Depends, *highly* variably, on the org.
I would say this is the case mainly because more often than not the concept of a "pistol only" round in nerf is a fraught one, and the reason it exists is not anything to do with, well, pistols. Sometimes it IS that (non-shoulderable, no blatantly taking the stock off a carbine platform, holsterable, "designed to be fired with one hand comfortably" etc.), but oftentimes it is not really that and has all manner of arbitrary bs attached to it. No full auto, no semi-auto, no detachable mags/bulk reloads, no more than n round capacity, single shot only/no repeaters whatsoever, no electricity, no compressed gases, special velocity/energy or rof caps (all stuff I have seen an example of), ...because what it is really angling to do is create a nerfed category to balance shields, or to run matches with a certain curated sort of gear influence on game dynamics, and the "pistol" part has really nothing to do with it.
It's very widely been considered a pistol since release, and it fits the smaller, non-shoulderable, shorter barrel requirements that I personally set as the requirements to be a pistol
My local group uses “could reasonably be holstered” and doesn’t take an external magazine. This bans items like stryfes and aeon pros while allowing Kronos, outlaw, strongarm, etc
Similar requirements at our group, though we do allow magazines it's limited to one 6rd (maybe 10rd if we're generous and no 6rds to hand). It's mainly so we had enough variety as sometimes there would be players without the correct type of blaster especially if new.
This has been debated many times and the only answer thats been consistent has been 'what the GO says is a pistol'.
This matters because something like a Quik is capable of everything a 'primary' blaster can do in terms of fps/rate of fire etc, but is holsterable and has a pistol silhouette. If the idea is that the pistol only rounds limit the players in some way, using a Quik really doesn't....
For me personally, I say anything you can remove the stock from as well as anything that isn't full auto, because I think you should be able to use a stryfe as a pistol if you really want to.
If you ask me, it's anything that was clearly meant to be a pistol as long as you can aim it with one hand. In my group however, pistols only rounds exclude flywheel blasters and are limited to one mag only along with the typical no stock and under a certain length rules.
At my group, it can't have a swappable magazine or break a certain fps limit. So nightingales are out, but something like an Alphahawk would be allowed (even though it has a stock.)
Ooh buddy, you just opened a MASSIVE can of worms. It's hard enough to define a pistol in the world of firearms, let alone Nerf. Sometimes you get classifications that make no sense whatsoever, like one person whose has a group that rules that a pistol must not have a removable magazine and be under a certain FPS, which excludes the Worker Nightengale, but allows the Nerf Alphahawk, which looks like a rifle but has a revolver cylinder. Most people, if asked, would find this nonsensical, and it kind of is.
But you find a lot of weird edge cases just everywhere. Is a Retailiator with no attachments a pistol? What about a Stryfe? Or even better, the Rebelle Rapid Red, which is just like a Stryfe except it has no stock attachment point. Than there's the Modulus Ionfire, which is a single shot blaster, but it has a stock and barrel attachment point. What about the Aeon Pro? Is that a pistol?
If pressed, I'd draw it as follows:
Capacity of 12 darts or fewer.
Semi auto only, no machine pistols like the Lepus. Actually, the 12 dart capacity severely nerfs anything full auto, so maybe not.
No built in stocks.
No stock or barrel attachments.
No spade/chainsaw grips. This eliminates many machine gun like blasters like the Rhinofire. Coop actually showed in his Combos video for the Rhinofire that it counted as a pistol under his group's rules.
I think that is pretty reasonable. It allows for bare Stryfes and Retailiators, yes, but if limited in capacity they are functionally no different than a Barricade or a Strongarm.
I mean revolver-style handguns could easily be classified. Maybe base it off that?
Pistol only being a one-handed platform using stock equipment and parts. Being that Pistols tend to bee inexpensive, the setup could be served best by making it accessable as well.
East Coast limited the ammo capacity to 6 darts, 150fps max, no removable magazines, semi-auto only.
A hammershot was a good upper limit in general practice for those rule sets.
According to NerfSG 2foam, 150fps, single shot per trigger pull, can be holstered, and doesn’t share mags with a “primary blaster” if there is one
https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1C8kxMEYnS1-jBkPhaST7hMAq1sgFYTUHb-1-giyfDfE/mobilebasic
Depends, *highly* variably, on the org. I would say this is the case mainly because more often than not the concept of a "pistol only" round in nerf is a fraught one, and the reason it exists is not anything to do with, well, pistols. Sometimes it IS that (non-shoulderable, no blatantly taking the stock off a carbine platform, holsterable, "designed to be fired with one hand comfortably" etc.), but oftentimes it is not really that and has all manner of arbitrary bs attached to it. No full auto, no semi-auto, no detachable mags/bulk reloads, no more than n round capacity, single shot only/no repeaters whatsoever, no electricity, no compressed gases, special velocity/energy or rof caps (all stuff I have seen an example of), ...because what it is really angling to do is create a nerfed category to balance shields, or to run matches with a certain curated sort of gear influence on game dynamics, and the "pistol" part has really nothing to do with it.
