New to the Region

[Matthew Condon]

Hello Everyone! (Be committed before heading on from here, it’s dangerous to go alone. tl;dr press ‘back’ on your browser now)

 

I recently moved down from Massachusetts to the Silver Spring area of Maryland for work. I used to be a part of the New Hampshire airsoft scene, so I am looking to transition to activities down here. Moving from a 14-acre farm to a small inner-city apartment doesn’t help much (heh).

 

I’ve done some research and poking around with the resources provided by chesapeakeairsoftassociation.com and maapr.com (I was going to post this on MAAPR as well, but I am waiting for posting rights). The way everything is run down here seems to be at a stark contrast to what I am used to. I am seeing a lot of fields that simply use a ‘walk on’ policy. Fields in New England would post an event on the local forum with a mission briefing, outlines, and a squad signup system. Players would sign up and teams would be pre-balanced for game day. Everyone knew their teammates and objectives before arriving, and usually walk-ons were prohibited at these ‘Operation’ events.

 

I’ve contacted some fields regarding those policies and how they account for a player count, and it seems like a lot of the player counts are low (15-20). I’m more familiar with a small Operation/RNG gathering 40 people with larger ones being 80-100. However, I do like the fact that many games take place on Saturdays. Fields I come from only play on Sundays (sans larger multi-day events) and now that is a workday for me. From what I can gather, it seems like joining a team would benefit my pulse on the goings-on. Not many individuals seem to post in the ‘Game Calling’ threads and fields have no measure of player attendance.

 

The only ‘fields’ I could find in the area that fit my requirements seem to be PBSL and PAP (OPFOR?). (PBSL was actually very quick to respond. I have yet to hear from OPFOR). Let me expand on how I came to that conclusion:

 

1. I am not a CQB player. While I enjoy CQB combat, my primary is an upgraded G&G M-14 WWS. And while I have slung the old girl around many a corner, it has a velocity of just around 390 w/ .25 (the old Region limit where I came from was 400 w/ .25). Even my secondary, a KWA M1911DS PTP, would probably break some of these CQB area velocity limits. (This pretty much eliminates TAA, which is very close to me). I have other replicas, but they are mainly used for loaners, and I will always favor my true primary.

 

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg43/mwjscn/G%20and%20G%20M14%20...

(Fairly close to how she sits now. Swapped out the hand guard for a real one. Tried to use [IMG] tags but the preview didn't seem to support it.)

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg43/mwjscn/G%20and%20G%20M14%20...

 

2. I would also like to drive about an hour from the Silver Spring area (one way, of course). It seems like some extraordinary fields were available, but they were much too far North for me.

 

My Player type seems to put me at a disadvantage when browsing teams. I would self-define myself as a ‘semi-casual’. I am not seeking a hardcore experience, but I would like a group that can support themselves. I am not some force recon wannabe. I am mainly in it to have fun and an engaging experience. I don’t want to be part of a hardcore team because national events do not interest me, I’m not looking to pay dues, and with work I doubt I will have enough time to dedicate to the team. I would most likely be the once-a-month player. I have plenty of loaner gear (such as hydration rigs, extra primaries, etc) to support a few players when the need arises. I would prefer to play with players over 18.

 

Aww Yissss. [Inset self-depreciating joke here]

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg43/mwjscn/Airsoft%20Gear/IMG_3...

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg43/mwjscn/Airsoft%20Gear/Scree...

http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg43/mwjscn/Airsoft%20Gear/Scree...

 

If anyone can help assist me in this transition, I would appreciate it (I know it’s a picky niche market, it seems). As you can see, I am very open to field options if you have any. I am also open to team recruitment if you feel like what I described can benefit your group (I work in Communications, so I also have ‘some’ photography experience and the such). If you have media online such as video content and especially a website, that would be even better.

Congratulations on making it. You few are the elite. Have a video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGEL1Pqj7xk

(Our small group engaged in some quick CQB combat)

[Jason Delawder]

Matt,
Op for is nor called OLTA. There is also SOG md. You can check them on fbook or just Google them. Also Pasadena paintball park also does some play at their field.

There are events at local fields you just have to wait or find them. Walk on at OLTA normally brings a decent crowd. Poking around in here is also a good start. Matt normally posts up everything he finds, and sog will post their events here.


Good luck

[Matthew Condon]

Thanks for the reply Jason.

I must have been looking at old resources when I found OPFOR (their domain was also still active), but thanks for the advisement on the OLTA change. Based on the information I have as of now, this is the field I will most likely go to first.

SOG seems to be within my distance limit. I have looked at their website before and it seems like they mainly play regular games on Sunday, which is a workday for me now. I will stay advised on their activity to see if they are operational during other days I can attend.

As always, if anyone has any additional information I would appreciate it.

[Matthew W.]

Welcome to Baltimore! GAAT is a newer team that is composed of older players, with most of us being over 18. We attend OLTA on Saturdays and have team practices/TAA visits on Sundays.

I've found OLTA to be walk-on friendly. As usual, it is preferable to have a team with you but it is easy to join in on a game. The same applies to TAA. 

Replay Airsoft just opened up, but they do not have an established FPS limit at the moment which makes them a potentially dangerous field.

I have personally never been to Paintball Sportsland.

OXCC is another viable alternative, but it is twice as far away as OLTA and TAA.

[Matthew Condon]

Thanks for the reply and the info on OLTA. I couldn't find any information on GAAT, but that is probably because they are new as you said earlier. If you have any information, I would appreciate a PM.

I checked up on Replay Airsoft (and thanks for the lead, as well). While they are extremely close, it seems it's another CQB venue from what I could find. It also has a FPS limit of 350 w/ .25g which is too low for my current primary. It doesn't necessarily rule it out, as I could use other replicas, but it isn't a preferred setup. Thanks for the suggestion, though, I appreciate it.

I would love to go to OXCC, Ballahack, or some of the bigger fields I have found, but given my distance they seem to be somewhat unviable. I would probably make the trek if part of a larger group/unit for a special event, but not as a solo operator. 

Thanks for the information. Again, if you have any information on GAAT you want to pass along, please give me a PM.

[jimmy castle]

Welcome. stop by and take a look at SOG.

[Matthew Condon]

Thanks for the reply Jimmy, but for reasons posted above I will most likely not have a chance to go to the field.