The evil tree rats are back, where's my Hasbro Super Soaker Aquashock Secret Strike?
Written: Jun 04 '08 (Updated Jun 06 '08)
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Pros: Has good range and made me feel like Rambo and Ripley!
Cons: Very confusing for old people to use, kids might figure it out right away, though.
The Bottom Line: read the review
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| laura10801's Full Review: Super Soaker Aquashock Secret Strike |
Do you know what tree-rats are? They are those gray rodents with razor-sharp teeth, claws, and fluffy tails - they go by the alias, "squirrels." Don't be fooled by these vermin, they have those tails to look cute so you don't poison them!
They dig up my garden, they nibble on my bulbs, and just leave the ruined bulbs there for me to find, and they chase all the birds off my feeders. It is clear that they are doing this just because they want to tick me off! I can't poison them, I just don't have the heart, although they richly deserve it. Something must be done!
Then, one day I was in the super market and I stumbled across the Hasbro Super Soaker Aquashock Secret Strike! I knew what I must do! For about $15 I bought my way into the exciting world of Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam! I was armed and ready for those screwy squirrels! I realize this is not the intended purpose of the Super Soaker, but what better way is there to teach the tree rats to say away from my birdfeeers?
This is no ordinary water pistol. I've never had a water gun like this! It is big, I mean like 18 inches long and maybe 8 inches wide and 3-4 inches deep. When I was a kid I just had little hand water pistols, you filled it with water and pulled the trigger and that was that. This puppy requires a masters degree in physics in order to operate it First of all, I had difficulty figuring out how to fill the darned thing. I'm sure it would have helped if I had read the directions first, but I'm in Rambo mode and I'm not gonna read any sissy directions!
The proper way to load this water gun is to A. figure out where the water goes in, B. push on the back with a hose, or a faucet, or your finger while the faucet runs over the water entrance. I first pulled the thingy you push in to fill the gun off - this is a mistake. If you buy Hasbro Super Soaker Aquashock Secret Strike, do not attempt to fill it in this manner, you will have a lot of trouble getting that cap back on and you will forever wonder if you would get better shots from your gun if you hadn't messed up that way.
The water tank holds 40.5 ounces, which is a lot, or seems like it should be a lot, but when you shoot this gun you use a lot of water, so it runs out pretty fast. I can scare squirrels off my feeder and up my rocky hill 3-4 times before I need a reload, but I am pretty aggressive about this.
In order to operate the gun, you must pump air into it. There is a sliding thingy in front of the trigger that acts as the pump. Now I feel like Ripley in Aliens and I'm going to shoot some sort of plasma at my tree-rats! I'm pumped and ready for action.
Look over there! There's a tree-rat on the feeder! There's plenty of food on the ground, but those squirrels just have to get on the feeder and scare off the birds! I slide open the door as quietly as I can, point the gun in the general direction of the feeder, and squeeze of my first round! It goes about 20 feet, which is short! The tree-rat looks at me smugly as if to say that it knows it is much smarter than me and I look like a twit shooting water at him in my robe and slippers. DIE, YOU STINKIN' TREE-RAT! DIE!
Mr. Squirrel is still on the feeder, confident that I am harmless. And I approach steadily planning my next attack. I fire and I miss, but it is a near miss, so Mr. Squirrel climbs down the feeder and trots away, but not far away. I can still get him, I know I can! And so it goes, I make a couple more attempts with my 40.5-ounce Hasbro Super Soaker Aquashock Secret Strike and miss hitting the evil rodent from hell. This thing is not easy to aim successfully, or maybe I'm just a lousy shot. Either way, Mr. Squirrel has gone far enough away from my feeder that he won't make it back up there before I get inside and sit down on my sofa.
Oh yeah, the "secret strike" part of the Hasbro Super Soaker Aquashock Secret Strike, that is just a nozzle aimed downward at the bottom of the regular nozzle. You have to twist the regular nozzle to make use of it. I cannot see much point to it. Forgetting my shameful abuse of human technology to protect birds from marauding tree-rats, I can't imagine a kid finding much use for that "secret opening." You still have to pump air into the chamber (there is no way to do this subtly) and you still have to pull the trigger, but instead of shooting straight ahead, it shoots downward so unless your victim is lying still on the ground and you are above him, you aren't going to hit them.
I keep this toy by my sliding glass door and my husband and I both use it only when there is a tree-rat on the feeder. It has given us both some good laughs, so I would say it was well worth the $15 investment.
Addendum: I have suddenly become much more able to aim the gun and direct hits now that I pull the trigger with BOTH my index and middle fingers together.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 15
Type of Toy: Other
Age Range of Child: 9 Years or Older
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laura10801
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Member: Laura
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About Me:
A patient asked if I ever have problems.
"Do physicians ever get sick?" I replied.
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