05-02-2007, 11:08 PM
Mmmm....I want a pet rat now...
Mine is, of course, Paintball! The one subject I never shut up about! There's two aspects I'm most familiar with, Playing and Gunteching.
Playing, of course, starts about 3 or 4 days before the event. At some point during this time, I'll visit the field at which I'm going to play, and walk the zones, making some small drawings/notes of the general layout and size. I'll take these home, and pin them up on the side of my desk. For the next few days, when not actively training or bumming around online, I'll sit on my bed looking at the pics/notes and running through fictional games with mental images. I'll run scenario's and stuff, figure out some good positions, and generally explore a mental model of the field (Sometimes I get roughly abstract image of the field, sometimes I get it almost as detailed as the real thing)
Come the day, I'll wake up 2 or 3 hours early to check all my kit over, pot up my paint, and load up the car. Me and the rest of the team will arrive, discuss random stuff, and prepare to play. At some point, we'll decide which plans to implement.
Game on! I play the backman/commander position, so I usually run to a good defensive bunker/barricade, and instantly start laying paint. Being the Commander, I'll call out enemy positions, actions, and any eliminations, all while keeping my marker pointed at one target and shooting a steady rope of paint, not at where they currently are usually, but where I think they will move to. Things get a bit tricky, as I'll be reloading every 15-20 seconds while keeping up constant fire, even while reloading. I'll go through anywhere from 900 to 2000 rounds of paint in a 5 minute game, and often that wont get a single elimination, as my roll is to keep enemy heads down, keep them from moving, and inform my team of their location. The front guys do the eliminating.
Gunteching/Gunsmithing/Airsmithing revolves primarily about maintaining or repairing paintball markers, an area to which I've become heavily involved in. Although I may not be as good as some others out there, I'm better than some, hehe. It may sound like a stupid thing, but my first question to whomever has brought me the gun is "Whats wrong with it?" As this can narrow the problem down immensely, even an answer as vague as "Its leaking from the bolt" help, as I then no where to start. Next step is a complete strip of the gun, cleaning everything up, and inspecting the component that the customer has outlined as malfunctioning. If its an obvious problem (Like a bust O-ring) I replace the part, rebuild the gun, air it up, and give it a quick test. If that works, I give the gun back, and send them on their way.
If the problem isn't obvious, I'll replace any perishables (O-rings, Cup Seals, Springs, etc) and rebuild, to see if that fixes the problem. If not, I'll completely replace the malfunctioning component, and anything relating to it (Example being, if a blowback wont re-cock, despite adjusting the RVA, and there's no visible damage to the hammer or valve, I'll replace both. If it involves an unreplacable part, such as a reg, I'll start fiddling with the pressures.
If none of the above work, I have a Mallet. A really big Mallet.
Electrical problems are a bit tricker, and usually involve me plugging a gun into a computer. Much easier to diagnose, harder to fix if something needs replacing. At current, I can fix: most blowbacks, Angels, and most pumps. Hoping to learn Autocockers soon.
Mine is, of course, Paintball! The one subject I never shut up about! There's two aspects I'm most familiar with, Playing and Gunteching.
Playing, of course, starts about 3 or 4 days before the event. At some point during this time, I'll visit the field at which I'm going to play, and walk the zones, making some small drawings/notes of the general layout and size. I'll take these home, and pin them up on the side of my desk. For the next few days, when not actively training or bumming around online, I'll sit on my bed looking at the pics/notes and running through fictional games with mental images. I'll run scenario's and stuff, figure out some good positions, and generally explore a mental model of the field (Sometimes I get roughly abstract image of the field, sometimes I get it almost as detailed as the real thing)
Come the day, I'll wake up 2 or 3 hours early to check all my kit over, pot up my paint, and load up the car. Me and the rest of the team will arrive, discuss random stuff, and prepare to play. At some point, we'll decide which plans to implement.
Game on! I play the backman/commander position, so I usually run to a good defensive bunker/barricade, and instantly start laying paint. Being the Commander, I'll call out enemy positions, actions, and any eliminations, all while keeping my marker pointed at one target and shooting a steady rope of paint, not at where they currently are usually, but where I think they will move to. Things get a bit tricky, as I'll be reloading every 15-20 seconds while keeping up constant fire, even while reloading. I'll go through anywhere from 900 to 2000 rounds of paint in a 5 minute game, and often that wont get a single elimination, as my roll is to keep enemy heads down, keep them from moving, and inform my team of their location. The front guys do the eliminating.
Gunteching/Gunsmithing/Airsmithing revolves primarily about maintaining or repairing paintball markers, an area to which I've become heavily involved in. Although I may not be as good as some others out there, I'm better than some, hehe. It may sound like a stupid thing, but my first question to whomever has brought me the gun is "Whats wrong with it?" As this can narrow the problem down immensely, even an answer as vague as "Its leaking from the bolt" help, as I then no where to start. Next step is a complete strip of the gun, cleaning everything up, and inspecting the component that the customer has outlined as malfunctioning. If its an obvious problem (Like a bust O-ring) I replace the part, rebuild the gun, air it up, and give it a quick test. If that works, I give the gun back, and send them on their way.
If the problem isn't obvious, I'll replace any perishables (O-rings, Cup Seals, Springs, etc) and rebuild, to see if that fixes the problem. If not, I'll completely replace the malfunctioning component, and anything relating to it (Example being, if a blowback wont re-cock, despite adjusting the RVA, and there's no visible damage to the hammer or valve, I'll replace both. If it involves an unreplacable part, such as a reg, I'll start fiddling with the pressures.
If none of the above work, I have a Mallet. A really big Mallet.
Electrical problems are a bit tricker, and usually involve me plugging a gun into a computer. Much easier to diagnose, harder to fix if something needs replacing. At current, I can fix: most blowbacks, Angels, and most pumps. Hoping to learn Autocockers soon.
