I love to find those hidden treasures - great paintball fields squirreled away off the beaten track (in other words - in the middle of nowhere, like most paintball fields). Since the scenario I had scheduled to attend today was canceled, I decided to hunt down a new place to play where people aren’t scared of temperatures in the 90s and humidity that feels like breathing water. I found a great field with a loyal local following and some big plans, Behind Enemy Lines, located just south of Gastonia, NC. Behind Enemy Lines, B.E.L. for short, came as a welcome surprise in so many ways. Ever heard about a field then took a trip down some country roads only to find a few pallets stuck in the woods behind someone’s barn? Ever played “speedball” around hay bales? Ever seen someone fill a CO2 tank “by ear?” Well, if you live in North or South Carolina you probably have, but for those lucky enough to call B.E.L. their home field, they’re used to living much higher on the hog.

Behind Enemy Lines has a nice little proshop stocked with some sweet woodsball guns and a few nice all-around pieces, like the Dangerous Power G3. They’re set up for 4500 air fills, and the paint they keep in stock ranges from pretty good to outright excellence. And for those of you who dread the sanitary conditions at most fields - they have real indoor restrooms, for men AND women. Women at a paintball field? If you build it, they will come.

The price is right at B.E.L. with a no-field-fee policy, but what makes this worth checking out is their woods. Designed by paintballers, the nearly seven acres of playable terrain showcases the features that veteran ‘ballers love. Their hilltop sandbag-and-trench fort dominates the woods with well-designed (and fun to attack) forts on either side of the woods. In between the cover ranges from thick brush near the creek to thick trees and more open lanes. They’ve stacked the perimeters with some nice log bunkers that make sneaky flanking moves a breeze, and the refs are open to running whatever sorts of games the players demand. On my visit we played everything from simple elimination to attack-and-defend to assimilation, protect the president, and a highlander game (you know, only head shots because “there can be only one”).

Even on a sauna-esque day, around 20 players showed up to duke it out through the heat haze, but the field owner says that when cooler weather hits, 80-100 players isn’t uncommon. The field can certainly hold that many in a game, and plans are in the works to expand further with another seven acres of woods and a netted and turfed airball field. I also got a chance to hang with a couple of hardcore scenario gunners, Tombs from Port City Militia and MGB from Team Boxer. If great squads like that hone their craft at B.E.L., it’s worth a try. Thanks to all the players and refs at Behind Enemy Lines for a great day of summer paintball.

Yesterday I attended the first official day of walk-on play at a new field in Granite Falls, NC - Precision Sports Paintball.  The good people behind Precision have a long history in paintball, going back to the good old Splatmaster days.  After the clear cutting of a popular renegade field, the folk behind Precision took an opportunity to expand their business beyond their tiny storefront to a much larger location that now includes a sizeable proshop, a ten acre woodsball field, and an indoor field.

The proshop contains an impressive variety of equipment, from starter markers to some tricked out custom jobs.  They carry scenariocentric equipment as well as tournament ready gear, and plenty of it.  A new player could outfit himself head to toe at Precision Sports.  While the field doesn’t have a website yet, this site has contact information, if you want to get in touch with them.  They do provide service for all their equipment, and they have a professionally trained airsmith on the premises.

Bill from Rogue Cell, a local scenario powerhouse, runs the wooded fields, and he has a vision for the acreage.  He’s built up several forts and laid out the land to roughly mirror 1950s era Korea.  I had a chance to jump in on several attack-and-defend games, and the terrain proved just right for some excellent ambushes.  After I hid in the brush and shot two enemy players after they walked past me, their sniper took me out with a single well-placed shot.

Back on the inside, the 140 x 50 indoor airball field proved just right for some lightning fast games.  The players there are no slackers either; the ones who showed up yesterday were a mix of veterans, current and former tourney players, and some enthusiastic newer players looking to hone their skills.  I warmed up with a few one-on-ones with Nathan, and after seeing him get the angles on me, I had a better feel for the layout before the bigger games.

When it came to three-on-threes or five-on-fives, this bunker packed indoor field played like that short-lived professional three man indoor series.  Super fast games on a playing surface that made it possible for me to get down the snake in about 3 seconds.  Fun stuff.

The owners of Precision Sports Paintball have plans to add an outdoor hyperball field, a full-size X-Ball field, and to continue to improve the woods.  With an easily accessible location, reasonable prices, a friendly and knowledgeable staff, and a good crowd of locals, Precision Paintball gets the thumbs up.

I rolled out this morning with a Google map in my hand and adventure on my mind.  I used pbreview to search for fields within 100 miles of my house, found a few, then decided to try one out.  After stuffing the Civic with gear enough for any type of game, I first drove to Premier Paintball Park (P3) in Fort Mill, South Carolina.  Here’s what I found.

There are few things as sad as a defunct paintball field.  Where’s the 40 bunker X-Ball field?  Where the “attack the fort scenario?”  Crap.  I can only speculate as to why a field as nice as the pictures on the website would go under in such a short time, but dang it people - support your local paintball field!

My next stop, Palmetto Hills Paintball.  This is an interesting one.  It’s honestly a three minute drive from one of the premier tournament facilities on the east coast, Paintball Central.  Home of the now defunct Baltimore Trauma and Carolina Gridlock programs, Paintball Central is a smooth, professionally-run field.  Palmetto Hills brings an entirely different vibe, and it has its pros and cons.

The Cons

• If you want to buy all day air, you have to do it at the beginning of the day, otherwise they’ll charge you by the fill.  Huh?  So if I arrive with 2K in my tank, play a game, then decide I want to stay and get all day air, it’s no dice - pay up by the fill?  Bizarro.
• The fields.  They have a packed airball field, a fort field with some woods,  and a few other courses.  Imagine throwing some pallets on a par three golf course.  If you can picture that, you have it to a T.

• Safety.  I don’t like being the narc, but I will not let some kid walk around a shootout with his goggles off.  I was never asked to sign a waiver; the refs dress in jeans and hoodies so they look like players, and they typically stand to the side and quietly observe the action.  I couldn’t tell any specific goggles-on area on the property, and it seemed to be okey-dokey to blast off a few shots no matter where you might be.  In one game I tagged a kid in the forehead - one shot, right in the middle.  He yells something, rips off his mask, throws it on the ground, and boots it across the grass.  Safety?

The Pros

• Price.  $7 field fee, $6 all day air.  BYOP or buy it.  As I heard the owner say, “You get what you pay for.”  So, the field may not be the prettiest, but it’s inexpensive.
• The Players.  You can have a lousy set of bunkers and still have a fun game with the right players.  Aside from the temper tantrum kid, the players at Palmetto Hills were a swell bunch.  They also knew the aspects of the layout that weren’t immediately apparent.  What I saw as a set of pallets in tall grass turned out to be a land bridge with hidden creek beds that allowed me to flank the other team - super fun and unexpected.
• The Fields.  Despite decrepit bunkers and brambles, the fields actually played pretty well.  The sparse cover made for some exciting dashes, and the good attitudes kept the games fun.  Not safe, but fun.

Overall, I wouldn’t bring my kid for safety reasons, but it’s fun to mix things up now and then.   And I also took this artsy photo between games.

The Blue Balls of Palmetto Hills