Private Field Fun!

[shartley]

Well, as promised…. Here are some shots of our new field!

We took well over 100 shots of the field and most of them were action shots while playing paintball today. Needless to say, I am NOT going to post them all here. I will just give a sample, and will later put them all online and provide a link to them.

Here is a before shot that accurately depicts what most of the field looked like BEFORE we got to work on it. We worked on it a whole week to make it playable, and it still isn’t finished yet.

[shartley]

Here is the same basic area now! We are not posting all the pictures of the field layout, but you will get a good idea from the sample shots I will post now. Again, I will be posting ALL of the other pictures *off* AO soon so as to let you all take a look and not use too much of their resources.

[shartley]

Here is another.. just to give you an idea. But the field is much bigger than these show.

[shartley]

Here are *the boys* out having fun. :D

[shartley]

Here is KHartley (Kim) my wonderful wife! She got *goggle* duty.... HeeHee ;)

[shartley]

Here is Kim shooting at Sponge Bob! (picture of Bob to follow)

[shartley]

SPONGE BOB!!!!! He got to play with us today!
(Note: this is a BEFORE shot. ;))

[shartley]

Jessica got Pod Duty! So, she is our official Pod Girl!

[shartley]

Here she is taking a crack at Sponge Bob too!

[shartley]

Here I am taking a few shots before moving again...

[shartley]

Here is Jay using my RTP. :)

[shartley]

One of Jay's friends on the back side of the field....

[shartley]

... here is *someone* in one of our many bunkers..

[magman007]

thats really cool Mr Hartley, nice set up! you look different than i had thought. cool tho! really cool!

[shartley]

Here is another bunker shot....

[shartley]

... and here is yet ANOTHER bunker (on the opposite side of the field)...

[shartley]

... here is Jay shooting behind our *Bonny & Clyde Mobile*... LOL

[spazzed]

Not bad sam! Keep it up!

[shartley]

Originally posted by magman007
thats really cool Mr Hartley, nice set up! you look different than i had thought. cool tho! really cool!
Thank you… we have more clearing to do, and will be making more bunkers, but it was VERY playable today. :D

I look differently than you thought I would? LOL How so? I posted a picture of myself back a while ago, it was the same, just had on one of my Cowboy Hats. :) Kim and I are always getting told we look way too young to have kids as old as ours are (4 of them from 2-19), and I hope that STAYS that way. LOL Don’t grow old gracefully, fight it every step of the way!!!! (That was from some skin care commercial, but I like it anyway.)

When I get all the pictures online, will post the link so you all can take a look. :D

[Havoc_online]

Looks nice, I must say I miss being able to play close to home;) but one thing I did notice is that I never saw any barrel plugs or condoms. You also posted pics of ppl shooting without googles, sure it can be done, but it only takes one mistake to ruin the fun. I know your most likely a "safe" person but that doesnt come off on the camera and what you really should be doing is setting an example for your kids, safety is something not to be messed with. I also hope that the "field" is not close the any homes or over ppl's yards(or kids!). Even if it is I hope it's not taken as a distant field is a safe field, kids will hear and wonder then of course inspect(then someone gets hurt). Plz tell me that you have sett up proper netting and will begin enforcing a stricter safety code. :)

[shartley]

Originally posted by Havoc_online
Looks nice, I must say I miss being able to play close to home;) but one thing I did notice is that I never saw any barrel plugs or condoms. You also posted pics of ppl shooting without googles, sure it can be done, but it only takes one mistake to ruin the fun. I know your most likely a "safe" person but that doesnt come off on the camera and what you really should be doing is setting an example for your kids, safety is something not to be messed with. I also hope that the "field" is not close the any homes or over ppl's yards(or kids!). Even if it is I hope it's not taken as a distant field is a safe field, kids will hear and wonder then of course inspect(then someone gets hurt). Plz tell me that you have sett up proper netting and will begin enforcing a stricter safety code. :)
I was wondering if anyone would comment on those things…. I have insurance, and I gave a safety briefing before even loading the hoppers. So even before anything began, safety was prime on my list.

