The under-brush dense, the air
thick with the smell of paint and co2, several players move
cautiously down the trail. Something moves in the bushes just
ahead, the twitchy group opens up eagerly at the chance to clear
the area ahead. The paint rains down in front of them, the sound
of the fast shooting, semi automatic paintball guns firing is
almost deafening. The leaves disintegrate, the liquid mist of
paintball fill glistens in the air, they keep shooting only
pausing to empty a fresh pod
of paint into their greedy hoppers.
A solitary paintball hits its mark; one of the shooting players
suddenly feels the impact, tasting
the spray of a paintball as it drips through his mask and onto his
lip. He has no choice but to call himself out. The rest of the
group shoots even more
enthusiastically, knowing their opponent is near. The bushes in
front of them turn Technicolor, dripping with bright paint, pieces
of shell sticking to what’s left of the battered and beaten
foliage. Not one of them has seen even a glimpse of an “enemy.”
Two more of the shooters feel the impact of enemy paint, one
ignores it and keeps shooting, too caught up in the moment for the
synapses of his brain to connect the feeling with being
eliminated. A second shot into the side of his head corrects the
lapse. The other, a bit shocked, simply turns and walks away
bewildered. The last remaining shooter makes a run for it, goggles
first into the paintball with his name on it.
From the side of the trail, a player can be seen emptying a ten
round tube into her stock class paintball gun. She doesn’t need a
full ten paintballs, but it’s wise to be safe. The half full tube
is tucked carefully back into its spot on the harness. She walks
off through the hole beaten into the underbrush by the opponents
paintballs, stopping briefly to pick up the empty ten round tube
she tossed over there just minutes before...
And so it goes, perhaps you’ve seen them, maybe not. They are
present at many paintball fields every weekend, their numbers are
growing, and people tend to call them “old school.” Some might be, but many are not. There is one thing that is unmistakable about
them; they choose to play paintball in a world of
electro-pneumatic markers, electronic triggers, and race guns that
can make it rain paint so thick you can’t see through it. Their
markers that shoot one ball at a time and have to be cocked after
each shot, and they still dominate.
These are the things legends are made of, outgunned, under
supplied rebels that wreak havoc and accomplish tasks most people
don’t believe until they find themselves cleaning the paint from
their shiny, expensive 20 ball per second pride and joy.
Make no mistake;
the image can be just as clear on the speedball court as it can in
the woods. Stock and pump class players are very adept at adapting
to different fields. If required, many pump players can throw an
astonishing amount of paint, much to the surprise of their semi
playing brethren. Add to that an increased awareness of shooting
angles, movement, and strategy and you’ve got one heck of a
speedball player!
When all is said and done they are just paintball players, not
much different than any of the thousands of sportsmen and women
that go out to play every weekend. One thing is clear, they
have chosen a different playing style and discovered that
with planning and practice, superior firepower doesn’t always
ensure victory. Stock class players have learned that their most
important piece of equipment aside from their goggles is the stuff
between their ears.
What’s old is new again, but has been elevated to levels never
before imagined. When old school enthusiasm, honor, and strategy
are combined with modern mechanics, playing styles, and
technology, the results can be quite spectacular.
Stock and pump class paintball is rapidly becoming a sub-culture
in the sport, with a renewed emphasis on the player rather than the
machine they carry. They certainly revere their equipment, some
made before the player was, but rarely will you see the equipment
as it was originally built. Today’s technology allows us to
upgrade the internal workings, barrels, even the lubricant is
light years ahead of what was liberally applied during the
manufacturing process.
Today’s pump and Stock class markers are more reliable, easier to
tune, and the resulting package makes for accuracy and range
rarely achieved back in the beginnings of our sport. Recently
manufactured pump markers are made of the same stuff as even the
top of the line race guns using the same technology and sometimes
even the same parts. The equipment can be downright outstanding
and even intimidating to the unaware. But they still only shoot
one ball at a time, the results based upon the player, not the
tool.
Players around
the world are tiring of their sport stagnating under the guise of
action and excitement. Players squaring off at each other, not
moving, and shooting hundreds of rounds of paint a game from
the same point on the field actually gets boring to some. To
those, stock and pump class has great appeal. Suddenly their game
is on a different level, it takes dedication, practice, and brain
activity to be successful. Its hard work and you have to learn how
to loose before you’ll win, but oh what fun once you figure it
out! The challenge is exactly why we play and when successfully
overcome, it can be an amazing experience. Nothing is quite as
satisfying in the sport, as eliminating your opponent with one
shot while ducking a hundred.
Watch your flanks, you never know when there’s a stock class
player nearby until it’s too late. We are Stock Class Paintball,
and if we’re not already there, well be coming to a field near you
very soon …
