Bang-bangs
Paintball is obvious family fun that’s easy to overlook at first. Paintball Sports Inc. (PSI) in Plattekill has over 300 acres devoted to a sport that promotes friendly family warfare that leads to a serene, peaceful and satisfied car ride home. Ages 10 and over are welcome to play, though anyone under 16 needs a grownup. Pit some frustrated moms and dads against the kiddies on any of the 20 different wooded courses in rounds of trying to capture the opponent’s flag and return it to home base without getting splattered. “The Recruit” starter package costs $49.99 per person and includes 500 rounds, admission, air fill and safety mask, chest protector, the rental gun loader and tank. There are other packages containing more rounds ranging upwards in price.
Owner Chris Masi answered the question that immediately springs to every mind mulling whether to take up the paintball gun: “Does it hurt?” “It stings if you get close,” Masi said. “Depends on the course. If you stay at the safer ranges, and play on range 20 feet or more, it doesn’t hurt. A lot of times you get hit and don’t even know it and the referee has to call you out. You get caught up in the moment.”
Masi stressed that every gun is safety-checked to ensure that each one is shooting at a safe speed.
Though some might regard paintball as a boys thing, Masi explained that oftentimes, the trigger is the great equalizer. “Normally women are a lot more aggressive than guys at first. More and more women are coming out to try it. Sometimes they play on their own with their boyfriends or they play with each other. … Girls tend to be better at crawling and running around out in the woods.”
Nor is paintball exclusively for the rugged. “Anyone can play,” added Masi. “We get all shapes and sizes and ages. We recommend you be in decent shape, but you can take it easy if you aren’t in the best of shape.” A typical day of paintball is about eight to fifteen rounds, from9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., virtually guaranteeing that brothers and sisters and husbands and wives will have fully exhausted all their aggressions by the end of the day. Visit Paintballsportsny.com.
