Posted: 7/30/2012 12:09:19 PM EDT
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Ok so my son wanted to celebrate his birthday by camping - and not just camping he wanted an airsoft battle.
Only problem is my firstborn's birthday is in January. So we told him we'd do such a trip in the summer. This was the weekend. First we needed to find a place where we could have an airsoft battle. We found such a spot in the middle of some state hunting lands. Primitive camping is permitted (you bring in everything including water). I found such a place several hours away. I also found some biodegradable Airsoft ammo so as not to leave a trace. My son sent out the invites and we were off. The Jeep was loaded as the cargo vehicle all guns and gear wwas carried by it. We had our complete kitchen setup, two tents (one for the ladies) and a dining fly. My wife's car was the 'troop carrier' and carried the boys and the food. Note as I've never been to this place before I used Google Maps to map my course. It turns out one of the roads it sent us on was almost a trail and was challenging for my wife's vehicle. Worse yet the bridge (300y from where we had to turn) was out. We had to backtrack about 12 miles and find a new way. IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED if you're going to rely on Google Maps and Android navigation MAKE SURE YOU CACHE THE AREA YOU ARE GOING TO. I did this for my vacation in Boston (where there is excellent cell coverage) but not for this trip. Not only did we not have a data connection (which is needed for Google Navigation if you didn't cache the maps) we didn't have cell phone coverage either (did I mention we were in the boonies?) We got there and I put the boys to work, clearning out the tent areas and helping set up. This was the first camping trip for one of the boys, and definately the most primitive for all but my son (as one kid mentioned he had never camped where he could not see a house). This is the crew before their first battle: 
(I take 3 photos - the first two my son has proper trigger discipline but the other boys are screwed up - this is the third shot.  )
Party after the battle: 
My brother bought my son a case of "Zombie Brain Juice" soda, which my son has been saving since January for this trip. The boys really enjoyed it! My wife was along to help supervise the boys and my daughter was the cook. She baked the most moist Chocolate cake I've ever had in the dutch oven. . The next morning the boys learned how to 'police' the area before getting breakfast or battling (just like the Army  ). In keeping with the Scout idea of leaving a place better than you found it.
Here they are waiting for breakfast: 
My daughter cooking breakfast (Pancakes, eggs, and bacon!  )
After a couple more 'battles' including one where 4 of the boys went looking for the 'sniper' (see the boy in the first photo with the scoped AR and face paint? Well he had a ghillie suit as well....). During the last battle one boy was stung by a bee and another got a tick. Both were handled with ease with our first aid kit - though we only found out AFTER the boy was stung that he may be allergic (it turns out his sister is allergic to bee stings). Lesson Learned: Before taking boys into the woods make sure you find out if they are or may be allergic to any insect bites (we only asked about food allergies) and take precautions. We had benedryl in the first aid kit but no epinepherine. We had no way to call out and NO idea where the nearest medical facilities were. In any even the closest "town" was about 30 minutes away (at legal speeds). We ended the trip with a 'Zombie Jungle Walk'. My daughter and I set up a path through the woods with a variety of zombie targets. Some were easy to spot - others were either partially hidden or I used tricks (like direction signals) to draw their attention away from the target. I had one boy walk within 4" of a target - the bottom of which was set up just over his eye level. 
Monroeville Pizza Delivers! 
Lesson Learned - Bring a staple gun. Tape only worked when we taped from front of target to the back - around a limb or tree trunk. The tape was not holding well - especially in the humidity. Signals showing the way: 
If you didn't look down you might be missing some threats: 
It was amazing how many boys didn't even see a couple of targets. They would not look down - or one target that was easy to see would get their focus and they wouldn't look around for other potential threats. Some even tended to take shots at longer ranges than were needed. The course was from the starting line to the end spot (you had to touch a tree with the X), I added 30 seconds for each missed target. To count as a hit the BB must hit (break the line) of the threat. Hitting the pizza box was a no-go unless it was part of the box in front of a body part. Nicking the tail of the rat would count as a hit. All you needed was one hit, but you could take as many shots as you wanted. The course could be run with a single magazine and a 'cock for every shot' spring gun. My son had the only perfect score (every target hit) with a time of 2:17 using his Airsoft M4 and iron sights; "Sniper Boy" (the young man in full BDUs above) ran the course with a semi-auto HK type pistol in an impressive 58 seconds (I could not keep up with the kid). He ran it like he was a pro running an IDPA event. However he missed a target (hit in the white area). He ended up winning with a time of 1:28. But even the boys that were not shooters did surprisingly well and hit at least 50% of the targets. All the kids had a great time. One thing I noted before the 3rd battle my Son's micro dot sight (knockoff) had run out of battery. Guess what he didn't bring along? He also didn't realize the BUIS (ARMS knockoff) had both a small and larger aperture and had problems using the small aperture in bright sunlight (? yeah I don't get it either). So make sure you know your gear and bring SPARES if you have battery operated sights. This is me packed up to head home - those bags you see on the back is all our garbage - and the garbage we found at the camp site (freaking slob hunters  )
We brought along 18 gallons of water. We used 8 gallons for 8 people (mostly young teens/tweens) in a 30 hour period. Looks like we'll be planning another trip like this.. 
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Quoted:
Looks like a great time. Glad the boys could get out and play without freaking out all the 911 dailing folks of the world. nct One of the big reasons we're out here. Try this at a state park and watch the shit storm! Best thing about it - the boys burned off more energy than playing COD and learned a thing or two. |