Nintendo Kôsenjû Duck Hunt - How it works

In a previous post, we saw what Nintendo's Kôsenjû Duck Hunt (光線銃 ダックハント) is capable of: it projects life-like flying ducks, that crash down when hit by the light-beam shotgun.

Today we will take a peek inside this wonderful machine, to try and understand how it actually works.

Nintendo Kôsenjû Duck Hunt (1976)

Duck Hunt is an electro-mechanical toy from 1976. It combines various technologies Nintendo developed for the Laser Clay Shooting System as well as for Kôsenjû SP and Kôsenjû Custom light-beam guns and targets.

Nintendo's engineers managed to pack all this technology into a small, relatively affordable device, fit for home use.

Nintendo Key Figures - Takehiro Izushi (出石武宏), inventor of Custom Gunman

Over the lasts months, many posts on this blog covered the creations and innovations by Nintendo master engineer and inventor Gunpei Yokoi. And rightly so, as his imagination has been a key force in shaping Nintendo to what it is today. But it has never been a complete solo effort by Yokoi. Great designers work in great teams, with people who help shape, hone, extend and execute ideas.

In future posts, I will also spotlight some of Yokoi's collaboraters and colleagues from Nintendo's Research and Development department.

We will start with the inventor of two of my personal all-time Nintendo favorites: Custom Gunman and Custom Lion (カステム ガンマン, カステム ライオン). These light gun targets were the last toys in the successful Kousenjuu Custom (光線銃 カスツム) series.

Nintendo Kôsenjû Guns and Rifles (光線銃SP, 光線銃 カスタム, 1970-1976)

Four different guns and rifles exist in the Nintendo Kôsenjû light beam series. In this post we will shed some light on their differences, in particular the compatibility between guns and rifles and the various targets.

The four Kôsenjû guns and rifles

In the image above, we see from top to bottom: Kôsenjû SP Rifle (光線銃SP ライフル, 1970), Kôsenjû SP Gun (光線銃SP ガン, 1970), Kôsenjû Custom Action Lever Rifle (光線銃 カスタム レバーアクション ライフル, 1971) and Kôsenjû Custom Gun (光線銃 カスタム ガン, 1976).

The Kôsenjû SP and Kôsenjû Custom guns are similar in size and design. The main exterior differences are the color of the handle and the trigger mechanism. Furthermore, the light source of the Kôsenjû Custom Gun is more focused and stronger than that of the Kôsenjû SP Gun, which improves the range of the gun.

The Kôsenjû SP Gun has a white handle and a metal trigger and hammer.

Kôsenjû SP Gun

The Kôsenjû Custom Gun has a brown handle and a plastic trigger and hammer.

Kôsenjû Custom Gun

The two rifles are quite different. The Kôsenjû SP Rifle is smaller and much lighter than the Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle. It is a real toy rifle, and also a lot cheaper than the Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle. The Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle on the other hand, is very close to a real riffle. Like the Kôsenjû Custom Gun, it has a better light source and greater range.

The Kôsenjû SP Rifle is prepared for firing by pumping the handle bar underneath the barrel. It came with a small toy telescope sight, with plastic lenses.

Kôsenjû SP Rifle

The Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle is loaded by moving the lever underneath the trigger. A professional telescope sight (Custom Lever Action Rifle Scope) with real glass lenses was available as an accessory.

Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle

Because of the different light sources in these guns and rifles, they are not fully compatible with all available Kôsenjû targets.

Leaflet included with Custom Gunman/Lion explains you cannot use SP Gun and Riffle

In particular, the Kôsenjû SP Gun and Rifle cannot be used with Custom Gunman and Custom Lion, as explained by the leaflet pictured above. The leaflet explains that for these targets the Custom (Lever Action) Rifle or Custom Gun should be used. Interestingly, the price for the rifle is quoted as ¥5,000 in 1976, significantly lower than the 1971 introduction price of ¥14,000.

Compatibility diagram included in the Custom Gunman manual

The compatibility diagram pictured in the Custom Gunman manual also shows which rifle and gun can be used with which target.

