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pbReview.com / Paintball Fields / USA / Florida / Hotshots Paintball Field
Hotshots Paintball Field
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Reviews: |
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Website: |
Click here to visit the field's website. |
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Email: |
Click here to email the field. |
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Phone: |
(561) 798-4717 |
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Address: |
16169 Southern Blvd.
Loxahatchee, Florida 33470
USA
Map - Directions - Weather |
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Distance: |
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aparks |
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Saturday, March 1st, 2008 |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
March 1st, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
This field has the best service and the best grounds available... They have a selection of fields for all types of games. Most of the fields in South Florida seem to be boycotting the cleanup at the end of the day. HotShots is flawless... |
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Directions
to the Field: |
Southern Blvd west of 441 |
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| Review: |
This field is the best in South Florida. They have a selection of fields to play anything from XBall to Woodsball with all types of game variations. The Pro Shop has been growing over the last few months and they have a wonderful air conditioned shop with tables and couches to cool off between games in the summer.
They recently hired a new scenario coordinator and I am really looking forward to seeing what they come up with.. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
February 23rd, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
F.A.U. Renegade Paintball Field |
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| Review: |
Best thing about this field: The grounds are GREAT!
Great place to come if you have a sizable group with you to play 4v4 or better, and some of those people have some decent experience playing paintball.
The Woodsball field space here is HUGE, with many varied environments for some real variety in the type of action available.
Worst thing about this field: Horrible management. I have been to two consecutive scenario days here - Nov 2007 Operation Mercury, and Feb 2008 Invasion.
I was critical the first time, talking at length with my friends (I came in a group of 12, mostly with our own equipment) afterwards about ways in which the day could have been improved. Two words kept popping up; Organization and Planning. It's simple - and all-day scenario game can be broken down into a bunch of 30-45 minute scenarios. With generals who sign-up in advance, and someone with some sense of event planning, it could be great.
Instead, this past weekend was an absolute disaster! I had not thought it possible to do WORSE than the event in November, but the management at Hotshots in Loxahatchee has done it.
Safety is non-existent. There were organized teams shooting 25bps or greater from the X-Ball field into the spawn area, camping and there waiting for the Chinese team to step into the fire zone. And it's one thing for the refs to not be present on the field during this and many other grotesque and flagrant saftey violations. But in this particular incident, the refs WERE present - and did nothing whatsoever.
These same groups were firing ropes of paintballs through thick brush, showing that not only was there no attempt made at initially chronographing the participants, but as the day went on, no one had any concern for whether basic safety protocols were in place. I heard of multiple injuries due to overshooting throughout the day Saturday.
As for the "scenario" aspect: I was present and playing from 11am (the beginning) until 4pm, on the Chinese team. I only knew of two missions all day: #1 Capture 4 items (The President, a briefcase, and two other things I cannot recall). I was told about that mission after it had already been failed. #2 Escort the General to the White House. I was actually in a large group moving through the area labeled "Ft. Bragg" on the map. I watched the General charging along the perimeter of the x-ball field (No Man's Land) towards the woods that bordered both No Man's Land and Ft. Bragg. While his charge was heroic, it wasn't very tactically sound given his VIP status. Be that as it may, the mission was fun, and had a clearly defined beginning and end (my team lost, presumably because of a reckless lack of self-preservation on the General's part). That was the last "mission" I heard about.
Something involving a Spec-Ops insertion of American forces apparently resulted in the American general blowing a gasket, and then it seems both generals wet themselves and quit altogether.
I left in the mass exodus that followed, around 4 pm on an All-Day scenario game.
I will not attend another scenario at this location by this management team, and I recommend avoiding it to anyone who may be curious.
Rating avg: 3
Breakdown:
Design: 8 (nice fields)
Condition: 8 (no maintenance whatsoever)
Value: 2 (free but has no conveniences like air, chairs, shelter, etc.)
Safety: 0 (that's right - zilch, nada, nichts)
Scenario: 1 (someone thought of roles for two teams.)
Management: 2 (A sponsor was on-site, as was a caterer. Refs were hired, but not equipped, trained, nor supervised)
Service: 2 (The air-fill girl is fast, polite, competent. The cashiers handled the crowd well.)
P.S. It seems there is a pattern of negative reviews getting disputed here. I will say that I have no reason to write what I have above other than as a paying customer, I an entitled to express my opinion of the experiences I've had.
Of course, if you're 15 and getting your $7/hour from this field, or if you are one of the culprits behind the negative experience I've described above, then try next time to be a part of the solution instead of the problem, and save your flames for someone who's not telling the absolute truth.| Last edited on Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 8:20 am PST |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
February 11th, 2008 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 months |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
441 / Yamato - Just some woods.
