pneumag failure = WIN!!!

[rawbutter]

I thought I'd share a funny story that happened last weekend.

So, I made a new paintball buddy a few months ago who's friends with the local DEA trainer for their FAST teams (which is the DEA's version of SWAT teams, I guess). Long story short, this DEA trainer finds out about us playing in some old abandoned houses on some property our church owns, and he asks if he can bring out his FAST teams to train against us paintballers. Basically, he wants the paintballers to stack up inside the house as "terrorists" or "gang members" or whatever, and then he sends in his FAST teams to take us out.

We say "Heck yes!" of course.

So, we show up. It's freezing. And what do you know... my trusty pneumag won't fire at all. This gun hasn't let me down ONCE in the three years since I built it (I later figured out that the combination of the cold and an overtightened field strip screw led to the problem. ) I have a Viking too (that worked just fine), but I was letting a new player borrow that. I have a third gun, an old classic automag that runs on CO2, but because of the cold, that really wasn't working either. Another buddy of mine with a Tippmann A5 also had his gun go down with some internal leak that he couldn't fix on the spot.

After fifteen minutes of fiddling around (while the 20+ DEA guys are getting ready to storm the house), we go over to the head trainer and apologize for the problem. We had promised him 5 players to train against, but because of these gun issues, we would only be able to put three in the house. But the dude doesn't panic. He shrugs and says, "Well, we could let you use the M4's with simunition rounds that we're using. Would that work?"

So, because of a pneumag failure, I got to play CQB all day shooting simunitions out of an M4 at DEA trainees. How cool is that!

[leloup]

In a word, very.

[georgeyew]

What's it like shooting simunition rounds? Did you get hit by any?

Where else do you play? I am a little further up from you in Springfield.

[Justus]

Did you take a hit from the simunition rounds? I've heard that they're a lot more painful than a paintball.

[redlaser666]

Did you take a hit from the simunition rounds? I've heard that they're a lot more painful than a paintball.

I have used them during live fire exercises and they suck. They are made of wax and what hurts is the small ballbearing that pushes the wax to mark. They also have a habit of getting stuck in the barrel (we were using m16's that are longer than M4's). Overal a good training tool, but not that great.

[kcombs9]

I'm sure the DEA wouldn't want you too but... No pics?!?!

[gunman_2000]

so you were going to shoot them with paintballs....and they were going to shoot you with simunition?

seems a bit one sided, unless you were cranking it up to 400

[rawbutter]

so you were going to shoot them with paintballs....and they were going to shoot you with simunition?

seems a bit one sided, unless you were cranking it up to 400

I almost said no for this very reason, but as it turned out, I learned that there are different "flavors" of simunitions. The ones they were shooting at us were specifically tailored for CQB situations, and they did not shoot that hard. I would say somewhere between airsoft and paintball. I was wearing a leather motorcycle jacket all day (because it was freezing), and I barely even felt the shots through the jacket or the mask. One did make it through the narrow slots in my facemask, though, and hit my bare chin. That stung!

So... I'd actually have to say it was unfair for us to shoot paintballs at them, especially since they weren't wearing full facemasks and we were shooting each other pretty close. The trainer told us to fire "slowly" (like 1 or 2 bps) and aim for the flack jackets they were wearing, but we still accidentally hit them a few times in the hands and neck. They were good sports about it, though.

[rawbutter]

And a few pics, by request. There's no pictures from inside, obviously.

This is them assaulting the house (the trainer is the guy on the left by himself).


A FAST team debriefing after a training run.


This is actually me (outside right) and a friend ambushing the FAST team from outside while they're entering the property.


Group shot of all the trainings and paintballers and some kids who were watching us. I'm second from the right, back row, in the brown hat.


There's lots more, but all the same kind of shots. Far-off non-action shots.

I have to say I learned a whole new level of respect for the guys that do this kind of stuff. If we were real badguys with real guns and if we had no reservations about dying for our cause in a firefight, then the FAST teams would be dead. It's such a huge disadvantage to attack a house like this, and it takes a LOT of guts. The only thing that really saves them is that most bad guys really don't want to go to jail (or get shot and die) for killing a cop, so when you storm a house with enough good guys, the bad dudes just run or surrender.

[rawbutter]

What's it like shooting simunition rounds? Did you get hit by any?

Where else do you play? I am a little further up from you in Springfield.

I only play on private land. I think the last time I went to a real field was Warplay down in Orange county.

In fact... I think I met you there randomly with your Viking. I think that meeting was one of the reasons why I eventually bought my own Viking, actually.

[Spider-TW]

Must have been fun.

So, did your friends get to carry several hundred paintballs to defend themselves with?

[georgeyew]

I only play on private land. I think the last time I went to a real field was Warplay down in Orange county.

In fact... I think I met you there randomly with your Viking. I think that meeting was one of the reasons why I eventually bought my own Viking, actually.

Oh wow, I am glad that I had such an influence on you. But don't blame me if you are now broke Let me know if you guys need another body to shoot at. I would love to come down and play with your group.

[ghost271]

When we were doing FIBUA training in the army, there was some pretty crazy ways of defending a barricaded house. Other than blowing out the side of a wall with a tank or RPG you are going to lose WAY too many men, trying to enter.

[gunman_2000]

I almost said no for this very reason, but as it turned out, I learned that there are different "flavors" of simunitions. The ones they were shooting at us were specifically tailored for CQB situations, and they did not shoot that hard. I would say somewhere between airsoft and paintball. I was wearing a leather motorcycle jacket all day (because it was freezing), and I barely even felt the shots through the jacket or the mask. One did make it through the narrow slots in my facemask, though, and hit my bare chin. That stung!

So... I'd actually have to say it was unfair for us to shoot paintballs at them, especially since they weren't wearing full facemasks and we were shooting each other pretty close. The trainer told us to fire "slowly" (like 1 or 2 bps) and aim for the flack jackets they were wearing, but we still accidentally hit them a few times in the hands and neck. They were good sports about it, though.

Well thats pretty cool, and slightly less one sided than I thought lol. The 1-2bps thing would make your pneumag a lil redundant, might as well have a cheap pump lol. Sounds like fun though.

Now, my only other real question is, did they count gun hits? :P hehe
Aim for the flak jackets is all well and good, but I think if they want good live fire training, aiming for anything thats in the open sounds good. Teach em not to stick their toes out too far. I'm sure everyone on here loves to pick off the opponent with any shot they can (the smaller the target the more fun!)

[bound for glory]

not to get off topic, but back in the early days of paintball, i was playing a night game at wolfs lair(now a days emr) and was shot in the neck by an m85 primer powered gun. man, did that hurt! glad those things are gone. looked like a mac 10.