O
ollytheosteo
Guest
What time is kickoff etc? I take it we'll be sorting teams etc on the day so when do you want us on site?
Pump Gun Tourny @ D7's
- Thread starter D7's
- Start date
O
ollytheosteo
Guest
O
ollytheosteo
Guest
So, now the bruises have faded and my legs have started working again I can finally tell the story of the first pump-only event in the UK for many, many years.
In the end a grand total of six
valiant pump rangers made the trip to Dartford on an unexpectedly sunny Sunday; TendringLOEB(Paul), Irons69(Simon) and s1im(James) from p8, Kane Busfield from the good old days and Warren Markwell from Skirmish Norfolk. With attics and cellars being mined for pump gold the selection of old school hardware was enough to get my nerd centres firing, with a Deuce (drool sloo), several original Line SI Bushmasters, a Phantom Express, a Grey Ghost (fap fap fap) and a couple of Sterling STPs on display as well as some newer toys in the form of the new (and lovely) Sterling, my Houndstooth and a rather familiar looking red acid washed Phantom set up with a 12g changer for extra cool points. After some tinkering, shimming and spring swapping the stillness was broken by the unusual ‘chunk-pop’ sound of pumps at the chrono, with small animals running for the hedgerows and the practicing tourney players looking a little bewildered. Once everyone was shooting under 300 we split into two teams, with Kane, s1im and irons69 on one side and Tendring, Warren and myself on the other and headed out to see if we could remember how. We played three games in quick succession then went for a sit down, then repeated this format throughout the day. We didn’t need much marshalling as there wasn’t a lot of point trying to wipe etc when playing for fun with a pump, and paintchecks were mostly made by eliminated or sideline players with some of the guys calling themselves on a bounce from a good shot, bit of a change from the tournament way of play. One thing that both players and spectators noticed was how much fun we all seemed to be having, with much laughter and happy piss-taking between games and the rare sight of eliminated players congratulating the shooter on a great shot instead of calling them a c-unit, all very weird by modern standards. Stand out moments included Paul’s end to end shot onto Kane’s goggles, Kane repeatedly crawling down the snake and shooting me in the love handles, Warren and Kane battling at close quarters in the snake, James discovering slam fire (ow) and Simon running around shooting everyone and even getting one surrender to much applause. After 20+ games we realised sorting the places out might be a bit tricky as none of us had bothered to keep count of wins and losses, so inspired by the fine example lately set by our professional brethren in the NPPL we decided we were all winners and went off looking for some flowers to make a daisy chain to wear at our tea party.
Our last couple of games mixed it up a bit with a chance to take some of the tourney players to school after some loose talk about one Ego7 could take on six pumps (o rly?) and ended up with a three on six matchup which had the sidelines in stitches. We even managed to shanghai John Bonich onto the field to show us how it’s done, which he proceeded to do by charging all over the field and shooting everyone, coming away with a huge grin and swearing to play pump in the Mills next year. The last game of the day saw Bolter from MK Storm take to the field only to find himself alone in the middle of the field with three players charging at him whilst he tried to work out how to turn the ramping on.
All in all it was one of the best day’s play I’ve had in years, with fair play, fun and some excellent players making for a really great time at the cost of about three bags of paint each. I still have a grin on my face recalling standout moments as I write this, and will be seeking out more pump play from now on. I heard players and spectators say a couple of times in a puzzled voice ‘you guys seem to be having fun’ and I can assure you we did, with pumps confirmed as a cheap way to play all day and you never know, after a day of picking shots and concentrating on accuracy we might see some changes in our game the next time we pick up a semi.
Thanks have to go to Dave Stewart for having the vision to put the whole thing on, everyone at the D7’s for looking after us all day, the players for digging out the old guns and getting out of bed, the serious pros for putting up with us lumbering about the fields and Rayko for turning up with his large camera. He’s currently ‘shopping out beer guts and muffin tops and then there should be some pics, so stay tuned.
Lastly, I know six players is a bit thin considering the numbers signed up above, but there’s a tendency to sit on hands and not turn up in case no one else does. We’ve shown this weekend that there is a pump scene in the UK, even if it’s still a bit ickle, and people will turn up to an event like this. You can pick up a lovely Sterling from Powerball if that’s your pleasure or a used pump on here for £50 or so, so next time you’re contemplating dropping fifty quid on another goggle strap think instead about trying something completely different and maybe even working on some core skills if having fun isn’t enough by itself. Dave is interested in another pump day and I’m planning to try one at Snetterton in the not too distant future, so if you want a very cheap day out and a few laughs into the bargain come and give it a go.
