Best Nerf Guns Under $50 – Top 5 Worth Buying

Sometimes you need to be able to bring the heat in a Nerf war but your budget isn’t quite in line with your aspirations. So where does a would-be Nerf warlord look to find out what blasters they should be packing? Welcome to our breakdown of the Top 5 Nerf Guns Under $50!

We’ve taken a look at all the Nerf guns that can do you proud without breaking the bank and selected only the best of the best.

There’s a lot of variety in our list so we’ve included a tutorial to make sure you know exactly what to look for when you want to purchase the perfect Nerf blaster.

Under the barrel of this uncannily accurate and ultra long-range (up to 75 ft!) blaster is a laser sight.

Pros:

• The FireStrike laser will pinpoint a target up to 15 ft. away
• The FireStrike has Tactical Rails on top, so you can add any Tactical Rail accessories that you want!
• This blaster uses the N-Strike Elite dart ammo, so you can load it up with darts from any other Elite blaster
• Comes with three darts, and has storage for another two under the barrel

Cons:

• The FireStrike laser sight needs two AAA batteries to function
• The laser sight doesn’t shine anywhere near the full range that this blaster can fire. What’s up with that?

The CrossBolt scratches an itch we’ve had for a long time. After all, Nerf has disappointed us time and time again with blasters that only pretend to be crossbows. That’s not to say that blasters like the BowStrike are inherently bad; it’s just that we’ve been waiting for a blaster that actually functions like a crossbow, and thanks to the Crossbolt we finally get to see what that would look like.

Even better, the CrossBolt is an amazing blaster, and not just because it truly functions as a crossbow. This blaster utilizes a string-firing mechanism that can fire Elite darts up to 90 feet, which is in line with all of the top-notch Nerf Elite blasters.

It’s clip fed so it can fire just as quickly as you can prime it (up to 12 shots per magazine - and that’s only with the stock magazine).

All in all, the CrossBolt was a long time in coming, but it was well worth the wait, as well as the price.

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Ah, the SledgeFire. What’s not to love about a Nerf shotgun? The SledgeFire is a break action-type shotgun blaster that pumps out a punishing three darts per shot. It may take a while to load and fire each volley but you’re guaranteed to look pretty amazing doing so.

This is the type of blaster that really shines when used in a support or secondary capacity. If you can manage to outfit it with some sort of strap or find a way to carry it on you, then the Sledgefire can be tactically applied to situations where it’s necessary to bring a little more force to bear.

What all that means is: If you’re surrounded by enemies or have to enter into territory without knowing who might be where, just grab your SledgeFire!

One shot is more than enough to clear yourself some breathing room, and the price tag makes this blaster a steal.

Just a heads up, the price of this one goes up and down due to supply. You may see it over $100 at times. 

Pros:

• Comes with three shells that hold three darts each; these shells are super easy to store on the blaster’s stock
• The loading and priming mechanisms are bound together, so when you’ve loaded up you’re already ready to unleash your next wave of darts
• Another blaster that makes use of the superior Elite ammo style
• When ejecting a spent shell, the blaster helps out with a spring-loaded ejection mechanism

Cons:

• While this blaster technically fires nine darts, you only get to squeeze the trigger three times before you have to reload all of your shells, which feels a little disappointing
• Ejecting and loading shells feels a lot slower than blasters with more traditional priming mechanisms
  BUY THIS ONE

The Nerf Stryfe blaster has a lot going for it. With a six-dart quick-reload clip, a motor for rapid-fire action, and the ability to fire the coveted Nerf Elite dart style of ammo, there are few blasters that can compare with it for the price.

Pros:

• Can reach up to 75 feet on a fresh set of batteries
• Small enough to be useable by Nerf warriors of any age
• Compatible with loads of other clips, magazines, and drums - again, thanks to being a part of the Nerf Elite line

Cons:

• Requires four AAA batteries to operate
• The standard clip that it comes with is somewhat small

The Elite HyperFire is a high-speed, high-capacity monster. Add in a body that combines good ergonomics (it’s ideal for anyone who likes to keep moving while they battle) with an imposing design (drum clip!) and you’ve got a blaster that will do you proud in any battle.

Pros:

• On a fresh set of batteries, the HyperFire can fire darts at a rate of five per second. That means you can blow through the entire 25-missile drum in about five seconds at peak performance!
• Fires darts at a range of up to 90 feet, which means this blaster has plenty of power to back up its speed
• Capable of using a variety of Nerf Elite clips and drums, which makes reloading a cinch with this blaster

Cons:

• The jam clearing door’s lock occasionally comes open when firing - and if this door or it’s locking mechanism are not totally sealed then the gun disables itself

The Decision: Best Nerf Guns Under $50

This list was so packed with amazing Nerf guns that we decided to name two winners in two separate categories: The Best Overall, and The Best Deal.

The Best Overall

We have to give it to the Nerf Elite Stryfe as being the best Nerf gun you can purchase. Its range, size, and accuracy make it an absolute beast - so much so that the fact that the Stryfe needs batteries hardly even fazes us.

The Best Deal

Without a doubt the HyperFire Elite is the best bang-for-your-buck Nerf blaster on this list. Not only does it boast a crazy awesome design, it also has an almost unbelievable firing rate for a non-motorized Nerf gun.

This is a Nerf gun that we would be proud to be seen carrying onto any Nerf battlefield.

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Things to Consider:

Standardize to Save Cost

We intentionally chose blasters for this list that only use the Nerf Elite style of dart.

That’s because Elite darts are the most commonly fired darts on the market today. Nerf Elite darts have superior range and accuracy and fit into a variety of different clips, magazines, and drums that are (for the most part) all interchangeable. 

But that’s not the only reason that Elite darts reign supreme on this list.

If all of your Nerf blasters use the same type of ammo, you’ll be able to save a lot of money that would normally go to buying ammo refills and additional clips and mags. Instead of spending, just share out your already existing supply of ammo between whatever blasters you choose to take into battle!

In fact, some pro Nerf clubs provide ammo (and blasters!) and you can bet that they usually bring a whole lot of Nerf Elite darts.

Why You Need to Think About Batteries

Ammunition isn’t the only thing to think about when trying to be a cost-effective Nerf buyer. Plenty of Nerf guns today rely on batteries to either shoot or activate a secondary ability (like the FireStrike) and the cost of replacement batteries can add up quickly.

We tried to keep the battery requirements low for this list because some Nerf guns can be voracious (for example, the Nerf Rival Zeus take six C batteries).

Of course you can offset the cost of batteries by investing in rechargeables, but that’s not something that everyone is comfortable with or capable of. That’s not to say that you simply shouldn’t buy Nerf guns that need batteries.

Motorized Nerf blasters often boast superior firing rates and dart distances than their purely mechanical counterparts. Still, if saving money is the thing that you’ve got your eye on, whether or not a Nerf blaster takes batteries should be a high priority on your list.

Now that we’ve covered some of the most important things to keep in mind when purchasing a new Nerf blaster, we can finally move on to our list of the Top 5 Best Nerf Guns Under $50!