I thought I had reached the top of the Nerf Wars food chain with the purchase of my Longshot. The problem is that eventually all weapons lose their intimidation factor, and the hordes of people wielding little Mavericks were willing to take the hits to get in close so they have a chance to get me.

Enter the Surefire Compound Bow. They advertise 100 feet, and this will easily deliver on that range and more. It hits with a resounding THUD when shot completely across the length of my office. In fact, my problem is that I feel a little guilty sometimes hitting people at triple the distance that their little guns can manage. It's good that I can deal well and quickly with guilt.

The intimidation factor is back. It doesn't hurt that this bow is completely silent. No telltale sounds from loading the darts, or even when firing. People can't tell the shot is coming until they are being knocked over as if the God of Thunder himself has struck.

A couple of practical points:

1 - The back string is useless at best and, at worst, hinders your aim. Fold it out of the way or remove it entirely. All the power comes from the rubber bands at the front of the bow.

2 - The arrows are made of foam and have a soft head. That being said, a hard shot at close range can yield yelps and whimpers from your opponents. DO NOT SHOOT THIS AT CRY-BABIES. You should also probably be careful of head shots.

3 - You get three shots, so make them count. There are 3-packs of arrows for sale, but they are always sold out.

4 - When going for distance attacks in an office, it helps to kneel when taking your shot. This gives you a higher arc range.

5 - If you are scared of hitting someone in the head at long range, aim in front or above of them. The fright factor from the noise of the impact is enough to reinforce your message of dominance.

As far as durability, after a couple of months of regular use the elastic bands that provide all of the power begin to fail. This process happens slower if you don't use the full power of the bow. Once the bands fail, it takes a decent amount of time to repair using standard surgical tubing. If you are not particularly handy, just buy a replacement.

When the arrow fins start to separate after a couple of months, a little Gorilla glue fixes them right up.