The two pictures of the girls with no masks on actually shooting was done at the END of the day, and everyone was behind them (I made sure of this). All our markers have barrel condoms.. every last one. And I looked at what I posted as well as all the other pictures offline, and you know what? The ONLY pictures with the markers not being actually shot are the posed ones with me and the kids (that took about 1 minute between one of the games). And all other times that the markers were not *in use* was the times between games when they were being filled up (approximately 1 minute intervals), and they were back on the field playing.

As you an see, we rotated in and off the field in quick games, so I made the call to personally check each marker as it left the field (or Kim when I was playing) to make sure it was on SAFE. Want to feel the wrath of *Dad* do something stupid or unsafe either on or off the field…. LOL

The field is not seen from any road. It is also in a heavily wooded area creating a good “ball break” for shots that go out of the field. No, there are no houses back where the field is, the closest is a good 600 Feet in front of the field and a good 300 feet to the side of it….. and has thick woods and fencing between. So no, I am not going to put up safety netting since Mother Nature already did that for me. ;) This is New Hampshire not Texas. :D

So no, my field is not run with *lax* safety rules. The only one that would not actually be a *business field* rule is that I did not require the plugs or condoms between play. Keep in mind that we have a small number of people and with that, it is VERY easy to keep track of safety issues. This is not the case with a field that rotates hundreds of people through it.

I even enforce standard *out* rules with markers pointing up and above the head. LOL And at the end of all games even the *winner(s)* have to walk off the field that way.

I hope this puts your mind at ease about how safe my field is. ;) Thank you for your concern, but as you can see… all issues you bring up were not ignored, and actually thought out before the first ball was shot.

[Havoc_online]

I see what your saying and don't think that this is a flame or anything but I merely wanted to know. In the end that is your family but I just think that it would be better not to take any chances and rule out as much chance for an accident as possible.


Keep in mind that we have a small number of people and with that, it is VERY easy to keep track of safety issues. True but then again these are also "famous lasts words" arent they? I hope you and your family have fun and no harm comes to anyone.:)

[shartley]

Originally posted by Havoc_online
I see what your saying and don't think that this is a flame or anything but I merely wanted to know. In the end that is your family but I just think that it would be better not to take any chances and rule out as much chance for an accident as possible.

True but then again these are also "famous lasts words" arent they? I hope you and your family have fun and no harm comes to anyone.:)
I fully understand your position. Please be at ease though…. My field is safer than most of the *professional* fields I have both been to in person and seen pictures of. I have seen more unsafe acts conducted in the parking lots of paintball fields, and even in the “player rest areas” of standard fields. And this is all with clearly posted rules and staff members trying to enforce them.

And then again, my daughter dislocated her knee (pushed it clear on the outside of her leg) playing soccer with our dog in the back yard last year. And my son broke his arm playing lacrosse at school the year before when he slipped on wet grass. And both situations were pretty *safe*. ;) There is a difference between being cautious, safety oriented and concerned, and being anal. ;) (please do not take this as an insult to you, because it isn’t, nor was meant to be) And what is worse is that under any situation, people can get hurt….

It is up to those in charge of each situation to make the *on the spot* determination as to what is appropriate at the time. I can assure you that if the group was larger, and the breaks between games (which were actually just *pitstops* today) were actual breaks, the Barrel Condoms would have been put on. But it was pretty much nonstop playing today. And from what I can see, that is really the only issue that could be *argued* about today’s play. (Aside from the *after play* target shooting by my Wife and Daughter…. But how many times have we seen pictures posted on AO showing similar things? And from other prominent AO Members and AGD Staff. If the supervision is adequate sometimes rules can be bent and still allow for a safe environment.)

