DinoSquad Nerf Guns At a Glance

In the early part of 2021 a new series of Nerf guns going by the name DinoSquad was beginning to surface. The idea was to merge the world of dinosaurs with tactical style blasters. Each gun would be modeled after a specific species, which isn’t a horrible concept on the surface. Large reptiles and tactical guns, what’s not to like?

Once we were able to see these Dinosquad Nerf guns it didn’t take long to notice the similarities. The Rex-Rampage closely resembled the Stryfe and the Tricera-Blast was basically a Triceratops hugging a Sledgefire. The Stego-Smash on the other hand speaks for itself.  In addition to these Nerf guns are the Raptor-Slash and ArmorStrike which both share features found on existing blasters. 

Furthermore, I like the concept and overall the guns continue to get awesome customer reviews, although I should add that I was a bit skeptical at first. My concerns were not in their design or tactical nature, but the recommended age stamped to the series. I just didn’t see this as a net positive. Moreover, would these Dino Nerf guns be more successful in a broader age bracket.

This will be one of our topics of discussion throughout the rest of this page.

Why Do Dino Nerf Guns Leave Me Questioning?

I try to remain open minded in my approach to writing about Nerf guns. It’s never my intent to bludgeon an idea but rather add value to what’s been developed. Moreover, I believe that one person’s opinion is just that, their opinion and doesn’t necessarily apply to all readers. Therefore, I do my best to be neutral while still giving thoughtful insight.

With this in mind I’m going to run wild here and see where that takes us. My issue with Dinosquad Nerf guns has little to do with the creative concept but the relevance it has to the posted age group. I’m not implying that an 8 year old wouldn’t have fun playing with a blaster that resembles a dinosaur, I just feel Hasbro missed the mark by about 2 years…

This also goes without saying that I could very well be the one missing the mark here. Just because it’s written doesn’t mean it’s the general consensus, although in all fairness that’s not my goal either.

Let’s continue down this rabbit hole and see where it leads…

DinoSquad Nerf Guns Should Be Offered To Younger Children

What would the success story be if a set of these Dino Nerf guns had their recommended age lowered to 6+ and would it make a difference? I think this is an honest question, although I don’t believe it to be that easy. Lowering the age would bring it in line with Assembler Gear, however the differences in design are noticeable. Moreover, would it be necessary to apply it to the entire series?

Perhaps I’m putting too much thought into this, but as a parent myself I see a dinosaur inspired toy making more sense in the hands of a 6 year old, as opposed to one that’s 8. As a child matures, so do their interests and in this case it would be more in the tactical direction, than a dinosaur theme. Also, going through some of the reviews at a number of different online retailers it was common to see 6 and 7 year old children as the recipients.

Furthermore, we all know age recommendations can be misleading. A recommended age is exactly what it implies, a recommendation. Any child that’s capable of operating the gun is welcome to enjoy it and that alone should answer the question. Unfortunately, a good number of these DinoSquad Nerf guns are not the perfect match for younger children, however all hope is not lost. 

Another Reason Why Dino Nerf Guns Should Have a Younger Age Recommendation

What about the grandparents who are on the hunt for gift ideas and unintentionally overlook this series as an option. When you shop for a child of a certain age people typically go to the section of toys that are appropriate for that age demographic.      

Lowering the age and making some of the guns more user friendly for younger children could open some opportunities for the series as a whole. In addition to this it would bring more options to that age demographic which is already slim.

Semi-Automatic Dino Nerf Gun

The Rex-Rampage is the motorized Nerf gun of the series. It’s also the one that best fits the series in regards to the appropriate age. The gun has a semi-automatic mode of delivery and uses a flywheel system as a priming mechanism. It’s fed by a 10 round magazine and is capable of delivering a good rate of fire. Overall it has a nice mixture of tactical elements scattered throughout the dinosaur visuals. 

Furthermore, the blaster continues to get strong customer reviews and I think this is in part due to the simplicity of the gun. It’s not overly complicated or bogged down with additional features. Everything seems to be appropriately placed, from the ammo storage on the stock, to the scope. Nerf Rex-Rampage Gun Stat Page⇒

Nerf DinoSquad Tricera-Blast

An imagination is a wonderful thing and the Tricera-Blast plays right into it. This gun starts to break that age barrier to the younger side. Like all Dino Nerf guns this blaster is easy to operate. It uses a hammer-action primer that will need to be primed with each shot. It will hold up to 3 rounds and uses a break-open reloading system where the front of the blaster hinges down. Nothing about this process should be overwhelming to a 5, 6 or 7 year old.  

In addition to this the Nerf gun has a nice shoulder stock with on-board ammo storage. This will make it easy to carry around extra Nerf darts in a cool tactical way. Moreover, it makes the reloading process a little faster.  

Furthermore, and to my surprise is one of the more popular Dinosquad Nerf guns of the series. The customer reviews are solid and again, this is primarily due to how user friendly these guns are. Nerf Tricera-Blast Gun Stat Page⇒

The Best Dino Nerf Gun For a Young Child

Some time back I wrote an article which put an emphasis on Nerf gun features that are best suited for young kids. You can read the article here if you’d like How to chose a Nerf gun for a small child. The features described in the article make it easier for young children to use the blasters without needing to find help. It just so happens this gun has all the features discussed in that article.

Of the Dino blasters we’ve discussed, the Stego-Smash is the simplest of them to operate. It’s a front load Nerf gun that has a pull handle as a primer. There’s absolutely nothing complicated about this Nerf gun. I’ve always held the view that fun is what you make it. You don’t have to have the biggest or the best Nerf guns to have a good time. You just need a couple of fun blasters and a side of boredom.

In addition to this the Stego is also the top rated Dinosquad Nerf gun in the series by customer reviews. Nerf Stego-Smash Gun Stat Page⇒

DinoSquad’s Most Popular Style of Nerf Gun

Believe it or not the Raptor-Slash is a design that’s been successful many times over. A great example of this is the Elite 2.0 Commander RD-6. This style of Nerf gun has been around for a long time and will continue to be long after the age of the dinosaurs. Easy to operate and relatively inexpensive to purchase are two features that stand out, although that’s not all this gun has to offer. It has a quick reload speed due to the front load design and two modes of fire, single fire and slam-fire. 

In addition to this it should come to no surprise that this Nerf gun is one of the top all around blasters in the series. Although, it’s important to note that slide-action primers tend to give smaller children issues. This is primarily due to having to pull back on the priming slide. View The Raptor-Slash Gun Stat Page⇒

MY FINAL THOUGHTS ON DINOSQUAD NERF GUNS

To answer the initial question of “Can these Dino Blasters deliver”, the answer is YES! This is obvious by the continued positive customer reviews. Regardless of my options on the age recommendations, these Nerf guns will continue to thrive. I would recommend any of them and especially for the younger children.