| GOLDFINGER |
| One day, while hanging around the house, my friend George happened by and told me about "a group of guys shooting paint guns out in back of this greenhouse" where he was laying a brick walk. I had seen Action Pursuit Games Magazine laying around my apartment some years previous, my former roomate was interested enough to buy the occasional magazine, but never got involved in the game. I was curious about paintball, but the idea sat there on the back burner for some three years before George mentioning it that day. He knew the guys, and they played pick-up games out in the woods every couple of weeks or so. After meeting those guys and actually hefting an Autococker, I thought, "Man... I have to give this a try!" I went out and bought a marker. My thinking was, if you're going to do this, then get the equiptment and jump right in. Never looked back. I'm 41 years old. Playing for seven years. First marker....... VM68. Nothing will blister your trigger finger like a full day of paintball with a VM68. Learn to love the burn. Second marker......Autococker. I didn't wait a year to get into Autocockers. At that time, there were no Ravi Chapra Tuning Tips for the Autococker. The guy who sold me the marker made it seem like doing the timing was rocket science. I have "have the knack" for mechanical construction and so my line of thinking was; it's a pnumatic machine that happens to throw paint and I'm going to wrap my head around How It Works. The learning curve with no documentation or support apart from the manual was steep, but I figured it out, finally. All The Wonderful Things For Cockers started to appear on the market. I did my first trigger job. I had made the right choice. I still feel that way. I kept that one for a while until a kid I knew who was moving to Florida offered to sell me another. That's when work began on... Cocker Number Two.....my neighbor has a Bridgeport Milling Machine in his basement. How he ever got it down there is a story deserving of a website. He's a retired machinist and he likes the occasional challenge. We milled the body. We created a custom back-block. We built it as a Mini-Cocker. Life was good. I sent that one off to Duralectra, in Framingham MA. They are an anodizing company and will contract for the occasional short runs. They don't do bleeds or fades. I wanted a Mil Spec Hardcoat, as used on equiptment provided for our Armed Services. And it was good. The Green Monster was born. I'm still pleased with that marker, and looking around at all the custom 'cockers in the lineup at our field on Any Given Sunday, no two are alike, and just like beer, there are no Bad Ones, only different ones. In my mind I have the pick of the litter. When she's good, she's really good.... when she's bad, there goes my whole afternoon, muttering under my breath, scratching my head. Cocker Number Three......will be a pretty little gel. At the rate that construction is progressing, she should be ready for the Spring. Cross your fingers for me, would you? She's gonna be really pretty and have an on the marker HPA4500 system. I just hope I can afford to keep her in paint. I have a boatload of pods and gloves and all that other stuff. I only buy JT Spectras, I have three sets and countless thermal lenses. I wear knee pads, cause.... hey... you only get one set of kneecaps in life that you didn't have to shell out $20,000 for. Boots.... 'Nam boots are great, but anything over the ankles that isn't made in China is fine by me. I have to plug Altama. Great Boots. Real quality. This site is a work of vanity for me, but also serves as a tribute to a really great bunch of guys who refer to themselves proudly as Geezers. We are very fortunate to have a place to go and work together as a team, and hang together as friends. In the past few years we've had some great adventures both at our home field, and On The Road. |
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