Some people see a minivan and see a boring and mundane vehicle. Other people see the same minivan and see a future party bus. In the same way, some people look at a dart blaster and see no more than a children’s toy. Others see an engineering challenge – an efficient eradicator of many zombies.

Tyler Collins, a freshman in microbiology, has been modifying his own blasters since the sixth grade – he first modified his brother’s Nerf Long Shot blaster to shoot over 100 feet as opposed to the original 20 feet.

He started helping his friends modify their blasters to give them an edge in Humans vs. Zombies. Currently, he runs a small business fulfilling modification requests.

“Really the only tools I need are a screwdriver and a hand-drill,” Collins said. “Typically I crack [the blasters] open and there’s this thing inside called an air-restrictor… I drill it right out.”

The air restrictor is a part of a Nerf blaster added to slow down air flow, and according to Collins it should be the first thing to go.

“The air restrictor is something that virtually every Nerf [blaster] has,” Michael Ramos, a junior in human biology and an owner of a Nerf Raider Collins has modified, said. “It restricts the air coming inside so that if you’re a child… it keeps the [velocity of the dart] very low.”

Other optional modifications include spring compression or replacements, jam door removals and replacement of the internals. However, according to Collins, the modification that improves blasters most is a spring replacement.

Ramos is one student Collins has helped. Ramos now wields a modified Nerf Raider blaster that has had many modifications including a spring replacement. Ramos ordered stronger replacement parts through an online company called “Orange Mod Works” that caters to dart blaster fanatics such as himself.

Among the replacements “Orange Mod Works” offers is a polycarbonate replacement package.

“The metal internals make it stronger – it also provides a better seal for the air… so they shoot hard, they shoot faster, they are more accurate, and they give far more range, which, if you are running from zombies, you learn that it helps,” Ramos said.

Moreover, unlike plastic, they are able to take the increased pressure of stronger springs without cracking.

Other individuals like Cole Rierson , a sophomore in mechanical engineering, have also been experimenting with trying to improve their blasters.

“Most people that I know actually [modify] their own,” Rierson said. “Probably the best thing I’ve seen is someone [who] took a Nerf Jolt, which is a single shot tiny pistol, and put it on the bottom of an Alpha Trooper, so you can use it like a Raider and it still has a vertical clip.”

“I really encourage people to modify their own blasters – it’s a fun hobby and they get to know how these things function,” Collins said.

Rierson has an automatic electronic blaster, a Swarm Fire, and has replaced the batteries with lithium ion cells to make it more powerful. It’s gone from shooting one dart per second to five darts per second.

“There are mechanical modifications and electrical modifications – the electrical modifications you can only do to automatic guns, because what it involves replacing the battery with a much stronger battery,” Rierson said.

However, among the many concerns with modifying blasters, the most important concern is actually not performance enhancement but safety.

“Of course, I never do any modifications that could potentially harm someone, especially ammunition – you never modify Nerf darts,” Collins said.

The easiest way to modify a dart is to increase its mass by hot-gluing a BB to the tip. However, this is also painful and dangerous for the player being shot at, and is therefore strictly prohibited in Humans vs. Zombies.

The issue of safety has even crept its way into terminology – they almost never refer to their blasters as guns.

“A gun implies a dangerous weapon, whereas a blaster is a toy,” Rollins Wohlford , a freshman in First Year College and Humans vs. Zombies player, said.

While there is a range of Nerf blasters to choose from, the enthusiasts seem to agree upon a few that are superior.

“For HvZ you’re going to want something that’s either a clip gun or an integrated clip gun,” Rierson said.

Currently, Nerf makes the most popular dart blasters. The Alpha Trooper, Recon and Raider are all popular Nerf clip system blasters that are common among Humans vs. Zombies players. However, modifiers debate among themselves which of these gives the most “bang for your buck.”

According to Collins, the Alpha Trooper is a great blaster out of the box, but modifications don’t improve it that much. He doesn’t mind that though, and recommends it as the best well-rounded blaster.

However, others disagree.

“I hate the handle,” Ramos said.

Ramos prefers the stock of the Raider because of its solid grip that was advantageous for aiming.

Competing with both the Alpha Trooper and the Raider is the Recon, which seems to have less of a following but is still always mentioned.

All these blasters are a tad pricey, but modifiers seem to agree if you’re looking for a cheap, good blaster, go with the Maverick.

“It’s simple, it’s cheap, it has six rounds instead of just one…” Ramos said.

“It’s everyone’s starter gun… it’s 10 dollars and it’s easy to take apart,” Rierson said.

Although dart blaster enthusiasts may argue on which clip-system blaster to use, it is clear modifying dart blasters is becoming a part of campus culture.