Mardi Gras Open!

[Load SM5]

Smokee_2_7 (Carl) and I drove down to New Orleans this weekend for the Mardi Gras Open. If you can ever make this thing, do it. It was amazing. We met Tom, Rob, Jon and a number of other AGD guys. They were all great, we actually ended up behind the AGD booth with the guys and helped show off the products for a great deal of the time. My own SFL, with it's new HALO and warp ended up on the display and got quite a few shots put through it (about 6200 in the 2 days it was there). I guess the superbolt is going to hold up fine.

We watched one of Tom's teams play a few games (Dirty Mags?) and I was pretty impressed. One game in partucular on of the Mags and a guy from the other team were in both in the center rocket separated only by one fin. After playing a waiting game for around a minute the Mag noticed a small gap underneath the fin were it did'nt hit the ground. He layed his gun down on it's side on the ground and shot the other player through the gap all over his feet. The other player jumped up out of the rocket like he had been fired out of a cannon, his shoes covered in paint. In the words of a kid standing next to us, "Yea, that really hurts." Score one for the warp feed. we also had a pretty good talk with Tom in between games, about what the future of mags looks like. It's all pretty exciting.

On with the pics...

The first are a few of the booth... Carl's Z-grip mag is in the front with it's chrome flame job and the Flame grips I made him. It was the most picked up gun on the table. Maybe Z-grips will be the rage again. A lot of guys had their eyes open to the possiblities.

[Load SM5]

another...

[Load SM5]

my own setup on display...

[Load SM5]

Jon...

[Load SM5]

Tom with his new accessory for his blue shirt..

[Load SM5]

Carl testing out an IR3 Angel. The 2 most common comments were, how much they hated the trigger guard and how close to a Z-grip the new frame was. The WDP guys did'nt look amused. The gun actually feels really nice and the trigger was great, just ugly.

[Load SM5]

On to Angel heaven!...

[Load SM5]

Inside heaven...

[Load SM5]

Sorry for the quality of the pics. Smoke machines and flashes don't mix. But, hey, free beer.

[Load SM5]

A guy test driving my SFL, putting another 1k of shots on the counter..

[Load SM5]

Rocky!

[Load SM5]

Lasoya (being attacked by a large Pepsi), it was a pleasure watching these guys play.

[Load SM5]

Carl taking to "MadDog" Morgan. I guess about how to put a rubber chicken around an Extreem E-mag.

[Load SM5]

Jon with festive head gear...

[Load SM5]

um.... This was a PG rated thread

Anyway that's all for now. Thanks Tom, Rob and Jon for the great time. We'll do lunch next time Jon!

[MrAirgunRT]

Nice Pics, I met Rocky once too, he was reffing at a tournament I played at (The Ultimate Madness 2001) which I will be playing at again this year. He is quite a bit shorter then you think, especially standing next to me, (i'm 6'3") :) . Anyway Nice pics Again.

[Cha0tic]

great pics man.....i love all those emags. were there alot of people at the AGD booth?

[Bonx0007]

So thats what Toms "Marketing Hat" looks like!!!

[jah871]

looks like u and carl had a blast, i wish i could have went. i will be going to the IAO this summer i cant wait. i see that there was an advertisment for AO on the table.

[Load SM5]

Mr. Airgun- I had heard he was a short guy but, "My God!"

Chaotic- Behind the booth? About 7-8 of us off and on. Plus we shared a space with the HALO guys.

[Load SM5]

An AO flyer gets shipped out with the mags now. I got one with my SFL.

Oh, and anyone who says Jon is rude and hangs up on cutomers is making it up, and has never talked to Jon. He was one of the coolest, nicest guys I've ever met.

And I want to also mention the great customer service of Centerflag. They replaced the broken high pressure gauge on my tank for free. And the ashcroft gauges they use are'nt cheap.

Also Carl can vouch for WDP's customer service. They gave him a spring he lost and replaced his messed up front reg for free. And the front reg was from an IR3!

[brian terry]

O YEAH NICE PICS,MY RED SFL EMAG LOOKS REALLY GOOD,THE BEST PIC OF THEM ALL,HEHE JUST PLAYING THEY ALL LOOK GOOD..

[zvanut]

where can i get a hat like that?