Reball - Haven't been there. |
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Directions
to the Field: |
From intersection of 441/Southern Blvd:
Take Southern west until you see a big sign that says "PAINTBALL" on the right hand side. Pull in and park. |
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| Review: |
Pros: Awesome fields, plenty of people to play with, helpful / friendly staff, reasonable prices, food available, MOSTLY trustworthy people (won't steal your stuff if you leave it around).
Cons: Lack of parking (sometimes), lack of on-field refs, never watch football in the pro shop, lots of groups of little kids (birthdays, etc), seems to be a lot of players that don't know basic rules (10 feet rule, don't shoot people when they're already out). |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
June 16th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
6 months |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
palm beach freaks,is good but they only have one field |
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| Review: |
hotshots paintball is pretty good field.it has two rec ball fields, 1 x-ball field,and an airball field.
hotshots is pretty good when it comes to saftey.people MOSTLY obey the rules.when i go there,there are mostly never any refs there,everybody was organizing the way they want to play(which isnt a bad thing ti me),they have some snacks and beveragesoverall is was pretty good,i would recomend going there if you really dont care if refs are there |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
May 19th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
3 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
rush paintball
pb freaks |
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| Review: |
When i went there there prices where a little expensive for the field 20 dollars for air ball and rec and 15 gor rec the paintba was around 40 or 50 good prices
The refs where horrible didnt evevn new they had refs
It was pretty safe with barrel socks on and stuff like that
thwe fields where good like the one rec ball one and the x-ball and air ball,the woods pepsi scenario fields are all realy stupid though
the owners are pretty nice expect for this old fat beer bellyed retard who wouldnt let me fill up my tank at the end of the day what happend to unlimeted air so i just waited for him to leave every body else was nice
everthing was good exept the refs & and mr. beer belly |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
April 14th, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
2 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Renegade (Naples)
Chaos Indoor (Sunrise) - Closed due to Hurricane damage |
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| Review: |
Methodology
I start on the assumption that all fields are of the same quality and therefore
assign a 0 value making additions and subtractions based on a number of criteria. Each criterion is weighted, as shown below:
First Impressions (up to 1 point)
Services (up to 1.5 point)
Prices (up to 1 point)
Rental Gear and Paint (up to 1.5 point)
Fields (up to 2 point)
Safety (up to 3 point)
I believe that Safety is paramount in any paintball endeavor, so that criterion is
weighted with the highest value. Followed by fields...because if you don't like
the fields, you're more than likely not going to come back to the venue. Rental
gear and services round out the next 'level' of weighting with First impressions and
Prices the least important. First impressions are important because they can set
the tone for the entire day/event. I rate Prices as least important because, face
it, this is an expensive hobby. A few extra dollars for paint or field usage
shouldn't stop someone from going to a venue that is otherwise top notch.
Whether you agree with my methodology on rating is of little import to me. There is
no existing framework that I've seen consistently applied here, so I've developed my
own. So keep your flames to yourself. If you have a valid, lucid argument please
feel free to comment.
First Impressions
The venue is suitably accessible from the main road. It takes a while to get there,
but the directions were spot-on so no problem there.
The main clubhouse is clean and shares its paintball service with mini-golf and
regular golf services. The clubhouse staff were friendly, helpful and surprisingly
efficient.
Score: 1
Services
In the clubhouse, there are comfortable couches, a TV, drinks and limited snacks
available. One huge plus (since the location is in south Florida) is that the
clubhouse is air-conditioned.
There is a decent stock of accessories available for purchase at the pro-shop.
Though I didn't need to use any repair services, it looked as if they would be
available. Inquiries regarding normal consumables (o-rings and the like) confirmed
that they were available upon request.
Score: 1.25
Prices
Prices were comparable to other venues. Paint (Diablo HEAT) was $50/2000 which is
an acceptable mark-up from what you would pay from online distributors (Paintball
Emporium has them for $39.50/2000). Rental gear was a little high ($50 for the day,
but this included 500 paintballs). The owners have to make a decent profit after
operating costs are factored or the venture doesn't warrant them staying in
business.
Score: .95
Rental Gear and Paint
Rental gear was in line with other fields I've played at. Which is to say that many
of the markers showed signs of aging and abuse. Our group's had feedneck issues,
detent issues, hopper issues, etc. This was a little frustrating. However, the
staff was quick to replace the malfunctioning markers with ones that worked
properly.
Paint was on par with others I've used on FPO fields. Diablo Heat Yellow with
Yellow fill. A different color shell would probably have been better, to make it
easier to determine between breaks or splash/bunker rub.
