Buzz Bee has, in recent years, managed to recycle many designs with upgraded internals in order to keep up with blaster range trends. With many blasters, they now claim (with their long distance darts) up to 100ft ranges. In the case of the Reaper, Buzz Bee has taken a fan favorite for comfort and boosted the ranges. It’s large for a pistol, and still retains some compatibility issues, but it’s comfortable and easy to use, making for a pleasant blaster update. If you can find one,

Beautiful and Blue

The Reaper was formerly part of the Ultra-Tek line, firing grey suction cup darts and claiming ranges of 72′. Just like other blasters, Buzz Bee has kept the shell but added an expanded plunger tube. As with previous versions of this blaster, it’s also a pain to get apart without destroying the blaster – the orange tip is thoroughly solvent-welded to the shell, and it hides one of the screws holding the blaster together. Chalk one up for science, I guess.

The Reaper ditches the bright colors of the last version for blue and black, with various patterns detailed into the shell. The handle is still on the smaller side, but was at least comfortable in my hands. The slide covers the entire top of the blaster, and is incredibly comfortable and easy to prime. The blaster comes with an eight dart magazine. Sadly, the shape of the magwell precludes the use of drum magazines (with their extra ridges). I could make all stick magazines work, however.

Performance Upgrade

True to the advertisement, the Reaper has the power to reach the 100′ range claims. With the included darts, the Reaper got velocities of 84 fps on average (note that these darts aren’t that accurate). With Nerf Elites, I averaged 79 fps. On my unit, I could distinctly hear the plunger taking its time to travel when dry-firing – the seals on the plunger and the air restrictor valve were just that good.

Summary

The newest version of the Reaper is just as easy to use and fun as the old, with extra power to boot. It’s large for a pistol, but if the old model is any indication, it will be a reliable blaster for stock use or for Humans v Zombies games. The main issue is finding one – so far I have only seen this version appear at Ross Stores / DD’s Discounts, which isn’t a national chain. The blaster, however, was just $8. So if you find one, you’ll enjoy it!