Kôsenjû Custom Target with focus lens attached to the sensor in the middle

The Kôsenjû SP Gun and Rifle can be used for the 1971 Kôsenjû Custom Target, if the focus lens which came with the target is attached to its light sensor. The tag attached to the Kôsenjû Custom Target shows its backward compatibility with the Kôsenjû SP series.

The Kôsenjû Custom Target also sports the SP label

This compatibility stuff may sound more complicated than it actually is. Just take a look at the table presented below, which summarizes it all.

Custom Gunman and Custom Lion require a Custom Gun or Custom Rifle

Nintendo Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle and Scope (光線銃 カスタム レバーアクション ライフル, スコープ, 1971)

One of the more spectacular shooting toys created by Nintendo is the Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle (光線銃 カスタム レバーアクション ライフル). This item definitely lives up to the expectations created by its impressive name.

Kôsenjû Custom Lever Action Rifle (1971)

Released in 1971 as part of the Kôsenjû Custom (光線銃 カスタム) series, it is a light beam gun which can be used to shoot the Kôsenjû SP and Kôsenjû Custom targets.

It was expensive at ¥14,000. The price later dropped to ¥7,800, then ¥5,000

The Custom Lever Action Rifle is a little over one meter in length and has a healthy weight of 2.3 kg. It is made from metal and heavy plastic (with a wood-like finish) and feels like handling the real thing.

It must be one of the most realistic toy rifles out there. I am pretty sure something like this cannot be sold anymore in a toy store today. Recently one was shipped to me from Japan by regular mail, and I was surprised Japan Post accepted it, and the package made it through customs without a problem. That must be encouraging news for the arms smugglers within our readership.

The lever is used to load the rifle

Anyway, back to the riffle. Why is it called Lever Action Rifle, you want to know?

Pulling the lever pushes out the hammer

Well, easy: you use a lever to load the rifle and prepare it for action.

The rifle is loaded!

Once the rifle has been loaded, pulling the trigger will release the hammer with a nice heavy clunk. A small light bulb will flash in the barrel of the gun, beaming towards the target and hitting it. That is, if the shot was well aimed, of course.

The Custom Lever Action Rifle is capable of hitting a target at great distances, thanks to a strong flash light powered by 4 C cells. The manual claims distances between 30 and 100 meters are possible.

If we look at the box more closely, we see a telescopic sight mounted on the rifle. That could come in handy when shooting a target at these kind of distances! However, even though it is pictured on the box, it does not come with the rifle.

Wait a minute... that scope is not included!

Fortunately, the scope could be bought separately, as an accessory. Unfortunately, while the rifle itself is not very rare, the scope was sold in very small quantities, making it one of the most difficult to find Nintendo items these days.

Custom Lever Action Rifle Scope (1971)

The official name is Custom Lever Action Rifle Scope (レバーアクション ライフル スコープ). It was sold for ¥3,800.

Custom Lever Action Rifle Scope

The Scope is a high quality optical piece. It comes with two protective caps.

Magnification of 4 x 20 is provided by the scope.

Mounting the scope - step 1

The scope is mounted on the riffle using the included screwdriver. First we attach a metal slider.

Mounting the scope - step 2

As the rifle itself was already pretty expensive, most people will have skipped buying the scope accessory. They will definitely have missed something though, as the rifle with scope is looking seriously impressive, and made hitting a target at great distance an achievable reality.

Mounting the scope - step 3

We are now ready to take a sniper shot at Custom Gunman. Alternatively, take a look at this Lever Action Rifle poster.

Kousenjuu, Kōsenjū or Kosenjyu?

The Japanese name for the Nintendo light-gun series is 光線銃 SP, which means "light ray gun SP".

光線 --> light ray
銃 --> gun

But what is the correct romanization for these kanji? That should not be too difficult.

光線 is written "kōsen" or "kousen" if we write "ou" instead of the long "ō"

銃 is written "jū" or "juu" if we write "uu" instead of the long "ū"

Together this forms "Kousenjuu".

Nintendo however writes it as "Kosenjyu" on the guns.

Kosenjyu? Wait a minute. Is that correct?

Is this an error? Or an alternative romanization?

Who has more information about this?

For now I will stick with "Kousenjuu".