Paintball

[blackrain]

First thing first. I will add to this and clean it up as I get pictures and remember the game formats that were played.

Located In Va. On 20 wooded acres. Very nice place and nice people.

First thing I noticed was the spacious parking and the bright Umbrellas at every spool table.
Parking is a must. parking lot was well maintained. Playing on the West coast for the last few yrs, parking is basically a "Dog Eat Dog" format. So this was a relief to see all the parking available.

First person I met was one of the refs. Very nice person who gave me a "welcome to the field". Told me where everything was located and what to do.

Second person I met was the owner. Helped me with all my needs. Stupid me left my hopper at home and he loaned me a sound activated Diablo hopper. Made it worth the drive and getting lost for an hour.

Well onto the field. First thing first, you have to chrono everytime you step onto the field to play. Some players I'm sure would get upset with this, but I did not see any players get mad nor upset waiting for the players to chrono. This makes things very safe. There is always that one person who will try and get away with high velocity.
After that the refs will split you into teams. If you have already played a game you remain on that team. If you haven't played yet, you meet the refs in the middle and they assign you to the team. There is a "reading of the rules" before every game.

As for the refs, well alot of times they get a bad rap, however not here. These guys earned their pay for the day. Be it money, free play or just paint. They handled everything from splitting teams to issueing rules to game format. Props to those guys for an excellent job!

The games moved very fast and started on time. A warning call was given prior to any game. This way the players could prep and be ready.

The field was very wooded. Since it is technically still winter, there weren't many leaves on the trees. I am told by a local store that when the summer rolls around it does get a little thick. I hope I get to see the trees in full bloom.

There are alot of bunkers thru out the field, one I remember called the ALAMO. It's used for attack and defend. It's basically a long streach of road that players must defend.
There is also a tower located in the ALAMO with twin tippmann 98s. Players have to use their own paint for the use of this pleasure. Then again the paint prices are cheap enough that everyone can pitch in a little paint.

One thing I did notice about the trees,was that they were good cover. Some were inline with each other and some were just to the left or right side of the other. This gave you the advantage of not being in direct fire as you moved up towards the ALAMO.
Actually what you think is an advantage, can turn into chaos or a nightmare. Meaning you think that by moving you maybe in a good position and then come to find out that there is some obsticle in your line of site.
What I liked about this field was that you have to constently move. There is no long balling here. You'll hit something at a distance, and it wont be who you are shooting at. Branches, foliage and trees offer this disability to players who don't like to move. So you really need to push your troops and move rapidly at the break.
You never know who is waiting in one of the many bunkers that are spread thru out the field.

The Submarine and Aircraft Carrier were quite a site. The one game I played was an elimination/ take over the other guys boat. It's in a perfect location, open woods on one side and on the back side of both boats, heavily wooded with a stream running down the back side of the field.
I'm not sure if you can go in the water, I think the shore is the boundry.

As for the players. Well there was a mixture of all. Everything from speedballers with their super guns to mil Simmers with their look alike mil guns, right down to pre briefs and sand tables. I even saw a guy with a splat master. As for all the players, I didnot notice any player who thought they were better then the other. Lots of local military folks Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. 5 Branch repesentation which is a big HOOOOOOOOOOA!!!!

Speedball was present too. I didn't see many games being played, but when they were,all you could hear was trigger walking. Sounded like machine guns at a military fire range.
They were a bunch of good guys and didn't seem to be "Holier then thou" type players. They were like everyone there, just wanting to play. They also had rec speedballers playing. You could tell the difference in those that play all the time and those that just play once in a while for fun.
Iam told by the the owner, that SUNDAY is also known as SPEEDBALLER SUNDAY. So that is their big day. The Speedballers are allowed to use their own paint, which is I'm told only the highest grade. However it can only be used on the SPEEDBALL FIELD and not on the WOODSBALL FIELD.

My day just consited of woods play. Lets face it, I'm not that young anymore and the knees just don't work like they did when I was younger, so speedball is out of the question for me. Unless they are just as screwed up as Iam.
I may give it a shot once or twice before I leave.

I used my new travel gun a DYE PMR Rail SE. It did well thruout the day and after 2000 rnds, not one ball broke in the barrel.

Speaking of paint, Fox Brothers offer several variaties of paint that makes the wallet feel good. So for $60.00 I received a case of paint, all day air and field entry. I could have been cheaper had I bought the cheapest paint brand they had called "HOT BOX". I might try that out this weekend. I paid what I thought was an excellent price, because I usually almost $100.00 just to get onto the field.

So all for now. I'll buy a camera soon to add updates and photos.

UPDATE 3/23/08

Well today after the breifing of the first game, I was injured on the field. While running and trying to keep up with the younger bucks, I tripped. My shoulder is in alot of pain and very bruised. I pulled a muscle in my right thigh.
The best thing of the whole injury was the medical attention I received. I think within about 3 secs after I fell, there was a fire rescue person there attending to me. He is also a ref. I knocked the wind out of myself. I layed on the ground for what seemed like an eternity.
Once I caught my breath, I was helped up. I continued to play.
Let me just say that right when I fell and they saw no movement a cease fire followed within secs. Everyone stayed at their last position and waited for the DUMBASS who interupted their game by falling to get up lol.
I can't begin to describe how this type of first aid would be called. QUICK, FAST AND IN A HURRY is all I can say.
My hat goes off to the Medics a reffing staff.

I used HOTBOX paint today. If you are on a budget, this is the paint for you. It shot decent. Just ask the guy who's leg I shot by accident in the field stagging area. I felt so bad. I apologized and he was like "Hey it was an accident". After that they avoided me in the staging area lol.
I took alot of ribbing over my fall and the accidental shooting.

What was more funny was the guy that shot his own foot. The hopper in his cargo pocket hit his trigger :ROTLF:. So I had my moment with that too .

Shared a table with a group of Coast Guards. Excellent people to play on the field. These guy were full round well how can I describe this "MASS ROUND SHOOTERS". That's in a good way too. They provided alot of cover fire and alot of eliminations by poping up at the same time with concentrated fire.

Another young fellow I met was Alexander, who loaned me a Freak Insert, without a worry. Told him I'll hook him up with a few Paint Grenades when I get home.

There was also a Raffle and Easter Egg hunt today. One gun that was Raffled was a Limited gold Tippmann Anniversary edition. The eggs contained number prizes for items such as T-shirts and Barrel swabs.

I am very happy with this field so far. One of the MOST SAFEST Fields I have ever played on. When you see Mothers and their kids showing up to play together, then you know it's a great place to be.

More updates to follow.

Later,
Blackrain