Score: 1.25
Fields
The fields were excellent, if a bit hazardous at times (which can be expected in
woodsball). The wooded area with forts and bus were a particular favorite (at least
for our group). Performing a quick walk-through it was easy to get an idea of the
"lay of the land" (terrain, paths, etc.). The Rec-Ball fields were decent with
plenty of cover, and were particularly easy for performing bounding maneuvers. The
City area was a lot of fun, as well as a bit unnerving at times. The loopholes cut
into the walls of the "tunnel" were particularly useful. The X-Ball field looked
well put-together, though we didn't get a chance to play on it.
Score: 2
Safety
Safety was a huge deficiency at HotShots. On first arrival, if you haven't played
here before, you're required to fill out the standard hold-harmless waiver. You're
then provided a very brief "safety briefing" where you're told to keep the barrel
condom/plug on at all times, and safety on, when not on the field. Pretty standard
stuff.
Physical
This is where the safety design doesn't synch with the actual operating
effectiveness. The netting on the fields are extremely deficient in critical areas.
For example, while my group was sitting in the staging area (a "mask off" area)
getting our gear ready, there were at least 30-40 stray shots throughout the day
that made it into the area from games currently under way in the middle rec-ball
field. Very dangerous.
Personnel
As noted before, the pro-shop personnel were very polite and seemed knowledgeable
and helpful. This is totally not the case from the refs in the field areas. My
group was at the venue between 11:00a-6:00p. We played on every field except the
X-Ball field. Of all the games we played, only one was 'refereed.' And that one
game consisted of the ref sitting in a chair the entire time, making no effort to
perform paint checks or even watch most of the action.
Which brings me to my next observation. I noted that the ref's that did make an
appearance were all sitting in a circle at the staging area talking for most of the
day. From what I saw, they made no attempt to announce games, chrono markers, divide teams evenly, or referee games (hard to do when you're sitting around doing
nothing).
There was an incident with one of my group being told, rudely, to put his mask back
on and 'this is the last time I'm going to tell you' (it was the first and only time
this person was spoken to by a ref regarding his mask, or anything else for that
matter). While I agree totally that player's masks should be on at all times while
in the play area, at no point should a 15 year old be talking to a 30-something in
this manner. This is not acceptable behavior in the real world, nor should it be
on a paintball field, regardless whether said person is in a position of perceived
"authority" or not.
Score: .5
Conclusion
As you can see, the Safety issue is of great concern on this field. This is
especially exacerbated by the laissez-faire attitude of those that are supposed to
be officiating on the fields.
One of the other issues not stated in the criteria above was the fact that, because
of the lack of officiating, there was a considerable amount of cheating going on.
There were multiple occasions where people were obviously hit but lacked the honor
to call themselves out. Typically it took cornering and outnumbering an opponent
and warning them we'd keep firing to get them to call out. If there were eyes on
the field, this would have happened a lot less.
All told, I would come back to this place. But with a bigger group of friends (that
I trust) so we could play each other fairly on the fields. Then again, if that's
the case, why wouldn't we just go find a place in the woods and play without having
to pay a field fee?
The owners need to understand that, with any business, their employees need
supervision. Especially if these employees have a direct effect on chances of
repeat business. There needs to be better organization and, I dare say, training
for the refs at this venue.
Final Score: 6.95
| Last edited on Monday, April 16th, 2007 at 3:57 pm PST |
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| The accuracy of this review is disputed. Please see discussion on the comments page. |
Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
March 31st, 2007 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
1 year |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
none in west palm beach |
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| Review: |
First of all the saftey at this field needs some tweaking. I noticed no one except for me and my buddy even bothered the check their FPS, and yes people we're shooting HOT! Regulars seemed pretty cool, that seems to be what made it a good time. Was kind of pricey for cheap paint (4 out of 10 don't bust)! Over all it was a good time, Fields were nice, I wanted to check out the bus area but most of the players seamed to prefer the rec ball and town area, which were fun. Lots of good players, But a lot more pretenders. LOL :-) Like I said before it was a good time, but saftey is a big deal to me so that bothered me. Scale of 1 to 10 I give it a 5.
P.S. I didn't even know they had refs til I was leaving and saw one sitting outside the field talking to some other guys dressed in ref shirts. Never saw them in the field of battle. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
October 24th, 2006 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
Mikes Paintball, Mikes Paintball did not have a resting area, lack of refs. |
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Directions
to the Field: |
On southern Blvd. |
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| Review: |
I first played on this field and I thought the prices were ok.$15 for rec and woods ball and $20 for rec,woods and X-Ball.$20 for 500 balls, $30 for 1000 balls, $40 for 1500 balls and finally $50 for 2000 balls.The People ther are really nice and the refs are pretty cool.The field owners are cool too.They just had there first really big all day scenario game.It was pretty cool but could have been better with more organization, but overall the field is pretty organized and is getting better as time goes on.the Speed ball Fields are well set up and right nexr to them is a Woodsball field with an abandoned bus in the middle with some cool forts and bunkers.The X-ball field is my favorite..I perfer air ball than anything else but it is on nice green cut grass and the bunkers are well taken care of, though as much rest of the field is pretty much well taken care of.
