s seamlessly feeding through the darts in its chambers is very impressive, or intimidating depending on which side of the barrel you’re on.

I wasn’t really excited for the Nerf Mega Mastodon to come out, but once I got it… things changed. The first time I shot it, I had the biggest grin on my face. This thing is like seeing an airplane in person for the first time. And I don’t mean boarding one or seeing it out the window, I mean standing out on the runway, seeing an airplane right in front of your face. There’s just some kind of awe.

Now the Mastodon isn’t as big as a 757, but I got a similar feeling from using this thing. It’s large, it’s in charge, and it’s just awesome.

The Competition

There really isn’t any competition for the Mastodon, as that’s what usually happens for any “first” product when it first launches. There are no full-auto flywheel Mega blasters other than this one, so what is there to compete with the Mastodon? A similar blaster from the Rival line is the Nerf Rival Khaos, which I’ll be doing a comparison article on soon, so make sure you bookmark this site if you want to read that.

Should I Buy?

So the Nerf Mega Mastodon is very fun to use, it’s an absolute blast. If you can find this on sale somewhere, I’d say get it. It is wholly worth the purchase, just for the fun factor. Just for the fact that it’s another first in the series. The first flywheel blaster, the first full-auto blaster on the Nerf Mega line of blasters. You gotta get this. If you love Mega or you’re a collector, whatever your reason, just get this.

That’s all, folks! Drop a comment and tell me about your experience with this blaster. Do you own one? Do you want to own one? If you have one, how do you like it? Do you find it too heavy or unwieldly? Let me know!

Last update on 2024-11-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API