Let It 'Shine' . . . . . . .

LET IT ‘SHINE…

Close your eyes and imagine when you could not have a sip of your favorite adult beverage legally even though you are “of age” and you will be transported to a time when you heard whispers of a “friend” that may have information about where you could get a drink.  “Moonshiners vs. Revenuers” is the name of the new annual series from Michael Bell and Alan Stokes out of our favorite field, Bearclaw Paintball in Fayetteville, Tennessee.  Each team works for points based the amount of “moonshine” (no kiddos, it is only water in milk jugs) that can be turned in at the Dew Drop Inn.

Our first objective of the game (along with a few volunteers) was to delay the Revenuers entry onto the field as long as possible so they would not find the parts to our moonshine still, because you can’t make moonshine without a still.  Even though we were dug in good like a group of ticks on a blood hound, we eventually were removed from our position, but took great consolation in the fact that we did delay their entry onto the field.  Our HDE pants blended in great with the surrounding foliage (or lack thereof).  After tagging in at our base, our first mission was to find parts for the moonshine still at the cemetery, a location that is very open to both sides.  Luckily we were able to find the part, hold the position even though there was resistance, and return the parts to our base named Pall Mall.  Thunder Road was the battle front throughout the first part of the day, with the line swaying into each team’s territory in an ebb and flow.  Many times throughout the day we accompanied “Ridge-runners” to trade at the Dew Drop Inn for points in the form of cash.  The unique thing about the Dew Drop Inn was that it was a no fire zone in the middle of the field and each team used that to their advantage – like an invisible wall you could not shoot past.  Day one ended with the Moonshiners in a considerable lead.   

Day two started with Black Karma split, literally.  Half of us went to the Revenuers to have some much needed fun against our own – the only bad side, we flipped our jerseys to make us different than the rest of our team and they were bright white.  On a mission to the cemetery, we met opposition that included the other half of our team and relished that we pushed them back and intercepted a “special shipment”.  During a speedball mission where each team had to bring 5 players that included the general and jugs of shine, we enjoyed seeing an equal number of Black Karma.  During each game, 5 jugs of shine would be placed in the middle of the field.  Any jugs shot would be lost.  The Revenuers won the speedball match with a bounty of 13 jugs.        

In the end, the Moonshiners won, although everyone had fun.  There were a few new faces that we got to show the splendor of our favorite field and hope they will be making a return trip in the future.  We love doing this charity event each year because each player contributes an item for the Toys for Tots drive and they are distributed locally.  It also got us in the mood to sponsor a family for Christmas this year.   

Guess how many issues we had with our equipment – zero, other than not having enough paint to feed our hungry markers.  If you ever have any issues with your gear, just swing by and let us take a look.  Even if you don’t have any equipment problems, pop in and say hi.  We always love to meet new people and share the game we love so much.  We hope everyone had an awesome holiday season and wish you the best for the new year.  Thank you Planet Eclipse for everything you do.  See you next year at Bearclaw Paintball for MPP’s “Mob Wars”.

Be sure to check out our Facebook page for our 2013 schedule of events www.facebook.com/blackkarmapaintball