[RSUAVE911]

Sorry but that is the sillymostest(is that a word) hat I have ever seen...lol...It must of been eal cool to have your own gun on display, you must of been pretty proud. :p

[Load SM5]

Yes, I was

I also got a chance to test drive a Black Dragon Marker. I have to say I was very impressed. The thing felt really tight and well made. Not at all like a $200 gun. The trigger had no slop in it at all. I plan on snagging one as backup, as soon as I get some money going again.

[Cliffio]

i really like that ir3, really maybe its REAL pics of it
looks good, i want one now tho


later
Cliff

[Load SM5]

Here's another pic. I also found out the deep milling in the C&C version, lights up when it's fired. That's pretty ghetto if you ask me.

[RSUAVE911]

is gorgeous, but that grip frame is sooo fugly.

[Cliffio]

i wanna know if the old grip frame will fit on an ir3

cause if it will, problem solved

[Load SM5]

As much gripping and as many comments about the frame that I heard this weekend, I suspect WDP will be getting rid of that soon. The grip itself was very comfy.

[Smokee_2_7]

Man, that was so much fun.

Honestly, I like the feel of the Ir3- - minus the trigger guard. (just incase your wondering, my next gun WILL be an SFL. I dont need to send an instant message on the field to home. ) As far as the grip goes. . . well, here's what jeff and I overheard. saturday at the WDP booth, one of the guys for WDP was modeling off a new IR 3 to a group of onlookers - as they 'ood and ahhd ' over it. the guy was going over all the new features, and explaining how the new grip worked. . that it allowed for a more ergonomic shooting position, ect. ect.

Anyway, Jeff noticed it (i wasnt paying attention.) One of the guys in the crowd asked the WDP fella " isnt that designed/ work pretty much like the old Z-grip from AGD?"

The response:

" well, uhhh . . . . . . . . .


yeah."

I cracked up.


Speaking of Z-grips, jeff is right. I bet my z-grip mag was one of the most picked up guns at the tournament. When we first walked up to the arigun booth and were introducing ourselves to the guys, I had my z-grip mag out. During the course of the conversation, I set the gun down on the display table next to the rest of the emags/ sfl's, john's retromag, ect. ect. of course people are comming by and picking up and holding the display guns and stuff. I actually had people reach halfway around me- - to pick up my z-grip thinking that it was a display model. after this happend like 6 or 7 times in about 5 minutes, I just casually suggested that we could just leave the gun out on the display table. Later, when we were behind the booth talking 'mag stuff to whoever walked up Id say that I talked at legnth about the z-grip to at least 15 or so people. Not including those who were messing with it when I was talking about SFL's or whatever. . or those that came by when jeff and I were out and about (which was often. . .)

All in all, John is really cool. that whole incident is impossible for me to believe, but that's in the past- - anyway. . . . . . We had the best time, and had all our questions answered. Also figured somthing neat about the weight of the SFL's.

Alot of people would pick up jeff's sfl warp halo rig and comment on how heavy it was. . . and that they shoot an angel, and just dont think they could get used to the weight.

So here's what i did. . . I was talking with this one guy who said that. I said ' hmm. yeah, i know what ya mean." how about this? " At this point I took out my LCD. (no air on it.) The guy kinda looks at me weird, so i just laugh. (remember, im standing behind the Airgun booth.) I take the infinity barrel off the gun and ask him to hold it. I grab a sfl and take off the boomstick (didnt want to make things unfair because one gun had all alumnium while the other had an Al SS.) He holds one gun in each hand, and looks at me funny as he admits that he caht tell much of a difference. Obviously the SFL is lighter than some people are giving it credit for.

At any rate, we had a blast, and I am looking forward to the next time I can meet up with the guys from AGD.


Carl

[RiceRocket]

Thanks for introducing yourselves (Load and Smokee). It's good to put faces to the names(screennames). Great to meet and talk to everyone. Mardi Gras was definitely a festive atmosphere. Paintball and all the latest toys around to look and touch, it was a paintball euphoria.

[AngelBoy]

Man I want an SFL!!! I wish my dad wasnt so, well... nevermind.

[nutz]

nice pics load!!

after looking in warpigs pictures i have come to a question for all of u to answer...
Where have all the Emags gone!?!?!???

i only saw one!! in 15 er so pages of pics... (not counting the trade show) one!!!!!!