Since this is the only field nere me, its the only field I can go to but I love going here, There next scenario game is in January 2006, oh and they have X-ball night games under nice big lights too on friday nights...you can play on the other fields to but since there are no lights back in the woods were they are you can't see a whole lot,(I don't like the idea of blind firing into pitch darkness with paintbals i spent money on) and since this being florida....there are ALOT OF FRIGGEN mosquitoes back there at night !!! lol| Last edited on Tuesday, November 7th, 2006 at 5:26 pm PST |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Date There: |
October 8th, 2006 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
More than 5 years |
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Other Fields
in the Area: |
In west palm, none. |
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| Review: |
I am going to rate the field on the following categories: safety, cost, people playing, and overall field setup.
First the field setup, they have 1 x-ball field, 2 speedball fields side by side seperated by woods and in the back of the two speedball fields there is woods (woods field). I would say the field setup is good, the speed ball fields are setup pretty well but i am still alittle unsure as to how big the woods field is. The x-ball field we did not play.
Safety- For the most part everyone was very good about safety, barrel plugs or barrel condoms and always having their masks on. One time in walking to the back of the field there was a group of guys playing woods ball on their own and they were in a middle of a game and we were waiting close by for it to finish, but we were "in the game".
Cost - this is probably one of the better parts of the field, gun rental, all day air, mask and 500 paintballs is 50 bucks which is good i feel. If you have your own gear then its 15 dollar field fee for speed ball and woods ball and 20 if you want x ball too. Also the prices for paint are fair 50 for a case, diablo heat. check the website for other prices. They fill up to 4500 psi and co2 fills.
People - everyone playing was fair, good attitudes and played by the rules. The one thing i found different from playing at other fields i have been to is that there is absolutely no organization at all. people at the field basically had to organize their own game and the honor system was in effect, i think towars the end of the day there was a ref or 2 but they did not play an active role in reffing the games, compared to other fields i have been to. (palm bay last year, a couple fields in NY, and CT) so this is either a good or bad thing that you can organize your own games, but i rather have structure and refs controlling things. Another things i found strange was that there was alot of people out there but everyone was having their own game, instead of just all playing one big game, again organization.
I will go back to this field bc its the only one here and i think eventually things may turn around and they get better with organization. Also they said they have bought 50 acres in PSL and that should be opening up in the near future. Hope this helps anyone considering playing. |
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Period of
Field Use: |
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| Last There: |
August 27th, 2006 |
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Paintball
Experience: |
4 years |
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| Review: |
Safety: The referees there make sure you put your mask on in the field area and a condom/plug in. There is a 10 foot minimum shot rule in the rec area only, but the refs don't really ref much in the rec area. The refs talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. (I'll get to that in the refs section)
Fields: There are 4 fields.
---------Xball-----------I have not played on yet.
---------Woodsball---Is a bit overgrown and the boundaries are not marked well. I don't play ---------------------------woodsball so I don't have much of a woodsballer's view on this one.
---------Rec #1--------Consists mainly of spools, tires, and fences. On this field the bunkers ---------------------------are a bit more spread out than Rec #2. I find it a great field for rec.
---------Rec #2--------Consists mainly of fences and Pepsi barrells. On this field the bunkers are closer together, which is great for bunkering people. The downside is bunkering is not allowed, but sweeping around the side/flanking is an alternative as long as you're 10 feet away.
Prices: There is a 15 field fee for rec/woods and 20 if you want to do xball too. Unlimited air is included in the field fee. The paint is 50 for a case and its field paint only. I find that their paint is egg-shaped and will make your gun shoot everything but your target. Their paint is not very good. I have found paint for 40 a case that shot 3 times better. Rentals are 50 and they come with air, 500 balls, a BT gun or a 98 custom, mask, and hopper.
Refs/safety staff:
The refs tell people to not shoot in the staging area, and they tell you to put your mask on when entering the field. The problem is, I was there and one ref/safety staff shot another in the arm in the field area with no mask on from like 2 feet away, on accident. The funny thing is that just a minute before that, the same ref made a kid put a barrell plug in and safety on. The refs don't really do paintchecks on the rec fields, so usually an eliminated player will volunteer.
Players: The other players were all respective and did not light people up. A few little kids came on the field with their dads and it was their first time, so everyone made sure that noone would bunker them or light them up. People called the hits every time I think. I don't recall seeing any people wiping. One guy was shooting a bit hot, but he was nice about it because he hadn't realized it and he turned it down.
Overall, aside from the cheapo deapo paint that costs 50 a case, this paintball facility is decent, and is good if you go with people you know. |
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