I know you were not intending to Flame me, and I did not take it as such. I just wanted you and all the other readers to understand that what might have been perceived as a potential safety issue, really wasn’t. I thank you for your concern for my family and friends, but assure you that my own concern is even stronger. :)

[xmetal2001]

Sounds like your running a good safe field. If it were me though, i would keep the barrel bags on even whenever your not playing(its takes so little effort, and can prevent serious injury).

On my field we though the same thing, until a trigger was accidently pulled and someone almost lost an eye(his hand barely blocked the ball).

[shartley]

Thank you. Yes it is a safe field. And I can see both of your points. I have already addressed this issue twice though.

Now how about the Halo Videos? Where were their Goggles? Like I said, it all depends on the situation.... and each one adding a slightly different varriable will determine what would be appropriate. TODAY I made the call to not put the condoms on while rotating in and out of games. And you could have pulled the trigger as often as you liked... because as was stated, either myself or Kim physically checked each marker leaving the field to make sure it was on safe. We also closely supervised the loading and cleaning of all equipment. When off the playing field the kids were not more than 3 feet away from either of us.

Kim also pointed out to me (just now) that when the kids were not using the markers or loading them, they were not even holding them. Masks and markers were taken off and put down.... not even being touched.

I just think more is being made out of this than needs to be. You all know me, and should KNOW that I would not do something that was not appropriate for the situation.

How about this? WE WILL ALWAYS USE BARREL PLUGS AND CONDOMS EVEN IF ONLY OFF THE FIELD FOR 1 SECOND. Note, just don't let me see anyone post anything slightly unsafe on AO... ;) I hope that is the end of THAT issue. :D

[Miscue]

Hey, nice work!

[Restola]

Good work, if I ever go to whereever it is you live we'll have to play :)

[Sinnet]

just wondering, shartley, what kind of a set-up you use for a camera... as far as protecting it from stray shots and that kind of a thing.

[shartley]

Originally posted by Sinnet
just wondering, shartley, what kind of a set-up you use for a camera... as far as protecting it from stray shots and that kind of a thing.
GOOD QUESTION!

Actually I don’t use any special protection for the camera. I don’t know of any photographer who does. A mask for the photographer, sure…. But I would think that building any protection for the camera would actually get in the way. I would be interested in hearing any special setup others use, but have not heard of any (and I have seen photographers shown in pictures taken by OTHER photographers on a field, and none of them had special setups either).

What I do, is make sure I am well seen. I also make it well known where I am. ZOOM also helps get in a lot closer than I really am to the players…. LOL I watch movements and make sure I am not in any lines of fire. I also made it clear (since it is my field it is very easy to do… LOL) that if a player moves and I am in their line of fire, or because of their move I am behind a player they want to shoot at… they DON’T SHOOT. I will see them move and will get out of the way myself. ;)

This is really not a hard thing for players since it is not every game that I am out there, and it teaches them control.

I will also be getting a fluorescent vest (or something similar to it) for future use. Right now we play on the honor system and it works well since we all know each other, and we are not playing with *walk-ons*. ;) But when we get more people and play teams against teams (so far we just play total elimination! Every person for themselves! What fun!!!) we will have at least one *ref* on the field just to keep things safer…. Helps prevent overshooting.

[boomerfoxtrot]

my other post on this subject alone... something I just saw on a web page.... the dude had a "buddy" with a plexi glass shield... the would shield the cam... not the bodies, cause even strays can hit ya. If your using a high end cam... then the last thing you want is for it to get hit... I'll come up with something...

the field looks good.. just remember to use plugs.

I was over at a friends house, and he would walk around his house with the maker gased and paint... I would tell him he needs a plug... but he always said "that's bs that people who overcharge you to play paintball make you use"

he shot his mother the other day.... "his gun was off safe and he bumbed into the door" ... needless to say... he doesn't own a paintball gun anymore! kinda funny.. but it could have been ungly.....

[shartley]

Actually, even if you use a *low end* cam, the last thing you want is to get hit. ;) I am just afraid that any *usable* idea would limit my movement, or get in the way of *ease of use* and the shots I want to take. I think that is why you don't usually see paintball photographers using any such devices. Again, I would be willing to try something if it is shown to not be more of a hastle than a help.