[udtseal]

Great pics!! Thanks for postin them! Man I hope the IAO has as much people at it. I WILL BE THERE!!! Finally get to meet all the cool people. ;)

[Load SM5]

There were a few on display hanging up in the back and one on the table. The back was mostly warps and intelliframes though. But they were there.

[nutz]

load i dont mean on display... i mean in games actually playing!

[wes]

aawwww! i wanted to go but whatta gonna do with those parents... im VERY jealous.

[Load SM5]

The team I mentioned, Dirty Mags were chock full of em. I did'nt get to watch as much of the tourney as I wanted to. But I did see a good deal of them walking around.

[zvanut]

what about tom's cool hat?

[RSUAVE911]

That hat is very very FUGLY!

[speedballbanks]

i cant wait till another tournament comes to florida i am going. lol the vendors looked awesome.

[IceCool32]

Anyone with a Z-gripped mag with clear panels with silver flames want to trade guns???

[Arman/XPM]

Load SM5
Great pics! Tom looks great in that hat - :p
- Arman

[AGD]

We all had a great time at MG. Thanks to Load and Smokee and it was great meeting you guys. As usual it was pretty crazy on Saturday and you both really helped us out. Once I dig out my pics I'll post them up.

That damn hat! I wear it for five minutes and get a rep!!

AGD

[RSUAVE911]

LoL...Sorry Tom...That hat was a tad fruity. Where did you get it from?

[Load SM5]

It was great to meet you as well Tom.

You should know that an industry leader is always a target for the paparazzi. And funny hats are always a crowd pleaser.

[zvanut]

i said i wanted one and i still do! :)

[Smokee_2_7]

Ice Cold 32,

Lol. Im almost positive that my chrome flammed z-grip mag is the only one like that. Also, im reallly proud of it, and plan on keeping it for a while. - - unless you want to trade an SFL for it. :D

Tom, It was a pleasure meeting you. Additionally, I throughly enjoyed helping you guys out in any way that I could. Glad To see you made it back safely. Ya know one of the funniest things you did (other than the hat)? Beginning to go into you marketing hat rep. when I pulled out my old Crown Point barrel. ". . . . LET ME tell you about this barrel. . . its the . . bla bal ect.ect."

I wish I had a pic of you holding that barrel, going through your speech, with you 'magic marketing hat' That would have been hilarious.


Anyway, I look forward to meeting all you guys from AGD again. Either at one of the next tournies, or whenever I can get up to Chicago and visit my family up there.

[cphilip]

FREE BEER!?!?!?!?! :(

[Load SM5]

Very free, ice cold and in big cups, all served by a nicely endowed Angel. All for owning an WDP gun, or knowing a guy that does, in my case.

It's not what you know, but who you know that matters..:D

[cphilip]

your killin me load....:mad:

[MikeCouves]

Man I would love to go to one of these huge tourneys. They must be SOO fun. Damn you all and your "fun". Boo hoo :mad:. Looks like it was a laugh though.

Tom, that hat will be in APG, PAINTBALL, and PGI faster than you can say oh crap...;).

[Load SM5]

Hey, I did'nt keep you from going;)

It'll be there next year, as will I.

[MikeCouves]

Yeah that's true enough...

Oh well when I get like 10000 dollars to go there...pretty expensive from Canada. And I can't show up with a crappy gun :p.

[Load SM5]

Actually I was talking to Cphilip..You have a good excuse. He already lives in the southern US.

Just kidding Phil. I'm sure you had a great excuse.

Hung over..could'nt find keys or clean underwear.

[cphilip]

No not realy...just a lazy bum with a kid and a wife...and a poor wallet...love N.O. though haven't been in a while maybe next year...now that I know about the FREE BEER! :D


Ya know...I wonder if they could let me pull my camper into the area? Anyone got any connections to help me do that? I don't need hook ups. I am fully self contained and all.

[Load SM5]

Hell, who needs a camper? Save the gas money and drive a smaller vehicle down and room with Smokee and myself. We're planning on playing next year so any money saved we can use on paint. Hotel are cheap when you start throwing 4 guys in them.