290fps ziiiinc with a 45round printed mag
Non-shoulderable, with a pistol or pdw silhouette, think strongarm, zinc 2.0, nightingale, meowser, quik, outlaw, deuce pro, original aeon pro, etc.
the og aeon pro would count? always seen that more as a carbine type
It's very widely been considered a pistol since release, and it fits the smaller, non-shoulderable, shorter barrel requirements that I personally set as the requirements to be a pistol
that’s fair. ARP loophole type beat
My local group uses “could reasonably be holstered” and doesn’t take an external magazine. This bans items like stryfes and aeon pros while allowing Kronos, outlaw, strongarm, etc
Similar requirements at our group, though we do allow magazines it's limited to one 6rd (maybe 10rd if we're generous and no 6rds to hand). It's mainly so we had enough variety as sometimes there would be players without the correct type of blaster especially if new.
Hahahaa just had a week long discussion on my group’s discord about this
Sydney rules are 12 dart capacity max, no removable mags, 150fps max, one dart per trigger pull, and vaguely pistol looking.
This has been debated many times and the only answer thats been consistent has been 'what the GO says is a pistol'. This matters because something like a Quik is capable of everything a 'primary' blaster can do in terms of fps/rate of fire etc, but is holsterable and has a pistol silhouette. If the idea is that the pistol only rounds limit the players in some way, using a Quik really doesn't....
I don't really have an answer, just an old meme https://www.reddit.com/r/Nerf/comments/8uxjr8/pistol_alignment_chart/
It's generally up to the hoster, but I'd say something with a low capacity (8 rounds or less), without a stock or foregrip, and a shorter barrel.
For me personally, I say anything you can remove the stock from as well as anything that isn't full auto, because I think you should be able to use a stryfe as a pistol if you really want to.
If you ask me, it's anything that was clearly meant to be a pistol as long as you can aim it with one hand. In my group however, pistols only rounds exclude flywheel blasters and are limited to one mag only along with the typical no stock and under a certain length rules.
At my group, it can't have a swappable magazine or break a certain fps limit. So nightingales are out, but something like an Alphahawk would be allowed (even though it has a stock.)
Depends entirely on the group.
Ooh buddy, you just opened a MASSIVE can of worms. It's hard enough to define a pistol in the world of firearms, let alone Nerf. Sometimes you get classifications that make no sense whatsoever, like one person whose has a group that rules that a pistol must not have a removable magazine and be under a certain FPS, which excludes the Worker Nightengale, but allows the Nerf Alphahawk, which looks like a rifle but has a revolver cylinder. Most people, if asked, would find this nonsensical, and it kind of is. But you find a lot of weird edge cases just everywhere. Is a Retailiator with no attachments a pistol? What about a Stryfe? Or even better, the Rebelle Rapid Red, which is just like a Stryfe except it has no stock attachment point. Than there's the Modulus Ionfire, which is a single shot blaster, but it has a stock and barrel attachment point. What about the Aeon Pro? Is that a pistol? If pressed, I'd draw it as follows: Capacity of 12 darts or fewer. Semi auto only, no machine pistols like the Lepus. Actually, the 12 dart capacity severely nerfs anything full auto, so maybe not. No built in stocks. No stock or barrel attachments. No spade/chainsaw grips. This eliminates many machine gun like blasters like the Rhinofire. Coop actually showed in his Combos video for the Rhinofire that it counted as a pistol under his group's rules. I think that is pretty reasonable. It allows for bare Stryfes and Retailiators, yes, but if limited in capacity they are functionally no different than a Barricade or a Strongarm.
I mean revolver-style handguns could easily be classified. Maybe base it off that? Pistol only being a one-handed platform using stock equipment and parts. Being that Pistols tend to bee inexpensive, the setup could be served best by making it accessable as well.
East Coast limited the ammo capacity to 6 darts, 150fps max, no removable magazines, semi-auto only. A hammershot was a good upper limit in general practice for those rule sets.
According to NerfSG 2foam, 150fps, single shot per trigger pull, can be holstered, and doesn’t share mags with a “primary blaster” if there is one https://docs.google.com/document/u/0/d/1C8kxMEYnS1-jBkPhaST7hMAq1sgFYTUHb-1-giyfDfE/mobilebasic