In the end a grand total of six
valiant pump rangers made the trip to Dartford on an unexpectedly sunny Sunday; TendringLOEB(Paul), Irons69(Simon) and s1im(James) from p8, Kane Busfield from the good old days and Warren Markwell from Skirmish Norfolk. With attics and cellars being mined for pump gold the selection of old school hardware was enough to get my nerd centres firing, with a Deuce (drool sloo), several original Line SI Bushmasters, a Phantom Express, a Grey Ghost (fap fap fap) and a couple of Sterling STPs on display as well as some newer toys in the form of the new (and lovely) Sterling, my Houndstooth and a rather familiar looking red acid washed Phantom set up with a 12g changer for extra cool points. After some tinkering, shimming and spring swapping the stillness was broken by the unusual ‘chunk-pop’ sound of pumps at the chrono, with small animals running for the hedgerows and the practicing tourney players looking a little bewildered. Once everyone was shooting under 300 we split into two teams, with Kane, s1im and irons69 on one side and Tendring, Warren and myself on the other and headed out to see if we could remember how. We played three games in quick succession then went for a sit down, then repeated this format throughout the day. We didn’t need much marshalling as there wasn’t a lot of point trying to wipe etc when playing for fun with a pump, and paintchecks were mostly made by eliminated or sideline players with some of the guys calling themselves on a bounce from a good shot, bit of a change from the tournament way of play. One thing that both players and spectators noticed was how much fun we all seemed to be having, with much laughter and happy piss-taking between games and the rare sight of eliminated players congratulating the shooter on a great shot instead of calling them a c-unit, all very weird by modern standards. Stand out moments included Paul’s end to end shot onto Kane’s goggles, Kane repeatedly crawling down the snake and shooting me in the love handles, Warren and Kane battling at close quarters in the snake, James discovering slam fire (ow) and Simon running around shooting everyone and even getting one surrender to much applause. After 20+ games we realised sorting the places out might be a bit tricky as none of us had bothered to keep count of wins and losses, so inspired by the fine example lately set by our professional brethren in the NPPL we decided we were all winners and went off looking for some flowers to make a daisy chain to wear at our tea party. Our last couple of games mixed it up a bit with a chance to take some of the tourney players to school after some loose talk about one Ego7 could take on six pumps (o rly?) and ended up with a three on six matchup which had the sidelines in stitches. We even managed to shanghai John Bonich onto the field to show us how it’s done, which he proceeded to do by charging all over the field and shooting everyone, coming away with a huge grin and swearing to play pump in the Mills next year. The last game of the day saw Bolter from MK Storm take to the field only to find himself alone in the middle of the field with three players charging at him whilst he tried to work out how to turn the ramping on.
All in all it was one of the best day’s play I’ve had in years, with fair play, fun and some excellent players making for a really great time at the cost of about three bags of paint each. I still have a grin on my face recalling standout moments as I write this, and will be seeking out more pump play from now on. I heard players and spectators say a couple of times in a puzzled voice ‘you guys seem to be having fun’ and I can assure you we did, with pumps confirmed as a cheap way to play all day and you never know, after a day of picking shots and concentrating on accuracy we might see some changes in our game the next time we pick up a semi.
Thanks have to go to Dave Stewart for having the vision to put the whole thing on, everyone at the D7’s for looking after us all day, the players for digging out the old guns and getting out of bed, the serious pros for putting up with us lumbering about the fields and Rayko for turning up with his large camera. He’s currently ‘shopping out beer guts and muffin tops and then there should be some pics, so stay tuned.
Lastly, I know six players is a bit thin considering the numbers signed up above, but there’s a tendency to sit on hands and not turn up in case no one else does. We’ve shown this weekend that there is a pump scene in the UK, even if it’s still a bit ickle, and people will turn up to an event like this. You can pick up a lovely Sterling from Powerball if that’s your pleasure or a used pump on here for £50 or so, so next time you’re contemplating dropping fifty quid on another goggle strap think instead about trying something completely different and maybe even working on some core skills if having fun isn’t enough by itself. Dave is interested in another pump day and I’m planning to try one at Snetterton in the not too distant future, so if you want a very cheap day out and a few laughs into the bargain come and give it a go.
Photos from the pump and practice day (apart from the MK Storm and ECI photos - you'll just have to wait for a little bit) are available on www.paintballpictures.co.uk
Thank you
Ray
Nice pumpy photo :
Thank you
Ray
Nice pumpy photo :