[Manuel_FZR]

Another question: Where can I get those Perspex stands for the markers? They look great (of course the SFL looks much better :D ).
But this stands would be an appropriate place for my Mini ;) ( and of course for my future Xtreme :D )

btw: great pics Load

[Smokee_2_7]

Manuel, If your wantin clear stands, try calling airgun and ask john where they got them. Im sure he could tell you.

Phillip, man you gotta go with us next year. After thinking about it for a loooong time (ok, about 1\2 second after I found out about the free beer) I decided that I will be keeping my angel for ever. The perks were just too nice. . . We were hot, tired, and had been walking around the tournament all day. Then - - angel heaven opens up. Ill tell you what, nothing is nicer than being hot and tired like that and getting free icy cold beer served up with a smile. All just because of what kinda gun was in my gear bag. If you come down with us next year, Im sure we can get you in :D

Cost wise its not that bad. I think a hotel room wound up being 96 bux, but if you divide that out between 4 or 5 people its not bad at all. just a little extra cash for food and bourbon street (ok, if your like me it much more than a little $$ for bourbon street.) The real cost is when you find all this cool stuff at the trade show you just realized you cant live without. . . thats where it gets expensive. Start saving your pennies. lol.

[Paintchucker]

Where is the next big Southeastern Tourny? Do we have to wait for World Cup at the end of the season? Do they still have a biggy up in Nashville? Is there still an Indoor National Championship up near Knoxville, TN???

I would be interested in just throwing together a team for the sake of AO, even if we get our butts beat. LOL... We had a team that we threw together in a couple months and took 17th/88 teams at the Indoor Nat. Champs in 1995. Just a thought...

[cphilip]

But hey! I can put six in the Camper and be right there where its happenin! Got onboard hot water, shower, fridge, commode, Microwave, Queensized main bed, three Bunks and a another full bed if need be...all the....trimmings...and...perhaps some of the Dye chicks might need to sleep it off too! Could be lucky if your in the right place at the right time? Huh?

I can see us now...go to the WDP booth...Each of us takes a Gallon milk jug...fill em and return to Camper with Beer and WDP chicks in tow. Offer to show em my nubbin collection...:cool:

[Load SM5]

By jove, I believe you are on to something there!

Nubbin collection, huh?

[cphilip]

Note to self...make up sign that says: "don't come a knockin if this trailer is a rockin" :D


Now lets see... the wife... Hmmmmm? What to do?

[Load SM5]

Leave her with mine...:D

[cphilip]

Hey!! this is starting to come together!:D

[Load SM5]

Thank God, 'cause we only have a little over 360 days of planning time left!

[cphilip]

I know but we gotta convice the "Ladies". That could take me at least that long...I will have to ask her if she will let me use the testicles. :(


:D

[Load SM5]

So sending her all of those pics I took out on Bourbon ST. Saturday night would be bad then?

On second thought, my wife does'nt need to see those, either. I would like to take my testicles next year.

[Army]

Wow! You guys get to play with yours? Luuuucky!

[Load SM5]

Well, we can't all get our jollies by blowing stuff to hell and back.

[Smokee_2_7]

LOL. i wish i could get my jollies by blowing stuff to hell and back. Blowing stuff up is fun. Too bad i really cant do too much of it around here. Oh well I think im gonna give my painball guns a hug.

Speaking of the bourbon street pics, can i get you to email those to me? Muchas Gracias.

[Load SM5]

Sorting through them, Not all of them came out as planned. There's only one "good" ;) one so far. I'll send the whole mess to you later tonight.

[fsuboy3]

NOW yall boys know im goin with you 2 next year(hehe) I cant wait must start saving my money now huh? we should go ahead and get the room lined up haha. cant wait will holla

-DJ

[graycie]

i actually met some of you at mgo?

[Load SM5]

Well not met. You swooped by the table, but we were never introduced. Jon is rude like that.

[graycie]

i'll kick jon in the pants next time i see him then

[Load SM5]

Please do. If there was ever a man in dire need of a good pants kicking....

[Smokee_2_7]

LOL. jon has his moments. . . but we all love him anyway.
Graycie, pardon me for not knowing, but who do you play with? I cant remeber. Too bad We didnt get a chance to meet. I always enjoy getting to meet people from here on AO. Heck, I just like meeting people in general. Oh well, we'll fix it next time.