Another issue......

NOTICE

Enough with the PLUGS issue please. I already explained what happened and how I ran the field today. And all the *accidents* people keep talking about was when the SAFETY was not even ON. I stated a couple times that manual checks of all markers were made when leaving the field and safeties were ON.

Do people read?

We do not walk around the house with the markers gassed up and loaded. Any time the markers have tanks on them (even when being stored) they have barrel condoms on them. We do not even let the kids TOUCH the markers unsupervised. All examples of unsafe things said so far are nowhere close to what the conditions were today, or are EVER at my house.

Today was a special situation... read my previous posts.

:rolleyes:

[boomerfoxtrot]

oh come on now... you sound like a little kid.... no harm no foul...

I was telling you a store about a friend of mine.. I read the whole list... I know that the pix are good and that most are action shots.. and that if your on a feild by yourself target shooting or what not, you don't have to wear mask or use plugs....

it just brought up the story... .. didn't mean to set a trip mine off...

[shartley]

Originally posted by boomerfoxtrot
oh come on now... you sound like a little kid.... no harm no foul...

I was telling you a store about a friend of mine.. I read the whole list... I know that the pix are good and that most are action shots.. and that if your on a feild by yourself target shooting or what not, you don't have to wear mask or use plugs....

it just brought up the story... .. didn't mean to set a trip mine off...
little kid? Please....:rolleyes:

[boomerfoxtrot]

whatever dude.... feild looks good... give us some more pix sometime....

[Clare]

I haven't read through the posts but I just noticed that you all don't have any barrel condoms on.

lol! :p kidding!

/me runs for cover

Great field! Looks like lots of fun :D

[shartley]

Thanks guys (and gal.. ;)) Yes, we had a blast! And noone came close to getting hurt (well, all except for when they got bunkered! HeeHee)…. :D

Yes. Like I said, I have over 100 pictures and will put them on my server for folks to see. And as the field progresses I will keep everyone up to date. :)

[subbeh]

Originally posted by shartley
Do people read?

Yes, they just disagree. Personally, I believe that if you are in charge of the field, you are in CHARGE of the field ;) . It's your decision what to do, and it sounds like you have thought it out and definatly gave it more than a passing thought, so I'm fine with it. At our field, we do not use barrel plugs in between games because A. nobody has condoms, and with the size of our staging tables a barrel plug flying would be more dangerous than a paintball :D and B. we have had many discussions about safety and we all take it seriously.

To each his own, disagreements are healthy. SHartley asks that this not be the topic of discussion anymore, and it's his thread so I'll drop it.

Now that I finally have my digital camera working I will be taking pics of our field tomorrow.

In the mean time, nice field SHartley. Never had a chance to play on a field like yours, a kind of combination of speedball and woodsball (or so it looks). Looks like loads of fun. We kind of had an area like yours to work with when we built ours, but we found a small grassy field filled with tall rasberry plants. It took us two days of mowing and chainsawing berry bushs and small trees to clear it, but we are very happy with the results. How did you go about anchoring the bunkers? This has been a big problem with us, as thunderstorms took out two or three of our bunkers. For the wooden bunkers we used stakes that went down 2 feet, we also used barrels and tires. But we made it a point to keep our field completely symmetrical, and it seems to flow well.

Congrats on the creation. Sure it was a fun project with the kids. I wish my dad played paintball :D

[Scooter/Cootie]

Originally posted by shartley
... here is Jay shooting behind our *Bonny & Clyde Mobile*... LOL


Gotta love the Bonny & Clyde mobile! :D


Field looks good, you did a great job clearing the undergrowth. From the look of the pics, some of those trees look pretty young. Any plans in the future on removing some trees and opening it up a little bit more?

Good job!

