Does age really matter for toys

I want to buy my step son a nerf gun and he is 5 turning 6 in april. The 6+ air warriors ultra tek nerf gun just looks and feels cheap so I want to get him the zombie strike nerf gun but it says it's for ages 8+

Does that really matter?

Sorry I'm new to buying toys for children... didn't have to worry bout this kind of stuff when he was 3...