Carl

[cphilip]

Jon put this in the wrong thread. (Dufus...)I think this is where he wanted it but not sure. So I moved it in here - cphilip:

"hehehe Nice pics. And for lunch :-) name the time and place (be reasonable, Alabama is way too far for a 1 hour lunch hehehe) check ya guys soon. It was great meeting the both of you (too bad I was not at top speed at the time hehehe) Take care guys

Jon"

[Load SM5]

Yea, he did. I had to point it out to him.

And he's the smart tech guy...scary thought.

Just screwing with ya, Jon

[cphilip]

Well I think he was a bit distracted. I hear he is studying for his "Anger Management" test and he has his "Phone Skills and Etiquette" class final exam tonight. He is very worried about passing that one! :D

[Load SM5]

Oh, he's screwed! Hope his job is'nt on the line.

[Smokee_2_7]

Lol, were gonna have to get him to see this so he can defend himself. AS far as ME defending you, jon. . . don't worry about these guys. I know your an awesome guy, regardless of what Tom says. (LOL.):D

[Load SM5]

Originally posted by Smokee_2_7
I know your an awesome guy, regardless of what Tom says. (LOL.):D

Oh, that's low.

[Smokee_2_7]

Well. . . . You should see what he quoted YOU as saying in one of his emails to me. LOL. If you want the details, ill forward it to you.
:p :p :p
(nevertheless, jon's a great guy, and can take 'em as well as he can dish 'em out. jon, ya know im just messin with ya 'bro.)

[cphilip]

Well...he was realy pissed off about the one class having a test on the same night as the exam for the other so he called up his Prof and gave him a piece of his mind and before the poor guy could respond...he hung up on him....Thats what I heard...although I do not intend to try and prove it. :p

[Load SM5]

Sounds about right. Such big anger in such a small guy.

Send it to me Carl. I have a feeling it was the one he was typing while I was talking to him on the phone a few hours ago.

[agdjon]

And I thought we were all brothers here hehehe.

ok well...TAKE THIS
*CLICK* CPHILIP
*CLICK* LOAD
*CLICK* SMOKEE

YOU like that for anger management :-)

**murmurs** gonna get you guys for this. next time you want something it is a good hangup :-)

but we did have fun out there didn't we.. sorry graycie for not introducing ya, ya know i was sick hehehe

[cphilip]

Love ya brotha! Forgive us...We just could not resist...:D

[codgarrett]

load ,you play at nap?

[Load SM5]

Yep....

[codgarrett]

you remeber me at the 3 man? i had the splash green shocker and you let me shoot your mag.

[Load SM5]

Actually I do... I keep running into AO'ers and not realizing it. We need permanent nametags. You planning on heading back to NAP soon?

[codgarrett]

Im probably not gonna be theyre unless im in a tourney,probably becase im kind of the owner of lauderdale paintball. Whats your IM name,i want to talk to you.

[Load SM5]

Load SM5, oddly enough.;) The best way to get a hold of me is through e-mail. My wife needs the computer quite a bit for school so I rarely have time to sit and chat for long.

[codgarrett]

whered you get your grips on your SFL from?

[Load SM5]

I made them. I got bored one day and wanted to see if I could. Where's lauderdale paintball?

[codgarrett]

its in st florean,how much would it cost for you to make some grips for my shocker?

[Load SM5]

Have'nt a clue where that is. Nice field? Easy driving distance? I'd like to come check it out. PM me or e-mail me about the grips. It's just easier to discuss it that way. But I can hook you up with some so you can see the 9 volt.:D

[codgarrett]

Take county road 47 (next to martins) 3 miles.
Turn left onto County Road 61 (Butler Creek Rd.) 5 miles
Turn left onto county Rd. 306 (dirt road) 1 mile
Turn Right into driveway of Lauderdale Paintball theres a sign)

We just started out a couple months ago and we have 2 fields(gonna have five in bout a month) It would be pretty sweet if you brought some people with you.We dont fill nitro yet but we will soon.....

[Load SM5]

I'll probably have to get directions from Decatur. I'm not familiar at all with Tuscumbia, Florence, Muscle Shoals. I'd love to come up and check it out but the nitro thing would'nt let me hang out for long. I make it about 3 games on a 3000-3500 fill.