Paintball Journal

You have a general idea of what it was like at the beginning. Here is the story of my first gun and first field.

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This week I’ve decided to do five reflection posts, mostly for your benefit. Please, please, hold your applause ’til the end. This is to help you understand why I am so weird, exactly how I come up with so much random crap to post on here, and to really, truly understand my reasons for my beliefs and passion concerning paintball.

This story starts, as most stories do, at the beginning. Now, this beginning is neither a true universal beginning, nor even a decent beginning of a life. Well, perhaps it is the beginning of my life as it is today.

I was in 7th grade. The leaves were falling at a terrific rate, and two of my friends, twins, couldn’t wait to play some paintball. I went out and rented an A5 from the local store, with no idea how to operate it, let alone set it to 3-round burst. We had brilliant weather, and we all dressed in our cheap camo shirts and pants, ready for a days worth of paintball warring action.

That day, and the many days like it afterward, changed my outlook on everything completely. I became intensely wrapped up in a game that I didn’t even have the proper equipment for. I ended up renting or borrowing for over a year, until I finally had the money to buy possibly one of the most worthless gun packages ever.

From these humble roots sprouted a player who can now rattle off rules and regulations, ref, compete, and talk it up with the best.

However, I remember my roots, and always help a new guy or girl out. I still remember the first time I went to a field, little less than 3 years ago. As long as I remember that, I will always have time to help out.

We’ve all been in that walk-on game when all your teammates are in their pre-teens or younger, and are asking in rather shaky voices, questions that would have been better answered before the game countdown had begun. Too late you try and give them some last second advice only to be shot off the break yourself, because you weren’t ready.

Here are ten things guaranteed to make you shake your head and knock on wood in the hopes that you will never hear them yourself.

10. Do paintballs hurt?

9. Does this *indicates starting box* count as a bunker?

8. *peering into a hopper* Twenty paintballs is enough to kill somebody, right?

7. Do gun hits count?

6. Where am I going again? Wait, where’s the back left?

5. When do we shoot?

4. I’m gonna shoot straight up in the air to try and arc it to kill them, is that okay?

3. Can I be the sniper?

2. If he gets to be the sniper, what am I?

1. Did you say to look out for snakes on the field?

We’ve all been in that terrible situation. You reach back and feel for a pod only to realize that you pro-loaded one too many and are not completely out.

If you’re a standard player, you start to worry. But if you’re me, you just reach a little higher.

Why? Let me show you…

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First off let me apologize. I haven’t been posting nearly as often as I should, due to several things like soccer, school work, and just general life. That said I’m still going to make my quota of five posts this week if it kills me, so here goes.

Empire has a new hopper coming out and the buzz it hot and heavy surrounding this one.

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Perhaps you want a gun to depict your favorite characters from a movie, or just to look so scary that the opposition wets itself before even stepping onto the field. What ever your purpose, ODD Paintball has the anno for you.

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Looks good. I might pick up a copy, depending on what I hear about it. If it really goes in depth, like a lot of players (including me) hope it will, then I’ll definitely consider it. Video is a good way to pick up tips.

Hostis enters its first three-man tournament this weekend at Splatz Indoor Paintball, in Evansville. We are of course aiming for first place, which would come with the added bonus of $500. I’m not even gonna lie, that’d be amazing. We would totally be getting the most badass jerseys ever at that point.

The team will end up being:

Me (Dana) with an Ego6, Ben with his DP Fusion, and JP with his newly T-boarded AR-1 (Wrath clone). Evan gets a clipboard, dry-erase marker, and coaching privileges.

Hopefully we’ll get to see some of you all out there, if only to mow your faces.

I ordered a bunch of stuff for my friends over the past week and it just came in yesterday. Here’s a run-down of the gear and my initial impressions.

07 Redz Envy Gloves - Blue / Large

Gloves are a necessity for anyone who plays tournament paintball, and I recommend them for anyone who plays, period. These gloves are very well-made, which for $30 they really ought to be. However, they size kind of small, neither I nor Ben, the guy who bought the gloves, have extremely large hands, but we both had trouble fitting into these. Just something to look out for.

SE Profilers - Reverse Blue

Profilers have been a hit since they were first created by V-Force, and the SE style is so badass. There’s just something about the reverse colors that rocks. Ben bought these because his Proto’s sucked the big one when it came to cleaning them off after a game, as well as horrendous fogging issues.

Crossfire Tank - 45/4500

JP finally bought a tank! He’s been itching to get one of these for ages, and finally was able to afford it by working in the cornfield with me this summer and getting a job at DQ. 45/4500s are awesome tanks to get, and Crossfire is a highly respected brand name. They’re so light and so small, perfect for a front player.

07 JT Team Pants - Black / Medium

Evan splurged for the best of the best. I can rattle off ten pro and semi-pro teams that wear JT Team Pants exclusively, just off the top of my head, and it’s a list that grows every day. These pants are well-made and padded perfectly, assuring crazy bounces. They run a little larger, I have about a 32 waist and about a 34 inseam, and mediums are just about perfect, if not a little big around the waist. The adjustable waist works perfectly though, so if you’re like Evan and me, get the mediums for their length.

Eclipse Sandana - Camo Mk2

It was Evan’s birthday near the end of August, so I bought him this, because he needed something up there to keep from getting beaned. Profilers are awesome, but getting smacked in the forehead when you aren’t wearing anything sucks. This sandana is pretty tight, and not a bad deal for $15. Especially considering some of the limited edition ones that run in the $30-#50 range.

About.com is a good source for everyday information on everything from sports to cooking. Now, I hope you see where this is going, because if you don’t then perhaps you don’t realize that you are on a paintball blog.

Yes, they do have an author for their paintball section that knows what he’s talking about, for the most part. In my extensive browsing I found very little that could be disputed except for where things came down to opinion such as in the equipment reviews. That is to be expected, and even respected. I like someone who’s not afraid to put their opinions out there.

The site does err towards a woodsball mentality, which is fine, as most casual internet browsers won’t be more than rec-ballers. Serious tourney players probably won’t find much of interest here, however. Overall, a decent About.com page, but certainly nothing better than what you’d find here. (Which I say with utmost humility…) Bahaha.

A non-American designed and manufactured paintball gun. Amazing. Who’da thunk it? Apparently these three Swedes, who all have connections to Stockholm Ignition.

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