[shartley]

Originally posted by subbeh
In the mean time, nice field SHartley. Never had a chance to play on a field like yours, a kind of combination of speedball and woodsball (or so it looks). Looks like loads of fun. We kind of had an area like yours to work with when we built ours, but we found a small grassy field filled with tall rasberry plants. It took us two days of mowing and chainsawing berry bushs and small trees to clear it, but we are very happy with the results. How did you go about anchoring the bunkers? This has been a big problem with us, as thunderstorms took out two or three of our bunkers. For the wooden bunkers we used stakes that went down 2 feet, we also used barrels and tires. But we made it a point to keep our field completely symmetrical, and it seems to flow well.

Congrats on the creation. Sure it was a fun project with the kids. I wish my dad played paintball :D
Yes, it is a combination of woods and speedball.. sort of. I like the combination of using trees AND bunkers and walls. It saves building AND provides great shade for the field!

If you look, all of the bunkers (and walls) are anchored to trees. We will be adding more to the bunkers and adding free standing bunkers and plan to anchor them to the ground in MANY places using Swing Set Anchors. You can buy them in several forms, and we will use the ones that are flexible metal straps with holes in them and a loop at the end containing a spike. The straps can then be screwed (or nailed) into the bunkers themselves at whatever angle works best.


Originally posted by Scooter/Cootie
Gotta love the Bonny & Clyde mobile! :D


Field looks good, you did a great job clearing the undergrowth. From the look of the pics, some of those trees look pretty young. Any plans in the future on removing some trees and opening it up a little bit more?

Good job!
Yes, we love the Bonny & Clyde Mobile too. LOL It seems to be a favorite place for the “smaller” players. Gives them a lot of shooting options while providing pretty good protection. Both doors are also OPEN on it too. LOL And the kids are going to paint it at some point. :) It has “character”.

Thanks about the clearing…. We worked on it for a whole week, and as you can see, it can STILL use some more. And to boot, NO power tools were used. I wanted this to be a manual project, it just means more. ;) And yes, we will be clearing out even more trees. What you see left is only a small fraction of what was there. The kids (and I have to admit Kim as well) was getting antsy to use the field… so we got it “close enough” to use for some good games.

It also let us see what trees needed to be removed, fields of fire that needed to be improved upon, etc. So again, yup… many more will be joining their “friends” as more fencing/border material. ;) We also have room for quite a few more bunkers, but I did not want to overdo it until I saw how it played. Having too much stuff can be almost as bad, if not worse, than not enough.

[RusskiX]

My only question is when are you going to invite us NH AO'ers and how much is the field fee? :D

[j.t.]

WOW! that is alot of undergrowth that was cleared! good work!

From what i saw in the pictures it looks like you guys could use some tables to put your gear on in between games. (just a suggestion):D

[shartley]

RusskiX-
It would be a bit before we could open it up for anyone but close friends.... I am sure you understand. :) And then, there would be no field fees. :D

Originally posted by j.t.
WOW! that is alot of undergrowth that was cleared! good work!

From what i saw in the pictures it looks like you guys could use some tables to put your gear on in between games. (just a suggestion):D
Thanks.

Yes, we do need some tables to put our gear on. Today was the field's first day of games, so we did not get to picky with setup. ;) It only gets better from here... :D Tables will be coming.

[j.t.]

Can i ask HOW you cleared that? The only thing i can think of is weedwacking, and that would take a LOOONG time!:confused:

[pumpamatic]

None of the private fields I play at use that barrel plug rule that so many complain about here, and I think it should be up to the field owner. Obviously Shartley feels like he has taken proper safety measures, and knows each player well enough to not need to enforce such strict rules. It's totally his decision, it's his field. Whenever I get done with a game I turn my p/f plug and shoot in a safe direction to make sure it's clear. Everyone else does the same or puts a safety on, but most of the time our guns each find their own spot in the shade and stay there until another game starts.

Anywho, off of that topic, I created a plywood box approximately 18 inches long by 12 wide, about 6 deep with one side along the width and bottom off, and the opposite side is quarter inch plexiglass. I drilled 2 holes in each side and tied some rope handles through there. Then I found some old foam( made good bedding on camping trips) and cut it to size and lined the whole inside and the outside edges. I use my left hand on one one rope handle inside the box to steady the box and the other holding both the camera and the other rope handle. Operator still has to wear goggles, but it's great to be able to walk behind people on the field and tape them without any fear of someone shooting a thousand dollars worth of electronics. It's kind of hard to run with, but as long as the plexiglass is clean it normally focuses right past it, only once has it not when the sun caught it just right. Still there's nothing cooler than looking at the same shooting lane an actual player is on replay that night.

[shartley]

Originally posted by j.t.
Can i ask HOW you cleared that? The only thing i can think of is weedwacking, and that would take a LOOONG time!:confused:
We used a simple hand weed/brush blade (you can get them at Home Depot for $14.96):
http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/pii/0/7/5/3/A53570_2.JPG
A couple garden rakes, 3 pairs of standard Brush Loppers (similar to these):
http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/pii/7/4/1/5/A5147_2.JPG
a small Bow Saw, and a lot of elbow grease. ;)

Nope, NO power tools. I thought of firing up my chainsaw, but thought it would be great to do it all manually (as I have said before).

[j.t.]

hmmm ill hafta get me one of them.

And good luck finishing the field, lookin great so far:)

[Cristobal]

Hey, nice work -- that looks like a really fun field (looks like NH too:)) I hear you on the manual labor, lots of work but lots of satisfaction. The combination of natural cover and shade with some cool man-made bunkers should make for neat "feel" on the field, particularly if its as big as it seems to be.

I have a feeling that sooner or later the Bonnie and Clyde mobile is going to get painted anyway -- probably sooner, and probably in lots of different colors ;)

[shartley]

Update!

Well, last night while laying in bed I got to thinking about how we could have good viewing of our paintball games, but did not want to buy screening and build a special “Spectators Area”. But because I did not want anyone in an unsafe environment, SOMETHING had to be done.

I searched all over for screening and other alternatives, but it seemed that I could not walk away much under a grand no matter how I went about pricing it (there were cheaper mesh/screening, but I did not feel it would be safe enough). This is simply more than I want to put into the field at this time.

Today however, when I woke up, I was hit with a bolt of lightning…… We got a screen house quite a few years ago, and it was not one of those cheap ones, but was very well constructed. The only problem we had with it was the metal poles it used broke on a couple of them and they were *repaired*. We did not even put it up this year.

This got me to thinking… why not use THAT? Of course it would have to be completely gone over and inspected, and then tested for strength and safety against paintballs. Well, after work today, me and Jay went back to the field and set it up. And then we inspected it for any rips, weak spots, etc. I then took my finger and pushed on the screening to see how strong it was, and it seemed to be VERY strong.

Well……. That only left one test! HeeHee!!!! Yup, we gassed up one of the markers and went at it! We shot at it at several ranges, and at different angles… to include straight on. It did not phase the screening at all. The balls bounced off it, or hit and dropped to the ground. In fact, the only paintball break that happened was when one hit one of the structural poles.

We will put up a table on the outside of the screen house for working on the markers, and make the screen house the official “spectator area” and “player break area”. All markers to be kept outside the screen house. And from inside the screen house you can darn near see all the field… definitely enough to make the day exciting even for those not playing.

I don’t know how many others use this type of setup, but it could very well be a more cost effective solution for spectator safety at private fields.

[dropkick1]

good idea, i wish i had my own private field, but alas i live in a city and there really isn't that much room here for one. we used to play renegade in Fairmount park but a couple of our friends work for the city and warned us to stop playing back thre so that we didn't have our equipment confiscated(even though we could get it back), we play there occasionally at night when no one is around, under a bridge that gives off enough light to play by, its sweet, and yes we always use barrel plugs/condoms when we're done playing along with safties for saftey reaons.

ken